Blog:
Five Things You Need to Know About Taking the GMAT/GRE
April 15, 2025
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…
How Long Does It Take to Get an MBA?
April 14, 2025
If you are an aspiring MBA, you’ll be happy to hear that increasingly more program options are available. However, the challenge may be figuring out which one is right for you. Most people are familiar with the typical two-year full-time MBA. For these programs, prospective students generally apply between September and April of a given…
Top MBA Programs for Entrepreneurship
April 11, 2025
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 9, 2025
Back when I was still in the Army, I remember how my MBA application research went. As a nontraditional applicant, I felt intimidated by the post-MBA world and the prospect of having a “real” civilian job for the first time. With droves of leadership experience but not much knowledge about what a P&L was, I…
Ten Tips to Maximize the Value of Your MBA Campus Visits
April 4, 2025
Visiting campus in person is still one of the best ways to research MBA programs, but doing so does require an investment of time and money. So, before you book your trip to HBS, Stanford, Wharton, Northwestern Kellogg, Chicago Booth, Columbia, or MIT Sloan—or any of the many top MBA programs out there—consider these ten…
What Is EQ, and Why Does It Matter for Future Business Leaders?
April 3, 2025
Business schools evaluate applicants holistically. Undergraduate performance—including major, grades, and standardized test scores—provide a glimpse into a candidate’s IQ. These measures allow admissions committees to assess applicants’ ability to handle the rigor of their program. But having a high GPA and a killer GMAT or GRE score doesn’t offer any insight into how a candidate…
Seven Things to Do in April for Round 1 MBA Applications
April 2, 2025
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…
Best Part-Time MBA Programs: Everything You Need to Know
March 27, 2025
As you are thinking about getting an MBA, you might be wondering if a part-time MBA is right for you. Let’s dig into what you should think about! Part-time MBA programs allow (and require) you to maintain your day job and attend classes on evenings, on weekends, or a mix of both. Some part-time MBA…
Five Considerations When Applying to Wharton’s Lauder Program
March 27, 2025
Want an MBA that doesn’t just teach global business but throws you headfirst into it? Wharton’s Lauder Program isn’t just about international exposure—it’s an immersive, 16-month dual degree that fuses world-class business education with deep cultural and geopolitical fluency. As the first program of its kind in the United States, Lauder pairs a Wharton MBA…
Seven Habits of the Most Successful MBA Applicants
March 26, 2025
Although the world keeps changing at an accelerating pace—and the MBA admissions process continues evolving with test waiver options, program delivery models, and both in-person and virtual recruitment offerings—the habits of the most successful MBA applicants have remained constant. Here are the core habits that our most successful Stratus MBA clients have followed on their…
MBA Ding Analysis (or Why You Didn’t Get In)
March 25, 2025
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…
Top MBA Programs for Sports
March 24, 2025
When I worked at ESPN, the MBA was not yet popular outside of the finance and marketing departments. Some of my colleagues had earned a Master of Science in Sports Management (UMass Amherst was the most popular program at the time) to gain insight on managing the business of sports, but that was about it. However,…