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Product Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions All-in Services
Consultant Christina (SBC)
After having calls with most of the major consulting firms, I decided to work with Christina from SBC. Most of the other consultants I had met always told me how I was going to get into every top school right from the beginning without having an understanding of my profile. Christina was the only one to immediately point out specific key strengths as well as potential weaknesses and ideas to address them, as well as being realistic about my opportunities. This was exactly what I was looking for.
Working with Christina proved to be a pleasure from the start. Two words that come to mind when thinking about her are ORGANIZATION and DETAILS. Her approach is very structured, comprehensive and well thought-out, and her ability to focus on even the smallest details, strong points, and potential flaws is overwhelming (in a good way of course!). If there is ANY possibility any part of your application might have a positive or negative effect on your assessment she WILL find it, point it out and work with you to highlight or address it. Relentlessly.
On top of this, Christina has an especial ability to retain every single piece of information you provide and bring it up and find ways to use it (even after a very long time). She really tries to get to know you as best as possible and might even bring up a story or a small detail you told her months ago and hadn´t even thought of yourself to help you prove an important point in your essays or interviews! She really takes your application more seriously than you do...
Her understanding of all schools is mind-blowing (although she went to HBS I honestly think she has attended every MBA program), and she will use this knowledge to point out those parts of you that best fit each school and will explain how and why they are a good fit, providing really valuable advice. This is very helpful to understand what schools you should target too.
Personally (having even met her in person) she is an extremely nice and respectful person, and everything about her is completely genuine. She really cares for you and will do everything she can to maximize your opportunities. If you want to truly give your MBA applications your best shot, she is the only option!
I got accepted into my top 2 schools: HBS and Wharton/Lauder. I cannot recommend her services enough, I would give her 6 out of 5 stars!
Product Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions All-in Services
Consultant Christina (SBC)
Christina was the guiding light that I didn't know I needed. She took out all the stress and uncertainty from planning by clearly outlining the entire process, so I knew exactly how much work I should be putting in, and why.
She also helped me completely re-think and transform my story. My candidate profile that I submitted is completely unrecognizable from a draft that I would have put together on my own!
Most importantly, Christina truly brought out the best in me. I honestly don’t think that I’ve worked this purposefully or diligently on a project in a very long time!
Product Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions All-in Services
Consultant Beth (SBC)
Given the long, arduous, and mysterious nature of the MBA application process, I knew I had to hire a consultant - it was just a matter of which firm and which consultant.
I received a few recommendations from colleagues and friends. I made sure to do my full due diligence and spoke to 8 consultants at 4 firms. After speaking with Beth at SBC, I knew she was the perfect fit! From the get-go, Beth was a great listener, alleviated all of my concerns, and truly helped me strategize a plan to succeed in the process. Throughout our 7 months working together, Beth was there for me every step of the way.
I applied to 6 schools (I used Beth for 3), and got into one of my top choices: CBS! I am so excited to start in August!
I would 100% recommend Beth at SBC!
Product Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions All-in Services
Consultant Caryn (SBC)
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!
Product Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions All-in Services
Consultant Caryn (SBC)
Caryn was amazing to work with! I am a young candidate with average/below average GPA and GMAT from a mid-level consulting firm, so had lots of reasons to doubt my chances at the top programs. Whenever I was over-thinking or too in my head, Caryn helped me to calm down and think clearly. She helped me bring out my unique story and non-traditional career goals. I was eventually admitted to Stanford GSB, Wharton, Booth, and Kellogg!!! I could not have gotten here without Caryn's patience and dedication, or without SBC's extensive resources! The SBC flight test helped identify holes in my application package and I was able to talk to Caryn and a Wharton team based interview expert to prepare for my interviews. As someone who did not have many friends or mentors who had gone through the MBA application process, I initially felt completely lost. But with Caryn and SBC, I felt well-informed about how to handle every aspect such as class visits, email correspondence, mentioning low grades, etc. When I got my admissions, I could tell Caryn was almost as thrilled as I was! She really believed in me and was highly invested in the process. I highly recommend working with Caryn.
Product Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions All-in Services
Consultant Carrie - SBC
I am beyond grateful for my experience with Carrie and Stacy Blackman. Carrie was extremely helpful and proved to be an invaluable resource. Upon our first discussion, Carrie was able to help craft my unique story to make my MBA application well rounded and tightly knit. As I was not a traditional business school candidate since I wasn’t in a strictly financial field, she helps me create a personalized and strong essay. She always was prompt in her responses by getting to me within 24-48 hours and she made herself available to me as frequent as necessary. Draft after draft Carrie stayed positive and supportive which allowed me to keep me own motivation and expectations up to par. When I found out that I was granted an interview, Carrie was open to multiple mock interviews to minimize me anxiety. This proved to be extremely beneficial. From the start, I could tell that Carrie was extremely invested in my success and I couldn’t be more grateful that I was fortunate enough to work with her!
Product Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions All-in Services
Consultant Beth (SBC)
If you are at all like I was a year ago – reading this thread and thinking – is it worth it? THE ANSWER IS YES. Stop reading and go book Stacy Blackman Consulting now. SBC was invaluable in enabling me get into my dream school.
