I am immensely grateful for Susan’s guidance, which helped me get admitted to my dream MBA program at Stanford!

Susan was instrumental in working with me to sift through essay ideas and find my “voice.” Susan prepared me thoroughly for my MBA interview, providing critical feedback on how my responses would be perceived from an interviewer’s point of view and helping me to gain the confidence to succeed. As a former admissions officer who has also coached so many other candidates, Susan brings a level of insight and judgement that friends, family, and colleagues cannot replicate. Furthermore, Susan encouraged me to apply for a merit scholarship, which I would not have considered on my own. Susan has helped me better understand myself even beyond the MBA application.

Looking back, I remember browsing these forums when trying to decide whether to work with Susan and her team at Stratus. I would say to my old self without hesitation to work with Susan – see it as a worthwhile investment in yourself!

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As the header says, I would not have succeeded without Susan. I came into the process with a good GMAT score, my heart set on one M7 program, zero preparation, no backup plan, and a 4-week deadline. Luckily, I found Susan who took me on as a client and righted the ship immediately. Not only did I get accepted, but Susan helped me articulate my character and personal narrative in ways that I still use today. I owe a huge part of my admissions success to Susan and recommend her to anyone who wants to maximize their business school application.

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I started the MBA application process with tremendous imposter syndrome - I knew I needed someone to guide me and hold me accountable to get to the finish line. I heard about Jennifer from a friend of a friend, and somehow clicked with her through my first consultation. At the time, I was speed dating with a bunch of consultants at other firms and came to the conclusion that Jennifer and the greater Stratus team were genuinely supportive of my MBA pursuits, not simply upselling services for the sake of business.

I worked with Jennifer from June 2022 through January 2023 comprehensively with 2 schools in R1 and 1 school in R2 (all M7 schools). She is the perfect sounding board (honest and supportive) when it comes to ideas and helps you build confidence in your story. I initially started the process very concerned about how to build my story and quite frankly, figuring out what it even was. Jennifer makes sure you put in the work, and in the end, you'll be very happy with the novel you've written for yourself. She goes above and beyond making herself readily available especially when I was feeling very defeated and needed an ear - her feedback is never sugar coated, it's real talk, but always enough to nudge you back on track. I appreciated her flexibility (sometimes last minute edits for deadlines) and attentiveness in interview prep (I was able to stress test my answers/stories with other coaches, an amazing plus!) and ultimately deliberating between multiple offers! Thanks to Jennifer, I was able to land $300k in scholarships across three top 10 programs (the foundation you build in introspection/strategy phase really sets you up for successful applications at other schools even if you don't work with Stratus comprehensively on all your schools).

I'm super excited to be starting my MBA journey at Wharton in the fall - a million thank you's to Jennifer!

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Lisa was an absolute superstar through this entire process, and beyond. She did an amazing job of guiding me through voicing my own story that not only helped me create an amazing application for school, but also aided me as I reflected on life and what I wanted from my future, all without being overly hands-on. I cannot thank her enough for everything. After I was accepted, she then continued to make herself available as I spoke through a few important decisions. It felt as though she were a mentor and even a friend by the end of the process.

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I couldn’t have asked for a better mentor and support resource throughout the MBA application process than Melisa. As a first generation graduate student and child of immigrants, I was quite intimidated to start the application process. Melisa really took the time to get to know me as a person, understand my story and how it tied to my goals, and gave me the confidence and support that I needed to really excel at the process. I also did not have the traditional MBA background but Melisa really helped me convey my unique traits and skill sets to admissions teams.
I looked into other consulting options and did not find anyone as kind and approachable as Melisa. She went above and beyond and truly took the time to help me achieve my goals even though I felt a few programs were out of reach for me. She also has a very flexible working style that works quite well for the working professional and others juggling multiple responsibilities. She kept in touch via email throughout the process and also gladly took virtual meetings whenever I needed the extra time to talk things through.

Because of Melisa’s guidance and support, I will be attending a top 10 MBA program on a full scholarship, and I can’t think of a better outcome or fit. I strongly recommend Melisa to any prospective applicant and look forward to seeing all the great things she will continue to do!

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When I started my process, I was unsure on if I even wanted to apply, let alone where I should apply or what my post-MBA goals were. Donna helped me tremendously through providing school insight, focusing my professional goals, and curating a cohesive personal story. She was also incredibly flexible with my unpredictable work schedule and was able to tailor a structured deliverable timeline around what worked for me. The process can be incredibly daunting and stressful and having a cheerleader and guiding hand like Donna in your corner is so important! She played a pivotal role in my acceptance to multiple schools, and I am very grateful. Thank you, Donna!

Stratus overall is a helpful network, especially if you are applying to several schools or are unsure of how many/which programs you intend to apply to. They have a review process and network that leverages individuals' specific knowledge on programs, even if your counselor may not be an expert for the specific school.

