I cannot speak highly enough of Square One Prep and its entire team of advisors and experts.

When I first embarked on the business school application process, I was wary of working with an advisor given the cost. My mindset quickly changed when I had my first phone call with Kathryn, the founder of Square One Prep. Unlike other admissions consulting companies, which gave me, at most, 30 minutes of their time, Kathryn took two hours to walk through my professional background, discuss my interest in applying to business school, and share the Square One Prep process. I left the conversation feeling confident that Square One Prep would help me put my best foot forward in my application, particularly given that I was working under a tight timeline.

In the weeks that followed, the Square One Prep team ensured that I stayed on track to deadlines and shared resources that I never would have had access to otherwise, including examples of business school resumes, essays, and letter of recommendation packages. My advisor, Leila, struck the perfect balance of challenging me and offering guidance and reassurance when I needed it. My career narrative expert, Luis, helped me define my short- and long-term goals, which I have since used not only in the application process, but also in sparking pivotal career conversations.

I truly can’t thank the entire team at Square One Prep enough for guiding me every step of the way and making my dream a reality!

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After interviewing several MBA Admissions Consultants, I finally decided I like the unique and differentiated approach from Square One Prep. From the outset, I liked their multi-person approach to consultancy, and they delivered. After an initial call with Kathryn, I met with Lara who I knew immediately would help me best understand my story and show it to ad-coms. Applying during an ultra-busy period of work, Lara and Square One Prep helped me stay organized and on top of my deliverables. Needless to say, I couldn't have done it without them. I applied to six schools and received interviews at five of them. I was waitlisted at three of them, and I was accepted to two of them (with scholarships). They did a fantastic job and could not recommend them any more highly.

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The business school application journey is a whirlwind of a process but SquareOne were with me through every step. They truly try to get to know you and in the process of going through self-discovery, help bring out your strengths to show what's unique to you and ultimately build a solid narrative that helped define my application in the most concise and impactful way.

They were available for a quick call whenever needed and responsive, even at times when I felt I was struggling. Every part of the application would go through various iterations with the team to get multiple perspectives. My mentor guided me through each part calmly and provided honest feedback, truly wanting the best outcome for me. Despite the applications being extremely competitive this year due to COVID and having an average GMAT, through the partnership with SoP, we were still able to strengthen the rest of my materials, bringing out the strengths in me as a candidate and ultimately helping me get admitted!

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Wow. I have to say GMAT club is really strict about its review verification. It took me 30min to finally come to this page writing my review. But I hope the fact that I am willing to go through such a frictional process to share a review says how much I love them. Ok, below is the serious review.

Overall, I had a very positive experience with SOP. I am a China Chinese applicant with a sales background. The same as many applicants, I did not have a super clear short-term or long-term goal though I am very sure that I want to pursue an MBA to explore new options. I did some research about schools but still mostly care about rankings. I was totally lost when I went through all schools’ essay questions and don’t even know where to start. Kathryn and her team have been very systematic, educational and supportive through the whole process. They spent hours to understand my background and guide me to find the goals that make the most meaningful story for both me and schools. They also made good suggestion about which school to apply based on my preference of school size, industrial strength, alumni network, culture, etc. Jeannice, my main contact point, has been extremely patient and efficient about reviewing and perfecting my essays. Each one will take her hours considering I am not a native English speaker and my English expression is usually not clearest. What touched me the most is their consistent support after I was waitlisted. They keep on cheering me up and help me brainstorm the strategy to follow up with the admission. Their personal approach gave me a strong feeling of being part of a team to crack the challenge together instead of being a client that simply pay money and get the service. Though later my situation changed and I decided to decline the offers (with scholar!) and apply for some better ones in the next year, I am truly grateful for their support and would love to recommend them to anyone who needs an application consultant.

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SOP have been an absolute pleasure to work with. The MBA application process can be quite daunting at first, particularly when it needs to be managed alongside a full time job, but through a combination of excellent resources (eg a week by week planner with milestones) and supportive (and also challenging) staff, the process felt like an absolute breeze. Along the way I was really challenged to self reflect and show vulnerability in my essays, which meant I was ultimately granted admission to my top choice of school! What I love most is that SOP are really selective about who they partner with, and you really get a bespoke and tailored experience.

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I got to know about Square One Prep (SOP) through my spouse who got into a Top 10 FT-MBA program a few years back after working with SOP. Her experience working with SOP was really positive and that was why I decided to speak to Kathryn from the leadership team regarding my plan to pursue PT-MBA. My first call with Kathryn was great and she helped identify some themes from my story that I could highlight in my application. One concern I had was that my GMAT score was on the lower side, but Kathryn's call really motivated me. She dug into why I was struggling on the GMAT and suggested taking up the EA as an alternate. I ended up taking the EA and got a great score. I believe this really helped my application a lot.

For selecting an advisor, I had a chance to talk to a few of SOP's consultants and I decided to work with Jeannice Tse. Jeannice was very down-to-earth and empathetic. She pushed to understand my story and my background at a deeper level even in our intro call. She was extremely organized, which I felt was very helpful given that I was having a busy work schedule during that time.

