GMAT Club

Katharine Lewis Reviews

Company: mbaMission

Spending several years reading and evaluating MBA applications for the Stanford Graduate School of Business inspired Katharine Lewis to coach business school applicants on her own for a time before becoming an mbaMission Senior Consultant. She has since earned more than 70 five-star reviews on GMAT Club, making her one of the top-rated admissions consultants in the industry. With 12 MBAs from six schools in her family, she passionately believes that business school provides essential leadership training for any career. After graduating summa cum laude from Yale, Katharine earned her JD and MBA (with distinction) from Harvard. She then joined McKinsey & Company, where she completed consulting projects for finance, forest products, retail and nonprofit clients, and designed and established two business-government advocacy groups: a roundtable partnership under David Rockefeller comprising the top New York–based CEOs, and a Washington, DC, coalition of AMEX-listed, midsize companies committed to pro-growth tax and regulatory policies. After reluctantly declining a teaching offer from Harvard Business School, Katharine practiced law with Morrison & Foerster before switching her focus to education and nonprofit consulting. She chaired finance at a highly successful start-up school, served on four school boards, and completed projects for the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation and the San Francisco Foundation. Katharine also assisted Professor Kathleen M. Connell (the former California State Controller) in her finance class at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, and contributed to Moving Up to Millions: The Life Calculator Guide to Wealth (Wiley, 2007)

5.0 /5 Average Rating
Based on 154 reviews
April 01, 2023
Gsb2025

Joined: Apr 01, 2023

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I can’t imagine approaching the MBA admissions process without the help of Katharine Lewis!

I’ve wanted to apply to Stanford GSB for years, but my non-traditional background of a creative career in the arts, jumble of transcripts from multiple undergraduate institutions, and less than ideal GRE score dissuaded me.

Then, someone introduced me to Katharine. She gave me the confidence and support I needed to believe it could be possible to explain my story in a way the admissions committee would understand. She saw and celebrated my strengths and successes and worked closely with me to ensure my unique career trajectory was conveyed properly for the MBA admissions context, meticulously, through absolutely every portion of the application. No question felt too small to ask Katharine.

I learned so much about myself and my history through her insightful questions that led me to uncover my best material for my application. Katharine also connected me with an incredible GSB alum and former client who gave me invaluable advice and details that greatly elevated my “why Stanford” essay.

Throughout the process, I constantly said that no matter the outcome, I was so happy I chose to apply and work with Katharine because of how fun, enjoyable, and enlightening the process was. Admissions decision aside, I felt incredibly empowered and validated just by understanding my past through the lens Katharine and I crafted together.

I only worked with Katharine to apply to one school, Stanford GSB, and I was accepted! I know for a fact it wouldn’t have been possible without her. And on top of it all, I found a true friend in Katharine. I felt and still feel incredibly supported and celebrated by Katharine — that she truly cared as much as I did, which constantly touched and amazed me.

I could not recommend Katharine enough, especially if you’re an applicant with an unusual or interesting background who’s not sure how to tell your story in an MBA application. Katharine’s enthusiasm is beyond inspiring, and I am grateful every day that I found her.

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April 13, 2023
lauderadmit2025

Joined: Apr 07, 2023

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Admitted to Wharton / Lauder thanks to Katy!

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Katy was highly recommended to me by two close friends who are HBS students. She exceeded my expectations throughout every facet of the application process, and thanks to her help, I was accepted into my dream program, the MBA/MBA dual degree program at Wharton/Lauder, and even received a generous scholarship!

As someone with a non-traditional professional background, including a career gap and a salary decrease from moving to Latin America, I was concerned about communicating my narrative in a concise but effective way. From the first meeting, Katy seemed to understand me and through many conversations throughout the process helped craft every element of my application to highlight my fit with the program.

Without hesitation, I highly recommend Katy for anyone seeking help with their MBA application process.

