I have been admitted to one of the best MBA programs in the world, and I would like to share my decisive experience with Stratus with you – specifically with Harold Simansky and Susan Cera, who helped me made my dream come true.

First things first. If you contemplate to apply to a top MBA program, here are some questions for you:
- Are you a great test taker?
- Do you know exactly what you want to get out of your MBA?
- Do you know which school is the perfect fit for you and can you list 5 solid reasons on the spot?
- Are you lucky enough to have relatives/friends that attended your dream school?
- Do you already have a degree from a notable university?
- Are you an excellent essay writer?
- Do you have relevant work experience?

If you answered all questions with yes, you are unquestionably blessed, and you might not need to hire an admissions consultant in the first place (even though hiring one might make your life easier throughout the tedious MBA application process). In case you are not so fortunate (like me), you might want to hire someone to guide you through the whole process, and to make sure you will not only get those answers as straight as a die, but also will help you to get into your business school of choice.

MY BACKGROUND
I am an international student from Europe, female, average age, with around 5 years of work experience. I did not attend any Ivy League college, I attended a university that no foreigner has ever heard of, and I also did not exactly graduate with honors. In fact, no one in my family had ever attended any college before. I also had never written an application essay in my entire life. On top of this, I am the most horrible test taker. Yet, I had this ineradicable desire to attend a top full-time MBA program in the US.
It took me numerous attempts, plenty of prep hours, loads of money, and countless nervous breakdowns to finally hit a good result on my admission tests. I was very close to throwing in the towel a few times, and I had already given up on my dream and I had started to look for top 20-50 schools, and even gave up this dream altogether, but Harold managed to help me get back on my feed again. And guess what, I succeeded!

STRATUS
I came across Stratus when I watched some videos on YouTube about top MBA programs. I initially purchased some hours of admissions counselling with them, it was pretty late in the process back then, but for some reason I thought I should still give it a go. Back then, I knew I had a subpar GMAT and overall I did not believe I was the most competitive candidate. I was matched with Harold, who gave me some “homework”, which essentially required me to reflect on my whole life and my innermost ambitions. This step was one of the hardest and most time consuming ones in the whole process, but it laid the groundwork for my essays. I did not submit my application back then, and Stratus was so kind to credit the full amount of my initial purchase towards another purchase, which I almost gladly did. Yes, the fees for a school package raised my hackles, but I knew this would be an investment with a ROI beyond quantification. I knew that I needed their help, if I wanted to go to my dream business school anytime soon. I considered other companies, however, Stratus convinced me the most. Stratus’ consultants all come from top business schools across the country. Stratus has a great network, and very experienced and brainy consultants.
Whenever I brought up a school and area of interest, Harold always instantly provided me with a current student and alumni I could talk to, they all replied within a day or two.

HAROLD SIMANSKY
I perceive Harold as a very professional, ingenious and serene person. Throughout our collaboration, he was always very creative and honest. He did not sugarcoat anything at any time, which was disillusioning for me at the beginning, but it undoubtedly was vital to create my best possible application.
Harold was always very responsive and available - he often responded immediately, weekends and holidays included. I do not remember a time when it took him more than 24 hours to respond, unless he had announced it in advance. Harold also connected me with numerous people from different schools with backgrounds and experience in the field I was interested in; all of them gladly answered my questions. This was invaluable, as it was decisive in my decision to which schools I would apply at the end.
Harold is very invested, he really went out of his way to get me into the school of my dreams. In my case, it would have been much easier for him to convince me to apply to a less competitive program, however, together we managed to find and get me into the school that is the very best fit for me, and I could not be more grateful for that.

SUSAN CERA
Susan was the second reviewer of my essays and I had the chance to meet her in person to prepare for my interview. Susan is just brilliant, she is a very amiable person, very down-to-earth and yet very accomplished. She gave me many valuable insights, way beyond any information I could possibly find on the www. I really appreciated her inputs throughout the process and I cannot thank her enough for her help.

