Status: First-time applicant
Pre-MBA industry: Software Engieering, Entrepreneurship, Higher Education Teaching
Years of experience at time of matriculation: 7
GMAT/GRE score: 655 (V:82 Q:81 DI:82)
Undergraduate GPA: 18.0/20.0
Graduate GPA: 3.87/4.00
Admitted to: Fuqua, HBS, Tuck, Yale
Scholarship(s): $70,000
Service Type: Premium Need-based
I enthusiastically recommend Square One Prep. Being from Latin America, hiring an admissions consultant was a huge financial commitment for me. It was a tough choice, but looking at my final outcomes, I can confidently say it was 100% worth it. I honestly don’t think I would have achieved these results without their help.
Going into this, I had so many doubts. I worried that my software engineering background was overrepresented, that I was getting too old for an MBA (32 when I start school), or that I was simply aiming way too high. The team at SOP helped me see my actual potential and shared past success cases that completely shifted my mindset and gave me the confidence to go for it.
What makes their service stand out is how structured the whole process is. They don’t just rush into writing essays; they take the time to really get to know you first. They pushed me to dig deep into my motivations, my background, my past decisions, and my relationships, and they helped me build my career narrative from the ground up. I also loved that the process involves different people from their team stepping in at various stages to provide additional support and fresh eyes on your work. They see you as a whole person and dare you to keep exploring yourself, which ultimately makes the stories you tell the adcoms so much stronger.
Of course, the MBA journey has its bumps. I actually got rejected by a program we applied to early on. But honestly, I didn’t even get discouraged. I was so confident in the process and the quality of the work we were putting in that I knew rejection was just a normal part of the game. That patience paid off—I ended up with several offers from schools across different tiers, secured scholarships, and most importantly, got into my absolute dream program!
There are a couple of areas for improvement. First is how they organize their past essay examples. Right now, everything is just dumped into a single folder by school. It makes it pretty hard to search for what you actually need or to easily highlight the ones that inspire you. A better-organized database would be a huge time-saver. Second, I think having all written work managed in a Google Drive would be much better. Currently, documents are sent back and forth via email, but using a shared drive would make collaborating on files and keeping track of version history so much easier.
Finally, a huge shoutout to my consultant, David Chan. Working with him on a daily basis was incredible. He is a true professional who figured me out at every single step. He knew exactly how to look at my experience and help me frame it to be as impactful as possible. We made an amazing team. I loved that he was always outspoken and direct—he never hesitated to tell me when something wasn’t working, but he was just as quick to praise a good idea. He gave great advice throughout the whole process and is a fantastic mock interviewer. Beyond the technical stuff, I felt like David genuinely cared about me getting into business school. He celebrated every interview invite and admission offer right alongside me. Choosing him was definitely the best choice.