The application process for MBA admissions to US B-schools is very different to college admission processes in my home country. To present the most compelling culture-adjusted narrative to the admissions committee, I felt I needed professional help and I chose Square One because of its methodical approach to the applications.

I couldn't have asked for a better team for my applications. With Kathryn's honest feedback, Haratiu's analysis of my career narrative and Matteo's essay strategy and iterative analysis, I was able to craft a successful application. What differentiates Square One from the rest is that the team is as invested as you are in your application - which also means that as an applicant you need to be open to feedback, often brutally honest ones, every step of the way.

If you are looking to create a strong application and are committed to putting in the time required to draft one, don't think twice and have your first call with Kathryn.

Read More

I am a reapplicant and can objectively say that SquareOne helped me to not only secure multiple admits to top schools, but also unexpected scholarships ($610k in total) from the quality of my applications. SquareOne hand held me through the complicated application process, and even made it fun and interesting, which allowed me to stay motivated during the busy and stressful period.

My journey started with my consultation call with Kathryn, which ran to 2 hours. Compared to the ~10 other consultants who I consulted with, Kathryn did not try to fit me into a proven template/story, made extra effort to understand my profile as an international applicant coming with different brand names from applicants with an Americanized background, and strongly believed that I was an M7 candidate, which proved to be accurate, despite discouragement/non-commitment from other consultants.

Kathryn remembered my details as she matched me with her most suitable experts/consultants to optimize the different components (career narrative - Luis, personal stories, interview prep - Lara, etc.) of my application. My personal consultant Amalia was sincere in getting to know me and letting my personality shine through my essays. She never took the easy way out, and I felt challenged to dig deeper and think broader, to produce quality essays sometimes with 40-50 iterations/essay, even though this meant that she would have to spend a lot more of her time on me, while going through a pregnancy and eventually child birth (congrats!!).

Despite having many other clients, Kathryn and Amalia always made me feel like a priority, be it from the timeliness of their edits to their generosity with their time, advice and care. The application process can be emotionally draining, and Kathryn and Amalia provided support above and beyond my application package - checking in after my interviews to constructively point out areas for improvement before my next go, checking in on results day to console me for being waitlisted, while celebrating my admits and scholarships, and sharing my excitement in picking schools! Everyone at SquareOne is as committed to my success as a supportive parent sending me off on my first day, excited for my future journey.

Read More

Square One Prep was fantastic throughout the entire process. I used the comprehensive package for 3 schools and was successfully admitted to a top 10 MBA program. Overall, I was very pleased with the process. From helping me structure my career narrative to helping me brainstorm essay topics, I always found Square One to be worth the money.

Kathryn was incredible. She is extremely professional, responsive, and diligent. She truly wants everyone she works with to succeed. I would highly recommend working with her. I worked with Chloe as my consultant. She was very helpful, particularly when it came to pushing me to come up with new and creative ideas for admissions essays.

My only critique of Square One would be the lack of materials/resources to fully evaluate different MBA programs. Of course, I was prepared to do the homework and evaluate schools independently; however, it would have been helpful if there were school-specific resources highlighting the pros and cons of each program to help expedite the evaluation process.

Overall, I would highly recommend working with Square One. They are a great service that is available 24/7 and pushes clients to succeed.

Read More

After reviewing my profile with ~10 consultants, I decided to work with Square one prep for my application process. Kathryn was the only one who went the extra mile and extended the initial consultation call by 30 mins (the original call was 30 mins). It showed that she truly cared about me and tried to understand my story and my goals and shared her insights and experience.

I had expert opinions throughout my application process. I spoke to three senior advisors before I decided to partner with Alexandro, one of my good decisions. He was very responsive and was able to jump on a call within a few hours’ notice. His ability to articulate and curate your thoughts on paper is commendable!

There were times when I was tight on deadlines, but Ale made sure that I stayed on top of them and put my best foot forward. I applied to four schools and received an offer from one (with a scholarship). I’m glad I ran into Square One and would highly recommend them to anyone who wants a personalized experience in crafting an MBA application.

Read More

My experience with Square One Prep was more than I could have asked for in pursuing my MBA aspirations. For me, the program struck an ideal balance between being collaborative and being challenging. I truly felt like I had the support of a team throughout, but I also appreciate the fact that I was pushed when I needed to be. A great example of this was the time spent in developing my career narrative. This process required a lot of introspection, research, and “soul-searching” so to speak, and once I realized exactly where I wanted to go (with the help of superstars like Luis), it made all the other parts of the application (i.e., essays) flow with ease. I also really appreciate how invested Kathryn was in my application journey, even though I imagine she was dealing with numerous other clients. Shout out to Garry for having my back and keeping me on the right path throughout all of this. Applying for an MBA is a long and stressful journey, but rest assured with Square One Prep you are in the best hands possible!

Read More

Months before I started my MBA application I journey, I arranged consultation calls with a few MBA admission consultants. However, one call stood out and that was my consultation with Kathryn. While the other calls I had only offered a very limited amount of time to discuss about my MBA aspirations, Kathryn took an extra mile and spent more than the allocated time despite her busy schedule to talk about my MBA aspirations. She even sent me an impressive working schedule with milestones of my MBA application journey, with clear timeline and school deadlines.

