Made the right choice with Karen
I got into every school I applied for (including Stanford GSB, HBS, Wharton, Sloan and Booth) which I could not have done without Karen!
Accepted Early Decision to Penn
Working with Karen was the best decision I made
One great part of working with Karen is that she truly takes a personal approach, taking time to really understand both you as a person, as well as your biggest needs in terms applying to school. I have heard that many consultants are tactical in nature, preferring to become involved after one has initial essay drafts. This couldn’t be further from Karen’s approach, as she invests in every detail, guiding you from choosing the right schools to apply to, to helping solidify your career goals long before you even start writing. As a result, I was much more confident in my approach, producing more meaningful and genuine application essays.
Relatedly, Karen became an incredible support structure for me throughout the process. She is readily available to her clients, and frequent touchpoints both helped me stick to a timeline, as well as provided me the support needed through an otherwise fairly isolating process.
Karen is a pleasure to work with. She is encouraging, energetic, and was a huge part of my ultimate success in being admitted to Tuck. If you are thinking about applying to MBA programs, call Karen! This will certainly be one decision you won’t regret.”
Her guidance is the best investment I have ever made and has set me up for a bright future.
I perceived my academic history as a blemish yet Karen saw it as an opportunity to tell my story of perseverance and personal growth. This shift in thinking was only possible because Karen took the time to get to know me, my story, and my dreams. Karen’s nuanced and bespoke approach transformed what I thought was my greatest flaw into the cornerstone of my MBA story. With her unique perspective and guidance I was able to create a compelling application that landed me at my stretch MBA school in the Ivy League.
Karen’s dedication to understanding me and my story along with her deep knowledge of MBA programs, truthful feedback, and guidance made the application process painless. Her guidance is the best investment I have ever made and has set me up for a bright future.“
Game-Changer
Fast forward a few months, right after I got the much-awaited admit call, she was one of the first few people I reached out to — a gesture so unconscious that I only fully realised at that moment how instrumental she had been in helping me secure the future of my dreams.
Now, if you’re reading this and are seriously considering b-schools, do yourself a favour and reach out to Karen. She’ll help you do all that it takes to make what’s best (AND right) for you happen, just as she did for me. Also, here’s another friendly tip: Never underestimate the power of the words “you’ve got this!”
Her dynamic abilities and execution-oriented feedback made an impact on my application and helped me get into my dream program - Harvard Business School.
In the end, I received two full-tuition scholarship offers -- something I didn't even think was possible for me -- one of which was at a top 10 program which I'll be attending in the Fall…I can't express enough how instrumental Karen was to my success of getting into my dream business school.
Ultimately I was accepted to the Tuck School of Business, which was one of the three programs I worked with Karen on, and all of which were among the top MBA programs in the country.
Karen is knowledgeable, attentive, and gives direct and constructivefeedback. She was very responsive and made time to answer my questions, even on very short notice. Her advice spans the initial thought process about which MBAs to apply to through to preparing for admissions interviews and finally on deciding on which program to attend.
Throughout my application process, Karen helped me to develop my ideas and go far deeper on essays to ensure I communicated an authentic message to admissions committees and to help differentiate my story from other applicants. A large part of the MBA application requires communicating your short and long term career goals and how an MBA can help you achieve these. Karen helped me to develop and convey these ideas clearly.
Early on in my application process, I appreciated Karen’s recommendation to re-sit the GRE for a second time sooner than later. In doing so, I thankfully scored in the range necessary for my target schools. Had I waited, which I was planning to initially, I would have had far less time to work on the application essays, and would have lost the option to re-sit a third time if I needed to. It’s small strategic decisions like this that can make a big difference to one’s application process.
Crucially, Karen knew when an application was ready to be submitted. As a first time applicant, this is very difficult to gauge and one can spend countless hours finalizing minute details on one application at the expense of working on another.
Ultimately I was accepted to the Tuck School of Business, which was one of the three programs I worked with Karen on, and all of which were among the top MBA programs in the country.”
She helped me get into my top choice program, Tuck, by providing constructive criticism, pep talks when I was at my lowest point, and everything else needed to get through this strenuous process. Thank you, Karen!
Great and well worth the money
To start, Karen is really easy to work with. She’s responsive, generally quick with her replies, and good about setting and keeping appointments. One might think these things are the basics, but a surprising number of consultants in high-demand fail at this. Karen’s ability to keep organized and on top of things is strong, which provided much stress reduction in the process; I knew the weak link wouldn’t be her.
