Blog
Five Tips to Build Your Quantitative Profile
May 2, 2024
Business school applicants are more diverse today than ever before. Throughout the last decade, business schools have worked hard to increase the range of industries represented in their classes. Last year, I worked with consultants, finance professionals, and engineers, but I also worked with applicants from nonprofits, sales teams, and conglomerated family businesses, as well…
Six Things to Do in May While You Wait for MBA Essay Prompts
May 1, 2024
As the weather gets nicer and you look forward to summer, it might be harder to focus on your business school applications. There’s so much you can be doing in May to make it easier on yourself in the coming months—so you can enjoy your summer and still be ready for R1 deadlines! Here are…
The Best MBA Programs for Investment Banking
April 29, 2024
Although investment banking is not as popular of a career choice for MBA students as it was a few decades ago, plenty still use the MBA degree to transition to finance careers including investment banking, corporate finance, and private equity/venture capital. Working as an associate in an investment bank provides a solid foundation in understanding…
Four Tips for Dealing with Imposter Syndrome When Applying to Business School
April 26, 2024
Applying to an MBA program can be daunting. As you polish up your resume, wrack your brain for application essay ideas, and obsess over your standardized test score, feelings of self-doubt and imposter syndrome often creep in. You might start questioning if you really deserve a spot in your target MBA program or if you…
Top MBA Programs for Entrepreneurship
April 25, 2024
I chose to pursue my MBA because I knew that I wanted to start my own production company. My goal was to develop ideas for content in different forms of media and manage the business plans for those concepts on my own, without giving up that power to someone else. While looking for MBA programs…
The Best MBA Programs for Consulting
April 23, 2024
I remember researching business schools back when I was still in the Army, before I applied to MBA programs. As a nontraditional applicant, I felt intimidated by the post-MBA world, as this would be the first time I’d have a “real” civilian job. With droves of leadership experience but not much knowledge around what a…
Five Things You Need to Know About Taking the GMAT/GRE
April 12, 2024
As MBA applicants know, standardized test scores are a vital part of the business school application process. For you, the candidate, it is important to understand the testing process, timelines, and differences between the GMAT and the GRE. This year, some of the test differences have changed as a result of the newly launched GMAT…
Six Tips for Business School Reapplicants
April 6, 2024
If your 2023–2024 MBA applications were not successful, don’t despair! Take a little time to absorb the disappointment. After all, you spent significant time and effort in crafting these applications. As soon as you are able, however, focus on the future. Many MBA candidates are successful in their subsequent applications! Here are six tips to…
Ten Tips to Maximize the Value of Your MBA Campus Visits
April 3, 2024
Here’s one bright spot in MBA admissions: all the M7 programs are now offering on-campus visits. Therefore, be sure to review the campus visit options at HBS, Stanford, Wharton, Northwestern Kellogg, Chicago Booth, Columbia, and MIT Sloan—as well as other top programs—to determine the best-fit MBA program for you. Although you should also learn about an MBA program through online…
Seven Things to Do in April for Round 1 MBA Applications
April 1, 2024
Every spring, I speak to aspiring business school students who are content to wait until the essay prompts are released in June to start working on their applications. However, I find that the most successful candidates take a long view on the application process. Before the weather gets really nice and you can be enjoying…
MBA Ding Analysis (or Why You Didn’t Get In)
March 29, 2024
Every year, after business school decisions are released, we at Stratus get an influx of requests for a “ding analysis.” These applicants want to understand why they were rejected by their top-choice MBA programs. To gain acceptance to a highly ranked business school, you need to both be a strong applicant AND submit a strong…
Ten Things to Consider When Selecting an MBA Admissions Consultant
March 27, 2024
Getting an MBA is possibly one of the biggest investments of your life. As you ponder this $100K-plus investment, you are likely to realize that you cannot do something as important as this on your own. Although friends or colleagues might be able to help, rarely do they have enough expertise to move the needle…