If you’re thinking twice about working with Angela, my advice is to stop thinking and go for it!

Because I was a “non-traditional” applicant who started a nonprofit, I didn’t have a network of friends, colleagues, or mentors who had been through the MBA application process and who I could lean on for essay brainstorming/editing, interview prep, and just general moral support throughout the ups and downs of the process.

At the same time, I knew that exact non-traditional background was what made me a potentially unique and compelling candidate for business school. So initially, I was hesitant about working with an admissions consultant because I didn’t want to lose/dilute that and was afraid to be boxed into a cookie-cutter applicant.

Last summer, when I was first exploring the idea of working with a consultant, I set up free consultations with three MBA admissions consulting firms, including mbaMission. My first two calls with the other firms (shall not to be named) were very disheartening. Without taking the time to listen or understand my background/story (they cut me off several times as I was speaking and made assumptions with very little basis), they essentially would not consider working with me because they thought I wasn’t a strong applicant due to the fact that I didn’t work at a big-name company (I started a nonprofit) and I was still in the process of taking the GMAT (and my practice scores were sub-par at the time.)

My conversation with Angela could not have been more different. She was energetic and optimistic but pragmatic and honest/frank––especially with my practice GMAT scores. But unlike the others, she took the time to ask questions and listen to my story. She didn’t write me off immediately and believed in my potential. (With her encouragement to push through and some one-on-one private GMAT tutoring with a test prep company, I eventually scored a 700+ right.)

With Angela/mbaMission, I ended up purchasing a 4-school package and applied to 3 other schools on my own during R1. I know 7 schools in R1 sounds crazy, but I had no idea what my chances were of getting into a top MBA program, so I didn’t want to put all my eggs in one basket. By the time I had worked on 4 schools with Angela, the applications for the other three schools were a total breeze.

I cannot say enough good things about working with Angela. She is an incredible storyteller, but best part was that every single word in my essays was my own work and my own thoughts. If you’re looking for someone to do the work for you, Angela is not the person. She is a partner and facilitator in the process. She will take as much time as you need to help brainstorm essays, develop essay skeletons, and give you specific feedback to make your essays more compelling/cohesive, but at the end of the day, the essays will be a product of your own work––work that you’ll really be proud of! By the time I got to the interview stage, I had spent so much time thinking, reflecting, and talking through my story with Angela that the interviews ended up being effortless. I knew my story inside out and why business school was the perfect next step for me, so I was able to convey that with authentic/genuine enthusiasm to my interviewers, which I think ended up shining through.

Of the 7 schools I applied to (all top 10-12), I ended up getting admitting to 5 programs with almost $280K in scholarships, including a full-tuition scholarship to a M7 school! It’s truly unbelievable to not only be on the other side of the application process, but also have the opportunity to choose between these programs. I cannot thank Angela enough for her unwavering enthusiasm and partnership throughout the process. My brother is thinking about business school and, when he’s ready, I’ll be giving him my strongest sisterly advice to work with Angela as well :)

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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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My consultant - Jen Kedrowski - was very attentive and helpful throughout our process. I highly recommend her, particularly for those like myself who are "Nontraditional Applicants". With her help I was admitted to Columbia Business School, my first choice.

She really helped me craft a story, focus only on what was important and squeeze the most out of the limited real estate provided by an MBA application. I would say this is where I got the most value out of the experience. I needed to structure my "pitch" if you will and Jen was invaluable in helping me hone in on what was compelling. Also, as a novice with no real insider sense of what MBA admissions wants, she gave me little tips about how to conduct an interview, or how to structure an admissions (vs professional) resume. These tips were definitely not readily apparent to me and gave my application a polish I don't think it would have had otherwise.

She was also upfront with me about what was feasible in the school selection phase - I had a couple target schools. She said that they were a doable stretch. I mentioned a couple others that were more competitive, she said don't do it. I never felt like she was upselling anything, leading me on etc. I really felt like she was on my team, as though she was personally invested in my success.

