Re: Admissions consultant - Stacy or Sandy? [#permalink]
Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 11:54 am
Manager
Joined: Fri Feb 05, 2010 Posts: 98 Schools: Duke (Accepted + $), Tuck (Accepted), Wharton (WL), Haas (WL), Ross (Accepted), Yale (Accepted), Anderson (Accepted + $$$) WE 1: 4.5 yrs management consulting at Top-tier firm and then at a life sciences boutique Followers: 4
I'm trying to decide between Stacy Blackman and Sandy for help with my application. Any recommendations?
Neither ... Sandy is good ... Stacy B is very very mediocre
Alex Chu is really whom I thought was the best ... I used Sandy for one app and Alex for another ... and I thought Alex's advise was more constructive, honest
quantjock
Re: Admissions consultant - Stacy or Sandy? [#permalink]
Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 12:22 pm
Current Student
Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2009 Posts: 93 Schools: Stanford '12 WE 1: Wall Street Finance WE 2: Entrepreneurship Followers: 6
cannot comment on any essay services as i did not use one, but i did use the internet extensively and i would rank the free advice worth mentioning in this order:
stumbled across sandys website a few times, but didnt find much useful info on there i could use. i did message him once and his response was to the point, no BS. i sent a message to alex once and he would only answer it if i posted it publicly. it was his right to say so, but i didnt like that much.
anyway. i hope this helps at the margins or might be found useful by someone else. good luck with your decision.
2012MBA
Re: Admissions consultant - Stacy or Sandy? [#permalink]
Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 9:50 pm
Intern
Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 Posts: 7 Schools: Duke (R1), UNC-KF (R1), UT-McCombs (R1), Wash U $$ (R1), Emory $$ (R1) Followers: 0
For me, this is a no-brainer. Stacy Blackman is the way to go.
Many consulting firms offer a complimentary consultation or 'taste' of what to expect with their service. I took full advantage of these opportunities and spoke with a few different consultants. Most were too focused on setting a time limit and staring at the clock - when it hit the trial time limit, the free consultation was simply over.
Stacy Blackman Consulting was the only firm who was more interested in answering all of my questions and ensuring that I felt comfortable with the process. During my initial consultation, the consultant wanted to know my story and how to make it relevant enough to get in my top choice program. The initial consultation was not rushed at all, nor were any of my subsequent consultations.
I really felt that Stacy Blackman Consulting went way above and beyond my expectations - worth every penny. They got me in the right mind set during my application process. At the end of the day, I'm proud to be heading to my top choice program this fall, and I KNOW that I made the right choice choosing Stacy.
Moss
Re: Admissions consultant - Stacy or Sandy? [#permalink]
Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 12:30 pm
Current Student
Affiliations: CFA Joined: Sun Dec 21, 2008 Posts: 365 Location: United States (NY) Schools:Columbia - Class of 2013 GMAT 1: 710 Q45 V43 GMAT 2: 760 Q49 V45
Followers: 13
I am very interested to hear additional input from people who are using/have used admissions consultants. Were you happy with your experience? Any tips? Are they worth it? Any information would be most appreciated!
They are too expensive and the work is mediocre because of the sheer volume of applicants that go there. After 15 iterations of my essay, I still saw little grammatical issues here and there. Besides, my consultant barely remembered my story in my essays and failed to give me good ideas to make my essay stronger. Overall, they charge too much money and do not guarantee any kind of refund whether you are applying to 1 school or using their help to apply to 5 schools ( $5000+).
I used essay critique this year for one of my schools and thought the service was much better and affordable.
gclub
Re: Admissions consultant - Stacy or Sandy? [#permalink]
They are too expensive and the work is mediocre because of the sheer volume of applicants that go there. After 15 iterations of my essay, I still saw little grammatical issues here and there. Besides, my consultant barely remembered my story in my essays and failed to give me good ideas to make my essay stronger. Overall, they charge too much money and do not guarantee any kind of refund whether you are applying to 1 school or using their help to apply to 5 schools ( $5000+).
I used essay critique this year for one of my schools and thought the service was much better and affordable.
I agree - Stacy B seemed great during the "trial" consultation before paying, but then has been below my expectations ever since. What was particularly disappointing was receiving one essay back with a new sentence suggested that was about some other candidate that my consultant was working with from a totally different background. nice. if you know someone who got a top mba within the past 5 years, have them review your essays instead.
rhyme
Re: Admissions consultant - Stacy or Sandy? [#permalink]
Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 5:26 am
GMAT Club Legend
Affiliations: HHonors Diamond, BGS Honor Society Joined: Wed Apr 05, 2006 Posts: 5881 Schools:Chicago (Booth) - Class of 2009 GMAT 1: 730 Q45 V45
WE: Business Development (Consumer Products) Followers: 127
Send me an amazongiftcard so I can buy my daughter diapers, I'll read them for you, tell you the truth, and you can save a couple thousand dollars which you can instead use on a new plasma.
