Michael was a tremendous help in my application process and eventual admission to LBS. I was originally referred to Michael by one of his colleagues at mbaMission and found his upbeat, can-do attitude refreshing after rather dreary conversations with consultants at competing firms. We worked over tight timelines whereby he was incredibly responsive and composed from start-to-finish (brainstorming to interview prep). I was impressed by Michael's consistency in providing valuable feedback and/or insights at each turn and found him to be a very reliable partner throughout. In summary, Michael was a true pleasure to work with and I highly recommend him.

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I had a terrific experience working with Harold. I was on the fence about working with an admissions counselor once I decided to apply to business school. A friend connected me to Stratus, and I am very glad I chose to go ahead with it.

From the start, I found Harold to be very insightful and his style to be very compatible with what I was looking for. I had taken the GMAT by the time we started working together, and was focused on the personal statement. I had a very clear idea of the part of my story that I wanted to tell in my application, but felt that my early attempts were not doing it justice. Harold helped me to pull everything together, not only for the essay itself, but also more broadly as I reflected on what my narrative had taught me. In the end, I was very proud of the personal statements I wrote, and felt confident they were genuine representations of me.

Throughout the process, Harold was extremely responsive. He had a very good balance of checking in when I had not reached out in a while, but understanding when I needed to work through things at my own pace. He was there whenever needed, from reviewing drafts to talking things out. Beyond the essays, he also provided me with advice on various other aspects of the application. The result was a successful set of Round 1 applications, with admissions to HBS and GSB, the two schools I applied to. I could not have asked for a better outcome, and I am thankful for Harold’s support throughout the process. I highly recommend working with him!

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Going to business school was a goal I had set for myself as a Junior in college. For the past 5 years, I have selected jobs, extracurriculars, and more to improve my chances at attending a top business school. When it finally came to apply last Fall, I wanted to work with someone that shared my high expectations and would help make my application amazing. John helped me put together an incredible application that could have never produced myself, and helped me get into my dream school.

Throughout my application process, John was a superstar for me to have on my team. Every good team needs an MVP, and I am glad I was able to have John throughout this long journey.

John stood out in every facet of the application process. When I struggled to develop my story and post-MBA goals, John was always quick to hop on a phone for us to brainstorm with anecdotes from previous clients and templates to help me organize my thoughts. When I struggled to come up with ideas my essays, John helped provide me an outline combining my story and what winning essays look like. When I then struggled to keep to the word count of my essays, John provided incredible advice and edits to help make my essays stand out. And every time I was about to make rookie mistakes in the application process, John steered me straight.

Even more, John made the entire process thoroughly enjoyable through his calm demeanor, professionalism, and personal touch. Constantly throughout this process, I was overwhelmed and scared. However, every interaction with John helped keep me focused. Phone calls and e-mails were filled not only with constructive feedback but also humor. John not only saw me as a client, but got to know me for me, which not only made working with him fun, but also made him an amazing partner to bounce ideas off of.

Today, as I re-read my essays and entire application today, I am amazed at the final product. There is no way I could have ever gotten in to the schools I did without John. For anyone considering applying to b-school, I would not hesitate when working with John. He simply is the best there is.

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Jen has been incredibly helpful and instrumental to my MBA application process over the last six months. With her help, I was able to tell my story in a way I was really happy with. The MBA application process is demanding and difficult at times, but Jen helped me grow throughout the process and continuously learn more about myself along the way.

Jen was always responsive and thorough throughout our time working together. I always felt that she had substantive and value-add feedback whenever she sent back drafts, but never commented just to comment. It always felt as though we were really in the MBA application process together - the partnership was amazing! I would absolutely recommend Jen to anyone I know going through the MBA application process in the future!

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From our first consultation, he made my anxiety and intimidation associated to the whole process disappear. He patiently heard about my background and experiences, and quickly identified the big themes that he could see playing in my favor. He gave me the hope and confidence (in addition to the tactical and editing support, of course), that got me into 7 highly competitive MBA programs, despite having relatively low standardized test scores. Thanks to his incredibly valuable help, I will be heading to Cornell this fall!

From the first call with him, I felt I had a team —someone with deep industry knowledge and experience that would be rooting for me in every step of the process. And, as the months went by, his work surpassed my expectations in every possible way. Not only did he help me explore my background to craft my story, but he was able understand my motivations and goals, and help me connect all the points together with a level of clarity that I would have been able to achieve on my own.

I booked Stratus Admissions’ 5-school deal because, after I spoke with him, I could not imagine doing any of my “top choice” schools on my own. Harold and his team were so committed to my success, that they went above and beyond to help me with those schools as well as with reviewing my final essays for a few other schools. He always answered my emails in less than 24 hours and made me feel like every question was a valid one. Not only did he review versions of my outlines, drafts, and final essays, but he also gave me advice on how to handle school visits, he read over some of my “thank you” emails, and was there to support me in absolutely any aspect I needed.

Additionally, Harold gave me valuable insights regarding common interview questions for all the schools where I interviewed, and made sure that I could conduct mock interviews with “school-specific” experts from his team.

To be honest, I could keep going forever, but will just summarize it in three main points: (1) Harold was not just my admissions consultant, but he actually became sort of a best friend/therapist to help me deal with the stress of the process and push me forward. (2) He has an incredible amount of experience and knows all the top schools thoroughly, so he is able to give his clients the insights and actionable feedback that helps them craft their best story, and (3) he is so invested in your success, that he will be flexible in every way he can and will work with you to make sure you achieve the best outcome, not matter the circumstances.

