Square One Prep Admissions Consulting Reviews

After I finished my GMAT, I started the search for an admission consultant. I had no idea about the MBA process and knew no one who had been through this process to talk to. I first called another consulting firm. I was shocked when I had my first call with them - within 10 minutes of listening to my story, the person I spoke to suggested that I not apply for an MBA this year at all. As I was from a tech background with limited experience, the lady also strongly discouraged me from applying to any of the top 30 schools. Not one to give up - I pored over online reviews and found Square One Prep. What struck me first about Square One was that a lot of people had talked about how their first call with Kathryn was so different from their calls with other consultants. 

Not sure if I would be turned away, I set up a call with Kathryn. And it was nothing like I imagined - she listened patiently to my story. She showed genuine interest in me as a person beyond just my work profile and she was also confident that I should apply this year.  The best advice she gave me when I asked her doubtfully if I should apply to top schools was that I would never know if I didn't try. She spent over 2 hours talking to me to find out details about my story and encouraging me. 

At the end of the call, I was sure that choosing Square One was the right choice for me. Kathryn sent me the profiles of all the advisors I could work with and set up calls with 3 of the advisors whom I chose. After talking to all 3 of them, I decided to work with Melissa. She immediately connected and saw the story from my perspective. Right in that first call itself, she offered many suggestions to help me better distill my story.

We started out with the resume. With Melissa's insights and feedback, the engineer's resume I started out with slowly transformed. The technical jargon was gone - instead the resume very simply and clearly conveyed all the achievements and extracurriculars.  Once we had the resume nailed down - we went through my goals, working with Kathryn to come up with a strong career vision that aligned with my interest in switching to an entirely different industry. I had an idea about where I wanted to be but was unclear about the specific short and long term goals. Melissa and Kathryn gave a lot of industry specific insights and pointers to help me think through my goals. As for the essays, Melissa ensured that I was presenting the best points of my story relevant to each school. I lost track of the rewrites - we would go through as many drafts as it took me to nail the essay. One particular incident that comes to mind is the video essay we did for a school. Melissa went out of her way to share creative insights about lighting, camera set up, props and visuals. Her suggestions were invaluable - although this was the first time I was shooting a video, we had a perfect video ready to go in 3 days! At each step of this process, Kathryn reviewed all the final material and provided her suggestions for each school. It was wonderful to get valuable insights from 2 amazingly experienced people! Hence, when I hit the submit for each school, I was confident that this was the best I could put forward. 

Whether it was through the mock interviews and feedback or the encouraging emails, Melissa was with me through the entire process. What really touched me was the positivity she had - even when I received rejects she encouraged me to hold on till the end. Both Melissa and Kathryn were really invested in seeing me succeed more than anything - that really made a big difference! I ended up getting into a top 10 MBA program. This was beyond what I had expected! I am sure that I couldn't have done it without Melissa and Kathryn. I would strongly recommend their consulting services! 

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I started the MBA application process with little to no idea about my candidacy, what to write on essays, who I was going to ask for recommendations and what ways to interact with schools. I called several admission consulting firms for consultations, and felt each one was trying to discourage me from applying. They did nothing more than simply offer pre-packaged talking points and I did not see the value they would be adding. I was a younger applicant, and did not have a large network of friends or colleagues I could turn to for guidance.

That is when I came across Kathryn and Sunny at SOP.

They immediately worked to become deeply involved in my story, and helped personalize my approach to applying to business schools. They guided me from day one on how to approach my recommenders, how to interact with schools, how to craft a strong vision for my career and how to select topics for my essays that would set me apart. The reality with the business school application process is that it is extremely tiresome, long and complicated. SOP made sure I was extremely informed and knowledgeable about every step of the process, and they became my biggest support system while applying. My consultant, Sunny, knew my story with a ton of detail, and I felt she cared as much about met getting into a top business school as I did myself. I worked with them comprehensively on only one school - the toughest to get into (Stanford). But everything I learned in my conversations with Sunny proved critical in every essay, LOR, and each interview at all my other schools. I got into several: Haas, Ross, and Tuck. I couldn't be happier. I was very fortunate to find SOP, and highly recommend them to anyone who wants to succeed with this complicated process.

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"I am a reapplicant. A few months after I received rejection letters, I still did not know how should I tackle my next applications. I contacted Square One Prep and a few other admission consultants to help me figure things out. Kathryn, SOP’s founder, responded to me right after I submitted the free consultation form on SOP’s website. It was the most insightful talk by far, compared to those with other consultants. Her advise during the free consultation was far beyond my expectations. She addressed all my concerns, told me how to address other concerns I'd not thought of, and made me confident to apply to business schools again. But they were expensive so I didn't move forward with them even though I wanted to.

