Krista Nannery Reviews

When I first started my MBA process in the summer of 2015, I definitely underestimated how stressful and rigorous the whole process would be, then I found mbaMission. The whole team at mbaMission was so helpful in finding me the right consultant and I am glad that they paired me up with Krista. At first I was leaning more towards the hourly service because the school package seemed too expensive and I was being very indecisive for almost a month but thankfully Krista kept her patience and even encouraged that I take as much time needed to make the best decision for myself. And boy, am I glad that I chose the package option - it just presented so much more valuable tools and information than I could get through the hourly service.
Once that decision was made, Krista and I started the brainstorming process; she really took the time to get to know me as a person, what my interests and career aspirations are, and I felt so comfortable sharing everything about myself with her. Then we crafted application strategy that reflected all the things I wanted to communicate to schools' AdCom.
Krista lives overseas but she made herself available anytime and accommodated my schedule so I never had to worry about turnaround times. She went above and beyond what was expected of her to help me create unique application and I feel like we've built this relationship that extends beyond this application process. Thank you Krista for
keeping me sane throughout the application process and helping me get into my dream school (Haas)!
I highly recommend her!

Read More

I was paired with Krista Nannery from MBAmission as my admission consultant. Right off the bat she assisted with my decision of what schools to apply to. We decided that given my academic history, professional career, and GMAT score, I would be best off applying to Harvard, Wharton, Booth, and Kellogg.

Applying to 4 schools is a ton of work but Krista made the process extremely smooth. She set a very organized schedule and always kept me on track with essays, short answers, and the online applications.

The most helpful aspect of Krista's consulting was in the essay brainstorming and drafting. She has a lot of experience quickly and effectively giving comments and helpful guidance and made the process go smoothly. I would have been lost without her help in this area.

Overall, I can't express how essential Krista was to my success. I ended up getting into 3 of the 4 schools I applied to and know for a fact that it was due in large part to Krista's guidance.

Read More

I first spoke to Krista Nannery in the summer of 2015 when I was interviewing b-school admission consultants for help during 2015-2016 admission cycle (matriculation in Fall of 2016). Right off the bat, in our first call, I found Krista to be extremely warm and pleasant to talk to. She had so many rich perspectives to offer on the admissions process and quickly honed in on the interesting aspects about my life and started giving me thoughts on how to market myself effectively. Given that I had gone through the admissions process unsuccessfully in the previous year, she even went through my prior applications and pointed out what I did wrong in those applications. After interviewing numerous different firms, I ultimately hired mbaMission and Krista for help with four school applications using the “start-to-finish” package.

Having successfully gone through the process now, I can easily say that hiring Krista is one of the best investments I’ve ever made. While she helped in a variety of ways – the following areas really stood out:

1) She was intimately familiar with the process

Having been part of admissions committees, Krista was intimately familiar with how most admissions committees think and what they like and dislike in applications. This allowed her to astutely point out the flaws in my application that could cause concern for admissions committees, and the strengths of my application that I should make sure to highlight. For the potential gaps in my application, she even gave me advice on steps I could take to remediate those gaps and strengthen my application. Her perspectives here really helped us come up with a strong application strategy and story for the four schools that I ended up applying to

2) She came up with really creative ways for me to tell my story

Through the brainstorming process, Krista took the time to really understand me as a person and get a feel for what my passions are and what makes me tick. She reviewed my 20 page brainstorming document (one of the essential steps of the mbaMission process is a brainstorming process that they make applicants go through) and came back to me with several really detailed questions about my background.
Once I had answered all of her questions, she started coming up with a variety of neat ideas for me to showcase certain aspects of my story. I’m generally not a big fan of writing, but the way Krista helped me showcase my stories actually made the entire process A LOT of fun for me. Thanks to her, I was able to write some of the strongest essays I’ve ever written and ended up truly enjoying the entire application process.

3) She was a true thought partner

Throughout the application process, Krista was a thought partner for me in every sense. Whenever I was spinning on an essay, she would get on the phone with me immediately to give me ideas and quickly get me back on track. I’m not sure whether she was doing a lot of prep before each one of these calls, or if this just comes naturally to her, but on every phone conversation we were having about a certain essay – she had at least 3 – 4 good ideas on what I could mention in that essay to make it impactful and leave a good impression. I was so impressed at the end of each conversation, and so happy with the ideas and the direction I got from her. This kept me from spinning and allowed me to end up with strong essays quickly. The previous year, when I had applied unsuccessfully to schools, I was averaging between 17 to 20 iterations on each essay before getting it to final. Working with Krista this time around, I had a strong essay completely finalized by the 4th iteration at the latest. I have a tendency to overthink things and get in my own way at times, Krista prevented me from doing any of that and kept me efficient and on track at all times.

4) She was timely

I can’t stress this one enough. I was initially a little worried about the fact that Krista was based in London (I’m based in New York), but the time difference here ended up being a true blessing. MbaMission promises a 2-day turnaround on all essays, but most of the time Krista responded ahead of schedule. Generally, I would send her an essay in the evening, and because of the time difference, I would have it back in my inbox with rich feedback by the time I woke up the next morning. I have a really demanding job and it’s hard for me to get away from work during the day sometimes to have personal calls. Because of this time difference, I was able to wake up earlier in the morning some days and have a call with Krista before going into work. This was just yet another benefit that kept me on track and on schedule.

