I worked with Jed Sturman on a 4-school comprehensive package and was accepted to one of my top choices: Yale SOM. Jed was extremely thorough in his approach and helped me craft my non-traditional background into a unique and marketable story. It was truly a pleasure working with him and I highly recommend his services. I explored several different consulting services, and SBC seemed the most professional from the outset. Jed, worked with me to set up a reasonable work schedule and helped me stick to it. His insights into school selection were also valuable. He wanted to me to apply to some safety schools, but I choose not to. Thankfully I will be attending Yale SOM!

Read More

Because I had a lot of friends at business school, I felt I had a good handle on the admissions process and initially decided to go it alone. I was VERY skeptical that paying someone to help me could top the advice I would get from a very tight friend who was super smart and knew me well. I worked solo on two applications round 1 and then fairly late in the game, three weeks before my round 1 deadlines, decided to throw in two more. Because I had so little time, and the final two felt like stretches, I caved and hired Stacy Blackman Consulting. BEST. DECISION. EVER. Why? Well, first of all, I was successful. I applied to two more competitive schools and got in. However, of the first two that I applied to on my own, I received one admit and one rejection. Not just that...it was so much harder doing it on my own as I had no idea whether I was approaching things in the right way. So, I was extremely stressed, burned out...basket-case.... It MAY be possible to ask friends, weed through all the info available online, read books, review websites and replicate the expertise I got from the team at Stacy Blackman but who has time for that? Plus I had a hard time knowing what info was actually quality - there is so much junky, BAD information available online. When I was solo, I always questioning, and ultimately I know now that I did make some pretty big mistakes in the way I approached my essays. I also want to say that the interview support I received from Stacy Blackman was nothing short of stellar. Bill, who helped with the interview prep, gave me some very simple exercises to help me focus my answers, and it transformed the experience for me. A lot of the questions I practiced were very similar to the ones I was asked. AND I felt relaxed and in control during my real things. So - YES I am grateful, no longer a skeptic and just on top of the world. Thank you to Stacy Blackman Consulting and to Meredith.

Read More

I had very high expectations when I hired SBC. My brother and his
roommate both worked with them and had very positive results.
Plus I was writing a big check and they had quite a reputation.
So I expected professionalism and excellence, and results. Almost
a year after deciding to engage with them, I am happy to report
that they did not let me down at any turn. I may have driven them
crazy at several points along the way, but I definitely received
the insights, support and level of service that I was looking
for. When I initially met with my consultant I knew that I had
many stories to tell, and there were many angles that I could
take. But I felt extremely scattered and overwhelmed as I did not
know how to weave it together, what to leave out etc... The HBS
essay especially threw me as there was so much I wanted to convey to my first choice school and I was not even sure if I should be submitting anything at all. My consultant helped me weed through everything and brought a calm, expert, outside perspective, helping me bundle ideas together and form the pieces of my strategy. There was a very systematic approach that helped me to see the big picture and fill in details. I appreciated the
confidence with which my consultant directed me - of course I
could do as I wished but he absolutely had no doubts with regards
to the way he advised me and that boosted my confidence in the
path we took. The fact that I could leverage additional SBC
resources throughout the process was also very helpful. Knowing
that I had some extra reviews from others on the team just added
to the thoroughness. I truly recommend Stacy Blackman Consulting - great approach, great team, excellent process. And...oh yeah -
I am HBS bound.

Read More

I spoke with 11 different firms when deciding who to work with on my applications. It was easy to axe out 8 of them. Many were quite new to the business and I felt that if I had the opportunity to work with a company that's been around for a decade, then why not? Why would I go with someone who had a 5 year or less track record? Plus several of them were not professional or terribly responsive just when setting up the initial calls to gather information. I thought it can only go downhill from there. Ultimately it came down to Stacy Blackman, Veritas and MBA Mission. Veritas felt like a machine, very big -in fact they tout being the biggest on their website which was not something I liked. Also, they clearly focus on test prep, college admissions and other areas. MBA Mission also has a law school arm. I liked the MBA focus at SBC. I also liked the fact that I had many options for reviews with SBC. I definitely took advantage of this when working with them. My consultant Sherry was awesome, but I also had other members of the team check in which Sherry organized for me. When you are trading ten emails a day with your consultant - it's nice to get that outside perspective from a new person. In terms of my experience with Sherry - it was spectacular. It was a true pleasure to work with her day in and day out. She went the extra mile for me every single day and I know she cared very much about my outcomes. This is more than just a gig to make $$ for her. I don't know what I would have done without the support of Sherry and SBC in general and highly recommend using them.

Read More

I had an excellent experience with Stacy Blackman Consulting. I worked with Bill and he knew exactly what I needed to do to present myself in the best possible light. Unlike other consultants I interviewed who said I didn't have the pedigree, the GPA, or the GMAT. Bill believed in me and encouraged me to set my bar high and let the cards fall where they may. In the end I was admitted to every school I applied to, including Wharton (my first choice).

It is easy for a consultant to take an ‘A’ candidate and make them an ‘A+’ candidate, but it takes someone with real talent to take a ‘B’ candidate and show the Adcom why they are really an ‘A+’. My experience interviewing with consultants was that they tended to be ‘A’ candidates themselves, and were not sure how someone could win without impeccable credentials. In contrast, Bill believed in me as a person and was able to use that belief to help me take my career and candidacy to the next level.

You can't go wrong with Bill and the SBC team.

Read More

I was truly very fortunate enough to select Stacy Blackman as my consulting firm. I was paired up with Meredith during this strenuous process, and she did a phenomenal job guiding me through this process. I had only applied to two schools, Harvard Business School & Wharton, and as a result of her thoughtful guidance and feedback throughout this process, I was fortunate enough to have received admission into both schools. I am incredibly excited about the opportunity and realize how much more difficult it would have been without the support of SBC, including Meredith, the Flight Tester (Lisa) and Bill, who reviewed my essays mid-way. Thank you!

