I could not recommend Square One more. I am so grateful for all their incredible work with me, especially under my time constraints given I didn’t reach out until December and needed to apply by the beginning of January! I didn’t have a proper strategy and I wasn’t aware of how much was needed to put together a strong application, I just needed a scholarship from USC or UCLA! Horatiu helped me define my story and gave my whole application a focus which I relied upon throughout the entire application process. Anna was an absolute pleasure to work, so experienced and personable, and Kathryn’s incredible expert opinion was always available.

As a result, we put four applications together in one month. I received a full scholarship to Emory with a USD 30,000 stipend and a 60% scholarship to my first choice school, USC.

They all bent over backwards to help me make this happen and keep me on track. I am so incredibly grateful for the whole team and I am so excited to start the next chapter of my life in July!

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Square One Prep played a crucial role in guiding me through my business school applications. Despite starting the process late in the application cycle and having a busy work schedule, the team at SOP diligently checked in with me and ensured that I stayed on track to complete my applications on time. Their holistic approach, which involved crafting a compelling career narrative, providing multiple expert reviews of my essays, and offering interview preparation, greatly contributed to my acceptance into one of my preferred schools. I wholeheartedly recommend SOP to anyone aspiring to gain admission to the world's top business schools.

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Kathryn and her team played a pivotal role in my journey, surpassing their roles as mere consultants by assuming the roles of career and life coaches. Their guidance and support were instrumental in refining my professional vision, gaining clarity on my motivations for pursuing an MBA, and comprehending the distinct attributes of the schools to which I wanted to apply. They tirelessly motivated me to iterate perfect versions of my essays and were available every minute in the last few weeks near deadlines. Overall, great experience, would recommend to anyone! They don't demotivate you to not apply to dream schools but help you prepare the best version of yourself for it.

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I first started my MBA application journey in October 2022 and decided to use admission consulting services. The hardest decision was to choose what company’s services I would use. Of course, my instinct told me to look at the most reviewed companies in GMAT Club. After trying free consultation services from the top 5 most reviewed admission consulting services, one company stood out: Square One Prep (S1P).

When you book a free 30-minute consultation, your expectation should be low: you could probably meet with a client rep, with an engagement manager, or, if you’re lucky, with the company’s founder, but you will feel rushed since it’s only 30 minutes. But with Square One Prep, you meet Kathryn. Yes, she is the founder of S1P, but to only say you meet the founder is not the best way to put it. You meet Kathryn, period. After that, you will feel that your time with Kathryn should not be free.

When you meet Kathryn, you should not worry about the 30 minutes. If she believes she can help you, she will invest her time in you by delving deep into your stories to find your genuine aspiration in seeking MBA. Then, she will recommend you the best of her squad of advisors to work with you and let you meet with each of her recommended advisors for a 20-minute intro call. In my experience with S1P, I talked with Kathryn for more than one hour and did three 20-minute intro calls with three different advisors before choosing Wilson. These all proceeded before I made a single penny of transactions—you see, they invest in you before they even begin.

Your advisor—mine is Wilson—will then assess your MBA candidacy, and Kathryn will provide you with her recommendation of business schools that suit your profile. But, as you might already read in other reviews, Kathryn will not talk you out of the school of your choice. She will give you a well-informed risk level for each school you plan to apply to. I chose INSEAD and Haas, and, given my profile, Kathryn gave these schools “Super Reach” risk level, just one level below “Out of Reach”. Such a risk level means that I will have a tough time and might need some luck to get into these schools. But even after that assessment, Kathryn and Wilson continued to help me to get to the school of my choice when I decided to take the risk.

After you decide on the schools of your choice, you begin to work on the school’s application with S1P and therefore start a deep, soul-searching experience. Wilson tirelessly helped me dig deep into my course of life and career to help me find meaningful stories for the essays. Horatiu helped me build upon my work experience a narrative of my future career that was convincingly impactful. And finally, Kathryn gave her final touch and approval while she oversaw all the other S1P clients’ essays, ensuring that my application was unique among others and would catch Adcom’s attention.

