I worked with Square One Prep (SOP) in RD 1 of the 2022-23 application cycle, with the pleasure of working with Amalia as my Advisor. I could not recommend SOP enough - SOP's unwavering support, commitment, and human touch are among the core reasons why I was able to succeed in a highly competitive season (admitted to 2 of HSW, waitlisted at 1)

As an international candidate who grew up in Asia, went to undergrad in the US and spent his professional career across both US and Africa, I knew very early on I wanted to partner with a team that is energized by my story, challenges me to reflect and gain clarity on my own motivations, and is committed to my success. After speaking with ~10 firms , including both China-based and US-based firms, I chose SOP because of Kathryn's honest style and SOP's team-based approach. Kathryn was enthusiastic about my profile: telling me that I should focus my energies on M7 schools and that with work and reflection, I have the elements to develop a compelling package for any M7 school. 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. Additionally, I loved SOP's leadership-team approach in the Premium package, where the leadership team (incl. Kathryn) reviews each essay (and resume, career narrative, etc) after the advisor and I felt good about the content. The leadership-team approach essentially creates a stage-gate for seasoned advisors to review my application materials from an outside-in perspective (similar to how an admissions officer would read my file) - and ensure that the logic flows smoothly, the language is easy to understand, and the storyline is consistent with my overall narrative. Later on, I realized that Leadership Review is truly one of the best parts of the SOP experience.

The first step in my SOP journey is the Career Narrative process - where a former career coach at top business program helps me ideate, develop, and refine my career narrative: a vision statement that tells the story of what I want to do professionally long-term. Wendy, my Career Narrative coach was very effective in using facts to back-up my career vision. Coming into Career Narrative process, I thought it would be an exercise of storytelling - focusing more on my personal journey. However, what I appreciated most is SOP's focus on using industry facts + trends to back up the career narrative. Indeed, the process feels more analogous to building the business case for a start-up: Wendy pushed me to reflect on my personal story (the founding rationale); conduct research to validate the opportunity (the growth potential); and articulate why I am the best person to deliver my career vision (the competitive dynamic). Throughout the process, Amalia (my advisor) and Kathryn stayed engaged: including multiple rounds of presentations to ensure that my story is compelling, easy to follow, and memorable.

While I signed on with SOP relatively early in the process (Jan'22) - Kathryn and Amalia both offered me the valuable advice of not starting too early, but instead, create pace by starting at a more reasonable time. Therefore, I started the essay drafting in mid to late June - which was quite helpful as I found myself to be much more effective when Amalia and I started rapidly iterating on essays. The essay process involves a brainstorming call, where Amalia and I would go over high-level ideas and stories / anecdotes to back up the storyline, followed by me drafting the essay in the next 1-2 hours and sending the rough draft to Amalia. I found the approach to be highly efficient as it enabled me to rapidly prototype essays, and advance / kill different ideas for the essay. What I also appreciate is Amalia's willingness to work with whatever I could produce in that 1-2 hour interval - which sometimes could look more like a skeleton sketch than a nicely flashed-out essay. With the process, Amalia and I would iterate essays with

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I had been applying to B-schools since 2020 and got more than a dozen rejections.

I decided to give myself a last chance in the 2022 application cycle. However in the early 2022, I lost my wife unexpectedly which pushed me into a deep depression. I thought with the passing away of the biggest support of my life, my dreams had also died. I gave up on everything including my MBA dreams.

A friend of mine who had worked with Square One suggested I speak to Kathryn, a request I denied multiple times. But on being pushed frequently by my friend, finally I decided to speak to her. Sure that after doing a free session my friend would stop pestering me and I could continue to stay in my deep depression.

I still remember those 50 minutes with Kathryn. , I never felt like I was speaking to a MBA consultant, but rather a mentor who was equally interested in me fulfilling my MBA dreams. She also cared about me as a person. She not only motivated me but pushed me to give my best. She was always there for me as I had tough moments where I doubted myself and felt depressed. Day or night, she was there, getting on calls with me or emailing me. She even helped me build some of my work directly. I never would have expected that.
Additionally, she reviewed ALL the materials I built with my advisors, some essays multiple times. This was not meant to be included in my package.

