Stratus Admissions Counseling Admissions Consulting Reviews

I wholeheartedly recommend Donna as an MBA admissions consultant. Throughout my application journey, Donna's expertise, dedication, and guidance were instrumental in shaping my success.

From the very beginning, Donna showcased her profound understanding of the MBA admissions landscape. She took the time to deeply understand my strengths, experiences, and aspirations, allowing her to best help me craft my tailored application strategy that truly highlighted my unique qualities and goals.

One of Donna's exceptional strengths is her meticulous attention to detail. She provided invaluable feedback on my approach to applications and essays, helping me refine my thoughts and strengthen my presentation with clarity and impact. I can’t thank Donna enough for her commitment to ensuring that my application best reflected my candidacy and goals.

Furthermore, Donna's expertise in navigating the waitlist process at my top-choice program was amazing. Her guidance on how to effectively communicate my continued interest and commitment to the admissions committee was truly invaluable and help.

In conclusion, Donna’s expertise, attention to detail, and genuine dedication to her clients' success make her an exceptional resource. With Donna's guidance, I not only crafted a strong application strategy and essays but also successfully navigated the challenging waitlist process, ultimately securing acceptance to my top-choice MBA program. I am immensely grateful for her invaluable support throughout the process.

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Background: I am an Indian, who studied engineering. So I am part of the most oversubscribed demographic. The aim was an M7. With this in mind, I went into my consultant search, and after speaking to a few, I felt everyone was great, but when I spoke to Jennifer, I was really impressed with her positivity and encouragement. The whole experience felt like a mentor-mentee relationship, rather than transactional.

She made me feel very comfortable and confident, something that definitely kept me going through the tough process.

I also appreciated the Stratus team based approach, along with Jennifer, my material got reviewed by a school specific reader as well as a proofreader. Getting everything in one place made it easy to focus on the important stuff. Their documentation and guides are extremely detailed and helpful.

Jennifer was very helpful in brainstorming ideas, without influencing or changing the narrative. She always asked good questions and pushed me to think deeper about my motivations and intention, giving valuable input wherever necessary.

She helped me keep on schedule, and was always prompt with her replies and feedback. I always looked forward to speaking to her, along with discussions on the applications, she would just give that extra boost of confidence that kept me going.

When I got interview invites, she immediately scheduled mock interviews. I mock interviewed with her almost 5-6 times, each time it was school specific. She even gave me some advice for schools I decided to apply on my own. When some initial rejections hit, she was very supportive, and kept the morale high.

It was a tough application cycle. I applied to 10 schools - Got interview invites for 6, and finally got into 3 schools. I finally decided to go to Kellogg.

If you are looking for someone who can bring out the best in you and keep your confidence high throughout, I would blindly go for Jennifer. The entire Status process is very comprehensive, and the team is very credible and supportive.

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I am so grateful for Jennifer's support throughout the MBA application process. Her guidance helped me get admitted to HBS and several other Top 10 schools with significant scholarship money.

In September 2022, I connected with a few consultants from other firms, looking for guidance on how to craft my application in time for R2 deadlines. I felt incredibly overwhelmed and stressed out when speaking with consultants from other firms. At the time, I was working diligently to boost my GMAT score and really needed someone to support me and hold me accountable on my applications.

When I met with Jennifer for a consultation, I could immediately tell I was in good hands. I worked on 3 schools with Jennifer and always felt that I could count on her honest, candid feedback. She is incredibly encouraging, knowledgeable, and effective in helping each client reach their goals. Jennifer pushes candidates to dig deep to reflect on what inspires/motivates them, and she provides exceptional support in clarifying your personal mission in a way that highlights your unique attributes and authentic voice. She is incredibly professional and responsive (I got always got a response 48 hours!), and a wealth of knowledge on what adcoms are looking for across MBA programs.

I found Jennifer's advice to be incredibly candid, encouraging, and growth-oriented. She helped me build confidence in my story throughout the application/interview process. Her deep understanding of the HBS process in particular helped me with the interview and helped me to be VERY well-prepared for all the types of questions that they can ask.

