I would highly recommend Gavriella from MBA Mission for the hourly service! I believe I purchased 5 hours of her time and that was the perfect amount. After an initial conversation, all of our communication from there was via email so it was easy with my busy schedule. She was really easy to communicate with and always turned around my documents within the tight time frame we agreed. I felt like she really helped to enhance my essays in a way that was really productive and helped tell my story better. She was incredibly helpful and exactly what I needed to push my application further.

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As a nontypical applicant (social science undergrad, career in nonprofits, gap in my work history) I recognized that I needed a consultant to partner with for the business school application process and my friends had recommended mbaMission. After exploring consultants online, I knew I wanted to work with Kate because of her experience and interest in working with those from nontraditional backgrounds, which proved to be invaluable. She helped me craft my personal story to cater to the unique aspects of each program, and identified key points to highlight my strengths and enable me to condense my essays to fit the strict word limits. Most importantly, she was the level-headed cheerleader I needed during this demanding process. She set realistic expectations, provided constructive criticism, celebrated achievements both big and small, and eased video essay and interview-related anxiety. Kate also worked with my three references (colleagues and mentors in the nonprofit sector who had never written business school recommendations) to ensure they successfully conveyed my potential as a future business leader. In the end, I was accepted to two out of the three M7s I applied to, including my first choice program. I doubt this would have been possible without Kate’s expert guidance. Applying to the top MBA programs can be a confusing and grueling process, so if you are wondering whether to hire Kate to support you, the answer is yes!

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Having Harold's services was like having a map to the black box of business school applications. He is consistently available for all your questions from A to Z. He puts sign posts up every step of the way to keep the process on track, did multiple rounds of edits for each application, and seemed invested in my candidacy. He has expert knowledge of the each school and their personalities. You will put your best foot forward with every application. Once applications were submitted, Harold and his colleagues did an excellent job preparing me for each disparate interview. It was a pleasure to work with him.

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From the moment I spoke to Rachel, I was convinced that she was the counselor for me. After having engaged many MBA consultants from a diverse array of companies, I was left disappointed and discouraged. In the short 30-minute calls or 1-hour free consultation service offered by other companies, I received countless lectures from different consultants who rambled about their “impressive credentials” or “track-record”. But, none were truly interested or cared enough in hearing about my candidacy and my struggles as a reapplicant. However, what made Rachel different from the rest was that she actually listened to my story and, during our introductory call, Rachel willingly offered valuable advice on how I can strengthen my application to my dream school—Columbia Business School (CBS). A perfect fit. She was direct yet encouraging. She helped me to see my strengths in a new light and provided me with the tailored strategies I needed to craft a compelling application—one that eventually led me to success. It was the beginning of a productive and sincere partnership.

Rachel was instrumental in every segment of the application process. Day one, Rachel reached out with well-organized and informative materials that broke down the daunting application process into manageable pieces. Brainstorming documents, resume templates, and the list goes on. It was apparent to me from working with Rachel that she takes the time to get to know her clients, understand their unique background and goals. She helped me structure and refine an authentic essay that I was proud of. Rachel was meticulous and went above and beyond in reviewing my application materials, providing detailed constructive feedback. When my interview invite came around, Rachel knew exactly what questions would be asked and prepared me well for my “break it or make it” moment on CBS’s Super Saturday. Because she prepared me to a T, I was unwaveringly confident and truly believed that I belonged at CBS throughout my interview. All in all, Rachel gave me the tools I needed to turn my dream (CBS) into reality. What I was most grateful for, and what meant to me most was that she also helped my husband gain admittance into CBS in the same year! Keeping our family together in the same vicinity.

THANK YOU RACHEL!

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I was juggling multiple things at once when applying for business school (work, GRE prep, online masters program) under a pretty tough deadline. From day one, Gavriella was the most helpful and supportive consultant I could've asked for. She truly understood me and was hands on from the very start.
She was realistic in her recommendations and always had unwavering faith in me, which at the time, was more valuable to me than actually getting through the application process. She was very detail oriented, prompt and constructive. She gave me great guidance in amplifying my highlights, knowing which experiences to highlight and how to successfully showcase my story. Her industry knowledge regarding what business schools look for was invaluable.
Gavriella was friendly and assuaged me of my fears - something that I did not expect from this whole process. I couldn't recommend her enough to anyone looking to start the business school application process - she is amazing!

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I was in a severe time crunch when I decided that I wanted to apply to a business program. I had 3 weeks before the round 4 deadline and I was also getting married a week after the deadline. I originally did not have plans of reaching out to an admissions consultant as I had used one for my Master of Science degree and had had a bad experience working with one. Owing to the time crunch situation that I was in, I decided to reach out to an admissions consultant. I read through a few reviews, did my research before picking a firm and a specific consultant. The most important thing that I learnt in this research process was that the connection with the consultant was very important. Hence, I signed up for a few 30-minute trial sessions with different consulting firms to gauge my connection with different consultants. I finally ended up going with Heidi Granner from mbaMission. She gave me realistic advice taking into consideration my unique situation (I have a fairly non-traditional background though I’m from an Over-represented demographic) and background. The process was very streamlined with a lot of focus on introspection and self-discovery. Note that in my experience, the student does most of the leg work and the consultant’s core purpose is to point the student in the right direction. If I had not hired Heidi, I don't think I could have picked the appropriate experiences and subsequently crafted a well-rounded story. Heidi is a skilled storyteller, a great listener, and an empathetic consultant. I only applied to two schools but still got into a top tier – European business school. I’m more than happy that I picked mbaMission and particularly, Heidi as my consultant!