One thing is for sure in the application process -- you are going to have A LOT of questions. Maybe even doubts or concerns. Stacy Blackman Consulting will have the answers that you can TRUST and answers that are tailored to fit your INDIVIDUAL needs/skills/circumstance. This will make all the difference in enabling you to present yourself confidently, efficiently, and effectively in your written applications and in person interviews. I was amazed by how much my consultant, Beth, brought out the best in me. I have to say if you are lucky enough to work with Beth, you have hit the jackpot. Beth was nothing short of a dream. She was relentless, professional, insightful, supportive, meticulous, responsive, and worked her tail off to teach me how to put my best foot forward. I truly felt like I had superwoman on my side through this process – there to save the day if I needed her, but all the while coaching me on how to fly on my own!
In summary, go sign up for SBC and don’t look back. Their guidance is worth every penny. When you get that acceptance call from your dream school admissions, you will be so happy you did!!
Product Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions All-in Services
Consultant Maureen (SBC)
I cannot express how grateful I am for Maureen and Stacy Blackman. With the help, support, and resources of Maureen and Stacy Blackman, I found great success in my MBA applications. I was accepted to Tuck, Ross, and Fuqua, my top choices!
From my initial consultation with Sarah Tsai, I received customized and tailored advice from Stacy Blackman. Sarah matched me with Maureen based on my background and goals, and it was a great fit! Maureen took the time to really get to know my background, experiences, and goals, and worked with me to create a schedule and application plan. When I fell behind schedule due to disappointing GMAT scores, she helped and motivated me to stay on track and ensure that I ultimately met my round one deadlines. From the beginning, she set clear expectations and made me aware of my weaknesses. This allowed me to acknowledge and address these weaknesses in my application. Most significantly, I had a low GMAT quant score. While I felt discouraged, Maureen pushed me to retake the test multiple times, and even consider the GRE. She encouraged me to take advantage of all possible opportunities to ensure I submitted my best possible application.
Maureen and I worked on countless resume, essay, and email drafts. Because she really understood my experiences and goals, she helped me to create unique and personalized essays. She consistently emailed me back drafts the same day with strong edits and ideas. I emailed her daily with questions and concerns and she never failed to respond in a timely and thorough manner. Maureen was invested in my success throughout the whole process. She provided insight into the particular programs that I was applying to and helped me to differentiate my applications. She followed up with me after each interview and event that I attended. I am so incredibly grateful for Maureen and Stacy Blackman.
Product Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions All-in Services
Consultant Beth (SBC)
At first hesitant to sign-up for the all-in service as an applicant getting going ~2 months before applications were due, I can't vouch enough for the value Beth provided during my MBA application mission.
Beth helped structure my story as a unique applicant (despite a traditional background), provided extensive edits throughout the essay writing process (and complete story revamps), managed my timeline to a T and made it possible to go 3/3 on M7 schools as a white male with a finance background (something that I believed had put me at a disadvantage). Beth provided realistic expectations, valuable insights based on her past experiences, and was incredibly timely throughout.
Her helpfulness as part of the all-in package for Kellogg resulted in me using some of her services (hourly) for Michigan and Wharton as well. Ultimately, I was accepted to all 3 schools, which significant merit scholarships to both 2 of the schools. I can't vouch for Beth enough
Product Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions All-in Services
Consultant Meghan (SBC)
After being dinged at H/S/W last year, I decided to use SBC first for ding analysis, and ultimately as a resource in reapplying this year. I did a good bit of research before selecting them and did so because (a) they have a large team, many of which were adcom members at top business schools and (b) they demonstrated significant expertise in each interaction I had with them.
While using an admissions consultant is a major investment, if you've decided you're going to pursue an MBA the incremental cost is relatively small, and the benefit is real in ensuring you have a shot at your dream schools. I worked with Meghan, a former Wharton adcom member who knew the ins and outs of the application process, beginning with a 2 hour kick-off discussion on my past experience, career goals, and potential schools. She helped me sift through my various professional and personal experiences to determine which are worth highlighting in essays as I crafted my narrative. She also gave me very tangible advice to strengthen my application, including re-taking the GMAT to aim for a higher quant score (which I wouldn't have done otherwise) and revisiting my LoR strategy.
We then went through 4-5 rounds of edits on my resume and each essay for the schools I was applying to. The improvement from my first draft to final copy was marked, and I have Meghan to thank for much of that. Your consultant won't write your essays, but she can offer invaluable perspective on how best to position your story to stand out. She put me at ease throughout the process and was very accessible.
One other differentiator worth calling out it SBC's wealth of resources available to clients. These include a free flight test for those who purchase an all-in package (which is a dry run at a profile evaluation), a number of resources for each school on strategy for essays and interviews, and other resources who are available as a second/third opinion when needed. This is a large, well-established group that clearly knows what they're doing.
I was admitted to Booth and Wharton first round (2/2 for the schools I worked with Meghan on), and attribute a good deal of my success to the guidance she provided. I'd recommend Meghan and SBC more broadly as an excellent resource for those serious about gaining admission to top business schools.