I sought out help from MBA Mission starting in Round 1 and continued through the very end of Round 2. I was particularly seeking hourly consulting services to fine-tune my essay ideas and some ad-hoc advice on resume, recs, etc with the biggest focus being on essays.

My initial 30 minute free consultation was with Jessica Shklar and I felt that in this brief session alone, I could get a sense of the depths to which I knew she could truly help me pinpoint what to focus on in my essays and how to really convey the thread of my experiences in the most powerful way possible.

She got on the call prepared and ready, having analyzed my profile and what information I provided to the website. I could tell she really reviewed my background and the materials I provided, so that I didn't have to waste anytime reviewing things again in summary. Since I was worried about how much money to invest in expensive consulting services, I admit I was hesitant about buying these services because I was worried I would dish out tons of money for what might be mediocre guidance. I got off the call truly feeling the she was personally invested in my success and I knew I wanted to continue with her as a consultant. In just thirty minutes, I felt I had a MUCH clearer picture of what angle I could focus on in my essay stories.

The thought of tackling all the business-school essays gave me incredible anxiety : I was self conscious about my writing, I was concerned about being an industry-switcher and how to really prove to the admissions committee why and how I was planning to carve out my future career based on the past experiences that shaped me. I had an immediate sense of relief and clarity with Jessica because she so easily and naturally found ways that I could tell my story- in a very captivating and genuine way that never occurred to me before. And that is what you need in a consultant.

Unfortunately, Jessica had been pretty booked up with R1 clients and when I decided I wanted to buy some consulting hours, I had to pick someone else to work with at first. But ultimately, I felt that my expectations were not met by that person, and after one session, I felt unhappy with who I was left with. They just did not compare to the rapport I felt with her. I contacted Jessica and told her how I felt, what my concerns were, and if she could find a way of taking me on as a client because I was convinced I needed to work individually with her to really accomplish my goals. She was prompt in immediately addressing my concerns, not only did she find a way for the company to refund me for the consulting services I wasn't happy with, but she ultimately told me she would find a way of fitting me in as one of her R1 clients so that I could work with her instead.

Jessica worked with me from this point forward, as I applied to one R1 top tier school, and then 7 other top R2 schools. She is excellent at giving really raw feedback, directly pinpointing what you need to fix, where you're not being clear, what you do well, what you are still not doing right etc. - What I value most about her support was that she isn't afraid to be tough with you. At first, the writing critique process can feel really personal and the feedback can be painful but I cannot emphasize how important it was for me to have someone like Jessica who was not afraid to tell me her opinions on each point of my essay in the most blunt and direct way possible. At times, it hurts, but its what you really need to get your essay into the best shape possible. And this is ultimately a valuable aspect of Jessica's style because she doesn't waste your time or money - basically, she tells it like it is, and doesn't sugarcoat it for you. In this gut-wrenching process, that is exactly what you need, especially when you're going through draft after draft, competing with thousands of people, juggling with deadlines, and want to get those acceptance letters. It was critical, and it helped enormously. Because I could really see how my essays had evolved, and how I even improved the drafts I was giving her after only my R1 essays. Because I took her feedback and applied it to my thought process.

Throughout the months, Jessica was always clear and reliable about what she needed from her client group - she also reminded us about what deadlines we should be aware of and how to facilitate that with her two-day turnaround so that she could ensure we were not freaking out at the last minute and begging for a 24 hour turnaround of a final draft or needing to pay the expensive rush fee to get it back from her - she was always very clear with what she needed to be able to give the best support most efficiently. Even down to the specifics of how to write your emails to her, with what in the subject line, so that she could most efficiently get back to our requests.

In hindsight, I felt like writing essays and crafting your story for business school applications really feels like you go through therapy. And Jessica was like my therapist in this aspect! You go through a LOT of self-reflection about who you are. I was truly floored when my decision letters started rolling in. I did not get into the top 2 most competitive schools - I got into all other 5 schools (highly competitive programs), with incredible merit scholarships, and was waitlisted at 1 other. I really was overjoyed with my results. No matter what, you have to put in the best effort possible to get the best out of consulting services. Jessica was the person who got me to the level I needed to be at - I felt confident that I was submitting my best work. And my results reflected this.

I highly recommend Jessica Shklar - she was a consultant that was truly invested in my success and I have no doubt that she maintains this standard with each and every one of her clients.

Read More

I worked with Jessica from October 2014 up until recently, thanks to a friend’s recommendation. Though at the time I wasn’t sure if I would hire a consultant given the price tag, I scheduled a free 30 min call with Jessica to learn more. During that call, it immediately became obvious to me why my friend had recommended Jessica. Having spoken with a few other consultants from other companies, I knew Jessica was the right fit for me. There is no consultant out there who is more professional, dedicated or hardworking than Jessica. I highly recommend working with Jessica if you are considering hiring a consultant.