Her phone demeanor is really kind, friendly, and very easy to talk to. Our conversations were fun, professional, and always productive.

I will say if you are expecting the consultants to write your essay for you, or do all the copy editing I think realistically you are not going to get what you want here. They will help you craft your story in detail. They will line edit, they will make suggestions and point you where you need to go. Still ultimately you have to take most of the ownership of the prose, syntax, structure etc if you really want this to be your voice. I hope that goes without saying for anyone considering these services.

Overall, the only weakness of these services is the steep price tag. That is what it is. I knew what the costs would be and sprung for it. My consultant was absolutely awesome and I got the results I was after. Would I have achieved the same results without her? Nobody knows, but I think she pushed my candidacy over the edge.

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My biggest concern when I was applying for business schools was to differentiate myself from other Asian male engineers. I wanted to highlight my strengths in a unique way and Angela helped me do just that. I was very impressed by her knowledge in the application process and her honesty (no sugarcoating) helped me open up to her early on. We spent a lot of time brainstorming in the beginning and I learned more about myself to formulate a compelling story to overcome my average GMAT score to get into my top school. We got to know each other very well and she could easily spot where my friends and sibling made edits on my essays (she's good). I originally started with three schools but ended up adding one more, since I liked the progress we made as a team.

I highly recommend Angela and it was a great pleasure working with her during this crazy time. I don't think I could have applied to top 7 schools (submitted them a week before respective deadlines) without her help and guidance in how to manage my time.

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Melissa Blakeslee was AMAZING!!! At first, it felt like a lot of money to spend on a school package - but let's be honest, it's a drop in the financial abyss that will be business school and couldn't have been more worthwhile.

She immediately zeroed in on my most pivotal stories (professional and personal) from the 20-page brainstorming document and our first few conversations then fit them into unique essay structures, helping me shape applications that were compelling for each particular school. In working together, expect to gain an incredible resource who definitely pushes you and is also your biggest cheerleader. Melissa was not only incredibly professional/responsive and always turned drafts around early, but was SO much fun to work with and definitely made me more confident as an applicant and person. I couldn't have gotten through the process without her!!

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Working with Krista was the best decision I made during the business school application process. Her expertise in using my background and stories really helped me to stand out as a candidate. She masterfully turned what I believed to be weaknesses into strengths and helped me to craft specific essays to support my accomplishments.

I signed up for the 3 school package with the intention of moving into investment banking post MBA. I have no banking experience (I work in Healthcare), but Krista was able to utilize my past work experience to highlight the areas that I would excel in. Throughout the process, she helped spur my creativity when writing essays so that I stand out as an applicant. This included the creation of a website to tell my future classmates about myself.

Krista identified and promoted a great balance of personal and professional achievements in my application, making sure that I shared details that I thought were unimportant, but made me quite unique. I was asked about several small details within my essays during interviews. Due to the mock interviews Krista hosted, I was more than ready to tackle that challenge with ease.

I was invited to interview with both Cornell SC Johnson and NYU Stern. Thanks to Krista, I was accepted into both and am on the waitlist for a fellowship with Johnson.

Krista is very responsive to any questions or inquiries. She lives in London, and I am in Atlanta so the wonderful benefit of having her as my consultant was that she was working while I was sleeping. Numerous times I wrote a draft of an essay, then went to bed, only to wake up to a revised copy. One of her best attributes is her ability to trim down my overly-wordy essays and keep the heart and meaning completely intact.

The most amazing thing about Krista is that she really cares about how you do. You're not just another client. She wants you to succeed. She was able to give me advice well beyond the application process; Ranging from classes in business school to internships, and even to living arrangements in NYC. She was an incredible asset and worth every penny.

