Status: First-time applicant
Pre-MBA industry: Product Development-Fitness
Years of experience at time of matriculation: 6
GMAT/GRE score: 325 (V164 Q: 161)
Undergraduate GPA: 3.86/4.00
Admitted to: Kenan-Flagler, Kellogg, Goizueta, Tuck, Wharton, Sloan
Scholarship(s): $272,000
There is simply no way I would be going to Wharton or have had my choice between there and Sloan, Kellogg, Tuck, etc. without using Square One Prep. I actually started my process pretty confused about what type of graduate program to even apply for or what career path made sense for me. If not for my first free consultation call with Kathryn, where she listened to my story and my confusion about what my next step should be, I would have never been pointed in the right direction or realized how much business school made sense for me. Square One came highly recommended to me by two previous clients, and I am so grateful that I took their advice!
Once I signed on with Square One, I had my choice of excellent advisors and chose Rahul, who was there with me every step of the way. We’d talk through all the ideas I had for different essays before I began writing, where he’d work with me for as long as it took to figure out which direction made the most sense and how to craft that specific story for each individual school. He then helped me through the many drafts of each essay, quickly giving substantial constructive and detailed feedback, which resulted in strong essays that I could truly be proud of. He was instrumental in helping with the process of getting great recommendation letters and navigating those conversations with recommenders. He was incredibly helpful with my interview prep, drawing on experiences I had mentioned in essays or on the phone with him to help me think of specific answers to questions and providing me with detailed personalized advice. I felt totally confident in Rahul’s ability to make my applications as strong as possible (and clearly it worked!).
A big part of the process was first figuring out my career narrative – the story of what I want to do in the near-term and long-term and why, and where business school fits in that. As mentioned, I was confused at the start of my application process – I mean, TRULY all over the place with figuring out what I wanted to do next in my career. Over numerous calls with Wendy and the team, where I was always met with patience and provoking questions guiding me towards a more and more clear story, we crafted my narrative. This was crucial for the application process, but it was also personally and professionally so valuable.
With Square One, you are going to get always attentive, incredibly personalized advice, no matter where you are in the process, how many questions you ask, or how many drafts you need to go through to get to the final best version. Bailey will keep you on track with a very detailed schedule, helping to make an overwhelming large process become manageable and attainable. I thought top 10 schools would be just a pipe dream for me, coming from a science background without a stellar GRE score, but with the endless wisdom and encouragement from Kathryn and her team, I got into numerous top schools with some humbling scholarship options. Make this investment in yourself and your future – it will pay off!!!!