Beth (SBC) Reviews

From start to finish, my experience working with Stacy Blackman and my consultant Beth was nothing short of fantastic. I embarked on this journey after speaking with eight different consultants from firms like mbaMission and Stratus, but SBC immediately stood out. From my introductory call with Bill to ultimately working closely with Beth for Round 1 admissions, I felt supported end-to-end.

Through my work with Beth, I was fortunate to be admitted to Kellogg, Tuck, Fuqua, and Darden, all with varying levels of scholarship, and I could not be more thrilled with my outcomes. I truly feel like Beth’s experience as a former Kellogg AdComm member was an incredible differentiator.

I knew going into my MBA admissions process, I wanted to work with someone who believed in me and my application. I instantly clicked with Beth’s warm demeanor, and I knew she would provide equal doses of encouragement and honesty at the right times. Through the highs and lows of the process, Beth was there every step of the way and was always able to be reached. I could not recommend working with her and the rest of the SBC team more for anyone going through MBA admissions!

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The SBC intro with Bill and team was seamless, and I appreciated the transparency of the process as I was able to explore the services before going forward with Beth as my primary consultant. As an extremely experienced former Admissions Officer, Beth knows how to work with people with all sorts of backgrounds and how to bring out the best in applications. As an early careerist, I had concerns and challenges that she helped me navigate throughout the application process, and her organization and guidance went above and beyond. The All-in Service was definitely comprehensive with flight test feedback from Lisa which was insightful, and ended up being a perfect choice for me as I wanted to focus on a few schools. I felt supported throughout each part of the process, and was able to tackle any and all concerns, small details or sudden questions I had with Beth who was incredibly responsive and kept me on track. I’m happy to be accepting admissions to Booth and am so thankful for her insights, expertise, and for ultimately making the application process a lot less stressful than anticipated.

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I chose to work with Stacy Blackman Consulting (SBC) for my MBA admissions journey as many reviews and resources noted that they were known for getting students into Kellogg. Long and behold, I did get into the Kellogg MBA full-time program and into McCombs' and Anderson's. The experience has been nothing short of outstanding.

One of the key reasons I chose SBC was the opportunity to work closely with Beth, a former AdCom member. Her inside knowledge and deep understanding of the admissions process at Kellogg provided invaluable insights. Beth's personalized approach and attention to detail undoubtedly played a crucial role in my successful admission to Kellogg, McCombs, and Anderson, with the added bonus of scholarships at Kellogg and McCombs.

SBC's team-based approach sets them apart from the rest. From the very beginning, Sarah served as my initial point of contact and matchmaker, ensuring a seamless connection with the consultant best suited to my needs. Amy, another former Admissions Officer on the SBC team, served as my "flight tester," providing constructive feedback and refining my application strategy. The collaborative effort of the entire SBC team, coupled with access to resources like the Vault database, significantly strengthened my application.

Before selecting SBC, I researched and spoke with several other admissions consulting firms. While many were reputable, what set SBC apart was the depth of their team, the personalized attention, and the proven track record of successful admits to top-tier MBA programs. The decision to choose SBC was ultimately driven by their unparalleled expertise, and it's a decision I am incredibly grateful for.

SBC offers a unique and effective approach to MBA admissions. With Beth's individualized guidance, a team-based support system, and a wealth of resources, SBC goes above and beyond to ensure your application stands out. My successful admissions results speak volumes about the quality and impact of their services. If you are serious about securing a spot in a top MBA program, SBC is the consulting firm that will make a difference.

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I was admitted to Haas, Anderson, and Marshall with scholarships, and Stacy Blackman Consulting (SBC) played a significant role in my success.

After researching multiple MBA admissions consulting firms, I chose SBC for their reputation, professionalism, and authenticity. I sensed they genuinely cared about my goals and that they weren't just telling me what I wanted to hear. I also connected well with Sarah, my initial SBC contact, who skillfully paired me with Beth, my primary consultant.

