Status: First-time applicant
Pre-MBA industry: Production, Story Analysis and Editing
Years of experience at time of matriculation: 10
GMAT/GRE score: 322 (V:160 Q:162)
Undergraduate GPA: 3.42/4.00
Admitted to: Goizueta, Marshall, Stern
Scholarship(s): $115,000
Service Type: Premium
Working with Kathryn, Wilson and the Square One Prep (SOP) team was a fantastic experience and essential to my MBA application success.
After speaking to several consultants, I initially hesitated to hire one and delayed the decision for several months. However, Kathryn’s genuine investment in me as a person, not just as a client, convinced me that SOP would bring clarity to what often felt like an opaque and overwhelming process.
Despite my many doubts about my candidacy — including my age, GRE score (which I had not yet taken), lack of undergraduate extracurriculars, and unconventional work history — which other consultants had caused me to worry about, Kathryn made me feel confident about my prospects as an applicant to programs I truly wanted to attend.
Once I signed with the firm, Kathryn thoughtfully selected several coaches for me to talk about my goals. While they were all excellent, Wilson immediately stood out with both his acute analytical abilities and zeal.
Before our first call, he emailed me with genuine enthusiasm about my background while also identifying the concerns that were at the heart of my anxieties about the process. But when we spoke, it became clear that he did not see those things as weaknesses; only as plot points in the narrative we would create in telling my story to schools.
Working with Wilson was a terrific experience. He consistently went above and beyond, bringing a calm, confident, and thoughtful approach to every stage of the process. I always enjoyed our conversations and they always led me to think in a fresh way.
His insightful edits, strategic suggestions, kind advice, patient answers to countless questions, and responsiveness transformed what could have been an extremely stressful experience into something not only manageable, but genuinely rewarding and reflective.
While I did not use the team for every school I applied to, Kathryn’s well-designed systems and resources gave me everything I needed to navigate confidently through the applications I chose to complete on my own.
Even after receiving multiple admissions offers, the team has continued to support me, helping me negotiate scholarships and formulate rejection letters to schools that I’d never imagined would admit me.
They are a team I now feel genuinely close to now.
As someone who originally believed I should handle every application entirely on my own, I believe now that working with Square One Prep was not only worth it, but the best decision I made over the course of the entire MBA application process.
Working with SOP is the first investment one should make in their pursuit of an MBA.