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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After quite a bit of research on different consultants, checking with references (both online and personal connetions), I had the fortune to work with Susan. I'm glad I did because I was admitted to my top choice!

One of the most challenging aspects of the application for me was how to coherently bring together all the elements of my past experiences and translate that into an application. Throughout the introspection process, Susan asked insightful and pertinent questions that helped me dig further into the details of my experiences. Once that work was done, she was instrumental in helping me parse through all the details to come up with a detailed and very focused narrative. I was concerned in working with a consultant that my "voice" might be stripped away, but was impressed by how she helped me maintain my "voice" throughout while helping me sharpen it to focus on communicating my story more clearly.

She was helpful in all parts of the application process (from helping review essays to updating the resume to preparing for the interview). Susan, together with the Stratus team, helped guide me through the high frequency of questions I had regarding my application with thoughtful replies.

The MBA application process can be an extremely nerve-wracking one. Many times, I revisited my essay, my narrative, and other parts of my application over and over again. Susan truly cared about me not only as a client, but as a person, helping me calm down during this intese process. Her words to "trust the process" are something I will never forget. I'm so glad I did listen because now I'll be going to my dream school. I cannot recommend her enough if you really want to go to your dream school!

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I had my initial consultation with Melisa in May 2021. Choosing a consultant wasn’t easy, but from our first conversation, I felt that Melisa was wholeheartedly invested in my success as an applicant.

Melisa was extremely generous with her time. There was never a limit on the number of emails I could send or questions I could ask, on top of our weekly update calls. She was instrumental in shaping my essays, and she guided me by drawing on her success with previous applicants. When It came time to interview, Melisa ensured that I was prepared for beyond just the schools we were working together on and provided valuable feedback that I took across various interviews.

When R1 decisions were released, I was unfortunately waitlisted at my dream school. I was ready to throw in the towel, but Melisa encouraged me to keep my options open for R2 and remain actively engaged as a waitlist candidate. Melisa helped me write strong waitlist updates as I juggled applying to additional schools. Even when I wasn’t sure if the extra work was being noticed by the school, Melisa remained thorough in her advice and feedback.

In May 2022, I received an acceptance from my dream school. With Melisa’s help, I was among the first batch of applicants to convert from the waitlist. It took a year to reach the goal that I had set out to achieve, and there were many unexpected ups and downs along the way, but Melisa was there for me at every step of the journey.

I have no doubt that I made the right choice in hiring Melisa as my admissions consultant, and I would strongly recommend her to anyone considering her services!

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I entered the application process with glaring holes in my profile, and Jennifer helped me create a strategy to ameliorate these shortcomings. For example, I will most likely have the lowest or at least will be in the bottom 5 of my class for GPA, but with Jennifer's guidance I was able to enter the process with confidence and I had great results. Her help on my essays, generating my stories and her feedback on my applications in general gave me a lot of confidence that I could get in. Despite some large deficiencies I was accepted to a T10 with some significant scholarship. I couldn't recommend her enough.

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I initially was not going to use an admissions consultant given the high cost but decided that it’d be worth the investment if I was going to go all in on the MBA admissions process. I met with many consultants from different firms but went with Melissa because she instantly put me at ease and was really warm and easy to talk to, and never made me feel like I wasn’t good enough for the schools I was targeting. We worked together starting June 2021 and she did so much more than just help me with my applications. I was also navigating a major organizational change at work, applied for a new job at a different company, and received an offer. She provided a ton of support and advice on how I should talk to my new employer about my b-school apps and they ended up being so supportive about it! Beyond that, we spent a solid few months just getting to know everything about my background and what my story would be, while staying truly authentic and never trying to be someone I wasn’t. She helped me with every stage of the application and was always so responsive, patient, and kind, especially through the several breakdowns I had along the way! She made sure I was super prepped for all the interviews, and after receiving the decisions, helped me navigate waitlists and negotiating scholarships.

