Lisa Cummings Reviews

At the start of the process, I reached out to 3 different consultants at different companies. Lisa and Stratus stood out as clear winners; I felt confident in the Stratus offering / backing, which included help developing my story, essay iteration with a second reader, and interview prep. More importantly, I found Lisa to be genuine and easy to work with.

The time spent working with Lisa on shaping my story before starting essays was invaluable. I would not have had as strong of an application without her guidance at this stage in particular. When it came to essays, she always returned drafts quickly and with thoughtful suggestions. Just as important was interview prep. I valued Lisa's candor and experience as a prior interviewer. I also appreciated Stratus' Wharton TBD simulation, and know that it helped me nail the actual Wharton TBD.

With Lisa's help, I gained admission to 7 top MBA programs, with scholarships / fellowships at 3. I will be attending Wharton with a partial scholarship as part of the class of 2026

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I could not have been as successful as I was in my application process without Lisa's help! From the very beginning of my journey, Lisa provided me with helpful and much needed guidance.

What most impressed me was that she took the time to get to know me as a person and fully understand my future goals before ever putting pen to paper on any of my essays. This helped me polish my overall story, and built trust that enabled Lisa to provide very direct feedback whenever my work was not hitting the mark.

With Lisa's help throughout the busy application season, I ultimately gained admission to 7 MBA programs, many of them with scholarship offers! I am certain I would not have been as successful without her advice along the way.

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Like many aspiring MBA applicants, I "shopped around" for an admissions consultant by listening to webinars, capitalizing on free consultations, and reading online reviews. Stratus immediately stood out to me not only because of their team-based approach and proven track record of success, but also because they were the one counseling team that encouraged me to apply to reach programs and didn't try to use scare tactics on me. I had a 'fit' call with Lisa and knew that her experiences and personality were exactly what I wanted from an admissions consultant.

I could easily write paragraphs upon paragraphs about how truly invaluable she was to my application process, but I'll focus on what I found to be the four greatest benefits of working with Lisa.

1. Refining My Story - Whether MBA hopefuls like to admit it or not, your story is a major part of your application. Lisa pushed me to develop an air-tight story that logically conveyed where I'm at (pre-MBA), where I want to be (post-MBA), and how I'm going to get there (through the MBA). I had moments where I was tired of answering the constant "Why? Why? Why?" questions that seemed to follow every statement of mine, but it was these questions that built the foundation of my applications. She also helped me strategize how to best incorporate my story throughout my application, not just the essays. Without Lisa, my story and subsequently my applications would not have been near as strong as they were.

2. Polishing Essays - I wrote an average of six drafts for every essay I submitted (note that I didn't even start drafting until multiple iterations of an outline were reviewed). Lisa provided timely and THOROUGH feedback for every single draft. Her feedback went beyond surface-level comments and provided real value to my essays - she told me where I needed to show versus tell, pointed out if my essays didn't reflect enough school research, noted where phrasing needed to be improved, etc. There were times at which I was very close to accepting an essay that was "good enough," but Lisa pushed me to submit the best version possible of every essay. I can look back at this application cycle and be proud of everything I submitted because Lisa challenged me to do my best work.

3. Interview Prep - Though getting an interview invite from a school is something to celebrate, my happiness would quickly turn into panic. I have always struggled with interviews and knew they would be a major challenge for me. I shared my concerns with Lisa and she went above and beyond in helping me prepare for them. She sent me interview guides, which included commonly asked questions, for every school I was interviewing with. Additionally, she set up multiple mock interviews to provide me with the opportunity to practice answering interview questions. She provided excellent feedback during these sessions, which helped calm my nerves during the actual interviews.

4. Genuine Care - If there was a single reason I'd recommend working with Lisa, it is because she genuinely cares about you as both an applicant and a person. I lost both my uncle and grandma while applying to business school and consequently fell behind on some of my applications. Lisa (and other member of the Stratus team) were so understanding and worked overtime to help me submit my applications by the deadline. I can't put into words how much it meant to me when the Stratus team rallied behind me to help me through what was a very difficult time.

I applied to 6 schools across the T15 and was ultimately accepted by 4 of them (with over $340,000 in scholarship, collectively) and waitlisted by the other 2. I'll be attending an M7 (with scholarship!) this fall and I could not have done it without Lisa or the Stratus team. I know the thought of hiring an admissions consultant can be daunting as they do come with a price tag, but I can personally attest to Lisa being more than worth it. You only do your MBA once and I knew I wanted to get into the best school I could, and Lisa helped me do just that.

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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 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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Overall, Stratus was a great investment toward my MBA admissions and Lisa Cummings is awesome to work with. I applied to six schools total R1, two using Stratus. I interviewed with 5/6, was accepted by 3/6 with $$-$$$, and was waitlisted at 1/6. I will be attending an M7 with a $80k scholarship next year (one of the schools I worked on with Lisa).

After months of debating whether I should hire an admissions consultant and setting up informational interviews with multiple companies (including Stacy Blackman, Fortuna, MBAMission, Career Protocol, and MBA Prep School), I ultimately chose Stratus for their team-based approach to reviewing candidates' materials and the fact that their consultants were realistic but optimistic. What turned me off about some of the other consulting firms during the initial calls was that they took one look at my profile (F/Asian/Consulting) and my GMAT score (720) and discouraged me from applying to certain schools. This wasn't the case at Stratus. Although Lisa was my primary consultant, everyone I interacted with, including Jennifer Jackson and Melisa Prevost, was extremely helpful and encouraging.