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When scoping out admissions consultants, I had only one simple criteria – someone that cared and would serve as an advocate and a friend throughout the process. In the saturated landscape of admissions consulting, Melissa is someone who will go the extra mile for her applicants. Her relationship with clients is not transactional, but vicarious. I can readily attest to Melissa’s empathy and care for her clients, along with her deep knowledge of the admissions world from her own experience as an admissions director.

Working with Melissa was a fantastic experience. She was always responsive, reliable and speedy with turning over reviewed documents. She made constructive and meaningful suggestions to my personal statements, and helped me prioritize the most important qualities to highlight for each of my target programs. Beyond the logistics, she helped to bring a sense of ease and comfort with her upbeat personality to an otherwise daunting application process. I remember a specific instance where Melissa offered her assistance to prep me for interviews even though it meant running over the remaining hours available– that is how much she invests in her applicants. Melissa also provided career insights from her rich experiences, which is something I did not expect from an admissions consultant.

With Melissa’s valuable support and guidance, I was able to gain admission to Kellogg, HBS, and Wharton!

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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 was a skeptic of MBA consultants before the application process began, but having got through the process intact I can say with confidence that Melissa was well worth the investment. Here's some takeaways from my experience:

1) Melissa's professionalism and service completely exceeded my expectations. I read a lot of horror stories on these message boards, especially with hourly clients. I was worried that I might get treated like a second class customer, but if anything, I got more than I was billed for. Melissa was ALWAYS available, responded quickly, was MORE than fair when it came to billing and helped me get the most out of my money. More importantly, I always felt like Melissa genuinely was interested in my application. I never got off a call with her and thought "well I could have just googled that," she always had advice or insight that was specific and useful to me. I think she really cared about where I got in - sometimes she was even emailing me for updates on my applications!

2) To me, one of the most helpful aspects of having a consultant was that it helps set expectations throughout the entire process. Melissa's personal experience on an MBA admissions committee was extremely helpful, as she was able to give specific, personal advice on how to approach each step and what to expect. I also felt completely prepared for interviews - not just what questions would be asked and how I would answer, but also the atmosphere and the overall experience.

3) Melissa was extremely helpful when it came to deciding how I would frame my story. In the first couple weeks of talking with her, I completely reshaped how I was going to tell my story. She suggested I include a ton of information I was going to leave out, and I really feel like the things she pushed me to include in my app (mostly extracurricular type stuffI never would have included without her advice) really helped stand out and were huge talking points in interviews.

4) Maybe the biggest reason to have a consultant is just to have a "voice of reason" throughout the process. I could throw any random question I had her way and she would always give me an honest and really helpful answer. It's great to have an EXPERT review your essays and resume and get tangible advice.

For me, the bottom line is that this was well worth the investment and it made my entire experience better and less stressful. It's certainly possible to submit a decent application without a consultant, but if you are serious about getting into a competitive program then I would highly recommend working with Melissa or another consultant.

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I hired Angela in July 2016 to assist me with round one applications. I did a 3-school package with Angela and ultimately was able to adapt the essays I worked on with her to apply to 5 total schools. I was accepted to one of the schools I did with Angela (a top 5 school) and offered a generous merit scholarship there (~75% tuition, for 2 years.) I was waitlisted at one of the other 3 schools and rejected at one. I was accepted to both of the two schools I applied to outside of the package (both top 15 schools) and received full ride merit scholarships and Forte Fellowships at both of those.

Working with Angela was very enjoyable. She is friendly and really helped me understand the process. She helped me decide which recommenders to approach and which schools to apply to.

Angela's insights on my resume were invaluable. My resume was 100% different and much, much better after her comments and suggestions.

She reviewed my essays carefully and we went through multiple rounds of revisions. She helped me identify which of my experiences would be most appropriate for the essays, and then tell them in the most compelling way. Angela has a really strong understanding of what each school is looking for and how to strategize accordingly.

I think the best thing about working with Angela is her upbeat personality that helps keep you sane throughout this crazy process.

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