Throughout the process, I felt as though I was Krista’s only client. I consider her to be not only a consultant that I hired, but a mentor and a friend that I will continue to reach out to in the future for advice. I’m happy to say that with her help, I got into several Top 10 schools and will be attending Berkeley-Haas this fall. I highly recommend mbaMission and Krista Nannery for anyone going through the application process.

Read More

The GMAT was my biggest obstacle. After finally getting the score that I wanted by the end of October, I felt leagues behind my peers in terms of timing. Here I was, with R1 deadlines long past and 5 daunting applications to complete in less than 2 months. I was in a panic. I was against the idea of using a consultant at first, but my best friend recommended MBAMission. She stressed that MBAMission doesn't do the work for you, but creates a roadmap to guide you through the stress of applications.

After talking to Krista on the phone, I was sold. She was sharp, resourceful, eloquent, and most of all - versatile. When I told her my unique passions and career aspirations, she didn't try to mold me into the perfect candidate; instead, she worked with me to enhance what makes me different. Throughout the process, Krista gave me complete freedom in terms choosing topics I wanted to write about. She encouraged me to come up with ideas that reflected personal aspects of my life and provided constructive criticism and insightful feedback. Because of Krista, I was able to dig several layers deeper and be true to myself, rather than putting together an application to "impress".

Having Krista was imperative to getting everything done on time. Although we had a tight deadline, she never made me feel stressed. On the contrary, we were a fantastic, symbiotic team. She would turnaround comments within a day and get on the phone whenever needed.

I can confidently say that the outcome is better than I ever expected. I got into all the schools I applied to R2 and am now going to my dream school in the fall!

At the end if it all, I consider Krista not only a fantastic consultant, but a mentor and a great friend. I highly recommend her and MBAmission to anyone going through the stresses of the application process.

Read More

I found that working with Krista was a very beneficial experience that was well worth the investment. She assisted me in fine tuning, organizing, and getting the most out of my essays. She was also very helpful in preparing for the admissions interviews. I appreciated that she shared her knowledge regarding the admissions process and more importantly how I could get this most out of my application.

The hourly services exceeded my expectations and I would highly recommend working with her. By having a mock interview with her, I was more confident in communicating my story, explaining why I was applying to the specific schools, and where I wanted to eventually take my career. Great experience!

Read More

I worked with Krista Nannery during round one of the 2015-2016 admissions cycle on applications to four schools through a “Start-to-Finish” package.

While Krista’s guidance and support was exceptional throughout the application process, I believe the following points would be of particular interest to individuals contemplating working with her:

1) She helped me convey my story authentically.

Prior to engaging a consultant, I found it rather difficult to assess through self-reflection what attributes and anecdotes were most important to my personal narrative. I had mentally succumbed to the notion that there was a model candidate for each school and that the unspoken goal of the application process was to spin my story to fit a specific mold. Krista as an individual and mbaMission as a firm overwhelmingly reject that philosophy.

Krista put forth great effort in our initial brainstorming session to gain a comprehensive understanding of who I am, both personally and professionally. An intent listener, she pressed me for further details on a family experience that I briefly mentioned and had not previously shared in any great detail, even with my closest friends. After continued exploration, this story provided the foundation for my application to several schools.

Krista did not hesitate to tell me when she did not believe my writing was presenting a genuine account of my complete self. In the end, she helped me truly find my voice and communicate the compelling aspects of my candidacy in a manner that was cogent and cohesive.

2) She pushed me to write concisely.

While I consider myself to be a fairly effective writer, I am often unnecessarily verbose. As such, conveying numerous and seemingly disparate stories under a limited word count was one of the most daunting challenges of the application process for me. Krista’s extensive corporate experience has left her with a keen ability to use words and structure sentences efficiently. She helped me condense my writing while at the same time making it more powerful and evocative. Essays where I thought I would only be able to relay one or two stories suddenly accommodated three or four. Consequently, I was able to paint the fullest possible portrait of myself and maximize the potential of every written component of my application, including my essays, resume and short answer responses.

3) She allowed me see the big picture.

As a self-described perfectionist, the subjective nature of the essay composition process had the potential to drive me absolutely crazy and lead to writer’s block, which would have been fatal under a schedule in which I needed to complete four applications in just over a month. Krista leveraged her past experience as an application reader to help me focus my efforts on the elements of my application that would be truly decisive from the perspective of an admissions committee. She relentlessly pushed me to improve essays and short answer responses where I wasn’t putting my best foot forward but also helped me avoid wasting time on trivial details after I had already accomplished my goal.

4) Her feedback and support was direct and consistently accretive.

Drafting applications, especially when working with a consultant, is an inherently iterative process. Every time I sent Krista a new draft of a document, she provided me with concrete strategic steps I could take to improve it. Given her quick turnaround times for reviewing documents, it was evident to me that she was constantly thinking about my application even when she didn’t have it in hand, which further demonstrates her commitment to her clients.