I then decided to go for the comprehensive package and was introduced to Jeannice, my advisor, and Luis, my assigned career-narrative expert. The MBA application process has been a very enriching journey for me. SOP shed some lights on the possible career paths for me, which was very helpful during the essay writing as well as the interview process. SOP also helped me to identify my reach and realistic schools, on top of helping me to craft my essays for the school of my choice. Jeannice has also kindly prepped me well for my interview, providing me with useful tips and actionable feedbacks.

Fast forward a few months, getting into an MBA program in the US is becoming a reality for me. I am accepted to a T20 MBA program (while being waitlisted at two other T15 MBA programs) and would like to express my deepest gratitude to Kathryn, Jeannice, and Luis for guiding me during my MBA application journey!

Read More

Looking backward to the massive work completed with the SOP Team, I strongly recommend partnering with SOP to navigate and successfully finalize the application process. SOP has developed a tailored, structured, rigorous, and methodical approach, which helps to stay focused, push the thinking, and manage the deadlines.

Working with the SOP Team, I matured a great sense of trust, crucial to producing the best application possible. Since the beginning, it was clear we were all working toward a common goal. In the beginning, Kathryn (The founder) dedicated plenty of time to discuss my background, strengths, weaknesses, and objective to help me build a unique application package. We discussed for more than 1 hour, despite the fact that the call was scheduled for 30 mins!

My day-to-day advisor was Matteo. We knew each other already before preparing the application. He has been my mentor for more than 3 years. In all the different steps of the process, Matteo was always ready to brainstorm in advance, sharing unique insights that helped me push the thinking and improve the quality of the application. While preparing the application package. Matteo was always ready to provide feedback and suggestions via phone and email, proactively providing ideas and new perspectives for me to expand and elaborate. Finally, Matteo was also fundamental during the interview process, with multiple mock interviews done together. Having known Matteo for 5 years now, I strongly suggest him as SOP advisor.

Luis (career narrative) was another important person in the journey who helped me refine my career goal and speech for the interviews.

Overall, I thank Kathryn, Matteo, and Luis for giving me their advice, insights, and support, along with the different process steps. I strongly recommend the SOP Team to anyone approaching the MBA application season.

Read More

Square One made my MBA application process seamless and enjoyable. The entire process is very structured and multilayered ensuring there will be no stones unturned by the time you hit submit.

I felt Kathryn and her team were very experienced and knew exactly what the school was looking for from an applicant. The kind of questions that I encountered during the career narrative session with Wendy helped me reflect deeply on what I want to do in future and how I would go about achieving it. My advisor, Kathleen was a pleasure to work with and made herself available whenever I needed help. I also felt that she genuinely cared about getting to know me which helped bring out the best stories from my life in the application. Kathleen also helped me with the mock interviews ensuring I aced the real interviews. I am very thankful for Kathryn's honest and ruthless feedback on my essays, which certainly set me up for success. I remember fully rewriting one of INSEAD's 7 essays but looking back, I understand why it was necessary.

Overall, I am very happy to have landed the INSEAD admit and had a great experience working with SOP. As for anyone seeking help with their application, I can tell with certainty that SOP will help you put together your best application forward

Read More

I started preparing for an MBA application in September 2021, which was a month away from my M7 target school's deadline. I knew I was on a tight schedule and therefore selecting the right advisor would be crucial. While I was doing the initial consultation calls among a few consultancies, Kathryn and the Square One Team immediately stood out. My initial call with Kathryn lasted more than one hour and she showed that she truly cared about me when she really tried to understand my story and my goals and shared her insights and experience. I was impressed by their multi-layer process which meant that I’d have expert opinion throughout every single step of my application, and their commitment to the applicant as there was no cap on hours of help that you could get from the team - both are rare at other consultancies.

After deciding to work with Square One, I was able to talk to three senior advisors before I decided to partner with Kathleen, a decision I couldn’t be happier with. Not only was she experienced and knowledgeable about what the schools are looking for, she was also very responsive and was able to jump on a call within a few hours’ notice. She really tried to know me as a person, and helped bring out my best self and curate a story that was both strong and authentic to me. She also provided invaluable advice on recommender selection and managing their timeline.

I was super stressed in meeting the school's deadline, but the Square One Team made sure that I stayed on top of my deadline (sometimes by doing multiple turns of essays a day) and provided emotional support to help me manage stress. I wouldn't have been admitted to my target school without their help and I couldn’t thank the entire Square One Team more!

I would definitely recommend partnering with Square One to make your dream come true!

Read More

I was first introduced to Square One Prep by a friend that had a positive experience with Kathryn a few years ago and encouraged me to reach out. Initially I was a bit hesitant to engage an advisor for my MBA applications, however, after an enlightening intro call and a few follow up emails, I was convinced Kathryn and her team were the right choice for me. Their structured approach to building my profile and narrative paired with their profound knowledge of what is most important for the admissions departments of my target MBA programs helped ensure I highlighted the most impactful activities for each application. The SOP team was also always available to answer questions or advise on any topic, which really helped remove much of the anxiety of the application process. With their help I was accepted at my top choice program, even though I had a below average GPA and GMAT score. I can’t recommend them enough!

Read More