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Krista understood my story and what I’m passionate about. She helped me showcase who I am in a very practical, descriptive, and consistent way across all of my MBA applications - and I got into 11/11 business schools (including Harvard, Wharton, and Stanford) with nearly $1M in offered scholarship money.

Some things that stand out about Krista:

1. Helped me maximize the time. From the very beginning, Krista advised me on how best to use the hours that I purchased from her. We regularly exchanged materials with very detailed instructions on where/where not to focus her review time - and she stuck to it every single time. This made me feel like she prioritized me and what I needed vs. running down the hours (which can be a concern for hourly services in any space). She also suggested what I could do on my own as well (e.g., grammatical reviews), so that she could focus on higher-value feedback for the money that I spent. Krista always tailored her approach to me, which made me feel cared for as a whole person during what can be an incredibly vulnerable process.

2. Invested in me holistically. Even with me being an hourly client, Krista still offered other materials (e.g., school guides and FAQs) and ongoing support (e.g., check-in emails the day of acceptance days) that made me feel like she cared about me holistically. Another way Krista showed her investment in me was by always keeping up with my storyline across all 11 of my applications. For example, Krista offered very targeted suggestions of what I should pull into one of my applications from an earlier application based on the prompt and what my story may have been missing. This helped me focus my efforts, use my hourly services more efficiently, and made me feel heard and seen - Krista truly believed in me and what I could accomplish.

3. Believed in me from the beginning. From our initial conversation, Krista believed in my applicant profile and what I could bring to every MBA program that I applied to. I had concerns about my test scores, which Krista did provide support for me to increase slightly, but I knew I needed my application to stand out in other ways. Not only did Krista help me strengthen my narrative, but she provided endless encouragement along the way. She gave me so much praise on my materials (when it was warranted) and regularly reminded me of how much I’ve accomplished in my career (and as a person) to get me to this point. Krista’s support had an incredibly positive impact on my entire MBA application process and kept me going when times were difficult.

Krista came recommended to me by a very close friend - and now I’ll recommend Krista to everyone I know. Although I’ll never know why these schools accepted me, I’m confident that my applications were better because of Krista.

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I wholeheartedly recommend working with Debbie on your applications. With Debbie's invaluable guidance, I've been admitted to one of my top two choices of business schools, a top 5 institution! I've already interviewed at another two of the four schools I applied to, with final decisions still pending. I'm still in the running to be admitted to all four schools!

Debbie gave me candid and impactful advice on my personal branding - how to highlight the unique aspects of my background and show alignment with my goals. With the essays, be prepared to really engage with Debbie. She'll come at you fast and furious with seedlings of ideas, grown from the fertile soil of your unique background and story. They are merely suggestions; often it's the thinking behind her ideas that will then prompt your own inspired idea. This brainstorming process is critical to the final outcome. Trust this process and trust Debbie. It will save you much grief down the road.

Not currently working, I had plenty of time to spend not only considering and incorporating Debbie's suggestions but also independently reflecting on what other changes I wanted to make. We worked very efficiently together and generally arrived at a very polished result in three or four iterations. I feel that she adapts well to her clients - for me, as a decent writer, she focused most of her attention on structure and message, but I've seen that she also has the writing chops to refine drafts at a lower level.

We worked very closely for two of the four schools. The learnings I gained from less than 10 hours of her time then flowed naturally through the remaining two schools. Through the process I've become stronger at telling my personal stories, a skill that will help me throughout business school and beyond.

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Initially, I was nervous about the price, but it proved more than worth it. I got accepted, with outstanding scholarships, to 4 out of the 6 schools I applied to. At the beginning of the process, I was nervous because I felt I didn't even know how to articulate my goals or personal and professional experiences, but Heidi helped me and guided me through the whole process. She was always super kind and understanding and never made me feel weird or bad about any of my past experiences. Instead, she always found value in my words and helped me create excellent applications. She even helped me create a calendar to be on time with every task I had to complete and, if necessary, adjusted to my personal needs. Since I started working with her, I felt relieved and she was helping me carry the heavy weight of the application process. I do not regret having worked with Heidi for a second!.

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Harold is an amazing partner to have as you apply to business school. Through all of the chaos and stress of the application process, he provided the organization, experience, and insights that I needed. 

From day one, Harold was highly attentive and able to not only decipher which experiences of mine would be the best for essays and interviews, but also help reveal stories of mine that I would have not otherwise thought about sharing. It did not matter if we were on the first draft of an essay or the fifth, Harold would not sign off until we both felt it was complete. In fact, for one essay, after a few drafts, we scrapped the entire draft completely and began anew, which I think reflects how committed Harold is to making sure his clients put forth their best applications. He responds quickly, often turning drafts in 24 hours or less (despite a 48 hour policy), and will provide support for every step of the application process even beyond the essays, such as interview prep, short answer questions, application updates, and thank you notes. I would also add that I felt there were significant advantages to working with the firm mbaMission as a whole. As needed, Harold would have a second consultant take a look at my essays with a fresh pair of eyes so that we could get another perspective from someone who did not know my full story. This led to additional tweaks that further improved my application.

What I appreciated most about working with Harold was he had the right balance of push and pull. There were times when Harold would push me to do more research on a school's website or talk to more students so that my essays and understanding of the school would be enhanced. On the flip side, when I was feeling overwhelmed with the applications, Harold provided me with the reassurance that helped me remain calm and continue pushing forward.

Overall, choosing to work with Harold was the most impactful decision I made during the entire application process. After working with Harold, I had 100% confidence that my application for each school was the very best that it could be and that is all I could ask for. I applied to five schools, received interviews for four, and was accepted at two, one of which was my top choice.

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