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I received several M7 acceptances with Lisa's help. Her biggest strength is that she will help you put your best foot forward on each application and every interview you will get.
Lisa understands admissions at b-schools. She has years of experience in admissions at a top business school. She understands what admissions offices look for in b-school candidates.
Lisa is excellent at identifying your strengths, weaknesses, and story. She spends a great deal of time learning about you, your background, what makes you tick, accomplishments you are proud of, and the strengths to highlight and the weaknesses to minimize on your application. This personal touch, tied in with her deep knowledge of b-school admissions, is an excellent combination to create a winning formula to present yourself exactly how b-schools want to see their applicants presented.
Lisa holds no punches and drills into your story, essays, and interview answers. She isn't going to let you slide with anything that isn't your best. She's going to point it out, and work with you to make it your best. However, she communicates in a very effective way. She conveys her critiques less as criticisms and more as opportunities. You feel empowered and excited when she tells you that you can make something better.
Lisa is always available to you. She responds to emails quickly and always makes times for calls to explain the nuances of some of her ideas and the business school requirements.
Stratus has excellent resources, including experts on all of the major b-schools. Lisa routinely shared my essays and ideas with school experts who were able to provide valuable feedback to tweak a few things to capture the spirit of the individual programs.
The most difficult aspect of the interviews is the unknowns. What questions will they ask? What answers do they want to hear? How much of the school should I discuss? Lisa provided me school specific questions and completed a mock interview with me and offered to continue doing mock interviews for each school. I walked into each of my interviews having already heard each question they could ask, practiced answering them, and received feedback on what I did well and what I could improve. I knocked my interviews out of the park because of that.
The best investment is an investment in yourself. Get into the best b-school you can. Use Lisa to help you achieve that.

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I worked with Donna over the past year to prepare for MBA applications. Her advice was invaluable to crafting the right story blending my personal background and career interests.

I had a series of difficult life events occur during my application process and she was extremely empathetic and understanding, helping to coach me through this time as it related to even beyond my MBA applications. Donna is extremely caring and will take the time to help you in the process, she often provided career advice and interview help even beyond what was required. She was also able to connect me with some of her former students to help me prep for interviews once invited.

Due to working with Donna I was admitted to two M7 programs despite having a GMAT score below their averages, this would not have been possible without her support and guidance.

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I was first introduced to Donna, having worked with Charles at GMAT Ninja – and he had only positive things to say about her. I scheduled calls with several other consultants but was instantly drawn to Donna, not only because of our shared athletic backgrounds but also because she didn’t ask the traditional, cookie cutter questions that every other consultant had asked me. It seemed personalized from the start, and it was her style all the way through. Donna informed me that her process would be very therapeutic, and she was right – I learned more things about myself in my few months working with her than I did in the prior 5 years.

Time was not on my side as I had less than 2 months to get all my MBA applications submitted, but she was fully on-board. I apologized for making her work overtime as there were many weekends or late nights where I would be receiving her edits, but it spoke volumes to her level of commitment – she was always punctual. If you had a look at my first essay drafts vs. my final submission, it’s hard to believe that it was the same person writing it – she really brought out the best in me.

Donna really knows the ins-and outs of the admission process, from the essay themes that resonate with the respective programs’ admission officers to the consistent interview questions that I would receive. She was even able to connect me with some of her former students at my target schools, who were able to share their interview experience and helped me brainstorm essay ideas. The best part about Donna was her story-telling ability - she could make the average story sound like a best-selling novel.

Finally – Stratus had no shortage of resources on all the renowned, global schools. So not only do you get to work with Donna, but also her incredible team of proofreaders, target school reviewers and application strategists. Thank you, Donna, for helping gain acceptance to Columbia Business School. You really have changed my life as you have done to countless other individuals.

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I found out about Stratus after Susan Cera gave an introductory presentation at my current firm. I learned how the team-based structure at Stratus can help me get feedback on my application from various members of the Stratus team. After briefly talking with Susan, she introduced me to Kelly Lundy, whose experience perfectly aligns with my MBA and post-MBA goals. Kelly helped me improve my application on all fronts and eventually helped me get into my dream school in a very quick timeline.



The most difficult part of starting an MBA application is to logically lay out a doable short-term and long-term goal, as well as how to achieve these goals with each school's unique offerings, especially for someone who's looking for a career/industry switch. Kelly, with her experience working in the technology industry, helped me brainstorm how to connect my personal and professional goals with each school’s abundant resources. She recalled back to her own MBA experience and leveraged her network of MBA grads to help me identify the most suitable paths and each school's offerings that I can take advantage of.

When editing my essays, Kelly helped me identify the stories that best shaped my personality and came up with strategies to connect my previous experience with my areas of contribution at business school. As a non-native English speaker, I tend to write convoluted sentences with unnecessary details. Kelly used her experience and excellent writing skills to make my wording more concise and presentable.

After receiving an interview invite from my dream school, Kelly scheduled a mock interview with me immediately and sent me several articles to review, helping me understand the dos and don'ts during the interview. During the mock interview, Kelly leveraged her experience as an alumni interviewer and gave me some very valuable feedback on my performance. Going into my actual interview, I felt much more prepared and confident with the tips that Kelly gave me.

Overall, I had a very pleasant experience working with Kelly and the Stratus team. Without them, I wouldn't have got an offer for my dream school this early in the cycle and have another year to prepare myself for my MBA adventure. I truly recommend Kelly and the whole Stratus team to everyone who's considering applying.

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