Who We Are: The Full-Time mbaMission Team

Melissa Blakeslee

Melissa Blakeslee

Senior MBA Admissions Consultant

Northwestern Kellogg MBA and former admissions director with almost two decades of MBA admissions experience, recognized by Poets&Quants for having a Perfect 10.0 client satisfaction score

How I Can Help You

After graduating from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, I began conducting alumni interviews and unexpectedly discovered my passion for admissions work. Now, I love to help clients transform their professional lives, sharing my own experience of transitioning from CPA to brand manager to admissions expert. Partnering with applicants, I leverage my professional background and deep understanding of what drives admissions committee decisions to assist clients in crafting compelling and unique stories.

Why Choose Me

I earned my MBA, with a focus on marketing and strategy, from Northwestern Kellogg, where I was an active member of the Marketing Club and helped lead student orientation during my second year. I also have my CPA and a BBA in accounting from the University of Michigan, so before committing my career to MBA admissions, I worked on the Assurance Services team at Ernst & Young and as an analyst at Accenture. In addition, I conducted financial analyses and made recommendations on product development decisions at Ford Motor Company and led the development and launch of a new line of fruit drinks as an associate brand manager with The Coca-Cola Company.

Joining Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business, I spent 11 years as executive director of admissions, providing strategic direction to the admissions team, reviewing thousands of applications, and reading more than 20,000 essays—experience that has equipped me exceedingly well to share an admissions committee perspective on what schools look for and what makes a standout application.

When I am not helping my clients, you can find me annoying my teens, trying to PR on my Peloton Tread+, or re-watching my favorite K-Drama with my mini labradoodle.

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Super Supportive, Critical Eye, Very Reliable, simply THE BEST!


Melissa will bring out the best in you!


Hire Melissa!! She genuinely cares and really helps you hone the critical parts of your story!


Melissa helped me get into every school I applied to!


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