I had an amazing experience working with Donna. She was extremely useful in helping craft my story and establishing my goals. She provided me with some valuable insights. She has also very responsive throughout the entire process and even made herself available during the holiday period to help me. Donna is able to ask you the right questions to trigger self-reflection and she is gifted at getting the best out of you. I highly recommend Donna and I am very satisfied with the investment. In the end, I was admitted to Anderson with a scholarship and a Tuck. Thank you again for your help Donna!

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TLDR version: Donna and Stratus are just incredible to work with and I could not be happier with my outcome of being admitted to Yale SOM.

Now the longer version: I have to admit, mostly due to the high price of a typical multi-school package, I was seriously considering not using a consultant at all (in hindsight, that would have been devastating!!). Once I talked myself into hiring a consultant, I spent more time than I would like to admit reading these very reviews and obsessing over ’top consultant lists.’ I finally came up with a short list of ~5 consultants to have intro meetings with and quite frankly was underwhelmed with most as they were much less personal and much more transactional than I had anticipated. It took no more than 5 minutes of speaking with Donna for me to decide that she is the one I would enjoy/benefit working with the most. Not only is she extremely well-versed in the admissions world, but also it is extremely clear that she genuinely cares about each of her clients – and that is what mattered most to me. Donna made what is a very daunting process a breeze. Add on top of that me having to take the GMAT THREE times and finally hitting a score beyond what I thought was possible for me only a week or so before R1 applications were due. She was able to connect me with the right folks in order to get my GMAT score up and, most importantly, stay sane throughout the process! I could not imagine having to go through the application process with anyone but Donna and would 1,000% recommend her to anyone that is deciding on who to work with!

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Donna and the rest of the Stratus team were a joy to work with and I can not imagine going through the MBA application process without them. Donna's assistance was crucial in making sure that I submitted the best possible application and helped me find tutors to increase my quantitative GMAT score. Her honesty, organizational prowess, and experience within the field were what helped me get into my target schools and set clear goals for myself. I will not hesitate to recommend their services to anybody that is going through the MBA application process as I know she is the best available consultant on the market.

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First, I worked with Donna for two schools and got 1 admitted (Darden) and 1 invited to the interview (Wharton) all thanks to her help (given my low test score, you could tell how she was great to make my application shine)

When it comes to my decision making, I wasn't sure whether I really need to get some helps from a consultant (specifically when it has a high price tag per hour). But now I can 100% assure that working with Donna is absolutely worth investment.

She's super responsive all the time during the process and you will see how this is important given a tight timeline of MBA application process. Also she made herself available whenever I need her help so having no pressure on how many hours I can take with her was a big plus. Speaking of this availability, please don't simply look at the hourly price tag because she put extra efforts and hours with you. This was most critical part for me. I needed a real partner who can be with me when I needed.

Also, I got a huge help to develop my story from her. Please take a look at her experience and she was leading the admission process, which was a huge plus as I was able to gain the perspectives of adcom and decide what topic I need to put or approach on any questions. Donna was really helpful for me to connect dots among many topics and themes in my life so that I can develop my best story fit to the school I applied.

One more great thing with Donna was that I heard from multiple consultants not only her. She has great team members who can share their thoughts and review on your application. I really enjoyed this team-based approach because I felt I got much more services than I actually paid for, and was able to take multiple perspectives on my essays. In fact, the admission process and review is done by a committee not by an individual, I think this team approach would make much more sense to me.

Optional comment for international applicants. As I am an international applicant, it was important for me to work with someone who has experience with international candidates so that my characteristics and stories with cultural context can be fully discovered. Donna has ample experience with candidates from multiple countries - both on reading their applications as a committee and consultant - which allowed me to evaluate how strong my stance and applications.

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Donna is an excellent consultant and I would highly recommend her to anyone thinking about getting their MBA! She was an incredible resource and added significant value to my applications. I bought the comprehensive package and would absolutely say it was the right move. Donna helped guide me through the full process, from my introspection exercises to thoughtfully creating a story around my MBA journey and finally helping me prepare for interviews. She was extremely responsive and went above and beyond to make sure she got back to me quickly when we were bumping up against application deadlines. Most importantly, I could tell that she was genuinely excited for me when I finally got the call that I had been accepted at Columbia!