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April 08, 2023
Porters6thForce

Joined: Sep 18, 2021

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Self-reported Score:
690 Q39 V44

A unique eye for what matters most - MMM Admit

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Katy was an absolute pleasure to work with! I began the application process with my sights set on Kellogg’s MMM program, although at the time I felt like I was having trouble synthesizing my post-college experiences into one cohesive story. Katy encouraged me to take a step back, think about my background and evaluate my motivations behind why I chose the jobs I worked in, the projects I took on, the extracurriculars I joined, and my post MBA goals. She then helped me identify the common threads that linked these different experiences and tell a story that showed a strong logical progression from one experience to the next, all while highlighting the most salient experiences for each program I applied to. Throughout the seemingly dozens of essay revisions I sent back to her, she consistently helped me sharpen what began as long (often disorganized) first drafts into crisp, concise essays which were clear in messaging and easy to follow. At the interview stage, our multiple hours of interview prep further helped me clarify my messaging, phrase my answers correctly and relax my attitude so that the interviews felt more like a conversation. She is razor-sharp, refreshingly candid, and a great advocate who is always in your corner. I can’t imagine how I would have gotten into the MMM program without her, and I can’t recommend her enough!

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January 31, 2023
shampguy

Joined: Jan 25, 2023

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Verified score:
780 Q50 V49 (Online)

Admitted To GSB Thanks To Katy!

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I was connected to Katy through a co-worker who was a former client and who recommended her strongly (she had helped him get into HBS the year prior). I interviewed 3 other consultants besides Katy, but I felt that Katy and I had the strongest connection out of all of them. I am very happy that I chose Katy; not only did she help me drive a successful outcome (admitted to GSB in Round 1), but she made the overall process fairly stress-free through excellent planning and time efficiency.

I would highly recommend Katy’s services to anyone applying to business school.

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January 15, 2023
Asmith8449

Joined: Feb 15, 2021

Posts: 1

Kudos: 0

Verified score:
780 Q49 V49

Top Tier Consultant!

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Katy is a fantastic consultant! I started working with Katy in the spring of 2022 to prepare for Round 1 applications. In the process of selecting Katy, I interviewed nearly a dozen consultants from different firms. Katy brought a level of confidence and honesty that stood out compared to the others. Additionally, I felt that Katy truly believed in me, and didn’t try to scare me into her services. Ultimately, I chose to work with her on two schools (HBS & Sloan) with the Complete Start to Finish package. Once we started working together, she was very thorough and probed on many different angles of my background to understand where I stood out. She made herself available for my seemingly endless revisions of my different essays. After I was invited to interview, Katy made sure I was confident and prepared going into both interviews. I was especially nervous for the HBS interview, but she knew exactly how to prep me so I was truly ready and could bring my best self to the interview. And, I’m happy to say I was ultimately accepted into both schools!

If you do choose to work with Katy, the several weeks leading up to application deadlines get very hectic, so make sure you agree on timelines well in advance. Because she has so many clients applying to HBS and GSB, the typical turnaround timeline can get extended leading up to these deadlines. I was finalizing my Sloan materials around the GSB deadline and some turnarounds were extended so the GSB applications could all go in on time, while there was an extra week or two before the Sloan deadline. Katy made sure everything was ready by the deadline, but that last minute crunch was stressful! Save yourself the last minute stress and get your materials ready to go a few weeks early! Ultimately, though, this is a plus- because she has worked with so many people applying to GSB and HBS, she knows what works and doesn’t work for those schools. Overall, wonderful experience and well worth the cost. I would recommend Katy’s services in a heartbeat.

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January 15, 2023
mbastan19

Joined: Oct 07, 2020

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Simply the Best - MMM Admit

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I got in touch with Katy through another coworker who was a former client. We began our initial discussion in December 2020 through the free consultation. What impressed me about Katy is that she was quickly able to give feedback on what I needed to improve about my profile to attend a top business school. For the next two years, I would reach out to Katy to get feedback on my career and whether my professional decisions would benefit in MBA applications even before committing to her services. After getting an ideal GRE score, I knew I wanted to work with Katy, and we began working together in Spring 2022. Katy was really able to piece different parts of my story together and find an underlying theme. This is especially critical for those applying to Harvard or Stanford. When I started to receive interviews, Katy would really push me during our mock interviews and ask follow up questions to many of my answers. Most importantly, throughout this journey, Katy was a mentor and a friend. During the application process, a friend of mine suddenly passed away, and Katy was able to empathize with me by drawing on her personal life. I was lucky enough to be admitted to the MMM program at Kellogg. For those keen on attending HSW, take Katy's feedback seriously so you can put your best foot forward.

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January 03, 2023
bernardomergar

Joined: Jul 21, 2021

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Verified score:
750 Q47 V45

Reapplicant admitted to HBS thanks to Katy!