Beyond this, Karen is great at the core tasks of her job. In crafting an application story and writing essays, I think most applicants are weak at either the content generation or in editing down to the word limit. Karen is exceptional at both of these activities. In terms of content generation, she has a deep and intimate knowledge of what admissions groups are looking for, she asks very thoughtful questions, and is simply an outstanding career counselor. I have worked with several mentors in my career, and twice I have sought formal career counseling, and I felt like Karen did a better job than all of them at understanding what I wanted to achieve and matching me with potential career paths of which I was previously unaware. Where I would present vague generalities about my own temperament, preferences, and aspirations, Karen would respond with concrete possibilities and options to consider. I found our sessions extraordinarily helpful in the brainstorming part of essay writing.
Further, Karen is a bang-up editor. She’s great at both making suggestions to distill content as well as the nitty gritty of striking frivolity from a thread (guilty here). At times in the process I would send her what amounted to a prose grenade, and in reply I would generally receive concise and thoughtful responses, redirecting me to a more helpful line of discussion. Several times since we worked together, I’ve wished I could hire her to edit other things I have written unrelated to MBA applications.
Karen is really knowledgeable about the MBA admissions process and is also interpersonally very insightful. It is difficult to convey how useful this combination of skills was in the process, but it made a huge difference in a myriad of ways: I considered programs that were a great match and to which I otherwise wouldn’t have applied; I removed aspects of my application which might have been perceived as reflecting “poor judgment”; I expressly included a downside of my candidacy I’d have preferred to gloss; I expounded on things I wouldn’t have emphasized; she coached me at times to make things more succinct, less theoretical, shorter, and even sexier. She personally knew many of the recruiters and admissions personnel with whom I interacted and was able to provide tips on how to navigate specific interactions and interviews with them. When I first applied to MBA programs, I had none of this insight, and I truly felt it made the difference into me getting in this time around.
Finally, Karen made a real difference in my application process by providing encouragement. Several times I sent her some miserable draft or note of failure or expression of indecision, and she would reply with, “Hang in there” or “It’s not that bad.” or even, “Ok, if you’re going to do the other thing, how?” I did not appreciate until well into the process how much I really needed this. A someone from a “non-traditional” background, I lacked people in my life who understood the effort, difficulty, competitiveness, or stress involved in applying to top MBA programs. When I started the process, I knew I needed a coach, but I didn’t know I needed a cheerleader, and I found this to be the most surprisingly helpful aspect of working with Karen.
Karen is great and well worth the money. I wish I’d found her two years before I did.”
Thanks to all her efforts I was able to earn admission into every school I applied to, and successfully earned scholarships that were beyond any expectation
I couldn’t have done it without Karen’s guidance. She really believed in me.
Through her very patient listening and insightful questioning, Karen was able to transform my biggest vulnerabilities into strong components of my overall application, and interview experience.
I came across North Star Admissions Consulting, and Karen Marks, after careful and extensive research on the internet. I was not looking for a business transaction as much as I was looking for an admissions consulting company with whom I could build a relationship through which my best possible applications could be nurtured, and I knew I had found THE Company when I saw North Star’s website. From my first phone call (in what appears to be a long, long time ago) to date, Karen has maintained the highest level of professionalism in our business relationship, taking a genuine interest in my story to help me craft the best possible applications. Through her very patient listening and insightful questioning, Karen was able to transform my biggest vulnerabilities into strong components of my overall application, and interview experience. The level of detail that Karen brings to the process is quite impressive; she helped me to determine what schools were the best for my post-MBA plans and my family fit, and provided insights about scholarships and my personal and professional aspirations upon completion of the MBA.
One of my personal challenges during this application process was meeting my soft deadlines (I was travelling extensively for work), and on several occasions when I thought the ship would be derailed, Karen’s easy but firm version of “tough love” kept me accountable. She also worked with my schedule such that we were able to meet all submission deadlines, delivering well thought out applications at each submission. I was AMAZED at the self-awareness that this relationship with North Star Admissions helped me to uncover about myself. When I finally got invited to interview at the schools I applied to, I scheduled mock interviews with Karen that certainly eased the anxieties of the day off. The culmination of this alliance was my admission to my dream school, and scholarship funds to boot!! Imagine my excitement!
Following my B-School admission, Karen and I have kept in touch, as she has reached out severally to check on my family’s preparation to move into B-School. I have sought her opinion through scheduled phone calls and email in the same time frame, despite the fact that our contractual agreements are since over. I found a friend in North Star Admissions Consulting to ease my B-School journey, and I am enthusiastic in my recommendations of them, should you be in need of an Admissions Consulting Company yourself!’
You would be glad you did!!”
Thanks to all her efforts I was able to earn admission into every school I applied to, and successfully earned scholarships that were beyond any expectation.
I could not have done it without her!
We Highly Recommend Karen
Personal and Reflective Experience
With Karen’s help, I got through the business school application process while staying sane and confident that I had given it my very best effort. In the end I got into my top choice schools including Tuck, Kellogg, and MIT Sloan. I also received almost full funding from five of the eight schools to which I was accepted – making the work I had put in all the more worthwhile.”