SOP's process was very streamlined - the process had an initial assessment call (2-3 hours), career narrative development, LOR recommender selection review, and Resume/LOR/Essay review. The initial assessment calls with Jeannice really gave me an opportunity to introspect my story and provide all relevant information that could help my application. After these calls, I got an assessment report which served as the backbone for the entire application process. The next step was to define the careen narrative and I worked primarily with Luis. He spent several calls helping me identify what I wanted to do after my MBA and helped translate that into clear and differentiated short-term and long-term goals that I could use both for my essays and in my interview. Throughout the resume, LOR and Essay review process, we had several iterations and I have to say that the final versions of LOR and essays could not have explained my story in a better way. Jeannice's and Kathryn's updates to my drafts were quick and made sure that we made definitive progress in each iteration. Jeannice's inputs - whether selecting a topic for an essay or fine tuning the draft - really helped me craft unique essays which could be differentiated from other applications. Overall the SOP team (Jeannice/Kathryn/Luis) really helped me make my ambition to join a top part-time MBA program come true and I highly recommend SOP if anyone wants a personalized experience in crafting your FT/PT MBA application.

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I would highly recommend Square One Prep to anyone applying to business school! By the time I went to submit my applications, I had no doubt in my mind I was putting forth the best version of my application I could. The entire team at SOP is extremely thorough and thoughtful and does not leave any stone unturned throughout the review process. They really gave me great peace of mind from start to finish. I initially came to SOP because I had a lower quant score and they were able to help me position all of my materials in a way to showcase my quantitative strengths throughout other facets of my application. I ended up getting into both top ranked part time MBA programs I applied to and could not have done it without SOP!

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Before I talked to Kathryn I had already started a bunch of applications for an MBA, however I didn’t even know if I really wanted to pursue a business degree at that point of my career and life. It took one phone call with Kathryn to define and legitimate my goals and their alignment with the pursuit of an MBA and to feel empowered beyond what I thought was my actual capabilities.

From that point on, I started building my own career narrative and thought of my past achievements from a different perspective, finding new values in my experience and knowledge, and validating my desire to make significant and everlasting change.

I worked on a brand new resume and then constantly challenged myself to dream bigger, even though my chances of success were really low given a low GRE score and a bit different background than most, as an international MD working in clinical research. I was able to focus on only a few, prestigious school and built a strong application, which was the result of a deep understanding of my own self and perspective. Don’t get me wrong, it was a lot of work! But my advisor and all the SOP staff I interacted with made it a smooth and motivating experience. At the end of it all, I did tell my interviewers who asked about the application process that it was almost like “therapy” because it really was!

I was admitted to Booth, Kellogg and UNC and all of the qualities that I believe they all appreciated were all part of me already, but they would not have been able to be surface without the help of SOP.

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I first found Square One Prep after being blown away by the students SOP has worked with and the impressive success rates they've had over the years. As a re-applicant, I initially did not plan on using an admissions consultant, but I knew I needed to ensure that my future applications were as bulletproof as possible and that I was not risking the opportunity of pursuing an MBA. Almost immediately after submitting an inquiry to SOP, I heard back from Kathryn, and she instantly reassured me on the overall process and instilled confidence regarding my profile and targeted schools. I can't emphasize how important this was - after receiving several rejections, being able to connect with someone almost immediately (and on a weekend!), hearing that we could turn things around was very encouraging. SOP was clearly the right partnership from the beginning to finally help push me over the finish line.

After connecting with SOP's very impressive and extensive list of advisors, I went on to work with Horatiu, who has been one of the most thoughtful, detailed, and patient advisors I could have asked for. He clearly has deep knowledge and experience after working with various students. He was able to work with me from day one to mold and shape my overall story into something compelling and persuasive, and one that has provided me with a more well-defined career vision as I move forward with my MBA. The focus, dedication, and input he has been able to provide throughout the entire process has been invaluable.

I'm extremely happy to report that, with SOP's help, I have been admitted to Booth, and I'm confident I would not have been able to achieve this admission without them. For anyone who is on the fence about using an admissions consultant or is unsure if one is even needed, I strongly recommend one as someone who was in that place myself. An MBA is one of the most important life investments you'll make and you need to make sure that you're not selling yourself short. SOP's structure, support, and experience will make the entire process much easier than facing on your own.

I more than wholeheartedly recommend SOP to any and all upcoming and prospective students, and I can't thank Horatiu, Kathryn, and the entire SOP team more for helping me to achieve this truly life changing admission.

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My experience with Square One Prep has been more than I can ask for. I was initially torn between doing a less comprehensive service (hourly or piecewise) and going with Square One, but I am very glad that I went the route I did! My sessions have been invaluable, from the deep dive in my career narrative to the long essay calls I've had with my advisor. I have always felt that they were trying to get the best out of me instead of saying "good enough". They were able to intuit when I was leaving something or when the dots weren't connecting. Because of their diligence, I had a very successful cycle -- ended up with a difficult decision between HBS and a full ride + stipend at another top 5 school. Thank you all!!

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