MBA Team

Sophie Hilaire

Sophie Hilaire

MBA Admissions Counselor

Academic Background

United States Military Academy at West Point, BS in Management, minor in Environmental Engineering
The Wharton School, MBA, Operations

Professional Background

  • Captain in the US Army, including a combat deployment to Afghanistan, and served as deputy executive officer to a three-star commanding general
  • 4.5 years at McKinsey & Company, including 3.5 years as a generalist strategy consultant and 1 year as chief of staff to the senior partner, leading the firm’s evolution in client work through the COVID-19 pandemic

Select Admissions Counseling Accomplishments

  • For the past seven years, Sophie’s deep exposure to a wide range of schools has helped candidates gain admission to top MBA programs such as Wharton, Columbia Business School, Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, London Business School, the Yale School of Management, and UVA Darden
  • Sophie also supported Wharton’s admissions team in screening applicants and preparing first-year MBAs for consulting interviews, and she assisted McKinsey’s recruiting team in screening veteran applicants. This gives her an extra layer of insight into what top MBA programs and firms are looking for, from an admissions team’s perspective
  • She also has valuable insight into merit-based scholarships, should that be of interest to you. Sophie’s clients have been awarded up to 100% of their tuition in merit-based scholarships

Location

Sophie is living out her dreams as a homesteader on 102 acres in rural Kentucky

You might enjoy working with Sophie if

  • You are an entrepreneur / founder. Sophie loves working with entrepreneurs and people with big visions, having founded and led two nonprofit CrossFit gyms herself
  • You are interested in a consulting career post-graduation. Having spent nearly 5 years as a strategy consultant with McKinsey & Company and supported their recruiting team, Sophie has valuable insight into what top firms are looking for and how applicants should position themselves
  • You are passionate about sports, the outdoors, or achieving big goals. Sophie trained and summited Mount Everest while working at McKinsey, and she holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon in full military uniform. She loves helping clients tell the richness of their stories beyond professional and academic pursuits
  • You are a veteran. Sophie is particularly seasoned in translating the nuances of military experience into what top MBA programs seek in their incoming classes

What Sophie’s clients have to say about her

As a veteran, I felt intimidated by the application process until my first conversation with Sophie. Throughout the process, she struck the perfect balance of supporting me while pushing me to craft the best applications possible. In some ways, I wish I didn’t have to choose between these offers!
Sophie’s reputation precedes her, but her warmth came as a pleasant surprise to me. I could not have asked for a better mentor (and friend!) to navigate this journey with.