I chose to work with Lisa because she is straightforward and efficient yet thorough (and yes, I could get this from our introduction call). We spent the spring brainstorming and developing my story and resume. She made sure to capture my entire story in a thoughtful manner. She also ensured that I did enough of my own research on the schools so I knew what I was getting into when applying to each. Then, over the summer we worked on multiple iterations of my admissions essays. This phase was the most valuable part of the experience. Lisa quickly turned around drafts of my essays (1-2 business days) and provided incisive feedback. After we finished my essays, she sent them to an unbiased school expert for a final review. In the fall, Lisa conducted mock interviews which prepared me for all of the schools I applied to. When it came to making my decision between schools, all of the introspection and reflection I had done in the spring made my decision easy.

Lisa is super responsive and flexible. She caters to your style (I preferred occasional check-in calls with frequent emails). She was always available to answer any of my questions, particularly as I was filling out my applications. She also went above and beyond - even though I only worked with her on two schools, she provided tips and advice for the other schools I applied to as well.

While hiring an admissions consultant can certainly be pricey, I think it is well worth the investment to have a team of professionals supporting you along the way. It is also a small cost in exchange for peace of mind throughout the process (i.e, essentially a project manager to keep you on track and an editor to help you review), and in my case, help getting into my dream school with a significant scholarship.

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Lisa provided input throughout the application process to help me submit my best application from initial discussions to improve my overall profile to essay writing and preparation for interviews. She was particularly helpful in keeping me accountable to my early exercise work and identifying critical background that I needed to share in my essays in a non-jargony way to better connect with the readers. Although there are not many types of MBA interviews, I took advantage of the practice interview with different questions available for every school where I received an invite. Lisa was flexible in letting me submit applications for some schools in R1 and working with me on R2.
Different pre-MBA organizations/fairs often promoted Stratus services. Some of my friends told me about their experiences with Stratus. I only decided on Lisa from Stratus after meeting with eight different consultants/companies. Lisa from Stratus was a great match for a multi-school full package.

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For those looking for MBA admissions consulting services, look no further than Lisa Cummings of Stratus Admissions Counseling. I cannot overstate how immensely helpful Lisa was in helping me apply to business schools this fall.

When it came to writing the essays, Lisa continuously pushed me to uncover my personal story for WHY I wanted to get my MBA and WHAT my career goals were. She was always candid yet constructive in her feedback, something I greatly appreciated. She also returned her insightful feedback incredibly quickly; there was not a single time I felt that I could not move forward on my essays because I was waiting for a response from her.

Moreover, before I began working with Lisa, my resume was outdated and in no shape to be submitted to MBA admissions committees. Lisa's expert insight here allowed me to expand and clarify my resume where needed, while removing all of the content that was unnecessary. Similarly, when I found out that I was fortunate enough to receive interviews at several schools, Lisa went to great lengths to ensure I was prepared. Not only did she send me detailed, school-specific interview guides, but she also set aside time to conduct multiple mock interviews with me.

In summary, from essay writing, to resume updating, to interview preparation, Lisa proved an invaluable asset during my MBA application process this fall. However, what impressed me most about Lisa is that I can tell that she truly CARES about her clients. Once my interviews were done, it would have been easy for Lisa to merely wish me the best of luck and move on. Instead, she took time to talk me through the decision I was making between two MBA programs, offering very helpful advice. Overall, for those looking into MBA admissions consulting services, look no further than Lisa Cummings. I promise you will not regret this decision.

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When applying for business school, I was most anxious about writing essays that had the power to tell admissions exactly who I was in the matter of a few hundred words. Working with Stratus, and Lisa in particular, gave me confidence knowing I put my absolute best forward in a clear and coherent way for admissions. Lisa was an easy choice given her extensive experience working in admissions herself. Her feedback not only gave me a second set of eyes on my essays but more importantly, comments and questions an admissions rep at my target school would also have. Lisa was instrumental in keeping me on track in terms of deadlines and really lessened my anxiety around the process, knowing I had someone to provide unbiased, holistic feedback on my application. Lisa took me through every step of uncovering my whole story for “why business school” so by the time I interviewed I could recite my true “why” like the back of my hand with confidence. Outside of essay and story strategy, Lisa also helped me finetune my resume and interview skills – both things I already felt really strong in. She added value where I did not think I needed any help and was there as my support cheering me on through the daunting process. I worked with Lisa on 3 schools and was accepted at all 3 (Tuck, Booth, Kellogg). Finally, I would say Lisa is flexible in her working style and will tailor her approach to your needs (i.e. working independently, following strict deadlines etc.) which really helped to be able to personalize the process. I would highly recommend Lisa and the full Stratus team.

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My first suggestion when looking for a consultant is to meet with as many as you need to so that you find your match. You need to not only find someone that knows your program but also one you are comfortable with. They are NOT going to write anything for you but will coach you to presenting the best possible version of yourself for that specific program. Each essay to each school needs to stand out and be different. This is the key and this is exactly what Stratus and Lisa taught me to do. I chose Lisa because of her experience with my program and her enthusiasm and genuine interest to see me succeed.

This is not cheap. But I believe it was a very important part of my process. In particular for me Lisa was constantly communicating sending edits (very fast turnaround) and reminders to keep on a schedule to achieve success. My essays would have been much more generic and my stress level would have crippled me not knowing if I was even making progress.

Stratus specifically operates slightly different. I really like that the consultants do not handle any of the money issues. That is a separate person. They are flexible and will find the package that works for you.

Do your research and good luck!

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