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I am a Latin American reapplicant with a background in Law, and last year I was admitted to other schools, but not Harvard, my dream school. A friend had worked with Katy in the previous year recommended that I went through a ding review with her. What stood out for me is that Katy does not give one-size-fits-all, generic advice. She was very specific and candid in her advice, pinpointing everything she thought was wrong in how I was telling my story, why it was wrong and how to improve it.
I decided to work together with her. Her unparalleled understanding of the admissions process makes her suggestions extremely insightful. She took a very structured approach to the application process, which makes it easier to prioritize work and not lose yourself on the immense amount of work that is an MBA application, yet she was always able to accommodate me when needed (she did an extra mock interview with me on the morning of my HBS interview when I told her I wasn’t feeling 100% comfortable!). Moreover, she was so thorough when going over my application materials that it was almost like she knew my story even better than me, helping me put together a very strong narrative behind it.
As a reapplicant, I can definitely say that she made a huge difference on my application. I would highly recommend working with her.

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December 28, 2022
HBSAdmit2025

Joined: Jun 06, 2021

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Verified score:
740 Q50 V41

Accepted into HBS and a waitlist from Stanford GSB

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I worked with Katharine for my round one applications and got an admit from HBS and a waitlist from Stanford GSB.

I got in touch with her through the consultation call, and had an insightful conversation with her on the areas I was worried about in the applications. Katharine not only explained how she could help me but also gave some thoughtful advice. I instantly realized that she would be the perfect mentor and guide in my application process.

Harvard and Stanford essays require significant introspection, and Katharine’s brainstorming discussion helped me identify and connect multiple personal stories and experiences that formed the basis of my essays. One of the best aspects about working with Katharine was that her processes and advice helped me identify strengths in my profile that I was initially oblivious to. As we moved into the application process, Katharine helped me double down on these strengths which enabled me to significantly improve my applications.

Katharine not only works as your mentor in the process, but also as your biggest supporter. Her absolutely infectious positivity will help you get through the tough days in the application period. Personally, every call I had with her ended with me becoming more confident and positive about my efforts.

Katharine was absolutely honest, firm and transparent in her feedback and advice. At multiple points in the process, she gave me clear and firm advice on areas that need more work - her relentless pursuit for driving improvements helped me boost each and every aspect of my applications.

Katharine is THE BEST consultant you can work with for your top business school applications.
She is an expert at literally every aspect of the entire process - from the applications to final admit and waitlist strategy.

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October 07, 2022
hbsdeferred2024

Joined: Oct 07, 2022

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Verified score:
760 Q50 V42 (Online)

HBS 2+2 and Stanford GSB Deferred Admit

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Katy could not have been a better mentor, supporter, and wellspring of information throughout the application process. I started out with little knowledge about the world of business schools and MBA applications, but Katy guided me every step of the way and helped me with everything from setting a timeline to figuring out the correct references to ask (and how to approach them) to practicing my interviews. Most importantly, she really understood who I was as an applicant, and helped me zero in on my "story" and tell it in the most compelling way.

Katy is honest but always encouraging, and will tell you the things you need to hear while being incredibly patient and accommodating with her time. Throughout the entire process, I felt she genuinely cared about my application and my success, and I truly felt her support for me as a person. As a deferred applicant, I applied to all M7 schools, received interviews from all the schools except MIT, and was admitted into HBS, Stanford GSB, Wharton, Kellogg and Columbia. I cannot recommend Katy enough - she is an amazing choice for anyone aiming for the MBA program of their dreams!

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August 12, 2022
tonyshi1111

Joined: Jun 25, 2021

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Stanford GSB Deferred Admit

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Katy is an absolutely incredible mentor and supporter throughout my application process. Not only was she able to walk me through what Stanford was looking for in the application, but she was also my biggest advocate and encouraged me throughout the discovery process. Katy doesn't do the work for you, but helps you discover your true intentions applying for business schools.

Stanford's essay questions are quite open-ended, and I had a tough time knowing where to start in the beginning. Through Katy's help, I was able to bring my genuine self into the application and that made all the difference.

I honestly would not have applied if it wasn't for Katy, and I am very glad that I did. Therefore, I would highly recommend Katy to anyone looking for an MBA coach and supporter. Thank you Katy for being there every step of the way!!

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34 Older and Non-Verified Reviews for Katharine Lewis