Status: First-time applicant
Pre-MBA industry: Retail Finance, Strategy Consulting, Peace Corps
Years of experience at time of matriculation: 4
Career Gap(s): 3 months, 4 months
GMAT/GRE score: 322 (V:160 Q:165)
Undergraduate GPA: 3.25/4.00
Admitted to: Anderson, Fuqua, Haas, Marshall, McDonough, Stern, Yale
Scholarship(s): $270,000
Service Type: Premium Need-based
I’ve been extremely pleased with Square One Prep’s service in the last half year. I was admitted to my dream program with scholarship as a result of months of collaborative work with Lara and the rest of the team.
What stood out most to me was their structured approach to the MBA application process and the ability to work with multiple members of the team throughout. A big part of the value was also accountability — I had an ambitious school list and am terrible at personal accountability. Realistically, I wouldn’t have been able to apply to all the schools I wanted to without Square One’s structured timeline and team pushing me to reach my own goals. And that’s before even getting to the quality of the work itself!
Lara, my primary counselor, really helped me dig deeper into my application profile, challenging me to reflect and think about my background and goals before going into essay work. The product of these work sessions are polished essays that feel authentic but still higher quality than what I would have submitted on my own. Throughout the process, I appreciated Lara’s ability to push my own thinking, her responsiveness, and her wonderful feedback on every part of my application.
The clarity in my own story and self-awareness around my goals that Square One helped me develop showed up not only in my essays, but also came through in my interviews and my overall confidence going into the MBA process.