Caryn (SBC) Reviews

I found out about SBC through a referral, and after my initial consultation with Esther I could tell SBC was going to be the right choice! I went for the all-in package and could not be happier with my choice! I was accepted into 3 of my 4 schools (the 4th was a waitlist), including HBS!! Something I never would have thought possible prior to going through this process.


Caryn was amazing! She previously worked as an admissions officer and had tons of knowledge, not only on the program she had worked for, but on all the schools I applied to. From the beginning, she took the time to genuinely understand me, my experiences, and my goals. She helped me figure out which schools would be the best fit and was with me through every step of the application process, helping me craft my story as a non-traditional candidate. The application process can be very intense, and having Caryn on my side made it so much better! She was always very honest, and provided very constructive feedback (with a quick turnaround) throughout the process and kept me on-track.

SBC has a ton of helpful resources and lots of officer intelligence in-house. Not only did Caryn have experience as a former admissions officer, but Beth (also fantastic), conducted my “flight test” prior to submitting my first application. I also worked with Erica to prepare for my HBS interview, and went in feeling very prepared.

I have already recommended Caryn and SBC to my friends considering applications, and will continue to do so. Absolutely fantastic experience!

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To start with some general context, I predominantly have an engineering background and am currently in consulting. I started the application process with zero background info/tips on b-school apps and felt totally at a loss. I pretty quickly realized I needed help and I spoke with several different consulting firms and actually didn't have a great start with SBC. My intro call was with Bill who I didn't quite connect with so I asked if Caryn had availability because I had read all her raving reviews. And man, am I glad I did. After speaking with Caryn I immediately knew I had found the perfect person. You can tell she is incredibly experienced and was able to immediately put my mind at ease as she took me through her overall process, what B-schools are looking for, what she thought about my candidacy and my profile, etc.

In terms of the general application process of working through brainstorming ideas, essay revisions, etc, Caryn simply could not have been better. She helped me shape my profile to highlight all the strengths I had and paid particular attention to make sure my application as a whole worked well together. One thing in particular I liked was that whenever I had ideas that weren’t the best, she would always provide the rationale for why and she could always tell if I felt comfortable with the decision or if we needed to talk through things a little more so I felt more confident. I quickly learned to trust her which led to offers from Wharton($$), Sloan, Booth, and Kellogg! It’s been incredible and I absolutely would not have gotten into these schools without her help! Also, once my offers came in I was in a bind on where to go because of some personal factors, but she had a long conversation with me and helped me work through where to pick which I’m really grateful for.

Overall, I highly highly recommend working with Caryn. She is the kindest, most down-to-earth person who gets incredible results!

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I had the pleasure of working with Caryn throughout this past application cycle. After applying to five of the M7 schools, I was offered interviews at four and chose to interview at three. I ended up receiving significant scholarships from two of the schools and was waitlisted at the remaining program. Coming from an untraditional background, with issues such as gaps in my education history, I was concerned about my chances at a top MBA program.

Caryn was incredibly supportive throughout the entire process, helping me be deeply introspective when refining my career goals and reflecting on my past experiences. By using her expertise as a former admissions officer, she then helped me craft my story in a way that best highlighted these experiences, fully showcasing what I would bring to an MBA class while meeting the nuance required for each unique essay prompt across the various schools. In addition to Caryn, I received great support from the entire SBC staff and was grateful for the database of application resources SBC has available.

Prior to starting my MBA admissions process, I spent a considerable amount of time researching different admissions consultants. Ultimately, I felt that Stacy Blackman’s comprehensive services, proven track record, and robust roster of former adcoms would help me put forth the best applications possible. I could not be happier with my decision, and I would highly recommend Caryn and SBC to anyone considering the services of an admissions consultant during the MBA admissions journey.

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Knowing I wanted to employ a consultant in my MBA application process, I interviewed several firms and spoke with no less than 5 consultants before deciding on Caryn, who was highly ranked as a consultant already at the time. Working with Caryn, she was proactive, responsive, and I can tell her years of experience as an adcom officer lent her true expertise when it came to MBA admissions. Most importantly, she helped me to craft my story and explain my somewhat unorthodox post-MBA goals in a way that was both true to myself and worked well for the admissions process.
It was upon her suggestion that I applied to the Lauder/Wharton joint program, which we realized was an extremely good fit given my background and future goals, and where I will be matriculating this Spring (2020). Really happy with the guidance Caryn and the broader SBC team provided (including the Flight Test, and mock interviews) during this nearly year-long journey. Would highly recommend to anyone looking to apply to top programs, and are looking to craft/refine their story to stand out from the multitudes of applicants with competitive but common stats/scores/backgrounds!

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At the start of my MBA application journey, I had intro calls with consultants at many of the major firms (Fortuna, Veritas, SBC, etc.). The intro call with SBC was all I needed to realize that the firm struck the perfect balance between having unparalleled resources, an outstanding track record, and a genuine interest in my success.

Instead of merely assigning me to a consultant based on my profile or target school, Bill gave me suggestions for SBC consultants who he thought would be a good fit for my working-style and application strategy more broadly. I had intro calls with numerous SBC consultants before choosing to work with Caryn Altman.

I worked with Caryn on applications for five schools and ended up getting into four of them (Booth, Kellogg, Tuck, and Fuqua – Fuqua with scholarship). I come from an overrepresented applicant pool, non-feeder firm, and have a lower GMAT score than the average of almost every school I applied to. I owe a tremendous amount of my success to Caryn who was nothing short of terrific throughout every phase of the application process. She has an imitate knowledge of what ad coms at top programs are looking for and was able to use that knowledge to help me shape my story to highlight the unique characteristics of my profile in essays, interviews, etc.

