
Susan Cera
Top Expert
20+ year exp. Thousands of acceptances at M7 & T15. Top rated on P&Q.

Dartmouth College

Duke Univeristy Fuqua School of Business
Successful clients at




2.2k
Expert mins
Available Monday
Starting at 4:00 PM UTC
Currently accepting clients for R2 and deferred. Please send resume and fill out this form (bit.ly/ceracoachingrequest) before call. If I don't have the materials, I will ask you to reschedule.
Questions?
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Work with Susan

Secure a seat at YOUR Dream B-School - Comprehenive MBA Package
Starting at $9,00025h+ of coaching
Best Value

Secure a DEFERRED seat at YOUR Dream B-School - Comprehenive MBA Package
Starting at $9,00025h+ of coaching
Best Value

Uncover YOUR Unique Story! - Narrative Discovery and MBA Strategy Playbook
$2,8005h–10h of coaching
Best Value
About
I bring more than 20 years of MBA admissions experience to my work with applicants—including 10 years on the admissions committee at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business and more than 11 years coaching professionals through the MBA application process. I have reviewed thousands of applications and helped applicants get accepted to Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, MIT Sloan, Booth, Kellogg, and other leading MBA programs. Since 2021, my clients have received >$12 million in merit scholarships and have been selected as Forté Fellows, Consortium Fellows, and recipients of other competitive awards. My experience on both sides of the admissions process shapes the way I coach. At Fuqua, I learned firsthand what makes an applicant memorable—and how often accomplished candidates undersell themselves, rely on generic stories, or present what they think an admissions committee wants to hear. As an admissions coach, my job is to help clients do the opposite. I work closely with applicants to uncover the experiences, motivations, and patterns that distinguish them; clarify where they want to go and why; and translate that thinking into an application that is both strategic and genuinely their own. I am particularly focused on helping clients move beyond simply describing what they have done to communicating how the impact they have had, the choices they have made, the person behind the résumé inform their aspirations for business school and beyond. My coaching style is thoughtful, candid, and highly personalized. I will ask a lot of questions, push you to dig deeper, and tell you when something is not working. I won’t manufacture a story for you or turn your application into something that sounds like an admissions consultant wrote it. In order to provide the level of service that earned me an 85 Net Promoter Score over the past six years, I take a limited number of clients in each round. The goal is a compelling application that sounds unmistakably like you—and gives an admissions committee a clear reason to want you in its community.
Susan’s MBA Qualifications
Coaches professionally
100+ MBA clients
Susan has helped clients get into these schools:
Welcome to my profile! With over a decade of experience in MBA admissions, I have guided hundreds of clients to success at top programs such as Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, and MIT. As the Director of MBA Admissions at Stratus , I lead teams that have helped clients secure hundreds of thousands of dollars in merit scholarships and prestigious fellowships like the Forte and Consortium Fellowships. My background includes evaluating thousands of applications globally, ensuring I bring a wealth of knowledge to your application process. Whether you need help with application strategy, school selection, or interview preparation, I'm here to help you craft a standout application. Read more about me here https://poetsandquants.com/2025/07/02/mba-admissions-consulting-when-tough-love-matters/
Susan can help with:
Application Strategy
Ding Analysis
Editing
Essays
General Exploration
Interviews
Networking Strategy
Recommendations
Resume
School Selection
Waitlist Strategy
Why do I coach?
I coach because my high school track coach believed in me before I had confidence in myself. I want to give that same gift to those navigating professional transitions. After spending 10 years reading applications at Duke's Fuqua School of Business, I realized that many applicants were likely stronger than what they presented in their applications. For that reason, I joined Stratus where I spent 11 years helping young professionals navigate the often opaque MBA application process. I love getting to know my clients and helping them to uncover what makes them truly unique so they can present a compelling narrative in their applications. Discover Your Story. Define Your Direction. Own Your Future.
Work Experience
President
Cera Coaching, LLC
January 2020 - Present
Uncover your story. Define your direction. Build the confidence to pursue what's next. Independent MBA Admissions Counselor service global clients who were accepted to Stanford GSB, HBS, Wharton, Chicago Booth, Kellogg, MIT Sloan, Columbia Business School, Tuck, NYU Stern, Berkeley Haas, Duke Fuqua, Michigan Ross, London Business School, INSEAD, Cornell Johnson, UCLA Anderson and more. Work with candidates to full-time, part-time and EMBA programs.
Director
Stratus Admissions Counseling
July 2015 - Present
Hiring Manager
Responsible for leading the MBA, JD and grad school admissions counseling teams and building knowledge of admissions processes globally. MBA clients have been accepted to Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Haas, Kellogg, Booth, MIT, and many additional MBA programs in the US, Canada and Europe. Numerous clients have been awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in merit scholarships. And clients have been honored as Forte Fellows at Berkeley-Haas, Tuck, Yale SOM, UCLA-Anderson, Michigan-Ross, Duke-Fuqua, Darden, UT-McCombs, Vanderbilt and others. Worked with clients granted Consortium Fellowships at Berkeley-Haas, Yale SOM, UT-McCombs and WashU-Olin. Mainted >80 Net Promoter Score since 2021. CEO - April 2018 - January 2020 Director of MBA Admissions - January 2016 - April 2018 MBA Admissions Counselor/Senior Strategist - July 2015 - January 2016