For anyone who feels unmoored by daunting MBA application process, working with Stratus will provide the structure and support you need. I am so excited to be starting at HBS in the fall -- many thanks to Jennifer! 10/10 would recommend investing in yourself and working with Jennifer.

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I had the privilege of getting to work with Susan as my MBA Admissions consultant. Susan was recommended to me by a friend who worked with her last year and spoke so highly of her that I knew she was someone I could trust to get my MBA applications across the finish line. Prior to working with Susan, I had written my MBA essays on my own the previous year with the plan to submit my applications without an MBA consultant. I had doubts about my ability to get my story across in my applications and I ultimately decided that working with an MBA consultant and waiting another year would give me the confidence I needed to put my best foot forward. Susan was living proof that I had made the right decision.

During my time with Susan, I had the chance to start over with my MBA applications and use the Introspection exercises to really reflect on who I was, what my passions were, and why I ultimately wanted to get an MBA. She helped me identify themes that represented who I was and channeled these themes throughout my application, essays, and recommendations. There were certain experiences I shared with her that I had not considered highlighting in my application but she saw those experiences differently, which allowed me to share a unique perspective of myself. Susan also leveraged her network and her Stratus teammates, such as Melisa Prevost (huge shoutout!), to help connect me with the right resources and chat with previous clients about their MBA admissions journey.

When it came to feedback, whether it was my essays, my resume, or interview preparation, Susan was thorough and upfront, which made such an impact for me to not be afraid to change my content entirely or start over. She pushed me to go beyond my comfort zone with conveying my emotions in my essays and helped me to refine my resume bullet points and my interview responses to be succinct.

Overall, I can say that Susan was one of the best investments I could have made with my MBA admissions journey. Because of her, I was able to get into multiple M7 schools, including Wharton, my dream school, where I will be matriculating at this year! Susan walks the walk and talks the talk and I could not be more thrilled to give her the highest of recommendations.

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I had a fantastic experience working with Joe as my admission consultant. He truly went above and beyond in every aspect of the application process. Despite the 15-hour time difference between China and the west coast of California where Joe was based, he was always prompt and responsive in answering all my questions, providing feedback on my essays, and guiding me on school selection.

I remember having multiple drafts for my essays, and Joe took the time to provide detailed feedback for every single one of them. He patiently answered all my questions, even though I had a lot of them, and provided valuable insights and suggestions for improvement. As the submission deadline approached, I was amazed and truly grateful for Joe's quick turn-around time, even sacrificing his sleep to provide feedback during odd hours, sometimes as late as 3 am or 4 am his time in the Pacific time zone.

Joe's dedication and commitment to his clients were evident in every interaction. He was not only prompt in his responses but also went the extra mile to ensure that I was confident and well-prepared throughout the application process. His encouragement and support were invaluable, especially during times when I felt underconfident.

Overall, Joe is the most responsible and dedicated admission consultant I have ever worked with. His expertise, commitment, and encouragement helped me put forth my best application. I highly recommend Joe Farr to anyone seeking expert guidance and support in their MBA application journey.

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Joe was a great help in figuring out what should be included in the application and what should be left on the cutting room floor. The applications give so little space that it is not easy to make yourself stand out in so few words, and Joe always reminded me to think of how every word built towards the final product. He was also good about keeping me on track and turning comments on weekends as we got down to crunch time.

Joe was also incredibly calm through the application process, which is great if you are inclined to stress out. Overall, would highly recommend using Joe if you are considering an applications consultant.

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I'm so glad that I worked with Melisa and with Stratus more broadly. I originally opted to work with a freelance admissions consultant, and got so frustrated/overwhelmed that I almost bailed on applying to schools entirely. I decided to give one more try with Melisa and I'm so glad I did. Melisa (and the rest of the consultants I worked with at Stratus) was so helpful throughout the process - she genuinely listened and cared about my story and was incredibly helpful in thinking through the best way to structure and convey that story. She was the best cheerleader, even on schools I didn't work with her on and seemed to really care about my getting into the right school for me. Thank you so much for all of the help and support throughout this process!!

