28,622Leland Reviews

I talked with 10 admissions consultants before speaking with Betsy. I immediately knew that she was the one for me. Betsy is incredibly thoughtful, kind, and insightful. Unlike most consultants, I felt like she genuinely wanted to get know me, which was incredibly important when it came time to write essays. She helped draw out anecdotes and examples that really showcased what I brought to the table, both professionally and, more importantly, personally. I always left our discussions learning something new about myself, which made the essay writing process rewarding and speaks to her ability to draw out the best in people. I would not be at the school I am today without her expertise. Thank you Betsy!

I cannot recommend Betsy enough as an MBA consultant! I came to her with a challenging proposition: could she help me maximize my odds of getting into a top business school as a less-than-traditional candidate who lacked extensive business experience with the added catch that I was only applying to a single, specific school. Betsy rose to the challenge masterfully. While no admissions consultant can guarantee admissions, I can confidently say that Betsy’s advice and coaching enabled me to submit the optimal application, and I can happily report that I’ve matriculated to my one-and-only choice of MBA program. Betsy has tremendous experience and knowledge with MBA admissions in addition to excellent instincts. Her process is comprehensive, purposeful, and individualized. She prioritizes getting to know her clients as people and is exceptionally skilled at sussing out value from every aspect of a candidate’s background and experience. She is equally adept at working with candidates to frame their credentials and experiences in the light most appealing to MBA admissions officers. Her advice and insight into resumes, admission essays, and preparing for interviews were invaluable. Furthermore, Betsy’s critiques were always straightforward, honest, and on-point. This is exactly what you want from an admissions consultant because she is not here to waste your time or money beating around the bush. Most importantly, Betsy genuinely cared about my success and me as a person, which helped her work with me to dig deep and truly individualize my application to stand out from the pack.

Betsy invested the time and energy upfront to truly understand who I was as a person and what my goals in life are, going deeper than most relationships I maintain. In doing so, Betsy was able to help me craft a narrative that truly broke the mold and was differentiated (which is important when at face value you fit simply into the tired white male in finance archetype). Not only did Betsy’s counsel help me tell a compelling story for business school admissions offices, but it also helped me sharpen my own understanding of who I am, my values, and how I will leave a mark on this world. That alone is invaluable! Without Betsy’s guidance, I would not have been able to achieve the business school outcomes I had — getting into three of the four schools I applied to, including a H/S/W, and exceeding my own expectations. Finally, working with Betsy is fun! I enjoyed every step of the process, from our initial get-to-know-you conversations to our stress-filled (on my part) conversations the night before apps were due. Betsy is down-to-earth, witty, funny, and enjoyable to work with. What’s more, Betsy is direct — she will mince no words — and that is a characteristic that is essential in this process! I recommend Betsy to anyone who is committed to taking their applications and careers to the next level, and interested in making a sincere friend along the way.

Not only did Betsy help me get into my dream school, but she also challenged my thinking and helped me learn more about myself as a person. Betsy showed a genuine interest in my professional and personal endeavors and altogether helped make the application (and decision) process more manageable. With Betsy’s guidance and support, I was admitted to all four programs I applied to and was even awarded two full merit scholarships. Betsy understands what different admissions committees are looking for in an MBA applicant and spends time to help you craft an application that will make YOU stand out in a crowded field. Most importantly, Betsy was FUN to work with. She brings great energy to each discussion and has a creative yet effective approach to helping you understand your potential to drive disruptive change in the communities you serve. Without Betsy’s expertise, I am confident that my results would have been much different. If you are looking for a consultant who will tell you what you need to hear and not what you want to hear, all while having a bit of fun throughout the process, you have found your match!

Betsy Massar got me into the Harvard Kennedy School. It came as a complete surprise coming from a west coast, public university with no full-time experience in the field of international relations. Choosing Betsy as my consultant was arguably the best decision I have ever made. Coming into the application process, I had no clue how to frame my essays and was applying to international relations and public policy programs that are not popular among graduate admissions consultants. Betsy approaches her clients like research projects and takes the time she needs to understand you wholly and your goals in the field. The result comes in the form of beautifully written, convincing essays that speak to who you are as a person and as a candidate. Betsy called upon every resource she had to provide feedback on my applications and even introduced me to people in my field. Her extensive experience abroad aided in my essays and provided a worldly perspective to my application. She understood what these schools were looking for (much better than I did) and was able to craft my varied and not-always-relevant experiences into the picture of a nearly perfect candidate for these programs. The result was outstanding. I ended up using the essays we worked on together for all nine of the programs I applied to and I got into eight of them (including Georgetown SIS, HKS, Columbia SIPA, SAIS, and Fletcher) and received substantial merit-based funding for four of them. At the beginning of this process, I wasn’t sure I was going to get in at all and with Betsy’s help I have just accepted my offer to attend the Harvard Kennedy School, a place I never dreamed I would be lucky enough to attend. I interviewed as many consultants as I could and chose Betsy because I really liked her as a person and because she had more verifiable experience with international relations/public policy programs than anyone else. She’s funny, clever, hardworking, passionate, an excellent writer and has completely changed my life for the better. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Betsy!