FINAL WORD
I want to stress how important it is for an admissions consultant to understand who you are and what you really want to get out of an MBA. When I stared my MBA journey, I had no idea what I really wanted. I initially wanted to apply to some M7 schools, just because. What I did not know back then was how important fit is. I probably would have never considered the school that finally became my dream school (and the absolute perfect fit for me), if Harold and Susan would not have taken the time to really get to know me, provided me with some very insightful information about that school and insisted that I take a closer look. Without Harold and Susan, I would not have already moved countries with mind-boggling elation, excited for this once-in-a-lifetime experience!

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I was recently admitted to the MIT Sloan Fellows Programme. I am an Indian entrepreneur with 11+ years of work experience and a 740 GMAT.

Taking this opportunity to review Harold Simansky, I would like to appreciate his support through out my application process. He has the following advantages that proved invaluable -

1. Extremely quick to respond and available 24x7. He often replied to my mails within minutes.

2. Is adaptable and understands the applicant's needs and story quick. I was running on tight deadlines for completing my application. Harold was flexible in his approach and fortunately able to work within my timelines due to which I could balance the application process with my work commitments easily.

3. Has great clarity of thought and solves queries instantly. As an entrepreneur with significant experience, I had many leadership experiences that I would have liked to share. Harold was quick to give me a feedback and help me remain focused on what I wanted to convey.

In addition, I would also like to thank Salma Qarnain from Stratus Prep, who helped me introspect during the application process. It was truly a rewarding experience working with her as well.

Thanks Harold and Stratus Prep for all the support !!
Ambuj

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Let's be honest, getting into a top MBA programme is not easy. Perhaps the easiest bit is the grades and the GMAT. Its straight forward and you just have to study to get the right score/grades. The difficult bit is actually deciding which school to apply to, navigating through the application process and in the end, perhaps the most difficult of them all, making a selection.

I worked with Harold to apply to 6 schools. My working with Harold actually happened by coincidence. I was first matched with another consultant with whom I felt like I was not connecting very well. Stratus offered to switch the admissions consultant I was working with and paired me with Harold. This experience showed me that they really do care and want me to succeed. Stratus is really there to help any way that they can throughout the process.

Harold is very experienced at MBA Applications. He knows what schools want to hear and how you can structure your applications to stand out from the crowd. His help on my applications have been invaluable. I had so many ideas on how to structure these very short essays and I really struggled to pick which ones are the stories I should tell. Harold helped me every step of the way and explained what I should do and why I should do it. Beyond the essays, he was always there to talk to me whenever I had a question. It really was a tremendous support to have an expert by you to bounce ideas off of.

Perhaps my most memorable experience is when Harold recommended a certain MBA programme to me that was not on my radar. He found a school and a programme that had a specialization in the area I wanted to work in. School is such a good fit and my application was so successful that I got accepted into the program with a 50% scholarship despite having a GMAT score that is 40 points below the average. I must say, scholarship more than justified the fees I paid to Stratus.

In the end, I benefitted greatly from working with Harold. Not only I succeed in getting into the schools I wanted, I also learned a lot about myself and the career that I want to pursue.

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Harold and Stratus were incredible and well worth the cost.

I began the application process early and worked with Harold for many months to begin refining my story to be as strong of a candidate as possible. Working with Harold through reflection periods were key to my success on the essays and crafting the right story to catch the admissions committee's eye. I know I would have written a completely different essay had it not been for Harold's insights into my own patterns of behavior that he identified just from speaking with me and understanding my background.

Harold went above and beyond every time - spending many hours on the phone and even meeting with me in person when I visited Boston to get a better understanding of who I was as a person and applicant.

As well, the complete Stratus package is incredibly thorough. With personalized interview assistance, multiple essay readers, brainstorming tools, etc. you are positioned for success and to be the most competitive candidate you can be. I would recommend the full package to anybody looking at business school who is willing to do thorough career and personal reflection.

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I loved working with Harold who provided me with assistance at every step of the way from helping me with structuring my essays to critiquing my cover letters.

He is a genuinely interested in making sure you go to the university that you want to and helps you make an informed decision. His greatest strength is his ability to create a conducive working environment that helped me open up to him and helped him understand what I really was looking for in an MBA program.He responds to your queries almost immediately and at the same time gives you ample time to work on your essays.