SBC's Key Differentiators:
Beth Tidmarsh: More than a consultant, Beth genuinely sought to understand me, helping me craft an authentic and compelling application. Her invaluable expertise as a former Admissions Officer at Kellogg, along with her professionalism and genuine care, fueled my success.
Team-based Support: From Sarah to Beth to the flight test review team (also former admissions officers), SBC enhanced my applications with diverse perspectives and invaluable feedback.
Resource Database: Sample essays, interview questions, and school overviews made each stage of the MBA journey manageable.
For anyone seeking admission to top MBA programs, I wholeheartedly recommend SBC for their commitment to clients' success. Thank you, SBC! My experience exceeded my expectations, and I couldn't be happier.

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Beth is the best MBA consultant EVER! Got accepted to both M7 schools I applied to! Having worked with other MBA consultants previously, I can tell Beth is very knowledge about the overall application process, what each school is looking for, and how to help students succeed. Beth is extremely strategic, detail oriented, and personable. She helped me to design the strategy for my application and worked with me to execute out the strategy. I’m especially impressed by the letter of recommendation part, we covered who I should choose, what areas my recommenders should touch on and how to complement my overall application. In addition, after working her to update my resume, I got feedback from adcom team that “no need to spend any second on updating the resume” during resume review session. Most importantly, Beth is very sweet and I feel very comfortable to tell her my stories and she always responds to me within a few hours of reaching out to her.

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I wanted to make it clear: Beth was incredibly helpful and supportive with my application journey! Thank you SO SO MUCH for all of the help, support, mentorship, and kindness that you've offered me as I navigated my application journey. Beth always offered me very timely feedback of the highest quality. I just got accepted into an M7 school of my dream. I'm really grateful towards Beth! I really enjoyed working with Beth and she made the application process much less stressful and much more fun! I'd highly recommend Beth to any applicants! Her greatest strength was that she was very structured in her guidance and provided insightful coaching and mentoring. I also had a highly pleasant experience with SBC overall. Sarah was helpful in the early stages as well. Thank you everyone with SBC!

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MY SITUATION:

I applied to some of the top schools in 2018 for 2019 matriculation but didn't get invited to interview with any. I had a 3.8 undergrad GPA and 700 GMAT score (eventually earned a 760, but not in time for the 2018 applications). I thought that my statistics and job experience (5 years as an Engineer and Project Manager) were good enough to be competitive for the top schools, but that I needed to really shine in the application to have a shot.

I was INCREDIBLY skeptical about paying that much money for admissions consulting services, but I really wanted to get into a top MBA program. I justified the cost as follows: the difference in value of graduating with an M7 brand (OR a scholarship at a school outside of that range), is worth much more than the cost of the admissions consulting package. I used the same justification to take the GMAT several times and pay for tutoring, eventually earning a 760 on the test. Between the consulting services and the GMAT prep/tests, I spent around $10k, an absolutely insane amount.

EXPERIENCE:

I "interviewed" 3 of the consultants at SBC and chose to partner with Beth, largely because of her experience on the AdComm at Kellogg, my top choice program. Beth blew away my expectations and then some! She was incredibly organized, often starting new email threads when I tried to cram too many different topics into one thread, and always followed up multiple times to see how progress was going and if I would meet upcoming deadlines. She did a great job of pointing out places where my wording was weak, or where I didn't talk enough about my personal contributions to a project. I can't say enough positive things about my experience with Beth, and I HIGHLY recommend her as a partner if you plan to use consulting services.

RESULTS:

I interviewed and was accepted by 3 of the 7 schools I applied to: Darden, Kellogg, and McCombs (rejected by Columbia, Harvard, Sloan, and Wharton). I was nominated for a 3rd party fellowship at Darden (full tuition plus stipend) and offered a 50% tuition scholarship at McCombs.

LOOK-BACK:

I can confidently say that my application package would not have been nearly as good without the guidance Beth provided. I realize in hindsight that my approach to my first round of applications in 2018 was all wrong, and I wasn't thinking like an AdComm member. I think that was one of the most insightful things I learned through the process: how to think like an AdComm member.