Betsy was referred to me by a close friend who had gotten into her dream school the previous year. From our first meeting, I could tell she was exactly the consultant and partner I was looking for, not only was she highly professional and experienced at navigating the application process, she displayed a genuine interest in getting to know me as a person. Coming from an international and non-traditional background, I benefited enormously from Betsy’s personal approach which took me on an introspective journey, digging up small, even overlooked, details and anecdotes from my past, connecting the dots throughout my journey and ultimately producing an application which truly showcased the best I could offer. Her responses were direct, comprehensive and to the point. She was extremely generous with her time and energy, even tapping into her own experience abroad to make her comments more personalized and relatable, and always made me feel confident about myself. I could not have asked for a better experience, and would not have gotten into HBS without her support and guidance. Thank you, Betsy!

Betsy went above and beyond in every aspect. Here are some of the highlights and why you should work with her: 1. She helped me get admission to my top choices: Wharton/Lauder, MIT Sloan, and London Business School!! 2. She introduced me to the Lauder program and connected me to some of her prior students who did the program. Lauder quickly became my top choice. 3. She connected me to countless other students to get their perspectives on different programs that interested me 4. She was incredibly timely and efficient throughout the process. Clear communication and quick feedback 5. She was a mentor. Our conversations were not transactions, she truly cares about her students, and she builds relationships with them I 100% would recommend Betsy to anyone who wants to bring their best foot forward in the very competitive world of MBA admission. Thanks, Betsy!

Initially, I was worried about applying this cycle given my test scores and my nontraditional background. So I knew every other part of my application had to be airtight. From my first “fit call” with Betsy, I immediately knew she was the right consultant for me – professional, personable, and someone who is an expert on MBA admissions. Having worked at GSB, attended HBS, and her years of experience advising MBA applicants, Betsy truly understands the MBA ecosystem – what the admissions office looks for in applicants. She helped me craft strong, cohesive essays for each school that made me stand out. Betsy’s guidance goes beyond the applications. After submitting applications, Betsy advised me on how to manage the rest of the process in order to best position myself with each school. This included interview prep with former admissions officers, career conversations with students and industry professionals, and even housing advice… I’ll be attending Haas this fall on a full-tuition scholarship and also received ~100k to both Kellogg and Booth. Betsy is the hands down the best! I highly recommend working with her

When I first got into contact with Betsy, all I knew was that I had the GMAT under my belt and really didn’t know much of anything else. While I thought that Kellogg and Darden could possibly be schools of interest for me, it was only through conversations with Betsy and listening to her encyclopedic knowledge of business schools, that I was able to develop a list of top schools to perfectly fit my long-term goals — Kellogg, Darden, Tuck, Anderson, Stern and Ross. Over the course of two and a half fun (read: active) months, Betsy walked me through the process of applying to those six schools, drawing heavily on her own knowledge of the PE industry and how my current role in the space translated to business school applications. And I was successful! I got into all of my top schools and wasn’t rejected anywhere. As an unexpected bonus, I also received a serious amount of money from one of my contenders. No matter where I was in the world — in the car, on quarantine trips, in various states during the holidays — she was always on the ball. With timely, direct and digestible feedback, I always felt like I was moving forward and never doubted that Betsy was personally invested in my journey. Additionally, with Betsy holding me accountable and pushing for excellence with every line of every essay and resume, I also never doubted that I would be successful. And when I ultimately was, and had to decide between the schools I was that accepted me, Betsy was also there to talk me through my options on both personal and professional levels. There was no reason for Betsy to stay in contact with me beyond application due dates, and yet she called/emailed almost weekly for updates on my interviews, acceptances and general well-being. She was genuinely excited to hear about my life — BSchool and otherwise! While the process is definitely a bit of work, with Betsy you always know that there is someone helping you shoulder the load. Couldn’t recommend working with her enough!

Betsy was phenomenal throughout the application process – guiding me through the maze of drafting essays, approaching recommenders, and tackling interviews. She had an intimate knowledge of what each school was looking for and was invaluable in helping me to distill my story. Having worked in the finance industry herself, she helped me to interpret some of my own wins in a way that gave good color, context, and helped me to stand out – ultimately, Betsy helped me to get into Sloan, and all the way onto the HBS waitlist. Betsy is also super-fun to work with and we had a lot of laughs about things other than my poor writing – I dare say she made the application process even enjoyable…a big surprise compared to the stress and anxiety I was anticipating! Even after getting admitted, we regularly keep in touch to discuss the latest books loaded up on our Kindles or our latest travels to faraway destinations. With Betsy, not only will you get her sage advice, but you will get an invaluable relationship that you treasure. I have already recommended Betsy to a number of my friends that are applying!