Writing my applications in the toughest phase of my life brought out the best in me and also created a positive distraction which helped me cure my mental health. Kathryn and her team understood that I’d have some bad days. They were always understanding.

Kathryn allowed me to choose the best advisor from SOP's several awesome advisors. I decided to work with Rahul Kalita. This guy is amazing; he pushed me hard to ensure I did my best. My career narrative expert was Horatiu who just in one single call helped me begin to build strong MBA goals, which out me at ease. Lastly, Cristina ( a very charming lady) was my admin support who helped me stay on schedule. So with this team I moved forward and secured an admit to my dream school. Not only that; I got a handsome scholarship! with a handsome scholarship

It seems like a dream to me but Kathryn and her team became the messiah of my MBA journey. I Cannot thank them enough!

So if you are applying to a b-school just do a free session with Kathryn and trust that everything will follow in line. I did not know there was a team like this out there.

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I got exceptional application results with the Square One Prep (SOP) team. I applied to two schools (M7 and S16), got admitted to both and got a full scholarship from my dream school. Besides the results, the journey itself was transformative as well. The SOP team provided exceptional advice to strengthen my application, patiently guided me through every component and championed me to the finish line. Thanks to the SOP team’s work, I came out of the application more self-aware, communicating better and more confident, all of which are qualities that will benefit me in the long term.

It all started with the founder Kathryn and I cannot say enough how experienced and caring she is. I interviewed multiple MBA consultancies and many of them showed reluctance to take me as a client, given that I am an older applicant and came from a less-traditional background. But Kathryn believed in me from the beginning. She did warn me how competitive MBA admission can be, yet she believed that I have a good chance of getting admitted. This trusting partnership enabled me to be genuine, introspect and reveal myself in the application, which I believe was the key to my admission success.

In the middle of the application, my first advisor and I were not working well together, resulting in serious delays in my essay work. I asked for a chat with Kathryn and she quickly jumped on a call. She patiently listened to and fully understood my concerns and struggles. Within 2 days, Kathryn helped me find Lara, who became my trusting advisor.

Lara is very experienced in MBA admission, providing crucial advice to strengthen my application. Her attention to detail is exceptional. During our essay editing and LOR building sessions, she pointed out flaws in my drafts, big or small, with honest and actionable feedback. Sometimes we’d jump on a call to talk through the stories, trying to surface the deeper thoughts. In addition to the excellent advice for applications, Lara is also a life coach to me. She pushed me to think deeply on who I am and what I’m trying to accomplish with the MBA. All of the insights we discovered together were well presented in my application and the interview. I highly recommend working with her if you are also looking for a coach in your application journey!

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I enrolled with Square One Prep 45 days prior to the 1st Round 1 deadline. I applied to 8 schools, and looking back, I honestly can't imagine going through this time sensitive process without their help.

After my initial consultations (which the team was super quick to prioritise given I had little time), the unique selling point that stood out to me about SOP was providing a very crisp, direct and personalized experience that would help me put my best foot forward in the applications. I decided on SOP because I realised that having someone who was available to me, understood my story and me on a deeper level would be more beneficial to me personally.

My consultant was Rahul Kalita, whom I chose for 3 reasons:
1. He had experience in my specific field (startup experience) that I was not sure of how to portray in my application, which meant he understood things I dealt with and could help me utilize those in my application.
2. He was an alumna of my top chop choice schools.
3. He was extremely personable, and fun-spirited, which would help me keep my calm throughout the stressful application process.

All of these reasons indeed ended up being important as we developed a great relationship.

All of these reasons indeed ended up being important as we developed a great relationship. We also got into a good working cadence: I sent him a draft late at my night (his morning), then he would send me his suggested edits and comments within next couple hours (which worked for me as I was in India and he was in US), then I would send him a new draft that night (and repeat). This was critical in completing applications for 8 schools in less than 2 months without sacrificing all the iterations that good essays require.

Another huge plus of SOP’s comprehensive services is that the founder (Kathryn Lucas) reviews all your “final” drafts (“final” because she will provide feedback that you will then need to incorporate). She is passionate about her work and cares deeply about the success of her clients (something you’ll likely sense in your conversations with her). It is invaluable to have another set of eyes (and an experienced set, at that) on all the essays.

