Has anyone used stacy blackman or mbaexchange.. which is better? Any specific consultant at mbaexchange who is supposed to be very good?

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.

As an experienced applicant I have to say and underline - go with a team instead of a single consultant and go with one of the teams that has a high number of reported successes and a high % of success vs failure. The Admissions 411 should help you find the two teams that are best at what they do - MBA Exchange and MBA Mission. Those stats are the truest criteria I have seen so far. One-consultant practices may get overstretched and may be weak in one side of the process vs another. A one-consultant practice may also not be held accountable for what they do. The teams have people who are strong in Editing, Consulting, Career Goals mentoring, etc. and you get the best in each. They are also usually accredited members of a professional association of consultants which holds its members accountable for ethical practices. A good consulting team should never tie you to a certain way of writing essays, write stuff for you, or in any way take away your personality from your application. Instead they should spend ENOUGH TIME to get to know you (something one-consultant practices often can't afford to do), get you to dig deep in your experience for your best stories, and make sure you don't shoot yourself in the foot. Also, a good consultant's job is not to know the latest scoop on a school, but to help YOU find the strongest sides of YOU which can sell you at ANY SCHOOL (that your profile and credentials qualify you for). You all can do the research on your own in the forums, and it doesn't usually help since things change quickly and the the school doesn't care how much you know about them, they care to know you. Even if you can afford to get a good consulting team, make sure to visit each school you care about, contact alums, current students, and/or faculty and TALK TO THEM IN PERSON. Good luck!
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lately, I have been hearing a lot about Amerasia consulting group. So, I scheduled an appointment with Paul, its founder. He did go through my profile completely before the call and based on the schools I wanted to apply, he gave excellent suggestions. The way he said I should address my weaknesses and highlight my strengths really made sense. I had Wharton, Columbia and Cornell in my mind and he really seemed to know what it takes to get to these schools. If you, as an applicant, have some drawbacks in your applications and still have some time before you apply, I would definitely suggest that you talk to him and see where you can improve. He seems to be really good at differentiating you from other applicants, especially if you are from an overrepresented applicant pool. The resources that he would provide you with, will give you a very good idea on how to draft essays (before his review).

Overall, I would definitely recommend scheduling an initial consultation with him.

HBS Guru.

I would like just to reinforce this topic and kindly ask guys who have been admitted recently to post here with which consultants did they work.

I am currently considering to hire an admission consulting company/consultant and I am targeting 4-5 schools.
I plan to apply in R1 fall 2011.

Please provide your feedback and if you want to remain provate just send me a pm.

thank you.
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I am not finished yet but I have had a wonderful experience with Stacy Blackman Consulting. This was my second time applying - last time I used another firm. This time has been smooth right from the start - I got what I signed up for and I am now receiving interviews so have a lot of confidence that I put together a great application. It was a big investment up front but after that I have had so many people to support me and such expert guidance - it's been great. I have really enjoyed working with my consultant and the whole team there.

I shopped around quite a bit and used Precision Essay. I only applied to top 16 schools, and two admits later and one waitlist (including a full ride to Haas) I can vouch for Jon and his team 100%. I did start with ample time to work together and I think this definitely makes a difference - if you are rushing to finish when everybody else is crunching then the result is obvious no matter where you go. In the end, I did end up in a time crunch situation for a few schools, but the response time was amazing - a few times I chatted with Jon at 4AM in the heat of the app season, while stressing out about something in my application. I also talked to him on the phone when he was travelling overseas in china at some crazy local time.
The service isn't for everyone--they make you work HARD to bring out your story and your voice - there were times where I was thinking OH COME ON GUYS, another edit, wasn't that last one good enough? It's one of those processes where you get out what you put in it - no consultant can (nor should they) do all your writing and have a pre-packaged story ready for you. By the way, I haven't heard of half the consultants who post here--new ones seem to pop up every day. The only way to really tell what consultant is right for you is their track record, and to reach out to them and speak to them personally, get a sense of their response times, and see if you match with them personality wise. To me what set them apart was personalized responses that were specific to me, not some cookie cutter "your profile looks good, but theres areas we have to work on" generic email. Feel free to pm me or talk to the guys directly. If you do talk to Jon and his crew at PE, I am sure you'll see how amazing they are.

Hi,
I am looking for your feedback on Veritas Prep consultation for 3-4 schools!


Thank you so much

Moderator's warning: User's first post. lower credibility.

Edited to add: I've been a long-time reader of this forum but didn't feel compelled to post until now. My review is legit. Feel free to PM me for more details. =)

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I think an admissions consultant is invaluable in the MBA application process. First, my background. I'm 31, with 8 years of experience in finance, female, 3.7 GPA from a public university, and 720 GMAT. I'm looking to transition out of finance and into entrepreneurship.

In round 1, I applied to Harvard, Stanford, and Chicago without a consultant. I got dinged from H/S and interviewed at Chicago.

For the interview prep, I contacted Stacy Blackman Consulting, Sandy, and Amerasia. Sandy was booked up; I spoke to a woman at Stacy Blackman and Adam at Amerasia. The woman at Stacy Blackman was nice but I didn't feel we connected. When I spoke to Adam, he gave me pointers on Booth and didn't pressure me to sign up for his services. This was really nice, 'cause I had a million things going on and couldn't make a decision anyway.

Adam's pointers on Booth were spot on. Unfortunately, due to my crazy work schedule, I didn't adequately prepare for my interview (I worked until 3 AM the night before my interview). I didn't have time to get excited about the school and went into my interview with a lackluster attitude. Needless to say, I wasn't admitted.

In round 2, I hired Adam for his essay and interview services. I applied to Wharton and Kellogg, schools that he noted were friendlier to older applicants. Here's how the essay writing process went: I turned in a first draft for Wharton, he (very nicely and bluntly) told me it had to be completely re-worked. My essays painted me as unfocused, and my reasons for transitioning from finance to entrepreneurship weren't well-supported. It took about 3-4 drafts before I got it right. My essays pre-Adam and post-Adam were dramatically different; my friends commented that my post-Adam essays drastically improved. Here's what I consider to be Adam's biggest strengths in essay prep:

- He's very good at helping you organize your story and painting you in the best light. He knows immediately when something sounds wishy-washy and will help you re-work it. He understands the strongest aspect of your application and will help you highlight this.
- He's good with essay structures and will help you break down your story into a concise, easy-to-follow narrative.
- He provides solid advice on how to attack each essay, what to avoid, what to focus on, etc.
- Lastly, Adam is great to work with. His upbeat attitude and follow-up emails helped me stay on track during the grueling process.

On Monday, I found out I was admitted to Kellogg. I also received an interview invite from Wharton, with decision still pending. My only regret during this process is not hiring Adam earlier in round 1. I am so grateful to Adam, not only for his help in essay-writing and interview prep, but also for being a cheerleader, a great motivator, and for keeping me focused when I was being pulled in so many different directions. For anyone considering a consultant, I strongly recommend Adam.