From where I come from, the cost of admission consulting services is very expensive. But If I were to repeat my MBA application, I would—again and again—choose S1P to help me. The cost seems to set me back just a little, given S1P’s excellent guidance and the usefulness of the content material they build for me. Other than applying to INSEAD and Haas, I use the S1P-built essay content to apply to not only four other schools but also several scholarship programs—of course, with few modifications.

It feels almost irrelevant to discuss which schools you want to apply to or get into with the S1P’s help because I believe S1P will work hard to help you as if all the schools you apply to were top, hard-to-get-into schools. Frankly, though, I never expected to get admitted to the schools I worked with S1P since Kathryn labeled these schools “Super Reach” for me. But in the end, I got admitted to INSEAD from the waitlist, an unthinkable reality for me had I not worked with S1P.

After the MBA application journey, I realized that what is special about S1P is that Kathryn runs the company with her heart and soul. Sometimes I wonder how this world would be if every business were run with Kathryn’s principles. Please look at her replies here on the GMAT Club admission consulting review page, her bio on the S1P website, and her profile on LinkedIn. When reading those, you might only see words. But when working with S1P, you’ll see that Kathryn did not just write words.

Overall, if I’m allowed to give you an analogy, the entire MBA application journey with S1P is akin to creating a movie where Kathryn is the executive producer, Horatiu is the screenplay writer, Wilson is the director, and you, the applicant, are the starring, debuting actor. S1P will shoot a movie for each school of your choice and will work as hard as they can to make you--the actor--look great. Kathryn says, “Our focus isn’t client volume or revenue; it’s you,” Indeed, she means it: it’s you, the actor, that matters.

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As an Indian male applicant, who by MBA standards was likely on the older side, I knew the odds of cracking my dream schools were stacked against me. Right from my initial screening call with Kathryn, Square One Prep felt different than other admission consulting companies. I wasn’t nudged to aim lower or outright told that I am being “unrealistic”. It was a refreshing change to end my initial screening call with a consultant without feeling dejected (or questioning whether applying to my dream school is even worth it).
My experience of working with the Square One Prep team was phenomenal. I appreciated the candid feedback I received at each step of the way. While I felt a bit frustrated at times about the second and the third (and in some instances fourth) level of questioning, it’s that questioning that helped me dig deep and answer questions with genuine authenticity. Going through the process of taking a step back and reflecting on what truly matters to me, I learned so much about myself. I’d be amiss if I do not mention my consultant, Kelsey Wise, who was just the best person to work with. Her constant support, guidance, and most importantly, encouragement played an integral role in my application process.
When I decided to choose the “risky” strategy of applying to all reach and lottery schools, Square One provided me with an honest assessment of what my approach entailed. Of the 6 schools I applied to in Round 1, I got interviewed by 4 of them - HBS, MIT Sloan, Booth, and Yale SOM. Having gone through the process of self-introspection throughout the application process (with guidance from Kathryn and Kelsey), preparing for my interviews did not feel daunting. I was able to convert all 4 interviews into acceptance offers. In fact, I received substantial merit scholarships from Booth and Yale (given my background and the competition pool, this was not even in the realm of possibilities in my wildest imagination).
As I gear up to attend my dream b-school, Harvard Business School, in the fall, I cannot thank the Square One Prep team enough to help my dream become a reality. If you are considering getting a consultant for your application process, look no further than Square One Prep – the team will go out of its way to ensure that you are putting your best foot forward!