I got my first admit to Oxford in an extreme time crunch. I am waiting to hear back on the rest of the schools. I know for sure that SOP helped me produce submissions that were much stronger than those I would have produced on my own and therefore enabled me to go through the application process with an increased chance of success. I would recommend SOP wholeheartedly to anybody who is looking to apply to a B-school, and is looking for a well-equipped companion in this journey to put his / her best foot forward.

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In 2021, I was laid off after having worked in the company for 5+ years. I decided to pursue an MBA on a whim, with only 4 months left to get a competitive GMAT score and submit a competitive application to a top MBA program. With no room for “what-ifs” and “maybes”, my friends suggested that I engage an MBA Admissions consultancy. Square One Prep was the clear choice after my free consultation with Kathryn because of her experience, warm personality and commitment to answering all questions without ever looking at the clock. After a few introductory calls, I picked Kathleen as my advisor to guide me through the process.

As my decision to pursue an MBA was made on a whim, the struggle to fully crystallize my long-term goals felt insurmountable. Fortunately, I had Wendy who set a very high bar and didn’t settle for a run-of-the-mill narrative template. My thought process and ideas were critiqued until I backed up every assumption with industry research and data. Eight drafts later, I not only had a strong logical career plan, but also improved awareness of myself and my target industry.

Such exacting requirements are Square One Prep’s trademark and were placed throughout the process, be it crafting the resume, shortlisting schools, or writing application essays. I’ll admit that there were times it felt disheartening to have my best drafts critiqued and sent back with comments. But Kathleen’s encouraging presence and commitment helped me persevere. Always available to talk, she even accommodated many last-minute requests, despite conflicts with her personal commitments and ensured that I stayed on schedule throughout the process.

And of course, everything occurred under the watchful gaze of Kathryn who never settled for even at-par and kept pushing until every deliverable met her exceptionally demanding standards. All in all, I can confidently say that without this grueling journey, I’d never have received admission offers from both INSEAD and HEC Paris.

Square One Prep is an onerous experience for sure. I However, if you desire to build outstanding applications and secure offers to top schools, while also growing as an individual, Square One Prep is a no-brainer. My only piece of advice: start early to make the most of Square One Prep’s amazing team!

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I decided to apply for an MBA in late June 2021, skeptical about my chances as I belonged to an overrepresented applicant pool, carried relatively low work experience and had little time remaining for my target college’s R1 deadlines (5 top M7 schools)

Before beginning the application process, I reached out to several MBA consultants, and mostly received the same feedback – to either tone down my expectations, or save the application for another year. But right from the first call with Kathryn, Square One Prep stood out from the rest. Instead of just evaluating my profile based on my background and test scores, Kathryn pushed me to open up about different experiences in my life through a series of introspective questions. She encouraged me to continue aiming for the best schools, somehow believing that I’d find a good story to tell.

I immediately signed up with SOP, and could soon tell that this would be the right call. The MBA application process can be an exhausting mental rollercoaster, so I was glad to have Annie, my advisor, share this with me. She became equally invested in my applications right from the beginning and provided much-needed honest feedback to help me deliver quality essays and prepare well for my interviews. Annie is extremely diligent, really approachable, incredibly supportive, and looking back – the very best person I could’ve had to navigate through the challenges of these applications. I also received tremendous support from Wendy, who spent several hours helping me draft a leakproof, ambitious yet well-grounded career narrative, that became the core for all my applications.

I went on to receive interview invites from 3 colleges, and finally got accepted into my dream school!

Square One Prep’s encouragement and support was critical in my journey, and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND them for the MBA Applications. They’ve got an absolutely amazing team, who’ll have your back and put you in the best position to achieve your business school goals

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At SOP I've seen the advisors are rooting for your success and make sure that you're doing the best you can. Horatiu really helped me navigate through my career plans and carve out a precise career goal. Sooky was the constant cheerleader who was patient with my long lines of edits and redoings. Kathryn was always available and ready to help. In the short time that we spent together, I learned a lot. Alongwith the incredible people, the processes and the structure at SOP really helps you navigate through the ambiguity of the admission process with confidence.