Jessica is the utmost professional. mbaMission has a 2 day return policy and Jessica often provided feedback well before that deadline. Even during crunch times, Jessica always provided comments in time, helping to keep me in check. Because I worked with Jessica, I felt that I was continuously making progress throughout this process. She kept me moving forward, and more importantly, pushed me to go deeper with my essays and applications. Jessica is also a great editor and writer. Her feedback will help you make sure that no word is wasted and that your essays are as crisp as possible.

Jessica is also direct – which is a great thing considering that this process is often very vague. Jessica won’t beat around the bush. Instead, she will give you her honest opinion and then help find you ways to get you to where you want to be. Moreover, Jessica is always happy to help and answer any question you may have (from something very minor to something more significant).

In the fall, I will be attending a top program with an amazing scholarship, and Jessica definitely played a big part in that. She helped me put my best forward and keep sane throughout this challenging and long process. I cannot recommend Jessica enough. Schedule a call with her today, you will be happy you did so!

Read More

The best part about mbaMission is the fact that you can work with all of its consultants. Knowing that I wanted to attend Chicago Booth, I requested Kate (an alum) and could not have been more pleased with the experience. I started with the 30 minute free consultation and quickly realized I would need some assistance reviewing my essays. After Kate described all the available services, I purchased the hourly package due to the flexibility – under this option, the consultants work on anything you need (resume, essays, interview prep, etc.). There is a standard two business day turnaround on essays, so factor that into your schedule.
Kate was personable, honest, candid and extremely efficient (very important in the hourly package option). She not only corrected grammatical issues, but also improved the flow and content of my essays. Kate challenged me to increase the personalization of my essays and I could clearly feel that she was an advocate of mine; she did everything she could to bring out the best in my application to Chicago Booth. After feeling comfortable with my essays, I used the remainder of my time for interview prep – again, this is a great feature of hourly services. Kate had a few practice questions to go over, and shared some of her experiences as an alumni interviewer. Throughout the entire process I learned more about myself and why I am pursuing my MBA – Kate was an invaluable asset during the application process and she is one of the main reasons I will be starting at Chicago Booth in June!

Read More

I have consulted with Katherine over the course of several months while applying to HBS and CBS. I have used around 10-15hours of her service.
Katherine's advice has been incredibly helpful in getting in to top MBA programms, whether it was about brainstorming my essay storyline or working through style of writing. She definitely approaches each applicant in a very personal way, spends required time to help (or even more!) and does not count time "to a minute" which allows for more relaxed atmosphere. She is very flexible in terms of arranging review calls, even when it comes to last minute requests. Katherine is definitely worth recommending and I would use her service again if I had to! FYI I have been invited for HBS interview (did not go through unfortunately) and got in to CBS! Good luck everyone!

Read More

I signed up for mbaMission about 4 months before my application deadline. At that time, I felt I needed some guidance and expertise on crafting my essays with articulate goals and reasoning. I was paired up with Jen K from mbaMission and absolutely loved working with her. She was extremely patient, supportive, and gave me confidence throughout the application process. She always responded to emails before the turnaround time, and always provided me with detailed and concrete feedback on perfecting my essays. I ended up getting into my top choice school, and I don't think I would have gotten in without Jen's help.

Read More

A former colleague of mine highly recommended Monica at mbaMission, and I'm grateful that he did. Monica worked with me, start-to-finish, on applying to HBS and Columbia for Round 2. She was an incredible resource and support system, and I got into both schools. Here are the areas where Monica was most valuable to my application process:

Essays – Monica spent a lot of time working with me before I ever wrote anything. We had multiple calls to hash out my ideas for individual essays, as well as discuss broader themes or strings to pull my whole application together. This made writing not so painful. And when it came to drafting and revising, Monica went well above and beyond textual editing. She was focused on the important things: themes, general direction, messaging. She frequently re-focused me when my essays drifted from what they needed to achieve.

Other Application Materials - Monica read through and helped me prune all aspects of my written application, including the resume and short answers. She also helped me strategically select, and approach, my recommenders.

Interview Prep – Monica's mock interviews and feedback sessions were excellent. This was particularly helpful for the HBS process. Having spent a lot of time reading my application in full (the way an admissions officer would), and having HBS-specific insight, Monica was able to hone in on the important nuances of my candidacy and ask me the tough questions.

Read More

Last year, I applied to several business schools and was denied by all of them. It was pretty discouraging to say the least and I wasn't sure if I really wanted to try again. My company hosted an mbaMission info session and I decided I would give it another shot with their help.

I had a consultation with Angela and found her to be a great resource in the 30 minutes that we initially spoke. I quickly decided that I wanted to be paired up with her to aid me with some new applications as well as some reapplications.

During the process, Angela helped relieve a lot of the stress I had from the previous year's results. She gave me great advice on how to improve my resume and make my essays more powerful. We were able to work through each essay over a couple week period and I never found her to be unresponsive to any of my inquiries.

