Status: First-time applicant
Pre-MBA industry: Strategy Consulting/Real Estate Operations
Years of experience at time of matriculation: 5
GMAT/GRE score: 750 (V: 44 Q: 48)
Undergraduate GPA: 3.61/4.00
Admitted to: Booth (with other schools TBD)
Scholarship(s): $50,000
I purchased a two school package for HBS and Stanford, plus used SOP’s feedback on those schools to guide my other applications. I also purchased a few extra hours for my MIT pre-interview essays.
SOP made me feel taken care of from project planning in June 2020 to finalizing my HBS post-interview essay last week after being pushed to Round 2. Not only did I get consistent, timely feedback from Lee, my advisor, but I also received specific feedback on my story/narrative from the specialized career narrative advisor Wendy and additional essay reviews from the founder Kathryn.
For each essay, you first work through iterations with your advisor and then you go through 1-2 additional reviews with Leadership. Although Lee was great to work with, I loved how I didn’t rely on just one person to give me feedback/advice. Having your essays go through 2-3 reviewers ensures that the message is being presented clearly. And don’t expect the second essay review by Leadership to be light touch! I had to revamp my entire first essay after Leadership demolished it. Not a fun or quick process, but I was confident knowing that the resulting essays were fully validated.
If you’re struggling to choose between different admissions consultants (just as I was before I applied), ask how many hours they provide as a part of their package. Square One is the only service that I saw so openly share the estimated hours they will spend for you. Once I asked some other consultants who had lower prices for packages, I quickly realized SOP was the best value and worth the extra price.
One last point: Lee, Kathryn and the other advisors don’t sugarcoat feedback. At first, it can feel a bit jarring, but you realize quite quickly that this is the best way to get the results that you’re aiming for. They pushed me to submit better content, and that helped me get interviews/offers at a number of my top schools.
Even though I didn’t get an interview at Stanford, I honestly believe the only reason I’m waiting on my interview results from HBS is because of working with SOP. If you’re looking to make yourself as competitive an applicant as possible, SOP is a great choice!