Services

Starter MBA Strategy

$3,800.00

*Prices listed are for payments via credit card. At checkout, you will have the option to pay for your Stratus services via ACH/bank transfer and receive a 3% discount.

A compelling MBA application starts with a clear, authentic, and strategic foundation. Before diving into essays or polishing a resume, it’s essential to uncover your unique story, clarify your goals, and thoughtfully align your experiences with what top business schools value. Stratus’s Starter MBA Strategy package is designed to help you do exactly that.

This offering is ideal for applicants early in the process—those still exploring their story, evaluating schools, or deciding whether and how to work with an admissions consultant.

This package is also a great fit if you are…

  • Still working toward a test score you feel confident about
  • Unsure about whether you need full-service admissions support
  • Looking to make progress on your application in parallel with test prep

In fact, many clients tell us that tackling the Starter MBA Strategy package alongside test prep gives them the motivation and mental clarity they need to stay committed—by engaging a different part of their brain and keeping the “why” behind the MBA top of mind.

Through the Starter MBA Strategy package, you will accomplish the following:

  • Surface your key differentiators. Through guided, high-touch introspection exercises and self-reflection, you’ll uncover key themes, experiences, and personal qualities that set you apart. These will inform your overall positioning and help you stand out in a competitive applicant pool.
  • Define your post-MBA goals. Articulate your short- and long-term goals in a way that is both ambitious and realistic, grounded in your background and your desired career path. These goals become the spine of your application narrative. You’ll connect your personal and professional experiences to your goals and explain clearly what skills, knowledge, and relationships you need from an MBA to put you on a path toward your aspirations.
  • Develop your MBA narrative. With support from your Stratus counselor, you will identify the threads that you can weave through the components of your application. This cohesive narrative becomes the foundation for your resume, essays, recommendations, and interviews.
  • Build a purposeful school list. You’ll explore programs that align with your professional goals, personal values, and learning style. We’ll help you create a list that reflects both ambition and fit.

What Comes Next

Upon completing the Starter MBA Strategy package, many clients choose to upgrade to a Team-Based MBA Admissions Consulting Package to continue the process with end-to-end support. If you upgrade, a significant portion of the cost of this package is credited* toward your comprehensive service.

Others choose to move forward with hourly support for targeted guidance on key application components—such as essays, resume, recommender strategy, and interview preparation.

**If a candidate upgrades to a Team-Based MBA Admissions Consulting Package within the same admissions season as a Starter MBA Strategy package, they will receive $2,650 (MBA Counselor), $3,050 (Senior MBA Counselor), or $3,350 (MBA Director) credit towards the package.

Here’s what a former client had to say about this offering:

When I first considered using a consultant, I was hesitant to commit to the price of a comprehensive package without truly understanding what working with a consultant would be like. MBA Application Fundamentals and Strategy with Stratus was a relatively low-risk way to start the process and gave me the flexibility to choose how I wanted to proceed (i.e., working solo, purchasing hours, or upgrading to a comprehensive package) thereafter.

I was worried that in using a consultant, I would lose my ‘voice’ trying to fit into some consultant mold, but the outcome was quite the opposite. The introspection process forced me to think about how different experiences in my life have shaped me personally and professionally and to examine post-MBA career options that fit with both my experiences and aspirations. My counselor helped me identify themes across these different goals and experiences.

The upfront work I did with her laid the foundation for my application strategy, kept my story grounded, and was directly applicable to several essays and even interview questions. It also helped guide my conversations with supervisors when I asked them to write my LORs [letters of recommendation].

For me, MBA Application Fundamentals and Strategy was a great way to ‘try out’ working with a consultant while still moving the ball forward on my applications. I did end up upgrading to a comprehensive package

Start Your MBA Admissions Consulting Journey with Stratus!

Learn how Stratus’s team approach can help you get accepted to your top-choice business schools. Start with a FREE consultation with one of our Admissions Counselors. Our team is ready to dive into your goals, answer your questions about your profile and the application process, and help you boost your appeal to admissions committees!

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