Read More

I am an executive leader with 13 years of executive management experience who applied to several EMBA programs only to be denied two years in a row. I was very discouraged and frustrated when a friend recommended I contact Stacy Blackman Consulting. I contacted SBC and found everyone in the firm kind and helpful. During the first phone call with my consultant, Sherry Holland, I was sure that she is the one who going to make it happen. Her support, expertise and guidance were impeccable. She was a confident and a secure base for me as well as a knowledgeable consultant who put all her time to ensure my success. This year with Sherry's help and rigorous preparation for my interview, I sailed through it with confidence and was admitted to my dream school without even having to take the GMAT!

Without Sherry's help, I know I would not have been admitted. I recommend SBC and Sherry Holland if you want a true professional who will support you and always be honest with you. She always said: I am going to tell you what you need to hear, not necessarily what you want to hear in order to make you a stronger candidate.It is proven to me that no other consulting firm understands the admission process like SBC does.

Read More

I actually worked with another consulting firm (referred by Manhattan GMAT) on my round one application to HBS last year and was extremely dissatisfied with the experience, long before I wasn't accepted at HBS. He was negligent, and I didn't have anyone else at the firm to support me. The contrast between working with that consultant and working with Margaret and SBC was remarkable. Margaret put in a tremendous amount of time providing thoughtful insights about my essays, getting on the phone with me for discussions, being patient with my paranoid questions, and more. She put in a great deal of time getting to know me and was always paying attention to me. She was also always responsive, whether it was the middle of the day or the middle of the night. Any question I asked her, no matter how random or paranoid, or during what part of the process was answered quickly and thoroughly. I can't say enough great things about working with Margaret. She gets high marks all around from me, and I would HIGHLY recommend her to any other potential applicant. The support from the SBC team to make sure Margaret and I were on track was also essential. That is why I selected SBC for my reapplication. I needed the reassurance from a stellar consultant and also from the Admissions Officer review on the SBC team.

Read More

I at first hired the Blackman team to help me for just two hours. My brother recently graduated from Columbia and was willing to help me. So I purchased a few hours as just an extra bit of help. My brother was helpful in some ways but after submitting my first application I felt there was more that I could have done, and felt uneasy about my overall approach. The two hours that I had spent with Caryn at Stacy Blackman added more structure to my writing, and I felt that I had a more well thought out strategy. I decided to hire Caryn for a full two school package. Caryn and I worked well together and there was obviously a much more professional dynamic than working with a relative. She guided me through in a way that took a lot of uncertainty and stress out of the equation. We had several calls where I was in a panic and she calmed me down and helped me to work through issues that I was nervous about. There were issues that I never would have considered that she brought to my attention. I also had a couple of problem areas on my application and she helped me to rework the way I presented them so that they were not really problematic. This turned out to be a great investment and I would absolutely hire her again. In working with SBC about 85% of my time was spent with Caryn so she is the only one that I can speak to in detail. However, I did interact with several other members of the team - Bill, Lisa, Kevin, Esther...and they were all impressive and knowledgeable. As I head to school in the Fall I am very grateful for the support and guidance that I received and would refer anyone friend their way!

Read More

My experience with Stacy Blackman was amazing throughout the entire application process! Beginning with the application strategy, Bridget (my hand-selected personal consultant) and I worked closely to explore my past academic and professional experiences, areas of greatest strength and weakness, and personal passions in order to crystallize my ultimate goals. This process was critical to the overall application as it enabled me to become truly inspired by and motivated towards the MBA experience.
Next, Bridget diligently assisted me in selecting the individual schools to which I would apply. This process was equally crucial as the level of wisdom and pragmatism provided by Stacy Blackman was undoubtedly a foundational element of my eventual success. Bridget also helped me work on my strategy around recommenders as deciding which recommenders to use where can be tricky, and more importantly, Stacy Blackman’s method enables applicants to provide recommenders with a clear and focused outline of one’s application strategy; this helps the recommenders provide the best and most impactful recommendation possible.
Most importantly, Bridget worked tirelessly with me on the short answer questions, required essays, and optional essays for each school which I was partnering with Stacy Blackman on. I cannot overemphasize how necessary it is to have Stacy Blackman and someone like Bridget working with you on your essays. I am an excellent, well-above average analytical writer, and this is the one area that I had always excelled in academically. However, I can honestly say that my essays would have been an absolute disgrace without Bridget’s guidance. Throughout multiple drafts and rewrite processes, Bridget helped me hone my application strategy and goals into pointed, strategic, and impactful essays that clearly answered each question being asked, while maintaining a strong sense of my personal voice and being sure to always highlight the ever-critical topics of “why me” and “why this school”/”why this program”.
And when it came time for the interview phase, Bridget was right there to prep me. However, one of the most valuable aspects of Stacy Blackman’s program is the way in which the application strategy and essay processes generate so much passion for the MBA experience and so much involvement with each school’s materials that you are already an expert on yourself and each school when it’s time for the interviews.
For reference, I am a 26 year old male, I went to a top-20 liberal arts college and graduated with a low 3’s GPA (non-econ major), and took the GRE. However, with Stacy Blackman’s help, I will now be attending NYU Stern in the fall. I truly believe that without Bridget and Stacy Blackman’s assistance, I would not have gotten into Stern or the multiple other programs I was admitted to. Lastly, one top-20 program offered me a $48k merit scholarship, which would equate to an 800% direct return on my Stacy Blackman investment (that completely disregards the near pricelessness of an MBA from such an institution)…if that’s not money well spent, then I don’t know what is!

Read More