Then Kathryn reached out to me a month later and told me that her firm was doing a Three Schools free competition - that it was tailored for people just like me who deserve the best shot at getting into a top school but may not have the money to pay for their level of service. I applied (was a very easy app) and was stunned when I was selected as one of the three winners.
We began with an agreement on our framework, schedule and school selection. Suyash was my advisor. He is also a top school MBA alumni , like Kathryn, so he is very knowledgeable about the process. He pushed me to draw a clear picture of my goals, which is one of the most important pieces in an application. In fact, he, Kathryn and I worked together on defining my career vision. We then went through numerous drafts of my resume and then essays for each school. Throughout the process, he pushed me to think more deeply about myself and turned that into content in the application. Kathryn also followed up the application and directly gave her comments on all the final works. As an international applicant, I also needed a lot of work to prepare for my business school interview. Suyash helped pointing out flaws and gave comments that greatly benefitted my interview prep. I had far more confidence in my application this year, compared to last year. As a result, I am going to my dream school Ross this fall.

I encouraged everyone who is seeking help from an admission consultant to contact SOP. Thank you SOP, Kathryn and Suyash for all the work. I couldn’t have done it without you."

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“Sorry but top 10 schools are out of your league” – this what I heard every time I talked to an admission consultant until I found Square One Prep.

From the beginning I knew I would need some help with my applications. First, I have never written any essay in my life; the education system in my country was very focused on exams and tests rather than essays. Second, my extra curriculums where rather weak as students clubs did not exist at my university. Finally, I am not acquainted with any MBA alumnus or alumna meaning that I would be totally alone going through the whole process.

For some months I had a list of my top 3 dream schools on my mind – Berkeley, MIT and INSEAD. Before I chose SOP I talked with at least five different admission consultant companies including those big ones. They all told me that with my profile (an engineer, week extra curriculum, working in a startup) there is not a slightest chance getting into any of above mentioned schools. They were happy to work with me but if I choose schools from the top 30. Because I am not the youngest candidate I believed that only a top school will get me closer to my goals. Kathryn was the first and only person who really believed in me although she acknowledged that it would not be an easy ride.

I was offered four consultants to choose from, but after talking with Kunal, I felt chemistry between us. I was sure that with him I can’t fail! He was very devoted – on a few occasions he called me at midnight his time, due to time difference. When many other consultancy companies offer you up to four reviews of an essay Kunal went thru some of my papers over ten times. He was not only an advisor but also a mentor for me and he was as much involved into the whole application process as I was.

Honestly, I never thought I would have a privilege of choosing between Berkeley and MIT. Thanks to Kunal, Kathryn and Square One Prep team I was admitted to both of them.

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When I started my MBA application journey, I was cognizant of the glaring weaknesses in my profile – my sub-3.00 GPA and seemingly disjointed work experience (experience in ~3 industries). I reached out to different consulting firms and had intro calls with a couple of senior consultants. My biggest observation is that the other firms are quick to lump you into a bucket based on your weaknesses. In my case, I was immediately advised at the start of our calls to aim for lower schools because of my background, without even giving me a chance to talk about my story.

Enter SOP – upon my intro call with Kathryn, I was very impressed by the fact that she gave me a chance to talk about my past experiences and why I wanted to do an MBA, before giving her expert assessment. She was very honest in telling me that certain schools may be a far “reach” for someone with my profile, but that my story had enough substance in it to get into some of the top programs I had selected. We identified a consultant (Joan) I would be comfortable working with, and mapped out a time table for the whole process. I had decided to engage their services quite late (a month before my first deadline), so I’m thankful their turnaround was quite fast. From fine-tuning my story (over 10 edits per essay!), to selecting my recommenders, identifying which achievements to disclose in my resume, and prepping for my interview, Joan and Kathryn made sure I included things that will help tell my story, and left out those that didn’t. All the hard work paid off. I got into my no. 1 choice, an M7 school, with a generous fellowship to boot!

I can’t recommend SOP highly enough. If you’re looking for a partner who will be as driven as you are to get into your dream program, who will look beyond the numbers and understand your personal motivations, reach out to SOP and get on an intro call with them. You won’t regret it!

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Reaching out to Square One Prep was without a doubt the best decision I made during my long and challenging MBA application journey.

I reached out to Kathryn months before I was ready to apply (I was actually still preparing for the gmat).She had helped a friend succeed the prior year, so she came highly recommended and didn't disappoint. She made herself available right away for a call , I told her that my dream school was Wharton and that I needed help. She honestly told me that I needed to improve my gmat score and even provided me with gmat prep tips!
I was not even committed to Square One Prep yet, but Kathryn freely offered advice and did check-up calls with fme or months. Once I got a decent score, the time to put my application together arrived, and I can tell you, Kathryn and Crystal were as committed as I was throughout the whole process. always available , rooting for me and helping me every step of the way. Without them I never would have crafted a career narrative that had such thoughtfulness, ambition, and honesty. I knew what I wanted to do generally. but I didn't know how to materialize my goals to help my home country using my background skills. With Kathryn and Crystal's help, I came up with the perfect solution. They pushed me to really dig deeper and introspect, not just with my narrative but with all aspects of my application.

