Working with Dawn was an incredible experience and a key part of my successful admission to HBS. What set her apart was the time she took to truly understand me—not just my resume, but who I am as a person. Her thoughtful questions and genuine curiosity helped shape an application that was authentic and compelling. Dawn’s deep insight into the MBA admissions process and the nuances of each school was invaluable. On top of that, her strong, cheerful personality made even the most stressful moments feel manageable. I’m deeply grateful for her support and would highly recommend her!

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Dawn was instrumental in helping me achieve the best possible results I could have hoped for, including acceptance to my dream school (HBS), Wharton, Kellogg, and Booth.
Dawn put in a great deal of time and effort to listen to my story and craft a unique application strategy that highlighted what I was able to offer to MBA programs. She has deep knowledge of the application processes of top schools, which brought valuable insights. Additionally, when personal circumstances required me to significantly shift my application timeline, Dawn was flexible to work with what I needed. I would not have achieved the same success without her partnership,

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Dawn and the SBC team went above and beyond in every facet of the application process. When I started working with Dawn, I was unfamiliar with the MBA application process; I came from a non-traditional background, hadn't taken the GMAT yet, and wasn't sure about my future career goals or which schools would be good fits. Dawn's expertise and guidance were invaluable. She worked tirelessly to help craft my personal narrative, clarify my career goals, and do everything possible to leverage the strengths in my profile to create the most compelling and strategically-positioned applications possible. Dawn's knowledge of admissions trends and processes of the top MBA programs constantly shone through. Her essay guidance and frameworks were incredibly helpful, and her interview prep and mock interview ensured that I was as prepared as possible for my interviews.

SBC's Flight Test was also tremendously valuable. Amy provided actionable, detailed feedback on my application file, and the Flight Test experience added another layer of reassurance that my applications were as strong as possible.

I ended up being accepted to every school to which I applied, including Booth and Haas, with over $300,000 in combined scholarship offers, and I couldn't have done it without Dawn. I couldn't recommend Dawn and the SBC team more!

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I will be attending INSEAD next year thanks in no small part to Dawn’s help! Dawn took a truly holistic approach to developing and defining my story, which was essential to helping me stand out as an over-represented candidate. Dawn has highly detailed knowledge on all the programs I was considering, and she did a phenomenal job of helping emphasize different components of my background to tailor to what specific schools were looking for. Dawn has mastered the craft of business school applications with her unique approach, wealth of knowledge, critical thinking, and meticulous attention to detail, and I would recommend her to anyone looking to differentiate themselves from a sea of competitive applicants. Thank you, Dawn!

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As an international re-applicant from an overrepresented pool and with a master’s degree already my chances of getting in were low, much lower than the admissions percentage.

Thanks to Dawn, we did it!!! I received dual admission to HBS and GSB on the second attempt.

I would like to highlight some strengths that distinguish Dawn from all her colleagues:
– She is laser-sharp when identifying areas that I could improve and those that I could build upon to have a stronger application the second time around. Knowing where I could fall helped me make sure that I didn’t!
– Her meticulous methodical approach: she really does go line by line and does not try to cut corners
– Her supportive attitude, confidence in my success, and true care.
– Oh, and a smiley personality!

I also would like to thank wider SBC team:
- Amy, who was my flight tester (test drive of a full application) and provided a comprehensive and independent advice on how to strengthen my application even further
- Esther who had an introductory call with me, was very helpful in walking me through the packages and matched me with Dawn
- Large SBC database which was priceless, especially when understanding the differences between schools and when preparing for interviews

Very grateful to SBC and Dawn - would not be able to do this without them!

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Dreaming of just one admission to an M7 school. I applied to 6 of them and received acceptances to 4! I am so grateful to Dawn and excited to say that I will be matriculating at The Wharton School this fall!

After I decided to transition out of the military, I knew that a full-time MBA was the bridge that I wanted to cross to the private sector. While I felt that I had a good chance with my unique experience, I wanted someone to provide me with some direction. After my initial Plan Ahead call with Dawn, I knew that she was someone who truly goes against the “one size fits all” approach and fully supports an applicant’s future dreams during the process.

