Susan played an absolutely essential role in my M7 business school acceptance. Going into the MBA application process, I lacked confidence and was unsure of how to tell my story. I appreciated how Susan really got to know me throughout our time working together, always digging deeper and asking insightful questions that brought me to consider my impact in different situations. Her candid feedback helped me improve with each round of essay and resume edits. She also helped me translate the jargon from my experiences working in biotech startups into broadly understandable concepts.

Aside from gaining clarity in my essays, I found that it became easier to speak about my experiences and what I hoped to gain from an MBA. I felt incredibly prepared during my interviews because Susan had helped me define my voice.

I applied to two M7’s, interviewed at both, and was accepted at one. I was still working full time and wedding planning while applying and Susan was very supportive during a hectic time. I would highly recommend working with her!

N.W., FT MBA Candidate, MIT Sloan

The Review first appeared on P&Q (https://poetsandquants.com/consultant/susan-berishaj/?pq-directory-type=consultant)

Working with Susan and Sia Admissions was the best investment I have made for my personal and professional development on the road to get into business school. Susan has a results-driven system that is personalized for each client to not only deliver the best MBA application possible, but also prepare the client to continue to shine in his or her interviews for their top programs.

Coming from a healthcare background, I was looking for a consultant who could help transform my industry specific jargon into well-crafted essays that were easily understood in the business world. Susan took the time to get to know me and my background 1-on-1 before we began developing my application.

Before discussing Susan’s performance as an admissions consultant, I have to touch on my favorite part about working with her. Susan is incredibly organized and driven to help you present the best version of yourself, but she is also flexible with being available to meet with clients when it fits their schedule. Applying to business school is a daunting task, especially when juggling a full-time job and family commitments, and Susan did a fantastic job keeping me on top of deadlines.

Susan really does care about each of her client’s success, and that is truly evident in her attention to detail when editing application materials. Unlike some other admissions consultants, Susan will continue to help you revise your documents until both you and her are satisfied with the result.

I was also incredibly happy with just how comprehensive Susan’s approach to the application process was. She is truly a life coach guiding her clients from resume writing to interview prep through the application cycle.

With Susan’s help I was admitted to both of my top choice schools, one of which came with a 40% scholarship! Overall, I would not hesitate to recommend Susan to anyone applying to business school.

J.L., (Duke) Fuqua FT MBA Candidate

The Review first appeared on P&Q

When I was starting my MBA application process, I wanted to hire the best coach and interviewed 8 highly rated coaches. Even from my first conversation with Susan, I had a feeling that I would achieve my greatest potential by working with her, and I am now certain that she was the best MBA coach for me.

There are three things that I found particularly impactful about working with Susan; first, she is personally committed to her clients’ success. She exceeded my expectations in the way that she took the time to thoroughly work with me in each step of the process, holding me to high standards and working through many essay drafts and mock interviews until we both agreed that I was putting my best foot forward.

Second, she is an exceptional storyteller. The story makes all the difference in an application, and Susan provided invaluable expertise to help me create a cohesive, compelling narrative about my unique background and goals.

Third, Susan went above and beyond with her empathy and introspection. She truly wants to get to know her clients, not thinking of the relationship as transactional. The MBA application process is an emotional roller coaster, and I appreciated the acknowledgement and genuine care for how I was doing. This emotional connection also helped me go deeper in the reflection process and draw out unique aspects of my character.

I applied to 6 schools (5 M7s) and was admitted to 5 (with 3 major scholarships). I didn’t work on all of my schools with Susan, but our work was transferable and greatly contributed to the successful outcomes of the schools I worked on independently. I will be attending Wharton, my top choice, and am extremely grateful for all of Susan’s support in helping me get there.

If you are a candidate who is ready to be introspective, work hard, and build your best possible application, you will be extremely successful working with Susan.

R.A., MBA Candidate, The Wharton School

The Review first appeared on P&Q (https://poetsandquants.com/consultant/susan-berishaj/?pq-directory-type=consultant)

Susan is simply amazing. Her support is end-to-end and you get more mock interviews than necessary to absolutely knock the MBA interviews out of the park! Susan was my guiding light in preparing my essays, narrative, and interviews.

She is extremely knowledgeable in the MBA space. She has a finance background from Yale which was extremely comforting. I am from a state school background with no remarkable employers, so there was a lot of impostor syndrome going in – Susan helped me feel more confident about the schools I chose.

