Square One Prep Admissions Consulting Reviews

From the moment, I spoke to Kathryn for 1.5 hours over the FREE consultation hour, I knew I had found people who’d actually be invested in my success. And I haven’t been disappointed one bit. I was late to the R2 application round (with less than 1.5 months to go for the deadlines), but the team worked hard on my application and my story, the consultant and reviewers responded quicker than their standard review times, and everyone was willing to work at a fast pace just because I asked them to. I really really appreciate them for it! Some other points that stood out to me:

1. I always got honesty from my consultant and Kathryn. They made me face the reality from time to time but also picked me up when I was extremely underconfident.
2. Kathryn believed in me and offered to take time out to be my senior reviewer despite it not being a part of my package. This further strengthened my belief in my ability and profile.
3. I LOOOVED that they have an extremely structured process. Everything is planned to the T and they make sure no-one involved lags behind, and even if they do, they make sure the progress is not hampered. I especially appreciate the regular check-ins and pushes from Cristina (my relationship manager) and Paula (my consultant) because I had a tendency to proscrastinate. They helped me overcome that.
4. They literally took time out to get to know me in depth and understand the kind of person I am. This helped me stay authentic to my story. Furthermore, their review process ensured that multiple eyes were going through each component of the application so different perspectives could be taken into account and there was no ambiguity in the essays.
5. Paula, my consultant, even went above and beyond when she checked on me about how I was feeling when an essay on a very personal topic had to be edited heavily because my senior reviewer could not follow the story I was trying to portray.
6. When I was contemplating between taking hourly consultation for a school vs taking the full comprehensive school package, I was suggested by the team to go for the hourly consultation option (even though that meant less money for them) because they felt that would be more cost effective and equally beneficial to me — a piece of advice I only expect to receive from a truly professional organisation.
6. When I was waitlisted by a couple of schools, Kathryn’s waitlist letter guidance was literally what got me where I am today — more than just what I should do and write for the adcoms to look at me differently, she helped me view the fact that I was waitlisted positively! That was what kept me going!
7. Lastly, even when I was done with my applications and I had already heard back from schools I had worked on with SOP, I received regular check in mails from them which made me realise that they really truly were always invested in my success!

I am extremely happy I chose to work with SOP on my applications. This entire process not only helped me get into my top choice school with a super cool scholarship, but also helped me rebuild my confidence in myself — which I know is going to be with me throughout my MBA journey and beyond! Thus, I recommend SOP to all prospective applicants wholeheartedly! Just sign up eyes closed!

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I was recommended to Kathryn by my supervisor/recommender who was also an MBA student ten years ago (!!) and he would still recall many memories for his work with Kathryn – that spoke a lot about his positive experiences back then. Many of the other MBA consultants from different regions that I talked to recommended me to apply the next year given my shorter working experiences, it was Kathryn who highlighted my accelerated career exposure and gave me confidence that I also have my unique life stories. I also like how Kathryn focuses on my personal experiences and motivations beyond my professional life, which provides a more holistic picture of myself. Kathryn’s extensive experiences in dealing with clients from all over the world and all walks of life is very valuable as well.

I enjoyed each and every step in this “soul-searching” journey (though not easy): career goal setting, resume, school assessment, life story brainstorming, essay editing, engaging with recommenders, interview preps, scholarship negotiations… We would have debates time to time but it is wonderful: I really appreciate Kathryn’s candid and convincing sharing on when it is ok for me to pivot, or when she would recommend otherwise; She provided me good preps for the interview, but also warned me not to “over practice”... She knows how to find the right balance!

I am really thankful for the journey with Kathryn and SOP.

I applied for other schools in R1 and my dream school HBS in R2. Kathryn was the best mentor and buddy throughout this journey, encouraging me to persevere when I had doubts about myself, and patiently discussing and fine-tuning the narratives many times with me. I love my final HBS application materials: it is really ME! And the answer from HBS was a YES!