I would attribute my admission to Harold 100% and without him I know I would have had to struggle a lot more with my applications to get to where I am .

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I could not recommend Harold Simansky and the Stratus Prep team more for their MBA consulting services. Stratus Prep was incredibly professional throughout the entire process and Harold was extremely knowledgeable on the application processes at top business schools. Harold helped me refine and perfect my career story, objectives and overall application. Harold is an expert in helping people properly position themselves within their competitive category to maximize their chances of being admitted. He was immediately available any time I had questions or concerns, which was frequently throughout the process. If you want to put your best foot forward and increase your chances of being admitted to a top school then I highly suggest working with Harold and the Stratus Prep team.

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When I look back at all the purchases I have made throughout my life, I can say with absolute confidence that my Stratus Prep package was the best money I have ever spent in my entire life. They took an extremely stressful and intimidating process and broke it down into something that was do able. The results speak for themselves: I got into my top choice.

Their approach to constructing your application is all about selling yourself and what makes you unique in an authentic way. Everything ties back to the core characteristics that are identified and agreed upon at the start of the process. Those characteristics thread their way throughout your application. When it comes to the essay portion, your essays are reviewed by both your consultant and an independent party so that as many eyes as possible review your story.

I can’t recommend this service highly enough.

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I signed up with Stratus Prep early during the admissions season (~May) this year - I was lucky to have Harold as my adviser. We followed a very structured approach towards the entire application process, having preliminary discussions on 'themes' that emerged from my personal and professional experiences, and then layering those themes on all essays.

Harold is a great adviser, who always prompted me to think differently while writing my essays, and believed in completing multiple iterations until he was satisfied with the result. He offered great insights into the culture and other characteristics of all business schools I applied to, which undoubtedly helped me write my essays better. Moreover, he's a great person to talk to, and always kept the mood light with his jokes!

I found Stratus's approach of involving a secondary 'school expert' reviewer very useful - I don't think any other consultant can possibly offer such insights. Stratus was also able to turnaround all my essays (proofreading, expert inputs) within 24 hours - which was really helpful as I submitted some applications pretty close to deadline day!

I had a great experience working with Harold and Stratus Prep, and they were instrumental in helping me get into my dream B-school - I would highly recommend working them!

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I had a terrific experience working with Harold. His advice, guidance, and support throughout the application process was quite helpful. His assistance made my application process much more manageable, and less stressful.

I applied to four schools. He offered valuable insights on how I should approach each program's application and his feedback on my essays always seems to be on-point.

I appreciated how he would push me to drive to greater levels of detail and specificity in my writing to make my essays really come alive.

He was also highly responsive. I could always count on him to get back to me with answers or feedback quickly, or to at least acknowledge that he had received my email and would get back to me as soon as he could.

I was accepted into two of the programs to which I applied, one with a scholarship. I withdrew from one of the other programs, and was rejected by the fourth program.

In short, I really appreciated having Harold on my side and I would definitely recommend him to anyone exploring MBA admissions consulting services.

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I initially started trying to tackle MBA applications on my own. Right before Round 1 deadlines I realized my applications were not nearly the caliber they should be to get into one of my ambitious schools. I was initially very shocked at how expensive an admissions consultant could be but settled on Stratus Prep quickly after talking with some of their staff and appreciating how easy they were to talk to.

I worked with Harold Simansky and immediately we began crafting my story. His push to make me dig deeper was a tough experience, but ultimately so rewarding as we were able to create a solid framework for my strengths, story, and where I'm looking to go. The experience itself really helped me understand why I wanted an MBA and what some realistic goals were.

Harold was able to help me write and shape essays that were lightyears ahead of the essays I wrote by myself. He helped me shape each essay for what the school and prompt were looking for, and cut out any material that really didn't provide a purpose or differentiating factor. I was nervous about how quickly I would receive feedback, but always impressed by the speed and quality I received, even as I was finishing applications around Christmas time.

In the end, I got into a great program I really didn't think I had much of a chance with. I'm so grateful for the help that Harold and all the Stratus Prep team was able to provide.

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