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I am incredibly happy to have worked on my applications with Square One Prep. Thanks to them I am now headed to HBS in August. Every penny spent was worth it. Before I started my applications, I was quite exhausted from full-time work and GMAT prep, and I had doubts about the strength of my profile. I needed someone who could give me a reality check and clearly outline what needs to happen to put my best foot forward. Despite talking to several consultants, I was immediately drawn to SOP following my call with Kathryn because of her candidness, personal touch, and genuine interest in my background. My team consisted of Anna Tsilidou (primary advisor), Kathryn Lucas (senior leader), Cristina Castellano (project manager), and Horatiu Stefan (career narrative expert). I am forever thankful to every person on my team and I am particularly grateful that I worked with Anna as my primary advisor. She is a total superstar - confident, energetic, creative, and incredibly smart. I learned so much from her. She is extremely hard working and will demand absolute excellence from you. If you're lucky enough to work with Anna, you're in good hands (as long as you're ready to work hard)!!
1) Personal support - this is technically not something you even pay for but the team does an outstanding job in supporting you personally. In my case, I was hesitant in my decision-making and lacked strong self-belief. But the team consistently encouraged me and gave me the confidence to push myself hard. In fact, I didn't plan to apply to Harvard because I was pessimistic about the outcome. Luckily for me, the team (and especially Anna!!) convinced me that Harvard was absolutely worth a shot and I went for it. The second aspect of personal support is accountability and project management. The team treats the application process extremely seriously and recognizes that, in order to deliver a strong application, you must start early and work regularly. Cristina and Anna would regularly check in on my progress, communicate deadlines, and help resolve problems along the way. Expect to be reprimanded if you are not meeting key dates. The outcome matters to the team just as much as it does to you, so they ensure you stay on track.
2) Responsiveness - A+++ the team is a rockstar on this. Questions/concerns/general thoughts are answered or escalated quickly and immediately.
3) Application support - after all the work with SOP, everything from my resume to essays to interviewing abilities was of exceptional quality. As an engineering who had gotten used to technical writing, I was amazed at how much better my writing could be once Anna started pointing out flaws in sentence structure, word choice, meaning, redundancy, and so much more. My resume also got an amazing, much-needed transformation. Not only did I myself learn a lot but I also ended up putting together an incredibly strong application package. The results prove it: out of the 6 schools I applied to, I received 6 interview invites. The work didn't stop at the interview stage; the team set me up for success there as well. Doing several mock interview with Anna helped me hone in on my flaws and shake off the nerves before the big day. If you put in the work and trust the team's guidance and expertise, you will finish incredibly proud of all your documents.
4) Career narrative - I didn't have a clear vision of my business school goals, so doing this work early paid major dividends throughout the application process. The team makes you start thinking about your professional interests/ambitions and putting it all on paper. Each interest/ambition is then pressure-tested in the context of your background until you settle on one and then you continuously research and refine it until you eventually put it to the test with a detailed review from Kathryn. I'd even say that you overprepare on this aspect to the point that a question about your career goals will no longer seem intimidating, no matter if the question is in an essay or an interview. Horatiu was the perfect person to guide me on this because he is patient, thoughtful and knowledgeable.

If you're looking for a team that is dedicated, structured, responsive, well-versed in business school applications, and heavily invested in your success, then you can't go wrong with SOP. Best of luck!

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Before starting my MBA application journey, I basically had no idea what was involved in the
application process, and now having gone through this process, I am 100% convinced that I
would have not been successful without Square One Prep's help. Kathryn, Darcy, and the entire
team were right next to me on every step of the way. Their expertise and experience are truly
next level. Not only did they guide me and help me, but they actually pushed me to create
better applications. Additionally, the SOP portal/calendar is a phenomenal tool to help keep
track of all the deliverables and forecast how to best allocate your time. The resources available
to you are fantastic. If you are thinking about starting the MBA application, you *have* to do it
with SOP.

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I was referred to Square One by a friend pursuing his MBA at Wharton, and working with Kathryn and Allison was pivotal in me securing admission offers and scholarships from Booth, Kellogg, and Stern Business Schools.
From our very first interaction, the energy and meticulousness that Kathryn and Allison brought to the admissions process amazed me. I initially had no idea what I wanted to do with my MBA, but Horatiu and Allison helped me explore careers that interested me and then craft a narrative based on it. I also had no practice in writing for almost a decade so I needed a lot of hand holding that Allison graciously offered. By the end, I was able to independently write my essays that got me an interview from the Wharton EMBA program.
In the middle of my application process, I had a family issue followed by my own illness, which prevented me from working on my applications. Throughout the challenges, the team was always empathetic and supportive of me that helped me get back on my feet successfully.
I also found the application process in itself to be incredibly enlightening. The deep self-reflections that Allison and Kathryn guided me through while writing my essays helped me develop a clarity of purpose and confidence in my own abilities. It has helped me take better charge of my career and perform outstandingly well in my current role.
Square One truly feels like a family that helped me improve continually and I highly recommend working with them.