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"Partnering with SOP was one of the best decisions I have made"
I am so grateful to Kathryn (Wow!!, really couldn't ask anything more from her as she really knows what she is doing and knows how to get things done), Wilson (my awesome, superb, and fantastic advisor), Cristina (who really ensured that we adhered to the timelines and coordinated the process so well), and Horatiu (who really pushed me to ensure that I have a strong career narrative - thank you so much!!).

I couldn't have achieved this without SOP and I strongly recommend it to anyone who is in the journey of MBA applications. This is one investment that you will cherish. I really did land up in my dream school and so will you!

To the entire team - thank you so very much!

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Since the day of signing up with Squareone Prep, I received tremendous support and guidance from Kathryn, Amalia, Cristina, and Wendy. The team ensured that I reached all milestones in the application process even though I started working with them late in R2. Kathryn has set an amazingly streamlined process in place for all applicants to follow since the Day-1. She and Amalia were extremely organized, and they were very dedicated in understanding my background prior to kicking off the work on the applications.

SOP team ensured that I understand and build a very thorough long-term and short-term plan post-MBA via its Career Narrative lead by Wendy. I went to them with a very bleak/blurry vision, but after multiple discussions, the team guided me to build a very strong post-MBA plan. I really do not think I could have an excellent vision without undergoing this process with the SOP team. Incredible execution by the SOP team, special thanks to Wendy – she is the expert!

Post career narration, Amalia helped me pick the right stories to be incorporated into the essays. Amalia is super friendly, and she was always willing to hop on a call and listen without worrying about time. This is where SOP’s dedication in understanding my journey was super helpful. She was extremely emphatic while listening to some of the delicate aspects of my past and helped me to carefully draft my narratives. Amalia was also great at utilizing the time difference between our locations to our advantage and we managed to build the essays for both GSB and HBS within 3 weeks. While Amalia’s expertise added in simplify the back and forth in polishing the essays, the quality of feedback provided by Kathryn on the final version of the essays was just priceless. She was very open and honest about how she felt about certain aspects of my essays. She ensured that the best of me is reflected even when we were all working together tirelessly during the last couple of days prior to the deadlines. I absolutely loved her insights and her turnaround time!

Cristina was super supportive in ensuring that I adhere to the timelines set and she worked closely with Amalia and me to ensure all deliverables are ready on time. To add further, the dynamic schedule on SOP portal was absolutely useful even before I signed up with SOP. Prior to signing up with SOP, Kathryn demonstrated how to use this schedule and it helped me to always track my progress for the various schools I planned to apply. In fact, it also helped me to pick schools wisely in interest of time available then.

The team was always available to answer all my questions throughout the process. As a bonus later on, Amalia helped me navigate through my interviews smoothly too. She performed multiple mock-interviews for both GSB and HBS and did not stop until I was 100% ready. After each mock- interview, Amalia drafted detailed feedback and ensured that I improved after each mock. Even in times when I was feely low about my interview prep, she boosted me and went out of her way to bring back my confidence levels. She genuinely cared for my success, and I owe my performance in interviews totally to her.

I feel absolutely great and lucky to have had SOP’s back during this vital process. I would definitely recommend SOP especially for applications to the top B-schools such as HSW. Super grateful for all the guidance from SOP team! Thank you, once again.

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I began my MBA application process frantic and stressed, with impending deadlines adding to the anxiety. Countless questions swirled in my mind: as a nontraditional applicant, how could I effectively convey my experience and aspirations? Which schools should I target? What aspects should my recommenders focus on? I knew I had one shot to get it right, and the whole ordeal seemed overwhelming. Exacerbating matters was that I had started work with one consulting firm, but realized they were not the right fit for me; I did not feel like a priority to them. Then I joined forces with Square One Prep.

Right from the start, the SOP team impressed me with their seamless process and remarkable responsiveness and expertise. Kathryn, Darcy, Cristina and Wendy worked closely with me, ensuring I stayed on track with timelines and nailed down all aspects of the application. They provided unwavering support every step of the way. Our journey kicked off with a comprehensive examination of my career narrative through multiple conversations and extensive self-reflection. This groundwork laid the foundation for the subsequent essays and established a solid framework for the entire process.

