Lisa (SBC) Reviews

I worked with a dream team at SBC and am more than happy about the results. The thing that stood out to me about SBC was the amazing range of talent and experience. Wanted admissions committee eyeballs on my essays. Check. Wanted someone who understood marketing and admissions strategy. Check. Wanted interview expertise to help with interview prep. Check. Because I had several people weighing in I was able to get exactly what I needed. I had coaching in writing. I had assistance with strategy. I had amazing feedback, perhaps more than I wanted sometimes in the moment when I was told to redo or rethink something! I learned that there are many skills needed to make a high quality application. I first worked on my strategy and my story and then got down to the finer details. Lisa helped with it all. Honestly they gave me more resources than I could possibly have used, but I used what I needed, always got help when I asked and had a terrific guide helping me thru it all. The process was scary at times as I navigated the hows and whys but I was ultimately successful and say thank you.

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I was referred to SBC by a friend who used the service last year and am very glad that I went through with it. The entire SBC team was extremely professional and helpful. My personal consultant, Lisa Anderson, was fantastic. She always made herself available, gave constructive feedback on my applications and was simply a pleasure to work with. She was also extremely responsive which made the process run that much more smoothly. Although I was waitlisted at my top choice, I was admitted to three top 20 schools (including a scholarship at one) and waitlisted at another top 10 school. The investment is definitely worth it and I want to thank (again) the team at SBC and especially Lisa.

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I cannot say enough thanks to Lisa Anderson at Stacy Blackman! She was the best! Without her, I wouldn't have had opportunity to pick from Booth, Stern, Anderson and Foster (with scholarship at both Anderson and Foster).

As an older applicant who is trying to make a career switch, I was initially very discouraged after talking to some other consultants who beat m age disadvantage to no end. I didn't think i would have much a chance of getting into any of these top schools, especially my post-MBA career goal is non-traditional as well. Lisa was honest yet extremely supportive from the beginning. She made me feel at ease with my career path and school selection, and I didn't even think about my age issue after talking to her (while it was my biggest concern.) There is a lot of work and stress involved in the whole application process, so I am glad that I had her as my mentor and cheerleader the entire time.

She was very responsive and timely in all of our communications. I had something for her EVERYDAY and she always got back to me before the end of my work day. We went back and forth about 15 times on my first application essay. And she did not simply edit the flow/words of my essays - she actually made me think harder about my goals and aspirations, and how to present them in a cohesive manner. She was also very accommodating with my time even though we are two time zones apart. She always let me chat with her in the evenings (for an hour each time) when it was more convenient for me after work. (This was very different from my initial experience with another consultant who refused to talk to me after business hours when she was hours ahead of me.)

After getting the admission offers from these schools, she was extremely patient in terms of listening to me making more evaluations on my schools and my goals. Her feedbacks were still timely and honest just as before.

I am so glad that I worked with Lisa. She was not just a consultant to me - I consider her my mentor. I owe my admission success to her.

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Working with Lisa and SBC has been a truly great experience. From day one she was able to break down the daunting process of putting together an MBA application into smaller tasks, thereby reducing my stress level considerably. Her guidance allowed me to concentrate on putting together the best application possible. She helped me to discover and focus on the unique and positive aspects of my background and experiences that would appeal to admissions committees. Whenever I found myself stuck, she always had a different perspective that helped me to find a solution. She was always readily available via email and phone whenever I needed her advice. With her help I was able to gain admissions to the University of Texas, SMU, and Duke, the only three schools I applied to. I would not hesitate to recommend Lisa and SBC to anyone looking for a professional admissions consultant.

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I have the highest recommendation for Lisa and SBC. I could not have asked for more during my application to an EMBA program. In completing research on the internet I knew SBC was a top notch support service for MBA applicants. Even with the strong reviews of SBC, Lisa exceeded all of my expectations. I had a low college GPA and barely met work requirements to be considered by schools that I desired to apply. In short, I considered myself a reach candidate for elite schools. Lisa rounded my applications using the SBC process perfectly and did an outstanding job in interview prep so that I could highlight my strengths and market myself as an asset to each program. Her help paid off, I was admitted at 2 of my dream schools. Thanks to her help, I was able to choose between my dream programs and will now be alumni of an elite school. Outside of the results, Lisa was a great person to work with. I felt like we were a team and she was just as eager to hear the results of each school as I was. Further, she was glad to help with any questions that I had and talk through each aspect of the process in detail. Again, I am extremely happy with the results we achieved, supported significantly by Lisa. I will gladly provide a recommendation on her behalf to anyone requiring an MBA consultant.