Anyone out there trying to work with an admissions consultant, DEFINITELY speak with Harold!

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After a demoralizing experience with the GMAT that lasted for about 7 months, I looked for admissions consultants to provide the guidance and expertise needed to tell my story best and make my application stand out in the best possible way. I did extensive diligence (spoke with more than 5 counselors from several companies) and finally decided to take my chances with Kate Richardson from MBA Mission.

From my initial discussions with her, I instantly realized that I had taken the right decision. She was extremely helpful, professional and kind. As an applicant which checked all of the boxes for the elite schools I wanted to apply to except for a lower-than-average GMAT score, Kate was honest and straightforward with me in regards to my strengths and weaknesses. Nevertheless, she was extremely motivating and positive about the application.

Kate’s expertise on each particular program and their ‘unique personalities’ allowed us to decide on the best possible strategy on how to approach each university. We worked together to identify the key aspects and stories of my professional and personal life that I wanted to highlight on the different components of my application (resume, essays, rec letters, short answers, etc.). I found it reassuring to be receiving guidance from someone who really understands the admissions process and the expectations of each admissions team. As an international student who speaks English as a second language, she was also great on giving me advice to structure my ideas and concisely articulating my story, but at the same time staying true to my own voice.

Kate was structured and organized, which was particularly useful for my tight timeframe (I had to write nine essays for four different programs in about two months). I asked her to keep me on a tight schedule and remind me of my pending to-do’s and overall timeline constantly. She always met MBA Missions’ document return policy and sometimes even returned my essays earlier than what she was supposed to. During the last 2 weeks before the deadlines, she was extremely adaptive to my schedule and even pushed me for extra rounds of comments for my essays until we both felt 100% comfortable with them.

Another very important factor which I came to realize later on was MBA Mission’s multiple resources. From multiple university guides to tailored mock interviews, I was able to take advantage of it all and definitely feel that it was a game changer in the last mile of the application process. I felt fully prepared for my three interviews, particularly at HBS and Wharton, which differentiate from the traditional blind-interviews of other programs.

I was eventually accepted to my top choice and dream school (HBS) and Kate was literally the first person I called after my parents. I am grateful of having had her in my corner throughout every step of the way and couldn’t be more thankful with her!!

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After speaking with a handful of consultants at both boutique firms and big name companies, I decided to work with Heidi Granner. Other consultants felt I was too "high risk" to take on as a client since I had a low GMAT, GPA, and only 3 years of experience. Heidi was the first to show compassion and confidence in pulling together a great application. She was realistic in telling me which schools to target and worked with me on my essays on an hourly basis. Since I was applying to 3 schools, the hourly option was best for me. Her turnaround was quick and even ahead of schedule. The improvement from my first draft to my final drafts were incredible. Heidi was forthcoming with opinions if an essay lacked substance but always gave me the option to choose whatever topic I chose. I really appreciated her thoughts and took her edits very seriously. I'd highly recommend working with Heidi on your MBA essays.

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I loved working with Harold Simansky! He was prompt and accessible - even over the holidays, which was critical as a round 2 applicant. Harold was generous with his time, and always struck a great balance of practicality, efficiency, and effectiveness in his advice and comments. He went above and beyond in the drafting process by consulting with his colleagues and giving me honest feedback to ensure that I had the strongest application. Strongly recommend the standard package w/Harold for at least 1 school!

I also loved working with Stratus as a whole. Their process was incredibly helpful in thinking through my career trajectory and understanding what I was looking for in my MBA experience. Additionally, the depth of resources that Stratus had to offer was extremely helpful in getting my application right. Being able to receive extra reviews from school specialists and interview prep from alumni was amazing. Great to feel like you have a whole team behind you!

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I was skeptical of using a consulting service at first, but not I can't even picture what I would have done without them! I was walked through the process step-by-step, had someone to bounce ideas off of and get direction when I needed it, and another set of eyes to go over my work whenever I needed it.

Krista was a pleasure to work with. Knowledgeable, communicative, and able to give just the right push to get things done. She had a satisfying answer to every question I had, and her feedback was always great, whether she was proofreading or brainstorming with me.

I highly recommend using the service. The price is steep, but it's well worth the money!

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I was referred to Harshad by another mbamission consultant, who spoke highly of him. I used hourly services with Harshad since I needed help with certain aspects of my application, and without a doubt, it was the best decision. After my first two consultations with Harshad, I was impressed by his authenticity, honesty, and willingness to help me. He and I explored all areas of my background to come up with a clear, cohesive story. Harshad recommended a four-pronged strategy that became the foundation for my essays, considerably strengthening my application for the four schools that I applied. I applied in the January round, and I started my application in November of the prior year, leaving me about three months to complete my applications (I already took my standardized tests when I first contacted Harshad). The time to complete my application seemed short and daunting, but Harshad made the experience so much better. We both had a great work rhythm, and Harshad was always responsive to my emails, answering my questions clearly and in detail. In each step of the way, I felt very comfortable and confident working with him.

In the end, I got into all four top schools schools, with significant scholarship money. I’m thrilled about the results, and I truly recommend working with Harshad. Thank you for all of your help!

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