Following this, the essays were a breeze - I was astounded by how quickly drafts were returned and accompanied with insightful feedback. The team was always available to answer any questions, no matter how small. Within a matter of weeks, I completed eight high-quality applications. Beyond the logistical support, what truly stood out was the genuine care the team had for my success. There is no doubt that navigating through this process can be incredibly stressful but having SOP on my side truly made all the difference. When I finally hit that submit button, I felt a sense of confidence. Ultimately, I was amazed by the generous scholarship offers I received. It was beyond my wildest dreams to receive an almost full ride scholarship to one of my preferred programs, but thanks to the unwavering support of SOP, this remarkable outcome became a reality. I wholeheartedly recommend Square One Prep to anyone seeking comprehensive support and exceptional guidance throughout the MBA application process!

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I could not recommend Square One more. I am so grateful for all their incredible work with me, especially under my time constraints given I didn’t reach out until December and needed to apply by the beginning of January! I didn’t have a proper strategy and I wasn’t aware of how much was needed to put together a strong application, I just needed a scholarship from USC or UCLA! Horatiu helped me define my story and gave my whole application a focus which I relied upon throughout the entire application process. Anna was an absolute pleasure to work, so experienced and personable, and Kathryn’s incredible expert opinion was always available.

As a result, we put four applications together in one month. I received a full scholarship to Emory with a USD 30,000 stipend and a 60% scholarship to my first choice school, USC.

They all bent over backwards to help me make this happen and keep me on track. I am so incredibly grateful for the whole team and I am so excited to start the next chapter of my life in July!

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Square One Prep played a crucial role in guiding me through my business school applications. Despite starting the process late in the application cycle and having a busy work schedule, the team at SOP diligently checked in with me and ensured that I stayed on track to complete my applications on time. Their holistic approach, which involved crafting a compelling career narrative, providing multiple expert reviews of my essays, and offering interview preparation, greatly contributed to my acceptance into one of my preferred schools. I wholeheartedly recommend SOP to anyone aspiring to gain admission to the world's top business schools.

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Kathryn and her team played a pivotal role in my journey, surpassing their roles as mere consultants by assuming the roles of career and life coaches. Their guidance and support were instrumental in refining my professional vision, gaining clarity on my motivations for pursuing an MBA, and comprehending the distinct attributes of the schools to which I wanted to apply. They tirelessly motivated me to iterate perfect versions of my essays and were available every minute in the last few weeks near deadlines. Overall, great experience, would recommend to anyone! They don't demotivate you to not apply to dream schools but help you prepare the best version of yourself for it.

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I first started my MBA application journey in October 2022 and decided to use admission consulting services. The hardest decision was to choose what company’s services I would use. Of course, my instinct told me to look at the most reviewed companies in GMAT Club. After trying free consultation services from the top 5 most reviewed admission consulting services, one company stood out: Square One Prep (S1P).

When you book a free 30-minute consultation, your expectation should be low: you could probably meet with a client rep, with an engagement manager, or, if you’re lucky, with the company’s founder, but you will feel rushed since it’s only 30 minutes. But with Square One Prep, you meet Kathryn. Yes, she is the founder of S1P, but to only say you meet the founder is not the best way to put it. You meet Kathryn, period. After that, you will feel that your time with Kathryn should not be free.

When you meet Kathryn, you should not worry about the 30 minutes. If she believes she can help you, she will invest her time in you by delving deep into your stories to find your genuine aspiration in seeking MBA. Then, she will recommend you the best of her squad of advisors to work with you and let you meet with each of her recommended advisors for a 20-minute intro call. In my experience with S1P, I talked with Kathryn for more than one hour and did three 20-minute intro calls with three different advisors before choosing Wilson. These all proceeded before I made a single penny of transactions—you see, they invest in you before they even begin.

Your advisor—mine is Wilson—will then assess your MBA candidacy, and Kathryn will provide you with her recommendation of business schools that suit your profile. But, as you might already read in other reviews, Kathryn will not talk you out of the school of your choice. She will give you a well-informed risk level for each school you plan to apply to. I chose INSEAD and Haas, and, given my profile, Kathryn gave these schools “Super Reach” risk level, just one level below “Out of Reach”. Such a risk level means that I will have a tough time and might need some luck to get into these schools. But even after that assessment, Kathryn and Wilson continued to help me to get to the school of my choice when I decided to take the risk.