If you find yourself wondering whether to partner with an Admissions Consultant, I recommend asking yourself the following questions:

1) Do I REALLY know what the AdComm members are looking for?
2) Do I have the time and energy to do the research to understand what a strong application looks like?
3) Do I have a friend who is willing to review dozens of essay revisions, and is also a strong writer?
4) Is the benefit (getting into your dream program, earning a scholarship) worth the cost of the services?

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TLDR; I am attending Harvard Business School this fall, and couldn’t haven’t done it without SBC & Beth! I applied to 6 schools in total, and received acceptances to 5: HBS, Wharton (scholarship), Booth (scholarship), Columbia, NYU Stern and waitlisted at Kellogg.

For some context - after tirelessly studying for the GMAT for 1.5yrs, I couldn’t get my score above 680. I ended up switching to the GRE and got a 319 (164Q, 155V), which is pretty mediocre for the schools I was applying to. I also came from a Tier 2 consulting firm, and am Asian American, so I knew that my story would be super duper important to help me with my below avg stats. Thus, I knew an MBA consultant was important to help me with tell my story – I spoke to 3 firms: 1) SBC, 2) Menlo Coaching and 3) a smaller boutique consulting firm.

First, I spoke to Menlo Coaching and they basically told me in a nicer way that my scores were not good enough to get into the schools that I wanted, and that I should try retaking and apply a year later. I had already taken the GMAT 7 times and GRE 3 times, expressed that I think I hit a ceiling, but I got the sense that they didn’t really believe in me simply because of my scores. On top of that, they didn’t list their prices on their website, which I thought was strange. My friend spoke to them and they quoted her $20k for a package, and I wasn’t comfortable with that price considering that they gave the vibe off that they didn’t even want me as a client because of my scores.

Next, I spoke to a boutique consulting firm, and while they were very nice, I didn’t get the sense that they had the resources or array of experience as a larger consulting firm. They did seem to believe in my story, but since it was only a 2 person shop, I wanted to talk to 1-2 more firms before making a decision.

I then spoke to Sarah Tsai at SBC and raised my concern about my scores. To this day I remember her saying “Don’t underestimate the power of a good story” – telling me that they have gotten people in with all types of scores and that my biggest challenge would be writing a story to differentiate me from fellow management consultants. She gave me two consultant options, and I ended up choosing Beth because her reviews were unique in that people talked about how much she went above and beyond, and also truly cared/believed in her people. This resonated with me and I can 100% attest to these attributes.

Beth from the beginning was AMAZING!! I literally cannot put into words of how great and instrumental of a partner she was throughout this emotional journey. I honestly don’t think I would have gotten into Harvard Business School without Beth’s help, because frankly I was happy to even get into one of the M7. But to get into 5 out of 6 schools is really a testament to SBC/Beth’s help as a partner.

+ Beth goes above and beyond in how meticulous and detail-oriented she is; I believe we went through 10 revisions for some of the school’s essays, and she made sure that every word and detail, whether it was in the essay or app was flawless
+ Beth is very knowledgeable of certain school nuances, and would tell me if there were certain things I should be aware of (for ex, she told me that Columbia really cares about interest in the school and suggested that I connect with students/visit. I immediately took PTO that month and went to visit the school, which was instrumental to talk about during my app/interview)
+Beth was VERY strong at looking at my holistic story across my essays and apps; many times, she would help take a step back and make sure that my essays and apps made sense together, and would suggest edits to places that needed more meat or didn’t tie coherently
+Beth helped instill a confidence in me that I honestly didn’t know existed. There were many times when I almost had an emotional breakdown and I literally said “I can’t apply to this school because I have no idea what to write for this essay” and she would bring up things that I didn’t even think about. She would always encourage me to "toot my own horn" in certain parts of my app and make sure that I presented my true self in my essays. Even throughout interviews and school visits, she was always cheering me on, and I think her support and excitement really helped me gain the confidence while I was interviewing

A very long review – but I just wanted to really give a huge shout out to SBC and Beth for all of their great work. I’m so pumped to be starting school this fall and I couldn’t have done it without them!