With the guidance I received, I was able to gain admission to some great MBA programs and had a tough decision to make in the end on where I wanted to go.

To anyone considering this service, I would highly recommend working with Angela not only because she is very knowledgeable on the whole application process but also because she is a real genuine person.

Read More

I heard about Jessica Shklar through several friends – all gained acceptance to their top choice schools with her help. I reached out to her early (or so I thought) for the 2015 application cycle only to find out that she was already booked solid for R1. She offered to recommend another mbaMission consultant but the opportunity to work with her, coupled with other factors specific to my situation, made the choice to hold off until R2 an easy one.

After eight years in the military and multiple deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Africa I had plenty of interesting stories but had no idea how to effectively tie them together into something that the admissions committees could understand and appreciate. The first brainstorming session was possibly the most important 90 minutes of the entire process for me. I started with 20 pages of notes, ideas, and disjointed stories and walked away with solid, coherent themes that I was eventually able to incorporate in every application. I also walked away with a realistic list of schools to target and a clear understanding of every step I needed to take in order to submit a successful application. From the 30-minute free consultation (I’m still amazed at how well she was able to understand my story and offer relevant advice after little more than a glance at an early draft of my resume) to the final interview prep call, Jessica made manageable what would have been an otherwise unbelievably stressful process. Most importantly, I was truly proud of the applications I finally submitted.

I applied to three schools with Jessica’s help – I was accepted to two (including my top choice) and waitlisted at the other. I honestly do not believe that I would have achieved those results if I hadn’t worked with Jessica. The service is definitely a financial commitment but if you have the opportunity to work with Jessica, do so… I promise that you won’t regret it.

Read More

When I decided to apply to an MBA program, I initially thought it was too late to apply for the upcoming year and would have to wait a year. Without Jen's assistance it would have been. She was able to accelerate the application process.

Going into the process I felt that my education was unimpressive, my community activities were lacking, and my career was average when compared to those applying to top business schools. Not only did the whole process seemed overwhelming, I didn't know where to start. Jen was able to help immediately. The brainstorming session became the bedrock of my application. It was frequently referenced as we went through the process, and helped me round out the story that my application told.

Jen always met the deadlines for feedback, and often exceeded them. The whole time I felt like Jen was my advocate. She had confidence in my application and in me. I can honestly say, I don't think I would have been accepted to a top business school without her help. I cannot speak highly enough about the experience I had working with Jen.

Read More

I didn’t think I would get to write this, but I was recently accepted to my dream MBA program at Columbia and I could not have done it without Angela.

I’ve wanted to go to Columbia Business School for a long time but only decided in January to apply this year. By then, I had already missed the first two deadlines which put me in the infamously dreaded “round 3” within Columbia’s rolling admission process. Moreover, although I had good academics and work experience, my GMAT score was on the lower end of the spectrum. I had the story and the passion, but given my GMAT and timing, I knew that I would need the best help I can get.

I remembered meeting Angela during an MBA Mission session through Forte’s MBALaunch program over a year ago and loved her presentation. I decided to reach out to her specifically after speaking to almost a dozen other consultants (Stacey Blackman, Admit Advantage, Veritas, Accepted.com, MBA Admit, etc.), some of whom basically told me that I would be better off waiting until early decision next year to apply. I knew my chances were very slim but despite the naysayers, my mind was made up to give absolute my best shot and apply this year. Angela managed my expectations but ultimately said “let’s do this, and don’t look back.”

For the next two months, she became my compass, guide, coach, and friend through the entire process. We brainstormed strategically to craft my application in a way that was distinctively unique and true to me. It wasn’t easy and it was a ton of work; there were a lot edits and going back to the drawing board but Angela guided me through every single aspect of my story. She called me out on parts of my essays that were just not good enough and told me start over. I didn’t want just a good application; I wanted the most outstanding application that I can put together and Angela was on the same page with me every step of the way. Even when I disagreed with her feedback, we would get on the phone and talk it through in order to get to a point where we both felt confident on the approach. Applying to business school ended up being one of the most challenging experiences in my life. There were moments when I wanted to just give up and wait until early decision next year but Angela helped me push forward through her awesome pep talks. Her straightforwardness coupled with her genuine determination to see me succeed was incredibly refreshing.

By the time I clicked “submit” near the end of February, I knew I was extremely proud and happy with my application no matter what the outcome. Still, given the statistics of my chances, I kept my hopes in check.

Two weeks later, I almost fell out of chair when I received the invitation to interview. Angela was ecstatic for me and prepped me right away; her advice helped me to have a terrific interview. The final wait was agonizing, but amazingly, I got THE call within two weeks. Against the odds, we did it. I’m so glad to have swung for the fences this year, and Angela was absolutely the best coach to have on my side.

Here’s to our incredible “Hail Mary pass,” Angela (FTW!!)

Read More