Kathryn Lucas Reviews

The SOP Team (Kathryn, Anna and the career-narrative expert) did a fantastic job in helping with my applications. I got into multiple schools and my top choice T15 school. Kathryn is an extremely dedicated, honest, empathetic and a resourceful person who has decades of experience in helping students reach their potential. I realised, it makes a huge difference to work with advisors who love their job and are truly working to help you put your best foot forward.

Kathryn is one of the best advisors - especially with her knowledge on B-Schools and what ticks in an application. You cannot go wrong working with Kathryn. Check out the other testimonials on how amazing Kathryn and her team is on advisory work, crafting the application, the thorough and structured process, the quick turn-arounds, the career-narrative process and the top-class service overall. While this is exactly what all of us, as applicants, need, I also want to highlight how SOP genuinely supported me and in the process, changed my perspective of the whole application ordeal.

I still vividly remember making the choice to reach out to SOP with exactly 4.5 weeks to go for school deadlines. As is the amazing process at SOP, after my conversation with Kathryn, I spoke to 3 advisors to choose one that I would work with for the next few weeks. The process enabled me to work with Anna, a truly amazing human being, a fellow international applicant who was in my footsteps a few years ago. She has since become a great friend for life. The next 4-5 weeks of crafting applications to 5 schools went through like the best breeze there could be, because mentally I never felt it was just ‘my’ B-school application. Anna spent countless hours – mornings and nights, and at times while she was on treks or in flights – helping me throughout the journey. I can write many pages about Anna’s work but the two things that stood out were how she equipped me with the tools and created agency, and how she was empathetic and had a strong grasp of my values. Many times, Anna would mention a couple of points below an essay prompt alluding to things she believed I could mention about my career/ life/ extracurriculars - have you ever seen an advisor like this?!

With SOP, I had an entire team to help me brainstorm, vet my drafts, my ideas, ask deeper questions in each essay draft and bring out the best side of me in my applications. Truly, to me, the application never felt like work. I’ve heard many applicants say that crafting the applications was a tougher task for them than taking up the standardized tests, but for me (with SOP by my side) it was the total opposite. I had taken the standardized tests multiple times, but after working on my applications with SOP and having conversed with Kathryn and Anna, every single day, I realised my perspective on the application and my test journey had changed - I had immense confidence in what I had to offer. I felt mentally stronger and calmer. I retook the test after submitting my application, and fared way better than the previous few times. A huge relief! I asked for strategies on sharing updated scores and waitlist updates with schools - each time Kathryn and Anna were always by my side, helping me more than I could imagine. I am truly grateful to the SOP team for their work and their presence in my life. I could not have asked for better advisors. I have a lot of respect for the amazing work Kathryn does, the company she has built and the team she has hired - Having seen first hand her commitment to her work, I’m almost certain she never sleeps :)

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When I started my MBA application journey I was a mess. I questioned my strength as an applicant and created a list of schools I’d apply to based on what I considered “safe”. This list didn’t include the schools I dreamed of attending. Then I took the free consultation with Square One Prep (SOP).

On that pivotal phone call, Kathryn convinced me to slow down. While I fixated on my weaknesses (GPA, Test Scores, etc), Kathryn instead took stock of my entire background and identified strengths I’d overlooked. With her encouragement we agreed to team up, but only if I agreed not to settle for anything less than my dream list of schools. Kathryn didn’t allow me to sell myself short.

I’d like to specifically recognize the Career Narrative that SOP helps applicants develop. When I was first instructed by Kathryn to commit time towards researching my dream job, company, sector, and calling I was confused. None of my MBA applications asked explicitly for detailed Career Narratives- this was an “extra” assignment. Was this the best use of my time?

I couldn’t have been more mistaken. The Career Narrative SOP helped me develop has paid countless dividends. Not only did it fuel my essays, but the knowledge I gained researching my Career Narrative also armed me for interviews, and further it has helped me secure a Pre-MBA internship. This “extra” assignment has given me a confident vision of what my future can be.

I implore anyone like me, who might be stuck thinking about weaknesses, to take the SOP consultation. See what it’s like to have someone take a genuine interest in your story holistically and encourage you to push further. Craft your own Career Narrative and step into your future with a thoughtful plan. I hope others sign up with SOP, create their own list of dream schools, and get accepted to each one as I have.