I ultimately was admitted into my dream school, and 4 out of the 6 schools I applied to. Melissa was incredibly supportive throughout the entire process and really encouraged me to bring my true self to the applications. I’m happy with the results and I would recommend her to anyone!

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As a Deferred Programs applicant, I was unsure of whether it would be worth the effort / money to engage with a consultant. After chatting with a lot of other consultants, I find myself immediately gravitating toward Susan’s radiating passion for her work and her students. I was also affirmed by her candid feedback on my profile and her realistic assessment of my chances. These characteristics - passion, candidness, and optimism - remain constant throughout my interactions with her after I purchased an hourly service.

I am so grateful that I did decide to hire a consultant. We first worked together to come up with my key themes and a strategic plan, which Susan played a significant in helping me articulate. During the essay editing process, Susan was responsive and provided thoughtful feedback for every draft. There were moments when I grew frustrated with my writing, but Susan was persistent and encouraging in helping me craft a compelling narrative that accurately portrays myself. When it came time for interviews, Susan was my biggest cheerleader. Beyond helping me with mock interviews, she would send me a note before my every interview. To note, throughout my engagement with Susan, she has always been efficient with the hours I purchased.

Eventually, I got into 3/5 schools I applied to and I could not have asked for a more professional, helpful, and compassionate advocate by my side than Susan.

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As a candidate from an overrepresented category - teaming up with Susan was the best decision I made. Susan really puts in the additional effort to understand the applicant's story. Her attention to detail is impeccable and her dedication was a constant source of support throughout the application process. She took the time to really get to know me so that I could identify what is unique about me and present my most authentic self through my essays and interviews. Her introspective inquiry process helped me come to realize my personal and career ambitions. She is kind and candid - the best of both! With her help, I will be attending my dream (m7) school!

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I still keep pinching myself, y'know. To ensure I am not stuck in an 'inception-esque' trance.

But I know it's real. My destiny was sealed the day the admission letter read 'Congratulations' with a celebratory confetti background wallpaper.

Mins later, I sent an email to Susan telling her that we had done it. We had converted our first US business school. The journey hadn't been easy, especially for an ORM (over-represented minority). So, let's dive right in.

In September 2021, I decided to finally shake off the dust of procrastination regarding my MBA plans. But, still reeling under the 'let-me down' eyes of self-doubt, I knew I needed guidance on the admissions process. After some secondary research online, I came across the website of Stratus Consulting and its senior director - Susan Cera.

Susan and I spoke for the first time end of September. It was a 30 mins consultation call wherein we discussed my profile. The discussion was highly directive. It was humbling to hear about my strengths and my blind spots. Susan did not mince her words, which helped me steer clear of any delusions I was carrying.

We decided to work together for the next 1-2 months, building my personalized MBA blueprint. This had three critical parts, each feeding into the other:-
a) Part 1: Gather data points by reflecting on past experiences across professional and personal settings
b) Part 2: Identify Attributes by leveraging the data points gathered
c) Part 3: Build Story by identifying stories that allude to those specific attributes

Post this exercise. We built out the second part of the strategy:-
a) Why MBA? And Why Now?
b) Post MBA goals? Short-term and Long-term

Further to this exercise, we refined my resume, driving specificity through the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) framework.

Finally, we bucketed my target schools across three areas, i.e., Likely/Reach/Stretch. At this point, it is essential to mention that given my debilitating test anxiety, we decided to only look at schools with a GMAT waiver.

As part of the following steps, we worked selectively on a few essays, wherein Susan reviewed my story, constantly pushing me to direct my thoughts using the STAR format. Her #1 guidance to me was that 'specificity drives credibility,' and those golden words have been etched into my brain since then.

Our journey led us to convert to a top 20 B-School and get waitlisted at a top 15. I honestly did not expect to cut, but Susan – as my guardian angel – was there to reassure me in every way. She was more than a consultant, a sounding board that allowed me to vent my frustrations and insecurities without turning a page of judgment. I am forever indebted to her contribution, allowing this ORM a fighting chance at the top 20 MBA programs in the US.

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