When I got the interview invite , Kathryn and Crystal were there up until the night before the interview to tell me that Icould do it and help me prepare.

Today , i have been admitted to my dream school , Wharton-Lauder !!
It simply would not have happened without Square One Prep.

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I had a great experience working with Square One Prep. Square One stood out during my search for an admissions consultant as one of the only firms that offered real, meaningful feedback on my initial consultation calls. Kathryn and Donna went far beyond the superficial sales pitch offered by most firms and really took the time to learn about my background and my goals. I appreciated how straightforward they were and that they were willing to challenge my thinking about the MBA process.

Once I committed to partnering with Square One, it was clear that they were totally invested in my success. Kathryn built a comprehensive schedule for all of the schools that I was applying to, even those that I wasn’t partnering with Square One on. Donna and Kathryn really went the extra mile when building my career narrative. I had a vague notion of where I wanted to go with an MBA, but it was clear after a call with them that I hadn’t totally thought through my goals. With their feedback and coaching, I was able to build and communicate a compelling career narrative and convincingly articulate my goals.

I partnered with Square One on applications to Booth and Sloan, two schools with very open-ended essays. Donna did an excellent job of reining me in and getting me to focus on the approaches that were most likely to be successful. She was incredibly patient as we went through countless drafts until the final product was in great shape.

I also found interview prep to be very helpful. I thought that my experience interviewing for jobs in the past would be sufficient to be successful. My mock interview proved that this was not the case. I totally bombed my mock and struggled with even the most basic business school interview questions. Donna was again very patient and coached me through the issues that we had identified. By the time the real interviews came around, I was confident and prepared.

Ultimately, I was accepted to both Booth and Sloan with fellowships. I’m ecstatic with the outcome and very thankful for all of the support that Square One Prep offered. Kathryn and Donna were both instrumental in the success of my applications and made the process as low stress as possible. The only regret that I have is that I didn’t partner with them on more of my applications!

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Square One Prep is simply the top admissions consulting firm in the business today. Originally referred by a former client of Square One Prep who was admitted to a top business school, I got to know Kathryn through multiple points of contact over hours of conversation that took place over years before I finally became a client. I am happy to say that throughout my interactions with Kathryn, I never once felt as if I was in the wrong hands given her truly limitless creative powers and unmatched attention to detail. At every stage in the process - narrative formation, resume preparation, essay crafting, and mock interviewing - I was completely blown away by the methodical approach she used to prepare me in the best possible way for success. All of our hard work paid off in the end, as I was admitted into multiple top-ranked schools as an unconventional, international applicant with more than a few blemishes on my profile, having ultimately accepted an offer at an M7 program. I would never have had the confidence to make it over the finish line without the coaching and mentoring of Kathryn, and will be forever grateful to her and Square One Prep for helping me achieve this major milestone objective in my life and career.

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Kathryn and her team were extremely helpful in setting up a framework for me to be successful in the MBA application process. As someone with a fairly generic profile, Square One worked with me to develop my story and create a resume and essays that allowed my strengths and accomplishments to shine and set me apart from other applicants. The team at Square One believed in me and pushed me to apply to schools I never thought I could get in to. There is a lot of ambiguity in the application process, but Square One’s deep knowledge of MBA admissions helped me feel confident in the work I was creating. Their help in school selection was paramount, as I was accepted in multiple top programs programs, including one with a scholarship!

I couldn’t imagine going through this process without Square One!

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Square One Prep - One thing I like about them is the freedom of choice they would allow their candidates to think about school fit and career narratives.

From the start of the conversation either with Kathryn or with Dione, they were friendly, open-minded, collaborative and of a helping nature. They took that extra effort to understand my story and gave me suggestions.

While working with Dione, I always felt that personal touch to my application and clear response to my queries. It was evident that she was clearly thinking from my perspective. She took that extra effort to give me suggestions that would increase my overall chances of succeeding not only with the application process but in the real world, in my career.

GMAT - This is one factor on which the overall process is heavily dependent. It is in the candidate's remit to improve the score. I had the support I needed for my preparation, and I also hired a personal trainer based on Square One Prep's timely suggestion which allowed me to reach my target score on time.

School Selection - Initially my ambitions or goals were very high, and my ask was not realistic. Now, when I look back I can realise the patience both Dione and Kathryn had to get on calls with me to educate me at my pace about what schools were good fits and what schools were not as well as why. I was happy to change my school selection as we worked to build the narrative and as Square One learned more about my background.

Timely Response: Across the overall process, Dione put extra hours in to understand my narrative. She would respond to my emails quickly and always got work back to me within 24 hours. She would drive and urge me to save time and work on my application. I would have lost time and may have missed my application deadlines otherwise.

Admitted to Cornell - Finally, Dione was and is still in touch with me. . Her timely advice, her accurate reflection of my application, her suggestions and feedback were above and beyond all that I could expect as part of the services.

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