After you decide on the schools of your choice, you begin to work on the school’s application with S1P and therefore start a deep, soul-searching experience. Wilson tirelessly helped me dig deep into my course of life and career to help me find meaningful stories for the essays. Horatiu helped me build upon my work experience a narrative of my future career that was convincingly impactful. And finally, Kathryn gave her final touch and approval while she oversaw all the other S1P clients’ essays, ensuring that my application was unique among others and would catch Adcom’s attention.

From where I come from, the cost of admission consulting services is very expensive. But If I were to repeat my MBA application, I would—again and again—choose S1P to help me. The cost seems to set me back just a little, given S1P’s excellent guidance and the usefulness of the content material they build for me. Other than applying to INSEAD and Haas, I use the S1P-built essay content to apply to not only four other schools but also several scholarship programs—of course, with few modifications.

It feels almost irrelevant to discuss which schools you want to apply to or get into with the S1P’s help because I believe S1P will work hard to help you as if all the schools you apply to were top, hard-to-get-into schools. Frankly, though, I never expected to get admitted to the schools I worked with S1P since Kathryn labeled these schools “Super Reach” for me. But in the end, I got admitted to INSEAD from the waitlist, an unthinkable reality for me had I not worked with S1P.

After the MBA application journey, I realized that what is special about S1P is that Kathryn runs the company with her heart and soul. Sometimes I wonder how this world would be if every business were run with Kathryn’s principles. Please look at her replies here on the GMAT Club admission consulting review page, her bio on the S1P website, and her profile on LinkedIn. When reading those, you might only see words. But when working with S1P, you’ll see that Kathryn did not just write words.

Overall, if I’m allowed to give you an analogy, the entire MBA application journey with S1P is akin to creating a movie where Kathryn is the executive producer, Horatiu is the screenplay writer, Wilson is the director, and you, the applicant, are the starring, debuting actor. S1P will shoot a movie for each school of your choice and will work as hard as they can to make you--the actor--look great. Kathryn says, “Our focus isn’t client volume or revenue; it’s you,” Indeed, she means it: it’s you, the actor, that matters.

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As an Indian male applicant, who by MBA standards was likely on the older side, I knew the odds of cracking my dream schools were stacked against me. Right from my initial screening call with Kathryn, Square One Prep felt different than other admission consulting companies. I wasn’t nudged to aim lower or outright told that I am being “unrealistic”. It was a refreshing change to end my initial screening call with a consultant without feeling dejected (or questioning whether applying to my dream school is even worth it).
My experience of working with the Square One Prep team was phenomenal. I appreciated the candid feedback I received at each step of the way. While I felt a bit frustrated at times about the second and the third (and in some instances fourth) level of questioning, it’s that questioning that helped me dig deep and answer questions with genuine authenticity. Going through the process of taking a step back and reflecting on what truly matters to me, I learned so much about myself. I’d be amiss if I do not mention my consultant, Kelsey Wise, who was just the best person to work with. Her constant support, guidance, and most importantly, encouragement played an integral role in my application process.
When I decided to choose the “risky” strategy of applying to all reach and lottery schools, Square One provided me with an honest assessment of what my approach entailed. Of the 6 schools I applied to in Round 1, I got interviewed by 4 of them - HBS, MIT Sloan, Booth, and Yale SOM. Having gone through the process of self-introspection throughout the application process (with guidance from Kathryn and Kelsey), preparing for my interviews did not feel daunting. I was able to convert all 4 interviews into acceptance offers. In fact, I received substantial merit scholarships from Booth and Yale (given my background and the competition pool, this was not even in the realm of possibilities in my wildest imagination).
As I gear up to attend my dream b-school, Harvard Business School, in the fall, I cannot thank the Square One Prep team enough to help my dream become a reality. If you are considering getting a consultant for your application process, look no further than Square One Prep – the team will go out of its way to ensure that you are putting your best foot forward!

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