This is the best bang for the buck if you like self-study like I do. There is everything here needed for you to get a Q50 or Q51. If you do not have a solid math base, the program will get you there. And if you have a solid base to start with, you can do like me (though it might not necessarily be their recommendation) and do the chapter tests and read the chapters as you need to refresh. There are three different difficulties (easy, medium, hard) for each of the topics and both PS and DS exercises. Doing their DS exercises was my prep for Data Sufficiency.

I also really liked the Sentence Correction course. The cherry on top is the fact that you can speak to a member of the staff at any time through their chat. I needed some guidance after taking the diagnostic prep and also needed general advice after taking my exam and they were very helpful.

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I can't believe that at first I was skeptical whether I should hire an MBA advisor. I thought my 760 GMAT "got me covered". Still, that's what people did and I didn't want to risk it, so I spoke with 4 advisors, two local, two American. The Brazilian advisors didn't click well with me. One of the Americans I spoke with treated me like I was trying to get a table on a Friday night at a busy New York restaurant. Then I spoke with Kathryn. 15 minutes in I was thinking "is my time up?". I told her I had an unusual background and that explaining it would take a while. She said "there is no rush". I didn't think I should use that story in my MBA apps. After a nearly 2h long chat, she convinced me I absolutely had to tell that story. I knew I had to pick SOP.

Before you sign with SOP, you get to chat to three advisors, to pick the one you like the most (if you're not going with Kathryn). First chat went well, but it didn't click. Second chat, same thing. Then comes Anna (Tsilidou). I'll summarize my experience working with Anna with this: the effort she put into my app was as if she was applying herself. And all the team behind SOP made me realize (in a positive way) how little I was prepared to write those essays and how many blunders I would have committed if left on my own.

I was incentivized by Kathryn and Anna to aim higher in my applications and applied to schools I hadn't thought of at the beginning. The MBA application process is not only brutal but also highly unpredictable. I'm still in disbelief that I got a 75% scholarship from my top school, Columbia. This was the dream result for me, and I got it. I am honestly not sure this could have happened had I picked someone else. It was worth every cent.

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