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As a white accountant coming from the banking industry with GRE scores that were not in the range that I wanted, I knew getting into a top business school would be competitive. I talked to three business school consultants, two of whom simply told me that my target schools would not be achievable with my scores and background. One of them said that they would not even partner with me because they did not think I would be a success. In addition, neither of those other consultants understood anything about how my GRE scores compared to those of students at my target schools. Luckily, I talked to Kathryn at Square One Prep. She was willing to spend an hour with me on our introductory call to address all my questions and concerns. She was the only consultant that understood how my GRE scores compared to those of students at my target schools, and she had the hard data to back it up. She was honest with me that the process of applying to my target schools would be hard work, but she instilled in me the confidence that I could succeed. She knew because she had worked with candidates like me and had also led those applicants to success. Kelsey, my personal consultant at Square One Prep, was immensely helpful throughout the process. She was patient yet responsive, and whenever I needed to work with her on something urgently, she always made the time to be able to discuss the issue at hand. She had a strong eye for detail and her creativity and perspective was immensely helpful in empowering me to craft my story so that I could convey it best in my applications. I ultimately was accepted to a top 10 school along with scholarships to two other top 25 schools. I could not be happier with my results, and I am looking forward to continuing my education to build my dream career!

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I worked with SOP for Round 1 applications (Fall 2023 intake), on a Premium package for 1 school. I thought Allison, Kathryn, and Horatiu were good partners and found their process and advice very helpful for managing the various parts of the application, especially my recommenders. I was admitted to the M7 school we worked on together, and much of the work we did together helped me get 2 other offers (T15) and a waitlist (T10) in R1. I also applied to 2 more M7s in R2 (HSW), and received one invitation to interview (TBD on the remaining school).

Things that were great:

1. SOP's work on my resume was excellent. I would have not considered crafting my resume the way we did together (b-school resumes are very different from professional resumes), and the upfront work I did with SOP carried through to all my applications across rounds 1 and 2. As a corollary, the discovery call and worksheets that I completed with my consultant were helpful both for self reflection and for getting specific advice/input from my consultant throughout the process.

2. I loved SOP's recommendation management process. Again, I wouldn't have thought to organize the process in the way SOP did, and it saved me and my recommenders a lot of time and hassle. Both my recommenders had to write letters for 6 schools, some of which had no overlap at all, but SOP's structure made it easy to navigate and feel confident about what my recommenders were submitting.

3. The career narrative work was excellent. We did this very early in our process, and at the time I didn't necessarily view this as a very important exercise. But having a detailed, data driven career plan before I even started writing my first essays made it very easy for me to answer all career related questions in applications and interviews throughout the application cycle.

Areas for improvement:

1. Iterating on written work was sometimes a struggle - I personally work better with live feedback and discussing why something works/something doesn't work, but I typically received feedback as track changes in my word doc. As a result, I sometimes received edits that changed my intended meaning, and the back and forth slowed us down. I would've preferred comments and actionable advice over inline edits, which would've allowed me to absorb the feedback and implement it in my own way. Along the same lines, I wish we'd spent more time brainstorming on essays before starting to write - I work better that way.

2. SOP's document library is massive, but difficult to navigate. I would've liked to have a smaller selection of curated essay/resume samples, or at least to have gotten a few relevant highlights for me instead of trying to skim through 50-70 files by myself.

I recommend SOP, and specifically applaud them for their methodical approach to applications. I think applicants who have some familiarity with the MBA application process, and already have a somewhat strong POV about their candidacy, stand to benefit the most from working with Allison and Kathryn. Best of luck on your B-school application journey!

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