I cannot recommend Square One highly enough! The Square One team coached me through every aspect of the application from essay ideation through execution. Their team based approach meant that I received multiple opinions on each component of my application, ensuring that it was as strong as possible. As a result, I was accepted to both GSB and HBS. Kathryn, Sooky, and Wendy were incredible partners throughout the process and made what otherwise could have been a tedious process fun and engaging. Definitely use Square One if want to make sure the best version of yourself comes through on paper!

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My experience with Square One Prep was amazing from start to finish. From the initial conversation with Kathryn, I could tell the team truly cared about helping candidates achieve their business school dreams and that initial feeling never waivered throughout my time working with Kathryn, Kelsey (Advisor), Wendy and Cristina. The team went above and beyond to help me develop my post-MBA goals into a compelling career narrative, compose the most powerful essays while never drowning out my voice and prepare me for subsequent interviews. The business school application process can be incredibly stressful at times and the Square One Prep team helped to keep me on track at during the most difficult parts of the process. I am especially grateful of Kelsey’s help in this regard – she truly made this journey feel like a partnership and she was with me every step of the way to make sure the applications I turned in were the absolute best.

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Square One Prep is unlike any other admissions service. There is immense value in having an entire team help you with your application. A career narrative coach worked with me to help me define my career vision and really pushed me to hone and improve both my ideas for next steps and the ways in which I articulated them. Then, my advisor's responsive, dedicated expertise, combined with Kathryn's final approval and input on all of my application materials, set me up to have a bulletproof application. I am so so thrilled with my school acceptance results and my scholarship packages and I have the incredible SQ1 team to thank for it.

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GRE: 319

Accepted schools: Columbia, Stern, Anderson, Mcdonough (60K Stipend).

Waitlisted schools: Sloan and Berkeley. I can post an update once I finalise the process.

I was first introduced to Square One Prep by a friend that had a positive experience with Kathryn and recommended that I reach out. I honestly had no idea at the time that people actually used advisors for MBA applications. I had a first call with Kathryn, without having much idea of what the actual process for MBA applications was as I had been focusing on preparing for the GRE. The MBA application process is really demanding and stressful given that you have to juggle it with a full-time job and most likely with standardized test preparation as well (in my particular case). Hands down I can say that it really helps to have an advisor that can be there every step of the way to guide you. Square One is very structured, they help you from creating your CV to navigating the waitlist in the later stages. Their structure and expertise facilitate your life a great deal as an applicant. Throughout the entire process I have had a team of SOP giving me advice and giving me guidance. I consider myself a very demanding client, and the SOP team (Kathryn, Kathleen, Cristina, and Wendy) helped me navigate everything smoothly. There were several times when I wanted to give up on the GRE and Kathryn motivated me to keep going. A special thanks to Kathleen and Cristina as well who answered all of my questions and were an incredible resource! I was really happy when I was accepted to Columbia, Stern, Anderson, and McDonough (with a 60K Stipend)!

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From the first call, Kathryn and the Square One team were so involved and committed to helping me meet my MBA goals. Wendy helped me find my direction, Cristina helped me keep on track, Kathryn was my sounding board and Anna (advisor) helped me craft my story. I really could not have done as well by myself and I’m so glad that I found this team! Square One went above and beyond, because they not only helped me with the application process, but they also helped me improve my self-confidence. Anna especially helped me with this, and I know that I gained a friend through the process. Thanks so much team!

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Working with the Square One Prep team has been without a single doubt the best decision I could make when choosing a partner to guide me through the MBA application process. I talked with 5 different MBA prep companies when making the decision, and since my first call with Kathryn, I knew they were the perfect partner! In my first call with them, we had an amazing conversation and they really took the time to get to know me as a person and beyond the typical information that MBA prep companies want to know (GMAT score, GPA, work experience, etc.). The advisor I worked with thoroughly guided me through each step of what can be a daunting and intimidating MBA application process, helping me define a very detailed and genuine career narrative, and working with me to nail down every component of the application. Her guidance with the essays was unparalleled, helping me think through the structure of the essays and challenging me to always put together the best possible version of my answers. She was always available and ready to hop on a call and brainstorm ideas or clarify doubts, which was truly a blessing given my hectic and unpredictable work schedule. I would 1000% recommend to anyone working with the Square One Prep team to ace the MBA application process!

