Status: First-time applicant
Pre-MBA industry: Banking/Private Equity
Years of experience at time of matriculation: 6
GMAT/GRE score: 720 (V: 42 Q: 47)
Undergraduate GPA: 78/100
Career Gap:5 months
Admitted to: Columbia, HBS, Wharton-Lauder
Scholarship(s): $20,000
I was initially hesitant to apply to MBA programs and was nervous about my chance of acceptance by a top 10 program. I spoke to a number of consultants before deciding on Kathryn and S1P. Not only did she demonstrate the same or higher level of insight into the application process as the other highly recommended consultants, she also displayed incredible emotional empathy and positivity that sealed the deal for me.
Despite having a traditional finance background professionally (banking to private equity), I had a very different background personally with some difficult experiences. Without her support, I doubt I would have been able to write my essays at all, nevermind effectively communicate a cohesive story to the adcoms. With her help, I applied to four top 5 programs and received offers to two of them!
Some key highlights of my experience:
– Very knowledgeable – Kathryn has great insight into the adcoms and their evaluation process (more random than I thought!). That insight was invaluable in helping me select essay topics that would allow me to tell my story in the effective way – acknowledging my challenges whilst highlighting my achievements. Her expertise permeated the process, helping me through online forms, short answers, interview prep, and more
– Very supportive (but firm!) – This was one of the most important and valuable parts of my own experience with Kathryn. I was a mess of insecurity and self-doubt throughout the process but Kathryn was always there to pull me up, including talking me through my first rejection. She has a lot of positive energy that makes her a joy to speak and work with. She was supportive but realistic and firm with me. For example, if I slipped behind on a deadline, she would definitely let me know!
– Depth of resources – One benefit of working with an established firm such as S1P is their deep bench of knowledge and resources. For example, I could bounce essay ideas / tone / style on Kathryn and she was able to draw on all of S1P’s resources to give me feedback based on other essays and applications that were successful in the past.
I am thankful to have worked with Kathryn during my application process and have recommended her and S1P to my close friends. Think about how important the MBA is to your career – you do yourself a disservice if you don’t at least consider working with S1P.