Kate Richardson Reviews

I work in investment management and will be attending a part-time weekend MBA program. I worked with Kate on a two school package and she was an incredible resource in making my applications as strong as possible.

She helped me narrow in on the strengths to highlight in my applications but also helped me identify my weaknesses and developed a plan to address them. One of my key weaknesses was a lack of community engagement.

Kate kept me on task throughout the process. Her help in tailoring my story and providing constructive feedback on my writing resulted in extremely strong essays.

We did mock interviews that made me much more prepared and confident in my interviews. Ultimately I got into both of the schools that I applied to and both offered me merit scholarships that exceeded my expectations. Going into my MBA applications, I was somewhat naive to the process and all that it entailed. Kate helped me navigate all of it and prepared me better than I ever could have on my own.

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I worked with Kate based on a recommendation from a friend who was admitted to Wharton with Kate's help.
I knew I wanted to apply to a mix of US and international MBA programs and was surprised to learn that Kate had more experience with business schools abroad than I initially expected.
I signed up for the hourly rate and found Kate to be efficient with her time. She provided very helpful feedback throughout the process and was well versed on the differentiators that each school looked for. This helped me tailor my essays in the most impactful way.
She knew my essays almost better than I did myself recalling parts of essays that I can leverage for others. This was particularly impressive because in some cases, she did not review them thoroughly (based on my requests). I would not have been able to submit the quality of applications that I did without Kate's help and am beyond thrilled to be attending my dream school, INSEAD!

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Overall, I had a very pleasant experience with Kate and a very satisfactory outcome. Kate worked very hard to ensure the success of my applications and I found my entire application process very engaging and stimulating (in a good way!).

Kate was referred to me by a close friend who worked with her two years ago. My first impression was reassuring - Kate appeared knowledgeable, chill, and most importantly, not as aggressively/unrealistically optimistic as some other consultants I had spoken with.

I decided to go with her for the two-school package in Round 2. That was a decision that I am very glad about.

There are three areas where I personally found most helpful from Kate. First, I was working full-time in a demanding job and taking care of a toddler at home - so Kate's game plan for my application journey at the beginning of the engagement was super helpful. We would schedule turnarounds way ahead of time and I would work hard to meet all of our internal deadlines. By the end, I did not feel rushed and I felt that I had enough time to review everything multiple times. Second, the initial brainstorming session/documentation was very helpful. I indeed spent a lot of time creating that document (spent more than 10 hours), but it turned out to be the most helpful document - from finding topics for the essays to preparing stories for the interviews. Finally, Kate is very good at materializing my one-off ideas - there were a few instances when had some random ideas that I would like to include in my applications but could not find a good place to do so. Kate was always able to propose a few alternatives and one of them would fit well with the rest of my materials.

As said in the title, I will recommend Kate to anyone who is interested in applying.

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Kate is awesome! Aside from being kind and understanding, she was so helpful and supportive throughout the entire process. With all the different elements, from essays to interviews, Kate was an incredible resource and sounding board who helped alleviate so much stress by breaking up the process into manageable pieces. She gave excellent guidance, kept me on track, and was extremely quick to respond to any questions I had.

Kate really took the time to learn about me and my goals, and she helped me to develop my story in a way that would stand out to the schools I was applying to.

I am very thankful for the support she provided throughout my MBA application journey. I definitely would have felt lost without her help. I would absolutely recommend her as an admissions consultant!

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I signed up for hourly services with Kate as a reapplicant to three T10 schools. Though I had friends (who went to M7 schools) help me with overall strategy and general guidance, Kate's input was valuable in crafting a unique and coherent story across different aspects of my application. She helped me with re-analyzing my career goals while nudging me into pursuing a PT MBA, given the stage of my career. Kate was always prompt in essay edits and timely in response to my emails. She also helped me greatly with my interview prep.

In the end, working with Kate turned out to be a great decision, as I was accepted into multiple FT and PT programs and I'm Kellogg bound this Fall!

Throughout my application process, Kate was a constant source of support and guidance. She is personable, humble, and very easy to work with. I strongly recommend her to anyone who is applying to a top MBA program.

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Kate is an INCREDIBLE consultant and did a tremendous job throughout my application cycle. I first contacted her back in May and she had very few Round 1 spots left. I was lucky to have her!

