Testimonial Detail

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864

March 14, 2024
Client from: China/United States
Status: First-time applicant
Pre-MBA industry: Financial Services
Years of experience at time of matriculation: 7
GMAT/GRE score: 760 (V: 44 Q: 49)
Undergraduate GPA: 3.50/4.00
Admitted to: Anderson, Columbia, McCombs, Ross, Yale
Scholarship(s): $320,000
Service Type: Premium Need-based

I spoke with almost a dozen consultants before landing on Square One. From the moment I spoke with Kathryn on our initial consultation call, I got the feeling that they were the most transparent organization and really had my best interests in mind. I didn’t feel like they were pushing me to buy more services than I needed like a lot of other companies. Additionally, Kathryn gave me the encouragement to pursue my dream schools on our call.

After I decided on Square One, it was time to choose an advisor to work with. I was initially planning to hire a standard advisor but after speaking to Kathleen Danoher, I was blown away by not only her rich professional experience but also her extensive experience of working with clients of diverse backgrounds. Most impressively, her earnest attitude shined throughout our interactions. I knew from that moment that I would not want to work with anyone else but her.

I was on a tight deadline applying to 12 programs in round 2. I really should’ve started earlier but it was the difficult situation I had gotten myself into due to putting off applications for far too long. However, Square One managed the deadlines beautifully and guided me on my MBA application journey amid my busy work/life schedule. They were on top of everything and made sure I needed to be where I need to every step of the journey. They were also able to fit in calls between my busy weeks of work travel and they were always there whenever I needed, typically getting back to me within just a few hours. I feel like the structured process Square One has built for building a career narrative, resume, recommendation letters, and individual essays really brought out the best version of myself on my applications.

I ended up doing 3 schools comprehensively with Square One and the applications I built with them gave me a solid foundation and the confidence to build the rest of my schools. My results were exceptional given my background, the selectiveness of the programs I applied to, and the competitiveness of the 2023-2024 cycle – I interviewed at 9 out of 12 schools (which included almost all T10 programs) and have been accepted to 6 so far, including two full scholarships, and a few other programs are still pending and/or I’m still on the waitlist for. I’m extremely grateful and lucky to have work with Square One and I would highly recommend applicants to work with them. I could not have done all this by myself.

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