Krista genuinely cared about me personally and I always felt like I was her only client. Whenever we spoke, I never felt rushed and always had her undivided attention. Her commentary was thorough, encouraging, genuine and actionable. She believed in me with high expectations for what I could achieve. As much as I worked diligently on my applications to leave admissions committees with a positive impression, I also did not want to let down Krista and always strove to ensure that my efforts were commensurate with hers.


I will be happily attending Booth this fall and enthusiastically recommend Krista to future MBA applicants.

Read More

I had a fantastic experience with Krista Nannery during my MBA application process.

I chose Krista based on her Financial Services and overall background, and I had a phenomenal free 30-minute introductory call with her.

Krista was able to quickly and efficiently distill my background and help me highlight the important achievements throughout my professional and personal career. She was extremely helpful in forcing me to identify and focus on achievements and skill sets that I would not have addressed.

This level of value continued throughout the entire application process. She consistently and succinctly provided constructive criticism through the mock interview, video interview, and application process.

For anyone considering an application consultant, I would highly recommend Krista. Not only does she perfectly walk you through the application process, but she also thinks outside the box to enhance, differentiate and improve your overall application.

I worked with Krista on one top 10 program which I was accepted to.

Read More

Going in to the admissions process, I was a nervous wreck--unconfident about both my undergrad GPA and my work experience. Just a 30 minute informational call with Krista was enough for me to see how she could dispel my insecurities, highlight my strengths, and re-package my perceived negatives into positives.

Krista was highly professional and efficient during our meetings. Especially during mock interviews, if I ever lost focus, she was quick to bring me back on track. Krista's advice during mock interviews was especially invaluable, and she pointed out flaws that I've been prone to for almost 5-6 years. Not only was her feedback useful for admissions interviews, they will be helpful for future job interviews, as well.

Because Krista helped out in the admissions office at Booth, she brings a tremendous wealth of knowledge and experience. Whenever I hit a roadblock, she can think of another incident or student and draw insights from that. Krista's turnaround for essay review was fast, and she addressed weaknesses that I wouldn't otherwise have noticed, because I haven't seen the sheer volume of essays she has.

Aside from her solid feedback, Krista was also a shrink to me. She was always patient in offering me emotional support and reassurance during a highly stressful time, when I was trying to balance applications and a full-time job.

You could say Krista was more than a consultant to me--she was a friend and mentor. She always tried to be available, and I looked forward to all my calls with her, where I could raise burning questions and count on her for emotional support. When I was accepted to my top choice school, her genuine excitement was palpable. I would recommend Krista to anyone in the market for an excellent admissions consultant.

Read More

Gladly, I have recieved MBA admissions from four schools, which are Emory University, University of Rochester, Southern Methodist University, and Babson College. All of these schools had an average GMAT above my score, yet I was able to recieve admission from them. This was partially due to the help of MBAmission on my MBA Applications. They have helped me on three aspects of my applications: Essays, Resume, and School Selection.

I have worked with my consultant, Krista, to review all my essays before submitting any application. She was very critical in her reviews, where she has helped in crafting and finetuning my essays. She, also, has helped me identify potential gaps in the essays which helped in creating a smooth enjoyable story. She did research the schools or the subjects sometimes and identify potential points worth mentioning in the essay.

Additionally, She has helped me review my résumé which resulted in me changing most of it. This helped me to better present my achievment and show the career progress. Additionally, she ensured that proper aspects of my resume are present to make it more relevant to my future goals.

In terms of schools selection, she has helped me identify the critiria that should be considered for selecting a school after recieving multiple admissions. This made it easier to make my own decision, regardless of any public or official ranking.

Lastly, the things I learned through my work with MBAmission, and Krista in specific, are invaluable assets to me. My writing skills has been enhanced dramatically. I know how to better read and write a resume. I would very highly recommend them for any prospected applicant to any business school in the future.

Read More

I have worked with application consultants throughout my life: boarding school, college, masters’ program, law school, and business school. Out of all 5 consultants I have worked with Krista Nannery was by far the best.

More so than any other consultant I have worked with Krista took a vested interest in me and my application. She took the time to get to know me as a person and got to know my interest and passions. From that we formulated an application strategy that worked to my benefit. Her feedback and responsiveness was nothing short of amazing. I never once felt like I was anything but her most important client. What really impressed me about Krista was that if she didn’t know the answer to a question she would take the time and reach out to her colleagues to get an answer.

Furthermore, Krista never let me settle for good. Whether it was my resume, my essays, my overall application, or my mock interviews she always pushed me to go further and make each aspect of the application the best it could possibly be. Furthermore, she gave great advice on further research I should be doing and people I should be taking to in order to strengthen my candidacy – things I never considered.

I truly believe that I would not have gotten into my dream school without Krista’s help. I have recommended Krista to countless potential MBA students and will continue to do so far into the future. Simply put, Krista Nannery is the best consultant I have ever had the pleasure working with and I will be eternally grateful for her help and guidance.

Read More