I come from a Big 4 consulting background and technical undergrad. I applied to 5 M7 schools, received interviews at 3 of them, and was ultimately admitted to 1 school and waitlisted at 2.

Kate was there every step of the way. She was kind, thoughtful, and thorough. She brought out the best in my story, helped me find a logical structure to the (sometimes scattered) experiences that make up my life, and pushed me through to the end.

Kate is an incredible editor and is suuuuper patient throughout the process, even when we would go through 5-6 iterations on a single essay. She's outstanding at both the high-level storyboarding and the granular edits that are required to get an essay to the finish line. She also is great with interview prep, helping me to hone in on the story lines that would speak best to each school.

Kate was AWESOME and I couldn't recommend her more!

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All thanks to Kate, I got into my top choice MBA school with a FULL RIDE!!! She was super responsive (I don't know when she had time to sleep). Her editing skills are absolutely fantastic - she cut down my essay that was was over the world limit to the required length without sacrificing any of the messaging.

I highly recommend Kate to anyone looking for an admissions consultant. I wouldn't have gotten into my top choice schools without her responsiveness, writing skills, and brainstorming ideas! She gave me confidence whenever I started to doubt myself. Whenever I had even a minor question, I knew I could email Kate and she would provide sound advice.

Again - couldn't recommend Kate enough.

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I HIGHLY recommend Kate Richardson. I was extremely hesitant to use a consultant for several reasons, but I am 100% satisfied with my choice. I honestly don't know if I could have gone through this process and stayed sane without her.

I was so happy to get into a top-choice school, but a bit sad to not work with Kate regularly, which was an unexpected feeling! I felt extremely comfortable with Kate, especially as I had considered myself an "underdog" candidate before working with her. She instilled confidence in my abilities that I lacked before our partnership. I spoke with other consultants, and I felt a bit judged or that they wanted me to be inauthentic to myself and my story, but I never felt that way with Kate. I really looked forward to our chats throughout the pandemic - even if it meant a lot of "homework" on my end afterward. I really appreciate her kindness during a trying time.

Aside from her welcoming and approachable personality, she is EXTREMELY competent, especially with her editing skills, and her turnaround times were truly remarkable. I do not know how Kate sleeps because I would get essays and random questions answered in record-breaking time. I felt like Kate was on speed dial as a resource, and she always had a confident answer to my questions - and anxieties. 

She really helped me tell my story, and I felt authentic and supported throughout this process. Seriously don't hesitate to use Kate! 

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I had a fantastic experience with Kate! For me there were 3 things that really stood out: her professionalism, her ability to take you from strategy through execution, and her genuine nature.

Professionalism: Practical, efficient, honest, prompt, straightforward. Really made an effort to understand my story and link back to it throughout the entire process. Offered balanced perspectives and took the time to walk through options.

Genuine nature: Kate is really friendly and down-to-earth. She's the type of person you'd look forward to interacting with through the stressful MBA application process.

Strategy through execution: Helped me thing strategically / big picture, to create a cohesive application strategy. But as we progressed, she was able to really drill into details and help me position details and nuances in a way that really helped me stand out.

Finally, I think the mbaMission business model is pretty compelling. You know exactly what you're getting up front... you don't have a 'middle man' situation where someone is trying to 'pair you' or [worse yet] gauge how much money they could get out of you.

I've been accepted to my dream M7 and am so grateful to Kate for all her support!

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Kate was instrumental in my MBA application journey from start to finish. She was extremely insightful, helpful and resourceful. When I was struggling with GMAT, she suggested various strategies for me to break out of the plateau stage and referred great tutor to help me. When I was brainstorming essay ideas and got stuck in difficult situations, ranging from not having enough ideas to having too many ideas, she was always there and ready to share wisdom and guidance. Kate struck a perfect balance between being an independent consultant and being resourceful.  

Additionally, she was extremely responsive throughout the whole process. Whenever I had a question, she responded right away via email or phone call. Even during the rare days when she took time off, she gave more than adequate advance notice. During this challenging process with hair greying and weight loss effect :), it was so comforting to know that Kate always has my back.

If I were to do this again, I would choose Kate again in a heartbeat. Good luck to everyone looking to embark on this journey! Besides hard work, luck, and support from family and friends, Kate is the other invaluable and critical player to complete your dream team.

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