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Rahul, Kathryn and also Anna in particular are exceptional professionals who know what they are doing, and I couldn't recommend them enough.

I applied to only a single school (the most selective one in its field). Although I had prepared the entire application myself, I decided to ask SOP for help in reviewing my essays and my narrative. Honestly, I was expecting them to be impressed – they were not. Kathryn in particular told me that my favourite essay was making the adcom's decision easy (as in that they would reject me with no hesitation).

With the deadline being ~10 days away, I opted for the hourly service. We made my narrative easier to understand and worked on some of the essays. Occasionally I disagreed with some of their comments, but overall we arrived at a result that I was very happy with, which clearly improved my admission chances. Everyone was also very available throughout the process.

The end result was that I got into my dream school with a full ride.

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Working with Square One Prep made the difference in submitting my best applications. My search for my MBA school started over a year ago with minimal background knowledge of what was involved during the application process when I first called Kathryn for a free consultation. At this point, I was unsure exactly what I wanted to do, but I figured at least SOP could point me in the right direction. Kathryn did just that and continued to follow up with me throughout the following months to check how I progressed. This started a great relationship, and I could already feel how much she wanted to help me succeed.

I struggled through multiple GMAT attempts and continued to focus solely on the GMAT to achieve the score I felt was possible. I thought I could not reach my goals without a high GMAT. This began to set me back, and I ended up missing a whole year of round applications. After debating whether or not to pay for a consultant, I decided to reach back out to Kathryn to let her know I needed help and wanted to team up with SOP.

This was by far the best decision of my application process. Instantly, Kathryn and her team had me progressing on my applications and developing a plan of exactly how I wanted my career path to advance with an MBA and what schools I should be interested in. They never made me feel like my dreams were not possible with a lower-end GMAT score. If it wasn’t for their complete knowledge on what it takes to get into the top MBA programs and resources to use, I could say that I may still be focused on my GMAT score and missing another year of applications.

The multiple levels of review with the SOP team were personalized, and the continuous collaboration led my final applications to perfection. I was amazed by the work I was submitting. They got me to really think introspectively, to discover my true career narrative. Although the process of applications can be overwhelming at times, I felt like I was on top of my applications with the outlined schedule and multiple steps along the way. There is absolutely no way I would have pulled off all that I did without SOP’s team. Working with SOP is totally worth it, and I would do it again 100 times out of 100. I already miss working with all who were involved in my applications.

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I opted for an hourly service with Square One Prep - and I am very glad that I reached out to them at an early stage during my applications.
Kathryn went above and beyond in our first "introductory" call as well and gave me so many tips that other consultants would probably not have. She listened to my stories and gave me advices on schools I should target. The call went on for more than an hour - and I felt comfortable sharing my personal stories with Kathryn. On our first call itself, I was sure I wanted to work with her. I went ahead for the hourly service.

Kathryn provided diligent and candid feedback on my previous work - my essays and resume. Her feedback was crisp and actionable. The greatest benefit I got was Kathryn completely quashed my main essay - and rightly so. It got me thinking in the right direction- and now I am telling a completely different story in my next drafts. In fact, some of the stories I had thought were not super useful are the ones which actually highlighted my strengths. Such introspection has turned my application 360 degrees - the different "components" are still there but arranged very well and telling a cohesive story.

Kathryn was very knowledgeable when it came to resumes too. She clearly pointed out my shortcomings- the places where I was "spoonfeeding" too much and the places where there were mysterious blanks.

All in all I would highly recommend Kathryn! If you are looking for someone to get you into your dream school, I would not think twice before choosing Kathryn.

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Square One helped me got accepted into my top choice business schools. When I started my MBA application journey I initially had low expectations due to my subpar GPA. During our initial call, Kathryn assured me that Square One will be able to help me craft a solid application. Square One covered all aspects of my application, including how to approach my recommenders and make sure that I have well-written LORs. They provided a whole team of experts to work with me on different elements of my application instead of relying on individual consultants to do all the work. Special shoutout to Giovanni my day-to-day advisor who helped me a lot on my brainstorming process and Luis who helped me build a solid career narrative.