My best wishes are with SOP :)

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I worked with Square One for Round 2 applications during the 2021-2022 cycle. I interviewed ~6 firms and consultants. The prior year, I had worked with a reputable firm and thought that I did not receive the support and quality of work I was looking for, so I was careful to choose the right consultant. After my initial conversation with Kathryn (founder), I felt comfortable in the hands of Square One. During the conversation, I spoke about my background and why MBA. Kathryn listened to my story, having a candid response about my candidacy and story that felt personal and empowering. I felt other firms were heavily focused on marketing or were boastful, but I did not feel any of this with Kathryn.

The next step was to find the right advisor that I would work closely with. I interviewed several advisors before talking with Lara. I believe all the advisors I spoke with were strong, but I immediately connected with Lara during our initial discussion. Her authentic style made me feel highly confident and comfortable partnering with her for my business school applications.

The Square One process was structured to move things along but tailored in helping me access my motivations and key moments of my story. The process started with school selection, which measured the risk of school admittance. I was a high-risk candidate, given my <3.0 GPA. Then, there was a narrative process with Wendy (narrative expert) and Lara, where I met over multiple sessions to talk about my ambitions and form a business case of what it takes to reach those goals. I found this process invaluable as I was not interested in developing a case just for admission purposes.

Then, I began working on essays with Lara over a few months, a process that was highly introspective and therapeutic. Her pre-writing calls and comments on drafts were insightful and helped direct my writing to be full and personal. During the semi-final drafts, my essays were sent to a team of editors, which included Kathryn, to make sure that my stories were clear, understandable, and ready. My writing came out real, professional, and passionate. The team was kind enough to work with me through tight timelines, even turning around comments on the day of application deadlines.

At the interview stage, Lara spent significant time with me, helping me understand my unique touch in interviews. At this point, I realized I had approached interviews wrong my whole life, almost as a test, but she helped me come as my whole self and communicate my thoughts in a clear spoken and sincere way.

Overall, I was accepted to Wharton. I don't think I could have had this successful outcome with any other group and am so happy I chose Lara and Square One.

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A friend referred me to Square One Prep and I cannot recommend them enough.
Telling my story took a few calls to nail down, but Cristina, Horatiu and Kathryn helped me stay on track with my applications, guiding me through the unknowns of the application process and ensuring I put my best foot forward. Our work from program selection, essay editing and interview prep to comparing offers helped me find my best fit. The team was not afraid to tell me when I was not doing my best in the process and pushed me to produce my most genuine applications.
I am very excited to be attending a wonderful program this fall with significant merit aid!
Thank you Cristina, Horatiu and Kathryn!

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Thanks to Kathryn, Annie, Horatiu, and the rest of the SquareOnePrep team, I breezed through the application process for business school. Their all-inclusive approach to helping me construct my career story helped me concentrate on what was important to me and enabled me to show my best self to business school admissions committees.

What is the rationale behind SOP?

I spoke with a few MBA consultants from various companies. As far as I'm concerned, I don't want to work with someone who either overestimated or underestimated my abilities. My first conversation with Kathryn from SOP was positive, but she also pointed me what I needed to improve upon based on the results of my application. Her words of wisdom were a great boost to my self-esteem and practical in nature.

The four key components of their services are Resume, LOR, Career Narrative and Essays.

Resume: Many hours of phone calls with Annie, my academic adviser, were spent developing my résumé, and she pointed out many aspects of my academic and professional achievements that I had overlooked. In the end, the resume that was created using SOP was quite thorough and compelling in its content.

LOR: Even though I had previously applied to a master's programme and submitted a professional letter of recommendation, this LOR prepared with SOP for MBA was very striking and had a number of personal & professional tales. The SOP presented my supervisor with a wealth of information to consider when making their recommendation.

Carrier Narrative: The nicest part about SOP is that they take 3-4 separate sessions to set short-term and long-term objectives. This encouraged individuals to look at various career objectives, companies, and the impact they had on society, and eventually a clear path post MBA short and long term goal was established.

Essays: Each of my meetings with my adviser was helpful and supplied me with a wealth of useful information, which helped me write more effective essays.

Overall, I'm glad I selected SOP for MBA consulting, and I know it would have been exceedingly tough for me to be in the place I am now if it hadn't been for their help. Thank you SOP, and thank you Kathryn!

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