Susan played a critical role in helping me make my dream of getting into Stanford MBA program a reality. She supported me all the way through the application process, from deciding which Round to apply, to crafting essays and preparing for the interviews, and helped me with every single question I had - even the most stupid questions that were on my mind.

It was important to have Susan's shoulder early on, as she helped me work out a powerful strategy and point my efforts in the right direction. In the brainstorming process, she came up with novel ideas that I somehow did not come up with on my own. Those ideas turned out to be key to my application strategy. Strategy is important, but so is implementation.

Susan was surprisingly fast to reply to my emails, especially given the amount of value her emails contained. I feel it's important to reemphasize this - every single piece of correspondence from Susan contained HUGE value for me! Her feedback on the essays helped me focus on the most impactful points, leaving non-value adding details aside, thus making the most out of the limited word space I was allowed in the essays.

I cannot overestimate the importance of Susan's help on the so-called stupid questions. Honestly, I did not expect that I would have so many of those. Turned out, the application file itself was so lengthy and contained so many little questions that seemed to be tricky. I felt that, when combined, answers to these little questions could make a difference between being admitted and being rejected. Luckily, Susan had the kind of empathy I needed to feel comfortable asking her these stupid questions.

When it came to the interview stage, Susan once again helped me focus on the most impactful parts of my story so that I felt confident sharing my story with the interviewer. It was important that I was prepared for the interview in advance, since this preparation translated into my confidence during the actual interview. I definitely would not have this courage if I was not sure I was telling the right stories to the interviewer. Susan made me believe I was.

Simply put, I would have never gotten into the Stanford MBA program without Susan's help. And I am forever grateful to her for helping me make my dream a reality.

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Working with Donna Bauman was an excellent decision and helped me get into my dream school, Kellogg! From our initial consultation I knew she was going to give me the push I needed to get my application ready. I came to her less than 1 month before my application was due and she kept me on track, motivated, and calm through a normally very stressful process! She provided amazing advice on crafting my resume and essays – really challenging me to dig deep. Her experience as a Kellogg alum allowed her to provide spot-on information about the program and what they seek in applicants. She was extremely quick, providing feedback within hours, even on weekends. I can honestly say I would not have been successful without Donna’s help. Although the packages may seem a little expensive, I cannot speak highly enough of her and the support she provided during my MBA application process. 10/10 recommend!

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I had a great time working with my consultant, Temi. She took the time to understand who I am based on my background and experiences both personal and professional before diving into essays and interview prep which I think was a fabulous approach. This rapport and the Stratus strategy/process helped me to build winning essays that landed me acceptance to my top choice in MBA program. I had a very busy schedule and very short turnaround time while applying for business school and Temi showed me so much patience, determination and attention to detail. I wanted to do better for myself but also as a result of her motivation. She put me in touch with many people from her Stratus team, including Susan Cera and Melisa Prevost, and past MBA candidates who gave tangible advice for my essays and interviews. I was 100% satisfied after every cent was spent on this package with no regrets. I would highly recommend working with Stratus and definitely with Temi!

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I worked with Susan for two schools package. I finally ended up receiving only one offer with half of the scholarship. At first, I really depressed about going to apply for b-school because I have low GMAT score and low GPA. However, Susan did really well to guide me through an application process to highlight my robust work experience in an investment banking field, making my essay content matching smoothly with my career goal. I am a CFA charterholder, and she did really know how to play this card right in the table. ฺฺBuilding up on Susan's guidance, I eventually received an offer from various schools in my list. With her solid guideline and interview preparation, it did push me to reach my top choice from Tepper-CMU.

I worked with Susan completely online and I have found no trouble at all working with her. Our timezone is 12 hours apart. I think Susan knows what she does and trust me, she is really good with her work. I would like to add my comment on Donna as well. As she came on board and gave me another perspective that was independence from your views and Susan. It was really something you need to know after you finish your application, and you need to make it better. Choosing Stratus as my admission counsultant was worth every dollar I paid for the service.

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At the beginning of my MBA journey I reached out to 3-5 consultants for the free consultations. My GMAT/GPA are slightly lower than the averages at the programs that I was targeting so finding someone that understood my story was crucial for me. Within the first 5 minutes of talking to Susan I knew she was the person I wanted to use. She took the time to understand my background and asked thoughtful questions to learn more – this was vastly different than my experience with other consultants who were just trying to put me into a pre-defined framework to craft my story. Susan felt more like a mentor who genuinely wanted me to succeed rather than a consultant who was focused on getting my business.

I ended up purchasing the one school package and using the ad-hoc/hourly service for essays on the other programs that I was applying to.

We first started on the “introspection” exercise which ends up serving as the basis to answer the most common questions: Why MBA, Why Now and Post-MBA Goals. Based on this information Susan helped me craft a strategy specific to each program that I was applying to. This not only helped with my essays but also with my informational chats with students and alumni. I come from a non-business background (engineering) and I felt very polished during my phone calls with students.

In addition to the introspection exercise, Susan helped me rework my resume, gave me multiple rounds of feedback on my essays, and helped me prepare for my interview. I even got positive feedback from the admissions committee regarding my interview and overall application. I was waitlisted at my top choice due to my GMAT score, but Susan helped me with my updates to the admissions committee (about 5-6 in total).

I used Susan for help on my essays on an hourly basis for two other programs. She was incredibly generous and upfront about what can be accomplished in the hours I purchased. We managed to do 2-3 drafts of my essays for each program within the 2 hours that I purchased.

