MBA Admissions Consultants, Events, & Resources

Welcome to my profile! I'm Mariana, an MBA student at Stanford Graduate School of Business and a former consultant with Boston Consulting Group and Deloitte. With firsthand experience navigating the competitive MBA admissions process, I am passionate about helping others achieve their dream of attending top business schools. My background in consulting has equipped me with the skills to guide you through every aspect of your application, from crafting compelling essays to acing interviews. Whether you're just starting your application journey or need targeted advice, I'm here to help you succeed. Let's connect and create a strategy tailored to your unique strengths and goals!

I graduated from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2024, where I received the Miller Social Change Leadership Award and the Building Opportunities for Leadership Diversity (BOLD) Fellowship. What gives me a unique perspective on crafting standout MBA applications is both the range and intentionality of my journey. I have worked across consulting, government, nonprofits, and startups in the U.S. and Latin America. As a biracial, first-generation student from a lower-income background with many different academic/professional interests and experiences (I've completed 13 internships between college and grad school!), I've often navigated spaces without a clear playbook and learned how to translate my experiences into a compelling narrative along the way. Because I have had to deeply reflect and connect the dots across my own path, I bring a thoughtful and structured approach to storytelling. I'll help you articulate a narrative that's distinctly your own and grounded in your unique strengths and lived experiences. Together, we'll uncover the throughline that ties your past to your ambitions and shape it into a clear, authentic story that stands out at top programs. My goal is for your application to reflect not just what you have done, but who you are becoming and why an MBA is the right next chapter for you. I'm super excited to connect and to support you in your journey!

I am a Senior Product Manager at Amazon with 15+ years of experience across Amazon, Rakuten, and FedEx, and a master's degree from Nanyang Technological University. I bring a product manager's lens to MBA applications: clear positioning, sharp prioritization, customer/audience empathy, and a strong story arc. I help MBA applicants translate complex international, technical, product, and operations backgrounds into admissions-ready narratives. My coaching focuses on school fit, career goals, resumes, essays, recommendations, interview prep, and final application review. I am especially useful for candidates who need to connect career experience across countries, companies, or functions into one coherent leadership story. I coach in English, Japanese, and Chinese, and I work well with applicants targeting MBA programs in the US, UK, and Asia.

I help cautious people leap and impulsive people land. I'm warm and I'm direct, and I'll ask the question you've been circling around. I focus on helping you think clearly enough to trust your own judgment. My experience: I'm a tech strategist, Berkeley Haas MBA, and former teacher-turned-management-consultant, with a splash of finance (summer internship in IB at JPM). I've pivoted and landed career changes without a roadmap, which why I enjoy helping others do the same. Post MBA, I built deep expertise in strategy and operations at LinkedIn and Salesforce, and I know how big organizations actually work from the inside. I started my career as a Teach For America corps member, where I learned what relentless pursuit of results really means, and that great coaching meets people where they are. While at Berkeley Haas, I was selected as a Graduate Student Instructor for Negotiations based on exemplary performance, and I coached and mentored students through one of the most competitive courses in the MBA curriculum. By going for my MBA later in my career, I focused on the courses some MBAs gloss over: Power & Politics and Interpersonal Dynamics ("Touchy Feely"), the course co-taught with Stanford on feedback, conflict, and the conversations most people avoid. I also facilitated Dialogues on Race. Four courses in how humans influence, navigate difference, and build trust, and I've been on both sides of these classrooms. As VP of Admissions for the Haas MBA student association, I reviewed applications and helped candidates tell stories that were actually theirs. I know what gets someone in and what doesn't.

I'm a Harvard Business School MBA and a former McKinsey & Company consultant. Before HBS, I went through the application process from South Africa — figuring out how to break into a top US programme without the conventional playbook. That's the perspective I bring to coaching, particularly for applicants from non-traditional or international backgrounds. I've helped applicants get into Harvard Business School and Columbia Business School, among others. My approach focuses on the work that actually moves an application: finding the story you should be telling, sharpening it without losing what's authentic to you, and making the narrative cohesive across essays, recommendations and interviews. I've coached candidates from consulting, banking, social impact and operating backgrounds and I believe the strongest applications come from candidates who can articulate not just what they've done, but why it adds up.

Applying to business/graduate school is a big step, and it helps to have someone in your corner every step of the way who has been through it. I’m Joe - I am a graduate of Harvard Business School's full time MBA program, Navy officer, and longtime tutor/coach with a background in strategy, finance, engineering, and leadership. Before HBS, I served as a Surface Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy, where I led teams and managed Sailors and operations for months at sea. I’ve also tutored and coached more than 300 students across personal finance, strategy, business, computer science and professional development. Helping people recognize and reach more of their potential has always been one of the most meaningful parts of my professional life. I’ve helped MBA applicants from a multitude of backgrounds think through their goals and build applications that feel both polished and authentic. My style is direct and practical: I’ll help you figure out what actually makes your story compelling, then turn that into a clear application strategy. Let’s build an application that doesn’t just check the boxes, but actually captures the person behind them.

Hi! As a recent MBA graduate from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, I am excited to help you achieve your goal of going to a top-tier MBA. My journey from an Electrical Engineering background at Marquette University (non target school) to being accepted into 6 different MBA programs (Booth, Kellogg, Sloan, Tuck, Darden, Stern) has equipped me with unique insights into the MBA admissions process. I specialize in helping clients craft compelling applications that highlight their diverse experiences and leadership potential. Whether you need guidance on application strategy, essay writing, or interview preparation, I'm here to help you succeed. Let's connect and see if we are a fit!

I'm a graduating MBA student at Stanford Graduate School of Business and will be heading to Boston Consulting Group after graduation. Prior to business school, I worked in the education sector as a teacher, school leader, and school network leader. In addition to being admitted to 8 of the top MBA programs with more than $1.5M in scholarships, I've also successfully helped multiple applicants get their dream admission into Top 10 MBA programs, and I served as an admissions ambassador during my time at GSB. Whether you need guidance on application strategy, essay crafting, or interview preparation, I'm happy to help you work towards and achieve your MBA goals.

With an MBA from Harvard Business School and tons of insider exposure to top b-school networks around the world, I have lived and understand the written and unwritten rules to help you position the best version of yourself for your MBA applications. Whether you need guidance on essays, interviews, or overall application strategy, I'm here to help you succeed.

Getting into a top MBA program is about much more than having great grades or test scores—it's about telling a compelling story that clearly demonstrates your leadership, impact, and potential. I know that firsthand. I was admitted to Harvard Business School (full-tuition scholarship), Berkeley Haas (full-tuition scholarship), Yale School of Management (scholarship), and Chicago Booth ($100,000 scholarship). Throughout the admissions process, I learned how to craft authentic essays, position my professional experience, prepare for interviews, and build an application that stood out among thousands of highly qualified candidates. Before my MBA, I built my career at Cummins, where I was promoted early and led high-impact engineering initiatives. Since business school, I've worked across private equity, M&A, corporate strategy, and business development, giving me a deep understanding of the experiences that resonate with admissions committees. As your coach, I won't write your essays for you. Instead, I'll help you uncover your strongest stories, sharpen your narrative, challenge your thinking, and present the most compelling version of yourself. Whether you're targeting an M7 school or another top MBA program, my goal is to help you maximize your chances of admission while staying authentic to your own journey.