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I thoroughly enjoyed working with Square One Prep throughout the application process. Their approach is transparent, efficient, effective, and well-organised. They take the time to get to know you, your background, and your ambitions to help you portray yourself as authentically and clearly as possible.

The career narrative process pushed me to define and detail my story which manifested in stronger essays and interviews. Feedback from interview preparation illuminated when and how I could communicate better to the admissions committee.

Whenever we had a call, I never felt like they were rushing through our allotted time. In fact, they always stayed longer if I needed. They made themselves available and responded immediately over email. The customer service was impeccable.

The honest and direct feedback throughout the process showed that they weren’t just trying to please me as a customer but truly wanted the best outcome for me.

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Like a lot of people who are applying to business school, I was overwhelmed by the amount of things that I had to do - whether that be crafting the right story, getting strong recommendations, or drafting essays, I kept thinking that I couldn’t do this on my own.
I took an introduction call with Kathryn that was extremely reassuring. I could tell that I would be in good hands, and the most important thing to me was that I knew there was a clear plan for my future success in applying to business school.
Kayin, my personal adviser, was instrumental in this process. He worked with me to constantly iterate on my essays and narrative and provided invaluable career advice that I will take with me to this day. I would have been lost multiple times throughout my b-school application journey without him and I can’t recommend him highly enough.

The common theme here is that the entire team at Square One is amazing: Luis, who pushed me to realize my best possible career narrative, Bailey, who was so extremely helpful in her encouragement and her bottomless knowledge about the application process– thank you all. For those looking to hire an admissions consultant, I PROMISE you it’s worth it to hire Square One Prep.

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Square One Prep was crucial to my success. From the beginning, the team provided a detailed timeline that broke down the daunting application process into a manageable schedule that I could balance while working full-time.

The entire process was extremely professional and methodical. With guidance from my career narrative expert Luis Bellon, I was able to reflect deeply on my career and passions and articulate my goals into words. This introspective process was essential to my application process: plotting out my short and long term goals allowed me to be very intentional in envisioning what I wanted out of my MBA.

I worked with Jessica Bell van der Wal as my day-to-day advisor, who was a phenomenal advisor. From the beginning, Jessica took the time to understand me holistically as a person. She helped me tie together and highlight the elements of my personality and background thoughtfully into different parts of my application. The end product was an application that I was very proud of that accurately represented me as a whole.

The interview process with Kathryn Lucas was outstanding and helped me land the offers once I had interview invitations. Having worked at the same place for several years, I felt anxious about my rusty interviewing skills. The mock interviews and detailed debriefs gave me the confidence I needed to succeed during this final step.
Throughout the process, the entire staff was always very responsive and helpful, no matter what the hour. Even through the holidays, the staff was with me every step of the way. Everyone I worked with was extremely passionate and invested in my success.

I recommend SOP to anyone seeking business school application guidance without hesitation. I truly believe there cannot be a value assigned to the guidance I received through this deeply personal and introspective process. Thank you to the whole SOP team for your help!

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SOP was recommended to me by another client through a mutual friend. To be honest, I was quite unsure what I was looking for or if I was even MBA material at the time. From my first meeting with Kathryn (the founder, who is very present throughout the whole process), SOP was instrumental in providing clarity and support throughout my journey. This included tangible tools such as a personalised timeline and thorough essay and interview guides, multiple edits and reviews by the leadership team, as well as advice on what to consider when selecting schools and choosing essay topics. They were also incredibly accommodating with the time difference, as they have advisors based around the world.

In my experience, SOP's leadership team (which includes a career coach) takes the time to truly understand their clients' motivations and draw out a narrative which rings true in the applications. Though the team had minimal experience with the industry I was targeting for my career path (I chose a track that was rather nontraditional), they patiently arranged multiple Skype meetings, learned about the industry, and provided valuable direction and challenge. The career narrative we crafted together would be the backbone to all my subsequent applications and interview prep, and I believe my biggest competitive advantage.

Although I only engaged SOP with a three school package, I was accepted into 5 top tier business schools (4 in were in the top 10 MBAs on US News 2021 rankings, and 2 of which offered me full tuition fellowships) using the foundational work we built together. I could never have imagined such success, and I credit the team here for helping me make that a reality.

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