I could not be happier with my experience with Susan, I would highly recommend her to anyone looking at applying to MBA programs in the future. I am headed to a Top 15 program this fall with a sub 3.2 GPA and sub 700 GMAT.

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Like many people applying for an MBA, I was concerned that there was nothing special about my profile and I wouldn’t be able to stand out to the universities. Thanks to Susan and the Stratus team, I not only received multiple acceptances from top 20 schools, but scholarships as well. It was more than I could have ever hoped for, especially as a Round 3+ candidate.

Susan changed my entire perspective on the MBA process. From her I learned that the events in my life weren’t as important the lessons I had gleaned from them. I started to look at even supposedly insignificant events in a different light. This coupled with Susan’s insightful questions helped me create a strong narrative around my drivers for pursuing an MBA and my post-MBA goals.

Susan’s grasp of my personality combined with her deep knowledge of the different MBA programs made her an excellent advisor at every stage. Her feedback was instrumental in ensuring my essays communicated my qualities and plans effectively. She iterated on the drafts with me until I felt good about what I turned in. If I was having trouble finding any information on universities, she was able to suggest programs or activities I might have missed in my research.

I really appreciated Susan's thoroughness and promptness during the review process. I had been talking to her on and off for sometime, but when I decided to apply, I only had one month to turn around 5 applications. Susan gave me the confidence to meet those deadlines and hustled with me through the entire process.

She did a mock session with me before each interview and gave me feedback to better articulate my responses and boost my confidence. Once I received offers, she was quick to jump on a call and help me weigh the pros and cons. Having been on the admissions side herself, she was also able to help me communicate with the different schools during this time.

I’m now thrilled to be attending Berkeley-Haas.

I couldn’t have asked for a better counselor than Susan. She is kind and empathetic but not afraid to give you the tough love you need to reach your potential. She went above and beyond and was truly with me till the end, cheering me on. I’m so grateful and I couldn't have done it without her. I highly recommend her and the Stratus team!

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I applied to joint degrees at various top 10 schools but had limited work experiences (2 years), was in between jobs, and had already been at multiple jobs. Needless to say, I needed a strong story to get into my reach program.

Susan helped me build the foundation by having me brainstorm applicable stories on different themes, as well as by identifying the kind of leader I am/want to be.

Based on these, she helped me put together disparate stories to craft quite a compelling narrative, something I certainly would not have been able to do at the same level.

She also helped me review my essays. Her astute and detail-oriented feedback proved exceedingly useful.
The result was that I got into Berkeley-Haas, my top school, and more than I could have hoped for at the outset of this process.

Thank you, Susan.

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I had reached out to Susan for a free consultation regarding my MBA application in April 2020. I wanted to aim for 3-4 school applications for the extended round 3 applications for a Fall of 2020 entry timeframe, however after some unexpected changes in my professional life, I expanded the number of applications to 9 schools with a determination to matriculate in 2020. I had only ~2 months to turnaround all these applications so I needed someone with great experience, empathy, and focus.
Within just 3 hours of working with Susan, I had a solid MBA goals and introspection strategy with a revised resume and a 1st draft of one essay done. Her introspection strategy extracted valuable insights from even the most miniscule experiences/interactions with colleagues and friends and was the basis of many of my essays. Susan also knew where my application weak points were and effectively helped me use the optional essay to address those points. Susan was prompt and EXTREMELY thorough in her feedback which comes from her experience in sitting on the admissions panel of a top business school. She greatly improved my technical writing while challenging me to go deeper into individual school offerings and how they would aid my career development. In the end, I ended up taking 15 hours of hourly consulting and I can confidently say, each and every hour was well worth the investment.
In addition to essays, Susan also reviewed my recommendation strategy and gave great feedback to my recommenders on how to be more specific to highlight my profile. I felt confident going into the interview, but Susan elevated my interview structure and responses to the next level.
In the end, with applications to 4 T-10 schools, 3 -T15 schools, and 2-T-20 schools, I am glad to say I got acceptances Fuqua, Tepper, Anderson, and Marshall and I will be matriculating at Fuqua (with merit scholarship) this fall!

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I was accepted into Kellogg Round 3 and without Donna, it would not have happened. I chose the hourly package, as I was in a few MBA prep programs, but without Donna, I would not have been accepted. Donna truly cared about me as an individual and not just a number. She was very candid, but warm at the same time. Her adcom experience is invaluable and she will give you the insights you need to improve your application. I felt very prepared for the video essay and my interview because of my time with her. She was so positive and encouraging it really helped to calm my nerves. I am forever thankful I chose to work with Donna. Well worth the investment.

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I came into the MBA process looking to make a career change. I applied during R2. The story I wanted to convey was kind of nebulous and I had a hard time definitively describing why exactly I was making the career change and was pursuing an MBA. Jennifer quickly helped me construct and clear and compelling narrative. The team at Stratus really was thorough with helping edit my essays and they all came out remarkably polished. I could not recommend Jennifer enough as with her help on a 2 school package, I got into both schools with scholarships! I don’t think I would have gotten the scholarship without their guidance throughout the application process – from the interview prep to the essay corrections, to the overall brainstorming sessions to construct the application narrative. My sister who went through the MBA application process with the Stacy Blackman firm and remarked that Stratus was much more accessible, responsive, and had more resources than what she got. Overall I could not be more thrilled with my choice of Jennifer and Stratus, and with the scholarship, it was an investment that paid huge dividends!

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