THIS IS WHAT A CONSULTANT SHOULD BE LIKE!!!

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!