Status: Re-applicant
Pre-MBA industry: Manufacturing/Finance
Years of experience at time of matriculation: 9
Career Gap(s): 7 months
GMAT/GRE/EA score: 750 (41V 51Q)
Undergraduate GPA: 8.5/10.0
Graduate GPA: 8.5/10.0
Admitted to: Anderson, Darden, McCombs
Scholarship(s): $120,000
Service Type: Premium
It is a rare privilege to have a mentor who’s willing to support you through what is arguably one of your most important life decisions the way Kathryn Lucas and her Square One Prep (SOP) team do.
After deciding to do an MBA in early December 2023, taking the GMAT a couple weeks later, I approached multiple consultants for assistance given the short timeline and the complexity of my 9-year work history (entrepreneurship, career pivots, etc.). In my free consultation call with Kathryn the day after Christmas, which lasted almost two hours, she took genuine interest in understanding my past¬, my future plans, and the effort I was ready to put into the applications in 10-20 days until R2 deadlines. The decision to choose Kathryn came easily. She was upfront about the realistic expectations I needed to have and, together with her amazing team, we went through a whirlwind of two ambitious R2 applications. I must tell you that she urged me to NOT apply R2, to instead wait and apply R1 – to be ahead of everyone instead of behind everyone. But I wanted to try, and I knew she and her team would give me the best shot.
Undeterred by the negative outcomes in R2, I worked with Kathryn and my brilliant advisor Catherine Rolfe over the next several months to piece together a game plan of things for me to do before R1 (2024-25) deadlines, including school research, preliminary essay drafts, student outreach, events attendance, etc. Assisted by Horatiu Stefan’s terrific insights into weaving a coherent career narrative (an actual written document!) from my terribly convoluted 9-year work experience, I worked with Catherine on applications in both R1 and R2, with Kathryn as the team lead. After deep dives during several calls and a highly iterative editing process, Catherine helped me bring the most relevant and consequential stories to my essays, tying them together seamlessly into a clear and authentic story for my applications.
Kathryn’s highly sophisticated schedule on the SOP website (accommodating my applications and other engagements), along with Catherine’s gentle push and sometimes tough love, kept me on my toes while managing multiple deadlines. They always had incredibly fast turnaround times and were happy to answer any questions I had about the whole process. Through Catherine’s meticulous analysis of my essays and Kathryn’s overarching vision-setting, I put my best foot forward.
I had great interview experiences with Booth, Tuck, Darden, Anderson, Ross, and McCombs, thanks to Catherine’s mock interviews where she helped me strengthen my weak spots through thoughtful feedback. As I await results from my R2 schools, I’m delighted to have received offers from Anderson and McCombs with scholarships, while also getting waitlisted at Booth, Columbia, and Darden. Catherine and Kathryn are right there by my side, helping me define a WL strategy and craft letters to the schools. They are just as focused on me converting as I am!
This over-a-year-long journey has been challenging due to some personal setbacks I had to endure. There’s not enough room here to fully capture how instrumental Kathryn’s mentorship was in getting me through it all — extending beyond her professional obligations to become a pillar of unwavering support and a vote of confidence, even when my own dwindled.
You might’ve heard adcoms say that the application process is one of self-reflection and it makes you grow as a person. I completely agree and can say without hesitation that with the SOP team as my anchor and personal cheerleader, I not only navigated this journey successfully but emerged from it with greater clarity, confidence, and a rewarding experience. I also developed relationships with Catherine and Kathryn that I never would have guessed would be so meaningful during my application process, but I now know will be so lifelong.