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I got accepted to my dream school and received a generous scholarship offer, despite having a GPA and GMAT score lower than the school's average and I could not have done it without the help from Sophie and the rest of the Stratus team.

Sophie was an incredible mentor throughout this whole process, she help me frame my story in a way that was genuine but also highlighted characteristics that would leave an impression on the admission committee.

Stratus was the best investment I made during this whole application process and I would absolutely recommend Stratus Consulting to anyone who wants to get into the best B-school possible.

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Like many aspiring MBA applicants, I "shopped around" for an admissions consultant by listening to webinars, capitalizing on free consultations, and reading online reviews. Stratus immediately stood out to me not only because of their team-based approach and proven track record of success, but also because they were the one counseling team that encouraged me to apply to reach programs and didn't try to use scare tactics on me. I had a 'fit' call with Lisa and knew that her experiences and personality were exactly what I wanted from an admissions consultant.

I could easily write paragraphs upon paragraphs about how truly invaluable she was to my application process, but I'll focus on what I found to be the four greatest benefits of working with Lisa.

1. Refining My Story - Whether MBA hopefuls like to admit it or not, your story is a major part of your application. Lisa pushed me to develop an air-tight story that logically conveyed where I'm at (pre-MBA), where I want to be (post-MBA), and how I'm going to get there (through the MBA). I had moments where I was tired of answering the constant "Why? Why? Why?" questions that seemed to follow every statement of mine, but it was these questions that built the foundation of my applications. She also helped me strategize how to best incorporate my story throughout my application, not just the essays. Without Lisa, my story and subsequently my applications would not have been near as strong as they were.

2. Polishing Essays - I wrote an average of six drafts for every essay I submitted (note that I didn't even start drafting until multiple iterations of an outline were reviewed). Lisa provided timely and THOROUGH feedback for every single draft. Her feedback went beyond surface-level comments and provided real value to my essays - she told me where I needed to show versus tell, pointed out if my essays didn't reflect enough school research, noted where phrasing needed to be improved, etc. There were times at which I was very close to accepting an essay that was "good enough," but Lisa pushed me to submit the best version possible of every essay. I can look back at this application cycle and be proud of everything I submitted because Lisa challenged me to do my best work.

3. Interview Prep - Though getting an interview invite from a school is something to celebrate, my happiness would quickly turn into panic. I have always struggled with interviews and knew they would be a major challenge for me. I shared my concerns with Lisa and she went above and beyond in helping me prepare for them. She sent me interview guides, which included commonly asked questions, for every school I was interviewing with. Additionally, she set up multiple mock interviews to provide me with the opportunity to practice answering interview questions. She provided excellent feedback during these sessions, which helped calm my nerves during the actual interviews.

4. Genuine Care - If there was a single reason I'd recommend working with Lisa, it is because she genuinely cares about you as both an applicant and a person. I lost both my uncle and grandma while applying to business school and consequently fell behind on some of my applications. Lisa (and other member of the Stratus team) were so understanding and worked overtime to help me submit my applications by the deadline. I can't put into words how much it meant to me when the Stratus team rallied behind me to help me through what was a very difficult time.

I applied to 6 schools across the T15 and was ultimately accepted by 4 of them (with over $340,000 in scholarship, collectively) and waitlisted by the other 2. I'll be attending an M7 (with scholarship!) this fall and I could not have done it without Lisa or the Stratus team. I know the thought of hiring an admissions consultant can be daunting as they do come with a price tag, but I can personally attest to Lisa being more than worth it. You only do your MBA once and I knew I wanted to get into the best school I could, and Lisa helped me do just that.

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I am very grateful for Donna's support and guidance. I absolutely could not have done this without her assistance. I truly appreciate Stratus' structured approach to writing essays and ensuring that I am appropriately following the timeline to submit my essays in a timely manner.

They made sure that I followed my choice of school's theme so that I had the best shot of getting an admit. And, they helped me save a lot of time when structuring themes to tackle the essay prompts head on!

The editing of my essays was great too! The grammar and spell checking polished my ideas.

I was admitted to an M7 with a healthy merit scholarship!

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