Send me an amazongiftcard so I can buy my daughter diapers, I'll read them for you, tell you the truth, and you can save a couple thousand dollars which you can instead use on a new plasma.
haha, thanks I might take you up on that Rhyme!
fiver5
Re: Admissions consultant - Stacy or Sandy? [#permalink]
Edit: This post may not be credible; the user has only one post
I used stacy blackman and it was the worst experience, I wish I hadn't paid for multiple schools upfront. I agree with what an above poster said about the essay feedback being very mediocre. Sometimes I'd wait two days for feedback, and when I received it, there would be two sentences changed. And it'd sound worse than what I had originally wrote. And I feel as though my consultant tried to use what he force me to use that tactics/positioning that he used to get into bschool.
I'm sure the experience varies from person to person, but why risk all that money to get paired with a random consultant? And it seemed like the only qualification stacy blackman uses to hire her consultants was that they came from a good bschool. Getting into a good bschool does not necessarily make you a good admissions consultant.
On the other hand, I used Sandy for interview prep, not essays, and thought he was very very good for that. I imagine he'd probably be fairly good at editing essays too, especially given the number of applicants he sees each year. And at least you know who you're paying for, not just hoping to get paired with a good consultant with stacy blackman.
cyrez8
Re: Admissions consultant - Stacy or Sandy? [#permalink]
I have used Sandy for mock interview. He was great, very helpful, we spent 1h50 on the phone and it was worth the money, no question. He knew my profile (even remembered the "additional information" part of my package), helped me coming up with great answers to potential questions.
I will get results soon but I wish I would have used him sooner.
gmatbschool
Re: Admissions consultant - Stacy or Sandy? [#permalink]
Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 10:20 am
Manager
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2009 Posts: 112 Schools: MIT Followers: 2
STRONGLY suggest not going with either of them. This is based on personal experience and friend's experiences. PM me if you want actual details. Better experience with MBA Prep Advantage. I used him just to get quick feedback on one app and even then I could have done without.
I have yet to hear of a consultant who will actually stay engaged with you through the 1+ months it takes to put apps together. They seem to lose steam right about when you pay them the fees . I observed disinterest and generic advice personally and from talking to several friends.
FallMBA2013
Re: Admissions consultant - Stacy or Sandy? [#permalink]
Does anyone else have any opinions on admissions consultants? How about Clear Admit or Accepted or MBApply or My MBA Admit? The prices seem to vary alot too! I really don't want to make a mistake on such an expensive service and I'd rather pay premium prices for premium service rather than cheap for cheap. Thanks!!!! Good luck to all next year!
goobersmooches
Re: Admissions consultant - Stacy or Sandy? [#permalink]
Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 1:52 pm
Intern
Joined: Fri Mar 26, 2010 Posts: 28 Location: Los Angeles Schools: CBS Followers: 1
I'm considering Accepted for my Wharton reapp. I've spoken with a few people there and they seem pretty decent (at least with the free advice they gave).
Would love to know if anyone has worked with them and how they were.
Mustachio411
Re: Admissions consultant - Stacy or Sandy? [#permalink]
Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 2:00 pm
Current Student
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2009 Posts: 120 Schools: Booth, Kellogg, Olin All PT WE 1: Tech/Manufacturing WE 2: Tech/Finance Followers: 1
They stuck with me for close to 2 months. 5 essay edits and 1 mock interview all for 450 smackers.. for 2 schools!
Try the free 15 minute consultation (I know not way too much time but enough to give you a sense)... be warned though.. you should have SOME idea of the stories you want to tell....
_________________ "I'll shave off my handlebar moustache - to stop me getting into fights" ~ Charles Law
bpengage
Re: Admissions consultant - Stacy or Sandy? [#permalink]
Send me an amazongiftcard so I can buy my daughter diapers, I'll read them for you, tell you the truth, and you can save a couple thousand dollars which you can instead use on a new plasma.
Is your offer still valid Rhyme?
_________________ If you find this post useful, please give me a kudos. Thanks!
I used Stacy Blackman consulting and spent $6000 (for 6 schools). I re-used the essays for 2-3 other schools. Unfortunately, I did not even get a single invite out of 8-9 schools. I had originally also discussed the schools I wanted to apply to. I guess it depends which consultant you use from which consulting company. I know it is not a money guarantee program but after I told Stacy Blackman as to what had happened, she said they would give me a discount the next time I use them.....are you freaking serious???....It is good to do a business while you benefit everybody and you are fair. She can help whoever she wants but this one experience was pathetic and I would never recommend the company to anybody specially for the price it charges and the lack of courtesy.