After taking the GMAT at the beginning of September, I decided to move up my MBA time-frame a year and apply R2 for Class of 2022. Surfing through various websites, I scheduled a couple of free consults. The first was with the associate of a popular admissions consultant. I am happy with direct feedback and tough love, but referring to their clients as 'kids' turned me off massively and soured the idea of an admissions consultant altogether. However, I had already lined up my consult call with Susan and figured it was in my interest to speak with her. Oh my god. What a difference. Susan and I clicked on SO many different things and we flew way over the scheduled 30 minutes. The moment that call ended I knew if I were to use a consultant, it would be Susan. I ended up going with the 4-school package to diversify my options, but targeted Fuqua from the get-go (another plus for Susan given her wealth of experience in admissions there.)

My undergraduate was in a foreign language, and I've worked in sales (not very strategy / corporate business-savvy role or group of people) in Asia. Zero healthcare experience, despite that being my target industry post-grad. Susan had me lay out all of my stories from birth to present, highlighting overarching stories to keep in mind throughout the entire process. While Susan was my main point of contact, Jennifer Jackson (another Stratus consultant - fantastic too btw) also popped in to give an unbiased opinion. Ultimately we nailed stories down to clearly show why a move into healthcare is logical for me.

Alongside the above, we made a robust resume, pulling on my work-stories, tweaking to highlight any sort of leadership (formal or informal).

Tackling essays was very structured. I connected with students (often times Susan connecting me with previous clients at my target schools) to get info on each school. Using those notes and my own research, I created templates for each essay. Templates got a couple of edits from Susan, and a final look-over from Jennifer. The actual essay drafts were then super easy to write. Having the foundation of the outline, it was easy to knock out the writing. Susan was super fast with her edits, all of which I accepted without hesitation as she knew (and knows) my voice. Any questions I had on edits we talked it out quickly and efficiently. All essays were read over a school-specific advisor, who often gave very helpful insight that I used to tweak each essay. Finally, essays got proofed by a formal third party and were ready to submit.

With the bulk of the application done, Susan looked over my final applications and caught any stupid mistakes I may have made.

The comprehensive process for multiple schools helped me also tackle other schools confidently. Interviews began rolling in. Susan provided me a list of practice questions, compiled by all of the Stratus consultants. She took the time to do mock interviews with me, giving really helpful feedback (especially given I had to do Skype interviews from Asia.)

End result? I got into Fuqua, my dream school, with a merit-based scholarship coming in at just under half tuition. Thinking things through objectively at the moment, but everything is looking to come up Duke in the end. Without Susan, Jennifer, and the rest of the Stratus team behind the scenes, I would not have achieved this result.

Anyone looking to use an MBA consultant, I highly recommend the Stratus team, and especially Susan. 

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Stratus Consulting made the MBA Admissions process, which can be incredibly daunting, much more manageable through their day to day assistance with everything from creating a personal strategy, to determining appropriate individuals for recommendations, to reviewing multiple essay drafts. I would highly recommend their services.

I worked directly with Jennifer Jackson, who was patient enough to work with me across six time zones and two continents for six months, assisting me with a total of six applications. She was incredibly insightful about the entire process and provided consistently valuable feedback, enthusiasm, and advice, even when I was starting to inevitably get tired. I can not recommend their services enough.

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Stratus has a variety of counselors that are great to work with. I worked with Jennifer Jackson who was a delight! She was upbeat and pragmatic throughout the process. She did not overwhelm me with her advice and did a great job of understanding my professional goals and suggesting ways in which I could incorporate them into my essays, interviews, and school search. Stratus has materials that really helped me stay organized throughout the application process, including timelines, templates for essays, and sample interview questions. They offer promotions on their packages, which I would highly recommend (vs. the hourly rate). They made it easy throughout the process.

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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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Rachel, Donna, and the rest of the Stratus team were amazing. Their honest opinions and attention to detail throughout the entire process was so helpful. Rachel has a very calm presence and I never felt rushed; she was very positive and always reassured me we'd get everything done, even when I was getting stressed out. Donna was very helpful during the school selection process and her knowledge of the different programs is amazing. I got into my top program even with a very low GMAT score thanks to Stratus so I would whole-heartedly recommend Rachel and the Stratus team to anyone looking for comprehensive help with MBA applications.

