School Package Reviews

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.

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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.

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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.

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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!!)

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Based on a recommendation from my GMAT instructor at the time, I signed up for my free, 30 minute consultation with Jessica Shklar. I was just beginning to explore the application process, and was starting from square one. During that session, Jessica listened to my background, and provided thoughtful feedback and advice on how best to proceed. From the beginning, I felt as though she genuinely wanted me to succeed in the process - she was engaged and excited. She never attempted to sell or push any services or products – in fact, when I did decide to sign up with her, I had to convince HER to take me on, because she was in such high demand.

As a somewhat nontraditional candidate, I was extremely nervous to go through the application process - and I was also keenly aware of how much of an investment MBA Mission’s services are. However, as I began working with Jessica, the returns on that investment became clear right away.

I was working on an extremely condensed timeline, and was studying for the GMAT at the same time. Jessica worked tirelessly to ensure that the applications I was able to put forth at the end of the process were the best they could be – and that they were a genuine representation of who I am as an applicant. If I had any questions, she was there with a quick response – from beginning to end.

What I appreciate most about Jessica is her honesty. I wanted a consultant that would be tough and tell me the things I didn’t always want to hear, or perhaps wasn’t capable of recognizing in my own work, and I certainly received that feedback from Jessica. If I came up with an essay idea that she knew wasn’t my best, she told me so. She never let me settle for less than my best, and that paid off immensely in the end. I am immensely grateful to Jessica for her encouragement and support during this process – and recommend her highly to anyone considering going through the application process.

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Navigating the MBA application process is quite daunting, it can be even more nerve-racking when you are short of time, have a busy life style, and have targeted only top business schools. It was exactly my case when I decided to work with mbaMission. I started the application process without GMAT and recommenders. I didn’t even narrow down my school choices.

I had couple of free consultation sessions, and with no doubt, Rachel Beck stood out immediately. Rachel was a terrific help throughout my application process, and in my opinion she is not only a great consultant, but also an incredible mentor. What I loved about Rachel was her creative mind, her enthusiasm to know my personality, and her true passion about my success. Rachel has a powerful writing skill, and truly engages with your story.

I worked with Rachel Beck on a two-school package (Wharton and CBS) and I have been admitted to both schools. Rachel has a great insight into b-schools and helped me from school selection process to the interview preparation.

She took time to analyze my educational and professional background, understood my stories and emphasized those stories that clearly illustrated my strength. That was impressive to see how she linked each pieces of my application together and produce a well-written application, perfectly describing my achievements and my vision for future.

The MBA consultancy is not just about writing flawless essays, it is really about helping you to learn about yourself and to build your professional brand that will stay with you for years to come. Rachel is simply the BEST at building your professional brand.

I owe her a big THANK YOU for her guidance getting me here. I wouldn't be able to make it without her.

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I used mbaMission for two schools. I thought my consultant was extremely helpful in guiding me towards constructing my career goals. I was able to clearly define how my past work experience connected with my future career goals, and how an MBA would get me there. I was pretty clueless when it came to this, and she made realize how specific you truly have to be and realistic. Almost every school asks a version of this question, so once you have this down, it is extremely helpful, not only for essays but for interviews. She kept me on track timeline wise, and was not afraid to send back essay draft after essay draft. She was clear in her instructions and I was able to craft some terrific essays. I wish we had spent some time thinking about school strategy, which schools and which rounds. mbaMission also provides some great school insight guides that are helpful when initially doing research on programs.

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I worked with Helen Summers at mba mission and she was absolutely amazing! I did the full school package for 5 schools. She helped me narrow down schools I should apply to based on fit / feasibility, helped me find a great GMAT tutor, and really took the time to get to know me and why I wanted an MBA. She pushed me hard to dig deep when brainstorming essay topics, wasn't afraid to call my BS when she knew I could be doing better, and was constantly providing valuable and critical feedback in a timely manner. She was also great at helping me get out of my comfort zone with the essays and really telling my stories in a eloquent and unique way. Without her help, there is no way I would have gotten into 3 top schools!