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Beth Tidmarsh is a FANTASTIC consultant and I couldn’t have asked for a better one! With her help, I was admitted to 5 of the 6 T10 schools I applied to; moreover, I received SCHOLARSHIP OFFERS FROM EVERY SINGLE SCHOOL ranging from 1/3 tuition to full tuition plus stipend! She also helped me strategically select which schools to apply to with her, so that I could carry over essays and other application materials to other programs on my own. As you will see below, Beth is far more than JUST a consultant, she is someone that truly cares about the people that she works with and truly desires that they be successful.

I decided to use an admissions consultant after applying unsuccessfully on my own a couple of years ago. I interviewed 4 top admissions consultancies (as ranked by P&Q) before ultimately selecting Stacy Blackman Consulting (SBC). I selected SBC because of the open and friendly nature of the people I chatted with as well as the responsiveness of everyone I spoke with (which I didn’t get from all the companies/individuals I connected with). From the opening call, SBC made it clear that they wanted to get to know me and I felt an immediate kinship with Sarah Tsai. From there, she introduced me to Beth Tidmarsh—whom I also connected with very well—and the rest is history.

From the very start, Beth was happy to work with me as much or as little as I wanted. We communicated frequently via email but, whenever I asked if we could have a call instead, she was happy to accommodate, always responding to me promptly and making herself available if something urgent came up. Beth was invaluable as a coach and confidant and I would even go so far as to call her a friend (as we still keep in touch even now that my application/decision process is over). If I missed a self-imposed deadline, Beth would send me a note checking in on me but would do so in a way that was supportive and encouraging. This helped me immeasurably. Applying to MBA programs is hard and applying to six programs is almost overwhelming, but Beth helped keep me on track and take things one day at a time, focusing on individual steps and putting together an achievable timeline which we reviewed regularly. In fact, I liked working with Beth so much that I occasionally found myself staying up late to complete a portion of my application just because I didn’t want to disappoint her. (Who wouldn’t want that kind of encouragement?!) One of Beth’s greatest attributes is her ability to help you weave your story and to feel confident that you belong in the programs you are applying to, giving you the confidence to excel in interviews and other interactions with the schools you apply to.

Beth took a genuine interest in me as an individual and helped me to select schools whose culture truly resonated with me and that met my other criteria including significant scholarship opportunities and strong ties to MBB consulting. Her previous experience as Director of Admissions for Kellogg’s Full Time MBA program was quite apparent as she helped me to (1) understand how schools thought about different facets of my application (2) consider the content of my essays and short answer questions from a holistic perspective (3) craft “my story” and prepare for each school’s unique interview process and (4) negotiate scholarship offers following admission. Beth frequently corresponded with other consultants at SBC and even occasionally asked them to review different components of my application if she felt that I could benefit from an outside opinion, which I also found to be a great asset while crafting my unique applications to each school. In conclusion, I highly recommend both Beth Tidmarsh and SBC!

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I highly recommend Beth and the entire team at SBC. Beth was my primary partner throughout the business school application process; I was ultimately accepted to Darden, Kellogg, Stern, Ross, and Fuqua (with a scholarship!). Based upon my numbers (3.3 GPA, 700 GMAT, not a particularly strong quant background), receiving this many admissions offers at such great schools is something that I truly didn’t think was possible for me.

I was referred to SBC through a personal connection and, following an initial conversation, knew that it was the right choice for me. Beth and the rest of the SBC team struck a perfect balance between providing constructive criticism on my school choices and essays while always being immensely supportive. I was constantly impressed by Beth’s deep knowledge of the MBA application process and schools. I also appreciated SBC’s team-based approach. I always felt that I was getting the most accurate answers possible to my questions.

I was also incredibly impressed by Beth’s ability to help me to elevate my admissions essays, while ensuring that my personal voice was always coming through. We did a mock interview which was very helpful and played a large part in my success in the interviews to come. Beth also pushed me to take “Math for Management” which strengthened my application through supplementing my minimal quant background and helped me to prepare for business school next year.

Lastly, amidst the incredibly stressful and daunting MBA admissions process, Beth was an amazing partner. I feel that she truly cared about me and went out of her way to build our relationship. She has also helped me to think beyond rankings and to really ascertain my “fit” at each of the schools that I applied to.

I’m so thankful that I made the decision to go with SBC and Beth!

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