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My first suggestion when looking for a consultant is to meet with as many as you need to so that you find your match. You need to not only find someone that knows your program but also one you are comfortable with. They are NOT going to write anything for you but will coach you to presenting the best possible version of yourself for that specific program. Each essay to each school needs to stand out and be different. This is the key and this is exactly what Stratus and Lisa taught me to do. I chose Lisa because of her experience with my program and her enthusiasm and genuine interest to see me succeed.

This is not cheap. But I believe it was a very important part of my process. In particular for me Lisa was constantly communicating sending edits (very fast turnaround) and reminders to keep on a schedule to achieve success. My essays would have been much more generic and my stress level would have crippled me not knowing if I was even making progress.

Stratus specifically operates slightly different. I really like that the consultants do not handle any of the money issues. That is a separate person. They are flexible and will find the package that works for you.

Do your research and good luck!

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Working with Stratus Admissions, and specifically Susan Cera, was one of the better decisions I have ever made. Not only did they do their job: get me into one of my dream schools (Berkeley Haas), they did so much more.
Thanks to Stratus, I have reflected on my unique career and life goals in such detail that I have gone from having a vague idea about what I want to do to knowing concrete plans that I am so excited to pursue. They also helped me figure out what my resume gaps were and find ways to address the gaps. The result has been me getting more involved with the community, creating one of the most rewarding experiences I have had in recent years.
Susan is brilliant. I don’t have a bad word to say about her. She is kind, but honest. If you want to give this process 110%, Susan is the one for you. She takes the phrase “going above and beyond” to the next level. We chatted all the time and she was always available to help, whatever the question may be. She has been an incredible guiding light for me in this process and did her job perfectly. I couldn’t recommend her higher and am so grateful I found her.

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Stratus Prep was a huge assistance in helping me prepare for applying to business school and executing all of the necessary steps to submit an application on time. Their process helped challenge my application and poke holes in my story as my application and essays went through review with different individuals throughout the application lifecycle. Most notably, Jennifer Jackson was an AWESOME consultant who demonstrated MBA process knowledge, school specific knowledge, and expertise throughout the whole process. I would work with Jennifer again in a heartbeat and encourage any interested applicant to consult her! I have no doubt that my application wouldn't be successful unless I had her help.

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I worked with Donna Bauman on the MBA Early Edge for about six months and then with Susan Cera on my applications for about eight months. Working with the Stratus team is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. At Stratus, while I had a lead mentor in Susan, so many other staff members helped me with various aspects of my application. Susan brought in different expects based on their expertise and what I needed to present my very best self.
In addition, Susan helped me craft a vision of who I am and what I want to accomplish, not just for two years in business school, but in my professional career. She asked strategic questions to bring out my true self. We developed a strong relationship and she took so much time to get to know me beyond simply my business school aspirations. She was personally invested in my success. She is also super connected with MBA students and officers. She connected me to at least one student at every school I was applying to.
Susan is also very ethical. She supported my recommenders and helped me provide them with guidance rather than simply writing the recommendations for my recommenders to submit. In essays, she provided feedback and questions and left the final decision making to me so my authentic-self shined.
From my first conversation, I knew Susan was the perfect person to help me present my best self to MBA admissions committees. She is passionate, knowledgeable, well-connected and ethical. While I am excited to be done with the admissions process, I will miss working with Susan, Donna, and the Stratus team. Susan and Donna are the best!

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I had the chance to work with Temi as a counselor at Stratus, and I can say that her help was critical to me ultimately getting into my dream top-10 school.

I found that her guidance through preparation of my materials and the subsequent formation of an application strategy gave crucial structure and nuance to developing my candidacy for grad school.

There were times where we disagreed on content to be included, and where I initially became frustrated by our differences in viewpoint and/or opinion. However, Temi did an excellent job of listening to my frustrations when we disagreed, and then presenting her case. More often than not, I agreed with her fully articulated viewpoint.

When all was over, we managed to complete 6 applications to top tier MBA programs, and I managed to get the result I wanted: a spot at an elite MBA program.

Thanks Temi, and thanks Stratus!

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