Before Susan, I was thinking I would barely make my way into a top 50 school due to my background and very average GMAT/below-average GPA. After Susan’s guidance, I confidently applied to LBS, Oxford, Cambridge, Duke, NYU, Cornell, and Vanderbilt. I was only dinged from LBS, waitlisted at Cornell and Cambridge, and accepted everywhere else, even receiving a $76,000 scholarship to Vandy.

Really at the end of the day, it’s next to impossible to maximize your MBA potential without a seasoned consultant who knows how to play the game. I’m not sure if I would have gotten into any of these schools if it wasn’t for her.

At the end of the day, if ROI is your concern, Susan’s extremely fair fees will pay themselves over with better acceptances or scholarships.

Susan also simply just cares! I concluded working with her in December 2021 but she still sends me monthly email updates with info to help me prepare for my MBA.

She doesn’t just want you to get accepted, she wants to see you succeed.

Review first appeared on P&Q

Having Susan by my side proved valuable throughout my application process. She helped me overcome an absolutely terrible GPA (<2.7) to gain admittance at my dream M7 school.

When I initially reached out to several MBA consultants, Susan was one of the very few who was willing to work with me despite my glaring academic weakness. During our first conversation, she took the time to closely evaluate my profile and was honest about both my strengths and weaknesses. From the start, I already had a feeling I would be comfortable working with Susan. She gave me very thoughtful advice even before I officially signed up for her service.

Once I signed up, Susan made me go through a very comprehensive self-reflection process. I learned so much about myself – my personal journey, motivations, achievements. This set the foundation for crafting extremely deep and personal stories that would later pique the interest of 3 top MBA programs.

Susan constantly challenged me throughout the essay drafting process. I would usually write what I would assume were very compelling initial drafts, but Susan would leave comments such as “Why does this matter?” or “Explain what you mean” on certain sections. I would sometimes get frustrated, but I knew why she would do it – these are the same questions adcoms would ask while reading my work, so I have to make sure my essays are as clear as possible for them to understand. The final versions were all clearly stronger and more compelling than the initial versions, and I attribute that to Susan’s guidance.

Susan also helped me practice my interviews by making sure I’d be ready with responses that were true to myself and at the same time, speak to the school’s culture. I felt I gave a strong interview with my top school, and again, this is because of multiple practice sessions with Susan.

Overall, I had an amazing experience with Susan. I couldn’t have done it without her support.

Review first appeared on GMAT Club.

#1 Investment I have made in my 30 years, resulting in #1 choice achieved for Graduate School with successful admission to Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Optimization: Susan helped me uncover and project my application narrative to reach my absolute potential. This was CRUCIAL for the numerous essays required for each school.

Peace of Mind: Working with Susan, I had minimal stress during the application thanks to the incredible results she enabled me to achieve day by day, week by week. From the beginning, her thorough process and dedication, coupled with my own hard work gave me the peace of mind to know that I was going to achieve success in graduate school admissions. This peace of mind is priceless.

Personal Approach: Susan tailored her proven framework to suit my schedule and needs. Again, this brings incredible value and quality to the experience.

I’m truly fortunate to have discovered Susan’s professional work from my friend Jack (see his review below). This was truly a life-fulfilling investment.

MIPP Candidate at Johns Hopkins University, School fo Advanced International Studies

Review first appeared on Poets & Quants

Coming from a non-business background, I was looking for a consultant to help me with all aspects of my MBA applications. I spoke with four companies before choosing Sia Admissions. Susan’s personalized approach sold me.

On our first call, Susan promised to be there every step of the way, and she meant it! From the initial stages of getting to know me and crafting my school list in the early summer to celebrating my acceptance in December, she was always on my side.

As a consultant, Susan is very meticulous. She goes through several drafts of all of your documents until they are perfect. She will constantly push you to do your best work and make sure you are telling your unique story. For example, we did eight drafts of my resume alone. I definitely got frustrated at times with how much she pushed me (re-writing the same paragraph over and over is not fun!), but I knew she was just doing it to make my applications as strong as possible. For interviews, she offers multiple mock practice sessions for each school to ensure you are fully prepared. Her all-inclusive package is truly all-inclusive.

Long story short, I am very glad I worked with Susan. An MBA consultant is an enormous investment, but with Susan’s help, I gained acceptance to my top-choice program with a partial scholarship.

Helping applicants showcase their strengths and tell their story is Susan’s genuine passion. If you are looking for both a coach and cheerleader on this crazy journey, I highly recommend her!

Review first appeared on GMAT Club