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Working with Donna Bauman was an excellent decision and helped me get into my dream school, Kellogg! From our initial consultation I knew she was going to give me the push I needed to get my application ready. I came to her less than 1 month before my application was due and she kept me on track, motivated, and calm through a normally very stressful process! She provided amazing advice on crafting my resume and essays – really challenging me to dig deep. Her experience as a Kellogg alum allowed her to provide spot-on information about the program and what they seek in applicants. She was extremely quick, providing feedback within hours, even on weekends. I can honestly say I would not have been successful without Donna’s help. Although the packages may seem a little expensive, I cannot speak highly enough of her and the support she provided during my MBA application process. 10/10 recommend!

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I was accepted into Kellogg Round 3 and without Donna, it would not have happened. I chose the hourly package, as I was in a few MBA prep programs, but without Donna, I would not have been accepted. Donna truly cared about me as an individual and not just a number. She was very candid, but warm at the same time. Her adcom experience is invaluable and she will give you the insights you need to improve your application. I felt very prepared for the video essay and my interview because of my time with her. She was so positive and encouraging it really helped to calm my nerves. I am forever thankful I chose to work with Donna. Well worth the investment.

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When I decided I wanted to pursue an MBA, I knew I was going to need help navigating the process. From the bottom of the mountain, it was a daunting task.

Enter Donna Bauman.

From our initial call, I was impressed by her professionalism, sharpness, and eagerness to get started. We discussed backgrounds, a roadmap for our journey together, and expectations going forward. Everything was well presented so there would be no surprises.

As we executed our plan, I was constantly reminded of my initial thoughts, as well as reassured that I had made a smart decision due to her level of thoughtfulness and thoroughness. I never questioned her level of commitment to my success and to leaving no stone unturned. On top of the "basic services", I feel she offered numerous hidden gems that I never would have known about had I not sought her services. I feel she went above and beyond because she cares for her clients. She has never been unwilling to schedule a quick call or reply to an email. While many services and consultants talk the talk, Donna most certainly walks the walk. Relationships are important throughout this process, and she does her best to cultivate a strong one geared toward success.

Now as I await decision, I can be confident I put forth my very best work with her assistance. I know I would not be nearly as well prepared had I attempted to walk this journey alone. She made this an enjoyable process, and well exceeded my expectations for a consultant. I have highly recommended Donna to a number of my colleagues, and will continue to sing her praises to anyone even considering an MBA.

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Before writing about Stratus, I’ll say it’s important to know what you’re looking to get out of an MBA consultant. I began the process with Stratus with only 40 days until round 2 submission, so not only was I looking for guidance on school selection, application strategy, resume and essay review, and interview prep, I also needed a project manager of sorts to clearly lay out deadlines and allow me to use the little non-working time I had most efficiently. I had talked to several consultants and it was clear that Stratus had the full package. When I first talked to Donna I knew we would work well together (while the Stratus process is great, your relationship and ability to work with your individual consultant is the most important piece).

As far as value add goes, I can’t praise Stratus, Donna and Cartha enough. The introspective application strategy is something that contributed greatly to my essays and I would not have gotten there on my own. By connecting me with former clients and knowing where my strengths played best, Donna helped inform my school selection. My professional resume was turned upside down into a great MBA resume. The school specific essay review, interview guides and mock interviews were dead on. And apart from their own gain from my success, they were truly rooting for me throughout the process.

To speak to results, I applied to 4 top 10 programs, was admitted to 3, waitlisted at 1. Even if I started months earlier and had a wide network of recent MBAs, I’m not sure I would have produced the same quality of applications.

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I worked with Donna on my US MBA applications. Donna exemplified the most essential quality needed in a consultant – being invested in client’s success. She worked beyond the time limits to give my application the best chance I could possibly get.

I worked with Donna on my school selection, essays and resume. Compared to many other consultants that I have met, she showed intimate knowledge of most schools (gained through school visits) and advised me on possibilities of cracking a given school keeping in mind my post-MBA career ambitions. On essays, she helped shape a compelling story in a manner, which only an experienced consultant could have done. But most of all, the killer-punch was the resume. She helped me completely reshape my “career-resume” to an “MBA-resume”, which I felt was an important piece of constructive feedback.

Overall I highly recommend Donna and it was a pleasure working with her.

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