I’m so thankful for Caryn and the rest of the team at SBC for turning my dream into a reality!

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Caryn was absolutely instrumental in my journey towards getting into Wharton and Kellogg! I decided in late September to apply to round two, and shopped around several consulting firms before deciding on SBC due to the candidness & accessibility of their consultants. I applied to 4 schools with Caryn, and she created a timeline that helped me stay accountable through the application process.
Prior to working with Caryn, I had disconnected ideas of how why I wanted to go to business school, and what I hoped to achieve post-MBA, but no real connections between the thoughts. Caryn helped me link all the different ideas together to develop a cohesive story for my applications and interviews. She provided prompt, constructive, and actionable advice to help me fine-tune my essays and resume. Then during the interview process, she provided key tips on what to expect from admissions officers during interviews, and set me up with other consultants from the SBC team for follow-up practice interviews to help me be better prepared for my HBS and Wharton interviews (which I definitely was!).
Highly recommend Caryn to anyone who's seeking help on their MBA application journey!

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I had an awesome experience in working with Caryn this past summer. I was applying to 6 schools for Round 1, and naturally was anxious to dive straight in and being writing essays. She helped me take a step back and helped me craft a thoughtful story about what I’ve done, who I am, and who I want to be with respect to my career. Nailing this story upfront was invaluable, as I was able to consistently draw from it when writing essays all the way through interviews.

The beginning of the essay portion was definitely a struggle for me, but Caryn was extremely helpful in going through no less than 10 drafts of my first essay to make sure we were getting off on the right foot. Furthermore, she was always direct and honest with her feedback, which made me trust her as I knew when she did sign off on something, it was because she truly felt it was ready for submission. Once I had some momentum going, she really helped me stay focused on one step at a time, making a daunting checklist feel far more doable.

Finally, during interview season Caryn was great with interview prep and provided some really helpful pointers after my mock interview session. I also really appreciated that she continued to check in as interview and admissions decisions were released – it showed me that she was personally invested in my success as a person, not just as a client. In the end, I received acceptances from Wharton, Kellogg, Haas, and Ross, and her help and support along the way were a significant factor in making that possible.

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I worked with Caryn and SBC for class of 2021 applications and found working with her incredibly valuable. The decision to work together paid off as I was accepted to Wharton which was my top choice, as well as Kellogg and UNC.

Caryn took the time to get to know me and my background first and then helped me craft the best possible story and application strategy based on my prior experiences and future goals. She then continued to provide tremendous value through all phases of the application process by providing candid and straightforward feedback and pushing me to produce my best work in my applications. After I submitted my applications, Caryn helped me prepare for the interviews and SBC also scheduled and conducted a mock team based discussion for the Wharton interview, which was extremely beneficial for me.

Caryn was recommended to me by a friend and Wharton alum, so I did not explore other firms, but I’m confident that Caryn and the SBC platform put me in the best possible position to be admitted to business school. Caryn has a wealth of experience and knowledge in the MBA application process and the SBC platform further provided an astounding amount of resources that I was able to leverage throughout the application process.

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I first started working with Caryn when I signed up for the MBA Process – Plan Ahead package. This option was very helpful since I didn’t know where I stood with the schools I was thinking about applying to. I knew I didn’t have the best background with a below average GPA among the top schools and a non-elite undergraduate degree so I was going to need as much help as possible. Caryn was able to determine what my strengths were and how I could address my weaknesses ahead of time while clarifying what schools would be a reach and where I would be competitive.

Later on, I signed up for the All-in-package for four schools. I didn’t have any friends, co-workers, or family that had gone through an MBA application so I knew I was going to need quality advice and guidance on the process. Caryn was able to push me to bring out my best authentic self and craft my unique story in all aspects of the application. It can be a very demanding and tough process, especially when going through multiple drafts, but Caryn always brought a positive attitude and helped me stay on track.

A couple of the unique resources SBC offers such as the flight test and interview prep helped tremendously. The flight test was the perfect tool to get a different perspective from someone who had not spent time with me going over my profile and would view the application in the same sense an ad com would read it.

When I received the news that I got into my dream school of Kellogg, I could not wait to share the news with Caryn! Not only did Caryn give me the tools to complete my best application but she also gave me the confidence that this was possible. I knew she was truly invested in my success and believed in me the entire time, which was a very important aspect to me as I picked a consultant. I cannot say enough positive things about my experience and would highly recommend Caryn for anyone applying to business school.

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I worked with Caryn and SBC for c/o 2021 applications and found the service incredibly valuable. The decision to work together paid off as I was accepted to Kellogg and Ross.

As my consultant, Caryn was there to guide me through every step of the application process from honing my application strategy to interview prep. She is always straightforward and honest in her feedback and extremely responsive. Overall she was an incredible coach throughout the process, keeping me on track and calm through the pressure of the application process. She pushed me to do my best work and find my authentic, unique story. When I shared the good news with her it was awesome to hear how excited she was for me!

I looked at other firms but ultimately chose Caryn and SBC because of their wealth of admissions experience (Caryn is former admissions at Kellogg). SBC has a great approach that leverages this knowledge. For example, my application was "flight tested" by another consultant with adcom experience to identify any gaps or weaknesses from an outside perspective. I'd highly recommend Caryn and SBC!

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