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When I contacted Square One, I didn’t think I had what it takes to get into business school. But admissions firms offer free consults so I spoke to some to confirm my suspicion. All of them did, expect Kathryn. My call with her was different. Kathryn asked me questions other firms didn’t. For example, she was the only admissions advisor to ask me WHY my GPA as what it was, and then ask more questions as I probably didn’t give a very clear answer at first because I was embarrassed and shy. My GPA was terrible, a 2.48/4.00. I also left college after two years with a sub 1.00 GPA and had just graduated in May 2021 at age 34. Here too, she asked my WHY my path was what it was. She didn’t just tell me that my GPA and path were problems. Other firms did. They did not talk to me. They talked at me. Kathryn talked to me for close to 2 hours, not just the prescribed 30. She told me that she believed in me and would help me believe in myself.

What I gained from working with Kathryn – how I think about my past and my future, how I can make the most of business school, is invaluable.

She built a schedule for us to follow so I’d never worry about time. She understood that I am busy leading two companies. We did everything as a team. I didn’t know she’d help me as much as she did with all the application components.

In our first week, she spent 10 hours on calls with me so she could build my first draft resume, which was a huge help as I had never built a resume – I’d worked at my family company and then done entrepreneurial things, so there was no need. We then made it stronger as a team, and I was stunned by it by the time we were done. I actually began to believe in myself, just as she said I would.

The attention Kathryn brought to helping me build a strong resume she also brought to helping me build strong essays. I kept trying to sell and brand myself, and so I wrote a lot of bad essays. Some of her edits of my work were more like rewrites except that they somehow retained my voice. Kathryn steered me toward sharing things I couldn’t believe business schools would want to know about me. She connected with my heart. Just like with my resume, as I completed essays I began to feel more optimistic.

Kathryn brought the same attention to my career path work, which we did with Horatio who was my career lead. The work I did with him became even stronger once Kathryn helped me mold my career path into a goals essay. Horatiu was great though. He was patient as I had no idea how specific I needed to be, I thought I could just say that I want to keep growing my business. He asked me a lot of questions to ensure I knew what to research in order to build a strong career vision. Kathryn pushed my further to build it into a real business plan.

Also, with the LORs, we built packages for my recommenders which was important because neither of mine had ever written one, so getting a lot of support was critical. Kathryn was instrumental.

I secured interviews at Columbia, Wharton, Harvard, and Yale, 4 of the 5 schools I applied to! By this time, she knew me, that I could struggle in interviews. She went above and beyond to help me prepare. We did 6 mock interviews for Harvard and full preparation for all the other schools. I saw how much she cared about me and my success. When I got into Yale I was amazed. With Kathryn’s help I almost got into 4 schools and did get into one of the best in the world. I can’t wait to start!

To anyone who wants a guide through the application process, someone you can trust will always be honest and focused on helping you grow and succeed, and will go above and beyond for you, look no further than Kathryn.

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I had the fortune to be mentored by Kathryn and my advisor in RD 1 of the 2022-23 application cycle. I could not recommend SOP enough. They really delve deep into the applicant’s life, encouraging them to embrace their individuality and share inspiring stories from their life experiences with the adcom. The time you spend with SOP is an investment in yourself. They force you to self-reflect and get clarity on your motivations, an exercise that will come to define your future. By the end of the journey, you will really know the answer to two questions everyone will ask you - Why MBA? And Why Now?