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Words really can't say express how thankful I am to Stacy Blackman Consulting and particularly to my consultant, Lisa Anderson. Without Lisa's guidance, encouragement and help, I am convinced I would not have gotten into business school. The entire application process was daunting and given my sub par GMAT and GPA, I was not feeling confident that I could even get into business school. I owe so much to Lisa from that very first phone call, she was able to build me up and actually made the entire process fun. She was very organized, professional, prompt and always available for anything I needed. I was constantly amazed at the quick turnaround for all my emails and calls. She challenged me and always gave me great constructive criticism so that I was able to present myself in a polished and compelling manner. She really believed in me and I don't think I would have ever received this much attention or hands on treatment anywhere else. Thank you so much for giving me this second chance!!!!!

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I had a great experience with Stacy Blackman Consulting and would recommend it to other prospective students. Lisa was with me every step of the way and quick to respond to my many questions. She really exceeded all of my expectations. Eventually I was accepted to my first choice (Wharton) and I know that Lisa played a huge role.

Coming from a military background, my biggest concern was translating my experiences into something that the civilian ADCOMs would understand and relate to. Lisa helped me do this incredibly well. By the end I had crafted a "brand" for myself that I was proud of.

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From start to finish, the team at Stacy Blackman was as professional as they come. Esther Magna did a great job identifying my needs as an MBA applicant, and what consultant may be the best fit, rather than just randomly assigning me to the first available consultant. I also had the pleasure of having an introductory call with Lisa Anderson, my soon to be consultant, at no charge, just to see if we would work well together and I shared my goals and she shared her thoughts. I really appreciated the time they took to make sure that I was comfortable moving forward with the comprehensive service, because after all, it is an investment. I did move forward, and Lisa Anderson could not have been more professional. From day one she began taking some of the pressure off of the application process (I was also travelling extensively for work, and took the GMAT 3 times during the application process) and providing sound guidance on the best way to attack the essays, interviews, and applications. I was not the strongest GMAT/GPA (620/2.9 from top 25 US University - although after applying, I did increase to a 660 and notified schools), but had strong work experience and she helped me leverage this in the best way possible in the application. I'm happy to say I was accepted to Goizuetta and Tepper, and still on the waitlist at UNC. There is no doubt in my mind that I would have seriously trouble getting into these schools without Lisa and the Stacy Blackman team's help, and if I were to do this all over again, I would have hired Stacy Blackman earlier!

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When I first started researching MBA admission consultants, I had no idea of how I would go about making my choice. After a couple of free consultations I was still undecided until I spoke with Esther Magna at Stacy Blackman. Instantly we made a connection, she didn’t candy coat my weakness - BS from a state college, low GPA- rather she discussed the positives I had and how they should be promoted. Esther helped match me with my consultant Lisa Anderson. From the beginning Lisa was a great resource, very communicative and at times my own personal cheerleader. She helped guide me with school selection and was an adamant cheerleader for me through my three GMAT attempts.

I wrote all my own essays, but Lisa was there to not just help with grammar, but more importantly she kept me on task with what the question was asking. I have to admit that at times I strayed away from the question and she was extremely helpful in pointing me back in the right direction. Every time I sent her a draft she had it back to me in less than a day, usually I received back that same day.

I worked with her on applications to six schools. In the end I was waitlisted at two schools and received admittance to the other four, all of which offered me scholarships. Three of the schools gave me merit aid that amounted to full tuition and fees in either scholarships or fellowships or a combination of both. The fourth school gave me half tuition Forte Fellowship. I know that without Lisa’s and SBCs helping me to market myself to these schools I would not have received as many admission offers nor the substantial amount of financial aid that I was awarded. I highly recommend SBC; the amount of return is substantial for your investment.

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I was referred to Stacy Blackman Consulting by a friend at Sloan. I had several free consultations with various companies, but felt best about Stacy Blackman based on competency and chemistry. As a younger candidate from a non-traditional business background, I was unsure whether I would be accepted to business school, let alone a top school.

My first discussions were with Esther, who was wonderful and got me off to a great start. I ultimately chose Lisa to be my consultant, and it turned out to be a great fit. I purchased a five-school package and applied to four schools independently.

From the beginning, Lisa was an incredible coach and cheerleader. She helped me focus and understand how to clearly present my unique background and strengths in leadership, research, and academia, in a way that bschools would appreciate. She was invaluable in helping me refine my resume and stories. She advised me not only about what to include, but what not to include in my essays and interview. She took the time for several phone conversations when I felt email correspondence wasn’t enough. There were a few periods when my job became especially hectic and I procrastinated on applications. Lisa would considerately check in and helped keep me motivated and on track. She provided advice and pep talks before each of my interviews, which helped me prepare well and feel confident.

Lisa was a pleasure to work with. She is intelligent, extremely professional, insightful, highly reliable, timely, and has a great sense of humor. I was accepted to five schools, four of them with scholarships. I am going to a top 15 school next year. Beyond the ranking, it is a school I am thrilled about attending because it is such a fantastic fit. I highly recommend SBC.

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