Karen is the real deal
A few months ago after being denied admission from all the schools I applied to the previous year and despite having worked with a « famous » consultant from a « famous » firm, I decided to reapply to the same schools and also to apply for the first time to my dream school, which was a stretch considering my stats. I decided to « audit » possible consultants and came upon Karen. Any free consultation could only give a glimpse of what it would be like working together but from the first call, you can hear in Karen’s cheerful voice that she is on your side. Karen was the first person to believe in me and to push me to apply to my dream school. As I mentioned, I did not apply to my dream school in my first round of application last year because the previous consultants told me I would never make it, they just looked at my profile and analyzed the stats and concluded I could only make it to a top 15 schools at best. Karen had a very candid and holistic look at my profile and concluded that both of us could make it to my dream school with some hard work of course.
So here are the best part of working with Karen:
– she understands that all prospective applicants are rough diamonds and that with some hard work: you can go to your dream school! Unlike other consultants who are not willing to go the extra mile with you but just to make you fit in a box;
– Karen will be your coach from day one until you put your deposit in the school you aimed to get to, at no point she will let you down (trust me on this point, if you are Rocky Balboa, Karen is Mickey Goldmill);
– take it from someone who worked with other consultant and who heard from friends working with consultant: you might think: ok that’s nice feedback from my consultant but was it worth the money? With Karen you will never have this feeling: all her inputs and prep will make you think: oh I could have never do so good without her inputs.
This is just my opinion, but after going through two admission cycles and working with several consultants before Karen, I can tell you this: Karen is the real deal. I am going to my dream school: Tuck!
Good luck to all of you, you can all make it!”
Took some of the angst out of this process
Found a way connect with me
What Got Me Into Business School
Took The Stress Out Of The Process
Professional & Personable
Karen's Help Made All The Difference
Karen takes the time to learn as much as possible about a candidate. She pointed out the qualities and experiences that would help differentiate my candidacy and craft a compelling story. It’s through this personalized process that helped me completely re-vamp my application from the previous year.
The business school process is stressful but Karen made me feel much more relaxed. She quickly turned around materials, answered all my questions, and always had time for a phone call.
Not only was I admitted to my dream school, but I also received scholarship offers from two other top schools. Without a doubt in my mind, it was Karen’s help that made all the difference!”
Single Best Decision
Unbelievable & Necessary Resource
Understanding And Trusting
“Being an international student, I knew I would need some help with my application process for my MBA application in the US, so I reached out to a few admissions consultants. However, after my first interview with Karen I was convinced she was the right person. She immediately struck me as someone who truly seeks to understand her clients and she seemed to genuinely have my best interests at heart.
Over the last couple of months, Karen has helped me refine my career goals and taught me how to communicate in a direct and effective manner. Her calm and inviting nature also promoted an environment of trust where I always felt comfortable knowing I had someone to whom I could go with any questions or problems I had about the application process.
Karen constantly encouraged me to focus on my own unique experiences, which ensured my application was a true reflection of my values and attributes rather than merely what I thought the adcom wanted to hear. Her insight into the various universities and their differences also helped guide me towards which B-School I thought would be the best “fit” for me.
Having now been accepted into an Ivy League school, I am certain that it was Karen’s assistance that enabled me to put my best foot forward and eventually get in. I would highly recommend North Star Admissions to anyone who is looking to get into a top tier B-School. Karen’s insight was invaluable to me and there is no one else I would rather have had on my team throughout the process.”
Changed The Course Of My Life
“Karen has changed the course of my life. This is not an overstatement or an exaggeration. If you are reading this review that means you are lucky enough to have found her. Do not pass this opportunity up!
To say I was not the ideal candidate was an understatement. I found her 2 months before my first (and most important) application was due. At that point I have not even taken the GMAT yet. I come from a non traditional background, have low GPA at 3.02, my undergrad was piecemealed together because I worked full time while completing my degree, and my chosen career trajectory suddenly took a depressing turn as the plant I worked at was shut down. I also was a mom with two small children and a working spouse.
Karen excels at many things. She is equal part a detective combing your life experience for attributes and achievements you yourself forgot about or felt were unimportant or not pertinent, and equal part your most ardent cheerleader. Her knowledge on the application process and dynamics at play is unparalleled. Karen has an uncanny ability to reframe your experiences in way relevant to business school. She will push you to reach for your best product, she will make you work for it and you will work hard. She is an absolute master of her craft.
When you work with her you will have her undivided attention and will feel like she has no possible other place she needs to be even though you know she is extremely busy. She always honors her dead lines. If she says she will do something by this date and time you can set your whole life around it as she will deliver without fail.