Manager
Duke Univeristy Fuqua School of Business
January 2006 - June 2015
Admissions Committee
Evaluated qualifications of thousands of prospective students using established standards and guidelines. Guided team of five staff and contract readers to identify and recommend strongest prospective students from South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Indonesia, Vietnam and 30 additional Asian countries. Presented top MBA applicants with scholarship recommendations to Admissions Committee. Over ~10 years reviewed thousands of applications for full-time and part-time MBA programs. Active participant on reviewing applications from Indian MBA candidates for 5+ years.
Co-Founder & President
Parent Teacher Organization
2002 - 2005
Founding officer of active Parent Teacher Organization supporting the Brookline Early Education Program (BEEP). Developed focused three-pronged mission statement. Wrote by-laws to establish organization as a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization supporting an educational entity. Lobbied at state and local level to maintain funding for lower income families. Presided over monthly PTO meetings. Met regularly with BEEP administrators and Superintendent of Schools. Spearheaded efforts to streamline Kindergarten registration process across 8 elementary schools. Built network of room parents across sixteen preschool classrooms in eight different locations. Reached out to private preschools in and around Brookline that fed students into Brookline Public Schools.
Senior Manager, Product
Upromise
January 2000 - September 2001
One of the first ten employees hired to build an online network of companies to assist families saving money for college. Responsible for understanding customer and partner needs, developing the vision and original requirements for Upromise service and establishing product management processes.
Director of Sales, West
Open Market
January 1996 - November 1999
Pioneer in development and marketing of packaged software for Internet commerce applications. Director, West Coast Consulting (March 1999 – November 1999) Senior Product Manager (July 1996 – February 1999) Product Manager (January 1996 – July 1996)
Product Manager
Lotus Software
July 1994 - December 1995

Associate
Charles River Associates
November 1989 - July 1992
Anti-trust litigation team.
Education

Duke's Fuqua School of Business
Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.)
1992 - 1994
Activities and societies: MBA Games, Marketing Club, Soccer Club Co-Chair - Corporate Fundraising - MBA Games - raised over $50,000 for Special Olympics of North Carolina - 25% increase over previous year. Co-Captain - Fuqua Soccer Club - managed practices and game schedules for three teams in three soccer leagues. Successfully negotiated with Duke Intramural Organizers to allow women to play in 'competitive' men's soccer league. Founder - Week In Cities Boston - Marketing Club - initiated and spearheaded annual visit program to marketing departments of Boston area companies over spring break including Bose, Ocean Spray, Stride Rite, Lotus Development Corporation, and Biogen. Independent Study - Business to Business Marketing in High Technology with case study on SAS Institute.

Dartmouth College
Bachelor's Degree, Economics modified with Computer Science
1985 - 1989
Activities and societies: Varsity Track and Field, Varsity Soccer, Language Study Abroad - Blois, France.
5.0 average review
101 reviews
Overall rating
Susan has helped clients get into these schools:
Secure a seat at YOUR Dream B-School - Comprehenive MBA Package
Starting at $9,00025h+ of coaching
Best Value
Secure a DEFERRED seat at YOUR Dream B-School - Comprehenive MBA Package
Starting at $9,00025h+ of coaching
Best Value
Uncover YOUR Unique Story! - Narrative Discovery and MBA Strategy Playbook
$2,8005h–10h of coaching
Best Value