Status: Re-applicant
Pre-MBA industry: Corporate Strategy, Private Equity
Years of experience at time of matriculation: 7
GMAT/GRE score: 720 (V: 38 Q: 49)
Undergraduate GPA: 14.22/20.00
Admitted to: HBS
I worked with several consulting firms and received feedback from my friends who went through the process too. Choosing SOP was an easy choice.
SOP is the ONLY firm that will dedicate 4 people on a single applicant, and that really, really, really made the difference!
1. Kathryn: the team lead
2. Mary: the consultant who partnered with me
3. Wendy: the narrative expert
4. Bailey: the project manager
SOP is selective… Yes, but compared to other firms, SOP will have a holistic review of each applicant, just as an AO would do, and Kathryn will tell you if you are a XYZ school material. I had numerous free consultations, and she was the only one who did not try to convince me to apply to safety schools (to keep their success rate high) or improve my GMAT or TOEFL/IELTS scores (below school’s average). Eventually, I decided to partner with them and only applied to GSB and HBS.
I really appreciated the dedication of my consultant Mary who spent dozens of hours on the phone with me to get to know me and my stories. I felt that she has now more knowledge on me than any of my close friends. She was very available, and we worked in a very efficient way. Some documents were sent back to me within hours.
As a team lead, Kathryn was consistently there, making sure that I was back on track and that my consultant and I were crafting a compelling story. Wendy and Kathryn were the proofreaders who meticulously reviewed all my essays and provided strategic and key feedback to improve. They were frank and did not hesitate to ask me to change the story when it was not resonating with me.
I am glad that I chose SOP and definitely recommend this stellar team! I am now heading to the school that told me “The answer is YES!”.