After consulting a few firms, I chose SOP because of Kathryn’s honest and straight forward approach. She not only expressed confidence and enthusiasm in my profile, but also backed up her recommendation to focus on M7 schools with statistical data, sharing the probabilities for success based on past results – an approach I found unique to her. However, she was also brutally honest: cautioning me that especially for schools like HBS/GSB/Wharton, no one is a shoo-in, and while SOP team can help me craft the best possible application materials, there is still an inherent element of luck in the highly competitive process.

The Career Narrative that you build with SOP before working on any aspect of the applications may seem like extra work, but, it will make you question your goals and motivations, and come up with a conclusive, air-tight career plan. It will help you beyond MBA admissions.

I could not have imagined myself going through the process without the generous support from my advisor. She is responsive, caring, and is always ready to lend her hand. Her level of commitment is evident from the fact that at one point, we were working on 8 essays simultaneously! And as an Indian applicant, managing applications even though we were in different time zones felt like a walk in the park because of her efforts. She would stop me from overworking on my essays and over prepping, instilling in me the confidence I needed most also as a re-applicant. My advisor has established herself as a trusted advisor that I look up to – and I know the lessons I learned from her were not only helpful in the application process; but will also carry me forward in the professional world, where effective communication and storylining are so crucial to one’s success.

I could not recommend SOP enough – SOP’s unwavering support, commitment, and human touch are the reasons why I was able to succeed in a highly competitive season (as a re-applicant, admitted to 1 of HSW, interviewed at 2)

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Square One Prep’s team of Kathryn, Mary, Christina, and Horatiu has been extremely helpful in my b-school application journey. I was a re-applicant, and my journey this year was very different from my last attempt. A stellar GMAT score and a strong profile aren't enough to get into a top business school. My first call with Kathryn was enough for me to stop my hunt for consultants, and I decided to work under her guidance.

With the help of Kathryn and Mary, I was able to fine-tune my work and gain admission with a whopping $80K scholarship to one of the top US schools. The team has made a lot of effort to get to know my story and profile. Putting heads together helped craft quality essays. Horatiu helped me structure the career narrative, which further assisted me in facing the interviews with more confidence.

The SOP team has done a fantastic job of streamlining the application and interview process, which makes it easier to stay focused. The whole process is designed to bring the best out of you and make you cognizant of your abilities and incompetence. Mary and Kathryn have played a very important role in keeping me focused, and yes, when necessary, I have received criticism. I am extremely thankful for the guidance I received.

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I am fortunate that I came across SOP in my business school journey. After being rejected by multiple consultants (and fairly so) because of my below-average standardised test scores, speaking to Kathryn in our first free consultation session was a breath of fresh air. My advisor Paula, career coach Wendy, and partnerships manager Cristina, continued the momentum that Kathryn had built.

I have the utmost respect for Wendy: she brings in pertinent industry knowledge, rationality, and feasibility of creating and achieving career goals. She is honest and extremely committed to her clients. She, along with Paula, worked with me on 14+ versions of the career narrative document, enabling me to not only draft coherent goals for business school application but also to have a solid foundation for my professional journey ahead.

Paula, my advisor, was a true partner throughout this emotional and challenging period of my life. She shared high-quality deliverables within tight timelines and was always on top of all aspects of my application. She went way beyond her scope and believed in me when I did not believe in myself. She dealt with my shortcomings such as having self-doubt, second guessing applying to business school etc with grace and encouraged me to be positive. She took the effort to get to know me well and was able to bring me back on track when I broke under pressure. Paula made me feel very comfortable, as if I am working with a friend, who always had my best interest in mind. Her kindness is infectious and the compassion that she brings into her work is heartwarming.

Cristina, my partnerships manager, stepped in proactively to support my application.

Perhaps most crucially, Kathryn’s unwavering commitment towards my business school journey coupled with her two decades of experience in this field played a crucial role in me coming out of this process a little bit stronger as an individual.

I am grateful to the SOP team for helping me secure admits to Fuqua and McDonough.

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