But the results are unprecedented. I got accepted into my first choice school Ivy League Business School, and got two full ride fellowships to two lower tiered schools.
Ironically the hardest decision was still ahead of me. Given the fact that I was an older applicant with a family I did not see how I could possibly assume the financial burden of attending my first choice school and would have accepted the full ride to a lower tiered school. Karen would not have any of it. When I felt it could not be done she persisted and guided me, way beyond what our contractual relationship obligated her to. She was that dedicated to my success. The only thing I can credit myself with was having the good sense to listen to her.
I sincerely hope you do the same!”
Getting Accepted To Harvard
“I was very happy with Karen’s service and ended up getting accepted to Harvard. This is my second time applying to MBA programs, and the first time with consultants. After talking with Karen, I knew I wanted to work with her the most when compared to all the companies I had talked to. I ended up purchasing 10 hours. As she was running her own thing, I knew that the person I was talking to was the person I’d work with (unlike the other companies). I would recommend her to anyone looking for consulting help. She listened. I cannot emphasize this enough, especially in comparison to the other people I talked to. She took time to understand me, my candidacy and truly listened. I found her admissions experience extremely helpful. She gave me her perspective and guesses as to what other schools were looking for. She was generous with her time. With the other consultants I used, they were marking essays sent back to me with time it took to read, they were very much “counting hours.” With Karen, I never felt that way. Karen was very positive and provided a lot of encouragement.”
Big Ripple Effect
Immediately Encouraging And Positive
“After my son was deferred from his first choice college in December, we went to North Star Admissions Consulting to help us through the regular admissions process. Karen was immediately encouraging and positive. She helped us identify target schools that were a great fit for my son. She helped my son write essays that truly explained why he was genuinely interested in each school he targeted. Rather than edit or rewrite the essays, she talked him through the essay writing process and gave pointed feedback that drew out writing skills that he didn’t even know he was capable of. Her method resulted in sincere essays that accurately reflected his interests, goals and personality. She also reviewed his common application to make sure it told his unique story. In addition, she gave us advice about enhancing my son’s application to his top choice to increase his chances during the regular admissions cycle. After he was deferred, we thought he had no chance of admission. But Karen did not let us give up and helped my son effectively convey to the school the reasons why he was a good fit. My son was ultimately admitted to his top choice Ivy League college! In addition, he was admitted to many of his other top choices. After receiving disappointing news in December, my son ended up in a great position, having to choose among a list of excellent schools, including his top choice! Karen assuaged our anxieties about the entire college admissions process with her sage advice, wealth of knowledge, and most of all, her calm, supportive and enthusiastic demeanor. My son is looking forward to enrolling in his first choice college next year thanks to Karen and North Star Admissions Consulting!”
Strongly Recommended
“I am fortunate to have Karen as my mentor of MBA applications. I got to know Karen because my good friend, who was admitted to a top MBA program with the help of Karen, strongly recommended her. As a prior Associate Director of Admissions at Tuck, Karen has unique experience in top business school applications. When reviewing essays, she is able to quickly identify the pros and cons of your essays, proactively explore your potential selling points, and strategically provide you with suggestions from an insider’s perspective. All these expert advices saved me lots of time and boosted the quality of my essays. In addition, Karen is nice, supportive and responsible. It was always great experience working with her. To help me catch up with the application deadline, she sacrificed her weekend time to review my essays and cared about my application progress. As an international applicant, I was quite impressed by her quick responses in spite of the time difference. Sometimes I received her responses at her night time. I could easily tell that she treated my application as her own stuff and helped me with all her heart, rather than simply handle a task. Another thing that impressed me was that she is familiar with many top business schools. With her help, I was admitted to my two “dream schools,” Kellogg and Tepper, both with scholarship. Karen is far beyond my expectation. I strongly suggest that business school applicants consider her services. You will harvest not only an experienced mentor but also a lifelong friend.”
Exceptional Qualifications
“I chose to work with Karen due to her exceptional qualifications and the fact that I get to work with her directly, rather than another employee. She had very fast response times, and was a huge help in perfecting my essays. I was able to receive admission to my top choices of graduate schools within weeks of submitting my application! On top of that, I was offered scholarships to my dream school! I honestly would not have been able to be so successful in my endeavor without help. I would definitely be working with Karen again when pursue further education.”
Accessible And Responsive
Invested In Your Success
Having Karen’s experience in admissions and her willingness to really learn about my professional background helped me highlight my true strengths as an applicant. She helped add a genuine tone to my essays, which were too polished and proper. With her help, I applied to my only two “dream schools” in the final round of admission and was accepted to both. Needless to say, Karen was elated to hear about it. She’s truly invested in your success and has the knowledge and resources to help give you the best chance for admission.”