In the beginning (about 9 months out from the Rd 1 deadlines), Dawn provided me with actionable advice on how to strengthen my applications: try the GRE to compare with the GMAT, make impacts to my professional and personal communities in a COVID-inflicted environment, carefully decide between two different positions to serve my last duty in. I followed through on her recommendations, and I believe our work ahead of time truly set me up in the best position.

Once application preparation was in full-swing, Dawn would provide very customized feedback on my essays, resume, and recommender strategies in accordance with the school. While it wasn’t always easy going back to the drawing board, I really want to thank Dawn for not settling and just letting me have it my (wrong) way. Once you communicate who you are and what you want to do, she is not afraid to take more time and energy to help you get to the desired end goal. She has a gift for reading both for clarity and in between the lines.

Looking back, I was lucky to have some rocks to lean on throughout the stressful process. Dawn was a rock from Day 1, and I strongly recommend her to anyone who is serious about attending a top business school!

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Accepted by HBS and Wharton (with substantial merit fellowship) - very happy about the outcome of my cooperation with Dawn!

I am an international candidate, therefore I was not familiar with the US admissions process. From the very beginning, Dawn laid out step by step what we needed do and supported me along the way. I felt she truly cared and was very strategic. I also appreciated her kind and upbeat approach to getting things done.

All in all, I believe the investment was worthwhile. I will be going to my top-choice MBA program in the fall. Thank you Dawn!

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After receiving my acceptance to HBS, I immediately sent a note to Dawn: "DAWN, WE DID IT!!!". I say "we" because I truly could not have rendered such a thoughtful and thorough application without Dawn's remarkable guidance. From the beginning of the written application through the conclusion of my interview, Dawn provided clear, actionable, and insightful guidance that I would have been completely lost without. I never thought I'd be the one to say this, but I actually enjoyed the application process as I learned more and more about myself in my sessions with Dawn. Dawn's greatest strength - amongst many - is her ability to look granularly at every single element of an application (literally, line by line of an essay if she needs to) while also taking a holistic approach to ensure a compelling story is told for the admissions committee. Her guidance is also a masterclass in keeping the application process moving and progressing: she always keeps you informed of timelines, what progress needs to be made, and why she is recommending certain edits. When I had my intro call with Dawn, there were a few minutes of pleasantries followed by a tactical discussion of how we would succeed - after those short moments, I knew Dawn was best-in-class. For anyone thinking about applying to business school, I have two pieces of advice: 1) hire an admissions consultant, and 2) make sure it's Dawn. Thank you again, Dawn, for all of your help, I could not be more grateful.

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Before starting my MBA application, I spoke to at least 10 admission consultants. Stacy Blackman stood out to me because of consistently good reviews and also because I felt they were very straightforward while analyzing my profile.

I worked with Dawn Clare, who is one of their senior consultants. Dawn has a very high admit record for whoever works with her on a 4 school package.

My experience with her was extremely positive. I felt so comfortable discussing all my personal stories with her. Dawn has a strategic bent of mind to use the stories and help form strong narrative for the essays. She helped me distinguish my profile which was specially important given I come from an overcrowded background (Finance / India). Her way of working with the candidates is very interesting. She makes the process so smooth - I was able to work on my essays in a very stress free manner compared to my colleagues who used other consultants and were overwhelmed with the process most of the times.

I would STRONGLY suggest anyone to work with her. For me, it was a completely worthwhile investment.

I would be going to Columbia Business School next fall - thanks to Dawn!!

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Trust the process. That's what I kept telling myself when decided to re-apply to the top 2 business schools in the world. I knew even an interview was beyond a long shot after being dinged without an interview in 2016 Round 2 but after the previous year's rushed and half hearted submission, I was determined to give it my all.

I vetted both MBAMission and SBC and after my introductory call with Dawn I knew I had found my match. SBC's approach was more introspective, not formulaic, and was specific to who I was as an applicant and the experiences that had shaped me into who I was. I was indeed a unique candidate and Dawn had a unique approach that was tailored to me, my experiences and my story. Her in depth knowledge of both schools and their specific applications helped put me at ease and gave me confidence that I could get past the black box of admissions and get to the interview stage. Not only did I get interviews at both schools but I got offer letters from both as well. I would not have made it without her help and guidance.

I would highly recommend SBC to anyone who is considering applying for an MBA. The investment is well worth it.

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