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After first approaching the application process on my own, I came to the realization that some good guidance could go a long way for me. With long hours at work, I knew that I would need to work efficiently to meet my MBA goals. Enter, Susan Kaplan.

Though I began working with Susan somewhat late in the process, her focus on the building blocks of my application was outstanding. In particular, she worked tirelessly with me to craft and re-craft my career goals to align with the rest of my story. Given my varied interests and aspirations, this was easier said than done.

Susan's essay feedback was also critical to my success. She was hard on me -- like that teacher that you resent at times but ultimately gets the most out of you -- but was also caring and invested in my success. Working on applications every night after long days at the office is a grind, but Susan kept pushing me to iterate, improve, and ultimately submit my best work.

Her response to my being accepted into my target school - a top-10 program - was fitting: "WOO-HOO!!!" We were in it together from the start.

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I took a very rigorous approach in choosing the consultant I wanted to work with. I emailed most all the top firms, and few individual consultants that came recommended from my network or online reviews. In closing, I probably held about 8 informational interviews. I was fairly ready to go with another consultant, but my last call was with Angela, and I couldn’t be more grateful that was the case.

It’s easy to get sold on some other consultancies. I spoke to former admissions committee members at GSB and Wharton, and although I don’t doubt they are extremely competent, the value in an admissions consultant is derived less from their past experience and more from their ability to understand where you’ve come from, where you are now, where you want to go, and how to weave all that together in a personalized brand and story – in short, an ability to connect with you. Luckily, Angela is one of the best story tellers out there.

After five minutes of speaking to Angela it was clear that she was a foot more empathetic, understanding, and interested in my background and story than the other’s I had spoken to. But what most impressed me was the rigor with which she questioned my goals, my strategy, and my motives. You will speak to plenty of “yes people” during this process who tell you how great your profile is and how they can definitely get you into some top programs. Angela was clearly more interested in me as a candidate than having my business, as evidenced by the honest and direct manner with which Angela evaluated my application. This inspired me to work harder, have a greater understanding of myself, and not settle for an essay I wrote that was “good enough.” I can only speak for my experience with Angela, but I suspect she pushes, challenges, and is more direct with her clients than others, which is something I wanted. I suspect there are many admissions consultants who will let an average or good idea slip through to the final application – Angela is not one of those people.

After giving Angela an idea of my story and strategy for the applications, Angela made some crucial tweaks, additions, and omissions that were necessary to get the best information across with the limited word count we are all constricted to. As a disclaimer, none of these accredited firms are going to write your essays for you – that’s not how it works, or how it should work. As expected, these essays were written by me. But Angela’s thought process, guidance, insight, and challenging line of questioning pushed all my stories in a better, or different, direction that didn’t resemble my original drafts – in content, polish, effectiveness, and tone. One specific example stands out which highlights how connected Angela is to her client’s work. We had gone through about four drafts of an essay for a school that was one of my top choices. Although it was a relevant and insightful story, that may well have been good enough, Angela told me we had to scrap it and start over with a new idea. At first I was concerned that we were changing directions with three weeks until the deadline, but upon reflection I agreed - the essay just wasn’t great, and wasn’t going to ever be great because the experience I was writing about just didn’t mean that much to me. To this day I am grateful that Angela pushed me from “good to great,” as the next draft was infinitely more personal and relevant, and I was accepted into the school for which the essay was written.

Overall, I was very pleased with the results. I consider myself a “unique” candidate, as I worked a very different job right out of undergrad (it wasn’t even in the business field) and I had a GPA that was well below the average for all the schools I applied to (although I was a business major). A 730 on the GMAT probably helped my chances, but I definitely needed help in bringing my story together. I basically applied to all schools in the M7 except for MIT, Columbia, and Wharton, and then Stern as well. I got into Kellogg and Stern, and will be attending Kellogg in the fall.

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