Betsy Massar
Betsy Massar founded Master Admissions back in 2009 and has worked with hundreds of candidates on getting into the top business schools in the world. She was one of the pioneering women graduates of Harvard Business School, worked on Wall Street and in Asia, and has been a long-time communications coach at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Betsy worked for Goldman Sachs right out of business school and has spent most of her career in and around the financial industry, working for both investment banks and investment management firms. Before moving to the Bay Area, she lived in Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong for 10 years.
At Stanford, drawing on her skills from her time as a writer, journalist, and editor, she advised Stanford MBA students on the Critical Analytical Thinking course and coached first and second year students on their resumes and presentation skills.
Betsy is a lifetime member of the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents Club, and when not counseling applicants for Master Admissions, ice skates regularly and is starting to take up golf.
Frances Hochschild
Frances Hochschild is a graduate of the Stanford Graduate School of Business with a background in both management consulting and finance. After working in strategic planning, as a management consultant, and as an investment banker, she switched to the administrative side focusing on firm management, recruiting, and human resources at Bain, Robertson Stephens, and more recently for private equity, investment advisory, and start-up companies. Frances began her career as an M&A analyst at Lehman Brothers. Based in the U.S., she has recruited employees globally and worked for Bain in Russia and South Africa. She was also a manager of strategic planning for Gap Inc. and has served as a human capital and strategy consultant for wide range of global companies. Frances is an experienced resume coach, and is one of the Stanford GSB's highest-rated mock-interview coaches. She received her undergraduate degree with a concentration in Economics at Harvard College, where she received the Manager of the Year award for her work with the varsity football team.
Allison Kluger, Lecturer, Stanford Graduate School of Business
Ken Smith, former member HBS admissions board
Lynnette McIntire, Senior Fellow in Social Innovation, Babson College
Maria Wich-Vila, Founder Applicant Lab, Harvard MBA
Marissa Samuel, Columbia JD/MBA, founder 99th Percentile Tutoring, Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit
Martha Weeks, Haas MBA, Stanford Graduate School of Business
Pamela Jaffe, Jaffe Advantage, Formerly with MBAmission, Columbia MBA
Right off the bat, I got a sense that Betsy had a more involved approach and certainly not the "cookie cutter one size fits feel" that I got from many others. I could not have picked a better guide; would strongly recommend her to anyone looking for an involved tailored approach and doggedness! Betsy's turnarounds were fast and her inputs were incisive. Most importantly, she ensured that the essays always remained my own. She probed and nudged till I was able to convey my story in my own words in a forceful and convincing manner. I am very thankful to Betsy for her persistence -- the essays remained mine and revealed what I really wanted to say.
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(Stanford MsX )
I was in the zero admit club last year. This year I applied to 5 schools in Top 5-10. Interviewed at all 5, accepted at 4, with partial scholarship. I really appreciated our solid discussions, which really helped frame my answers properly. There were also patterns I didn't notice/realize about myself, outside of the MBA process. I find myself having a much better thought clarity having come out of her guidance. All-in all I would recommend Betsy to anyone pursuing an MBA! It's worth every penny!
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(UVA Darden)
I'm a non-traditional applicant, but she was really able to turn the technical parts of my job and my personal and professional stories into great b-school that made for great anecdotes in the essays (and even brought out my sense of humor in them too). The essays really turned into multi-dimensional stories instead of an essay that went simply from point A to B. Her true value came in pointing out what part of my story was unique and relevant to writing these essays. The back and forth brainstorming and discussions were invaluable to me
(Tuck)
Betsy is a master at helping you get your story across to the MBA audience -- with Betsy on your side, you will have addressed a key variable in the MBA admissions process.
(Berkeley Columbia EMBA)
Betsy really took the time to understand my concerns, and I felt as if I were talking to a friend for advice rather than a consultant. She is very easy to talk to and puts in a lot of effort to understand who your are. She genuinely cares about getting to know you and making sure you are successful. While most consultants would just say this, Betsy demonstrated this through her actions. Although I had done a lot of preparation and research on my own, working with Betsy really made a big difference in improving the quality of my applications.
(Chicago Booth)
I knew I had a fairly unique story to tell, but that I also had some obstacles: a 66th percentile Quant score coupled with a Humanities undergrad and a meandering career path (academia, journalism, family business, no brand name corporations or traditional MBA-feeder industries on my resume at all). In the end, I batted a perfect .1000, gaining admission to every program I applied to and no less than 3 full-tuition scholarship offers. I could not have done it without Betsy. Brutal honesty + a deep knowledge of what adcoms at the various schools like + a great ear for sharp writing = exactly the kind of tough love you want from an admissions consultant. It's not an assembly-line type of service. You don't get emails back from a guy burning through a pile of apps and making them all sound "Harvardy" without even looking at the name at the top of the essay or from a stranger with dozens of other apps dropped on his desk by the boss. Betsy's is a deep-dive, high-touch kind of service for people who are really serious about getting the most out of their consultant.
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(Yale SOM)
I once told Betsy she is "amazeballs", well, because I believe she is. Betsy was both a mentor and a friend and helped me to continue to have faith in myself throughout the overwhelming process of MBA applications. She helped me explore my school options and put me in touch with people who could offer additional guidance. Because she took the time to really get to know me, Betsy helped me present my strongest self throughout my essays and was a large factor in my getting accepted to my top choice.
(Michigan Ross)
I just got the news I was accepted to Harvard. You are the first to know- I owe you that much. Let me catch my breath. Thank you so much!
(Harvard Kennedy School)
Working with Betsy was a fun boot-camp experience. I'm a procrastinator by nature so she kicked my butt a few times when I was too lazy to work. She was very straight forward about my written essays, when something was junk she didn't let me hear the end of it! She really helped me figure out and put together my story when even I myself had no idea how impressive it really was. Some essays I had to revise 7 or 8 times before they were perfect. Her turnaround time was scary fast, sometimes I wondered if she ever left her computer. For my last school I only had a week to do the essays however Betsy was very accommodating and worked hard with me to get it perfected by the deadline. It must have been my best set of essays yet as I ended up receiving admission and a partial scholarship to a top 10 ranked MBA program.
(Duke Fuqua)
I would strongly suggest working with Betsy if you are looking for one-on-one attention, especially if you have a finance background or international experience. She took a very holistic approach to the process, was really interested in talking me through my highs and lows up to this point and true gut feel for why this school/why MBA. I did not have a very straightforward story (lay offs, international moves, liberal arts major with only ok GPA) and my GMAT was not stellar, but I feel that I was able to put my best foot forward in this cycle with Betsy's guidance. Thank you for helping me put in the best application I could. And now I'm Hanover-bound --time to upgrade my winter wardrobe!