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Since 2001, Stacy Blackman Consulting clients have been admitted to every top business school worldwide, often with merit scholarships. Stacy Blackman Consulting (SBC) delivers results, as shown through its record of the highest number of online reviews across multiple MBA admissions ranking and review sites. Our online track record includes: #1 on MBAinsight, BeattheGMAT, ClearAdmit, and #1 out of 11 firms for our team caliber by PoetsandQuants.
We begin with meticulous matchmaking before we begin an engagement or accept payment. We recommend a primary consultant only after evaluating your candidacy strength and differentiating qualities; we respect your investment and the trust you place in us. We offer a high-touch, limited client-per-consultant experience.
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TEAM
SBC is the only consulting firm in the industry who has on our team a complete panel of former MBA Admissions Officers from the top US programs and European programs. No other firm has this complete talent. 75% of our MBA consultant team hails from the top seven US MBA programs as MBA graduates and/or former MBA Admissions Officers, including from Harvard and Stanford. We know what’s going on, and we know it first. We have tremendous insight as to what is currently keeping the AdCom up at night and what values they are looking for from their current students.
MODEL
The SBC System™ has eight core modules and is the most robust of all firms. SBC offers unlimited time with a carefully selected Primary Consultant, allowing for full accountability and dedication. SBC also believes in checks and balances, and thus developed our Flight Test™, which is a complete review by a former Admissions Officer. This structured feedback from a former AdCom member mimics a real AdCom review and helps to ensure that a candidate’s application is most compelling to the target audience. We also offer an "hourly first" option for applicants who prefer to test the waters initially before engaging in our All-In service.
Product Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions All-in Services
Consultant Erika (SBC)
Choosing to hire SBC made all the difference for me. Either way there would have been 20 rewrites of each application and 200 tears and roller coasters of hope and doubt, but with SBC I got admitted into my top dream school. Practically, it’s a relief to have someone tell you “Yes, that sentence sucks, write a new one” or “No, it’s great, don’t touch it anymore”. Saves you time and anxiety, and gives you confidence that you are submitting the best told version of your story. Getting into Tuck is the most incredible opportunity I’ve ever been given and I’m convinced that without Erika Olson and the Blackman team I would not be heading to Dartmouth this fall. With everything you’re about to invest in an MBA, there is no reason not to hire SBC to get into the best program you can. My ego may have gotten knocked around as I grinded through applications, but there is nothing like the feeling I’ve had since I got my admissions call. I’ll be reaching my top potential in life because of SBC.
Product Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions All-in Services
Consultant Maureen (SBC)
As a non-traditional applicant with lower test scores, I needed to come up with ways to best present myself in my applications. I was not planning on using a consultant but knew that I needed help in coming up with ways to tie my experiences together and put together a strong application. Working with Maureen kept me on track throughout the process.
Maureen was patient and insightful in helping me come up with an application strategy. Maureen was great to work with, encouraging, and very responsive. She worked on multiple essay drafts with me, helped me come up with ways to explain and present my employment history cohesively and prepared me for interviews. I found the services to be pretty expensive but comparable (and less than some!) to similar companies. The written materials and information on different schools were very helpful when I was finalizing my list of schools to apply to.
Product Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions All-in Services
Consultant Margaret (SBC)
Margaret was my consultant during the admissions process. Having her to support me kept me focused on the task and she was very professional. She absolutely helped me find my voice and pushed me when I needed it during the essay writing process, and definitely made it easier than it would have been otherwise. She provided very useful comments and helped me think through things from different perspectives. I would not have been able to get to the stage I wanted (3 admits) without her advice. She was also always responsive and very professional throughout. Highly recommend Stacy Blackman for their essay writing support!
Product Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions All-in Services
Consultant Yvette (SBC)
With a 730 GMAT as an international candidate and a fast-track career, I felt that I had everything to get into a top MBA. I applied to three programs in Round 1 and not even one called me for an interview. I was very worried and decided to ask for help for my Round 2 applications
I chose Stacy Blackman because a friend of mine worked with them and had very good comments. Very quickly I was referenced to a consultant, Yvette, who had a background in the industries I wanted to pursue after my MBA. This was very important to me, because in other consulting firms they assign you a consultant only after you make the initial payment. Knowing I had a graduate from a top MBA as a consultant gave me the confidence to make the investment.
Yvette proved to be a great consultant and motivator. She gave me confidence to speak in my applications about a uncommon long-term goal that I was reluctant to mention. By dissecting the essay questions, I understood what professional and personal stories were relevant. She researched programs to find the best fit for me given my intentions and personality. She pushed me out of my comfort zone and told me what I really needed to hear to improve my applications. Together we crafted a set of essays of which I am incredibly proud.
We worked together in three applications. The results were two acceptance letters and a waitlist in a Top 2 MBA (H/S). Yvette helped me throughout the process from choosing programs to mock interviews. I really felt she was very engaged with my candidacy and was excited every time I gave her news of my progress.
Looking back, the only regret I have is not hiring a consultant for my Round 1 applications.
5k may seem like a lot of money -and it is-, but if you put things into perspective, you'll probably going to spend around ~200k on your MBA. Spending 2.5% of that amount to drastically improve your chances of being accepted at a program you really want is a no-brainer decision.
I am incredibly grateful to SBC and Yvette for all the help I received during the process, I know I wouldn't have these results without them.
Product Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions All-in Services
Consultant Margaret (SBC)
I highly recommended Stacy Blackman Consulting.
I worked with consultant Margaret Strother for my MBA application this year. My experience with Margaret is very positive. She is very professional and guided me all the way along my MBA application. Especially, She helped me edit each word in the resume and essay to make sure I can present my experience and stories in the best way. Thanks to her excellent work, I was admitted by a top 10 business school this year. I also recommended many of my friends to use Stacy’s edit services, and all of their feedback are positive.
Product Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions All-in Services
Consultant Amber (SBC)
Amber was tremendously helpful as an advisor and mentor for me during the MBA application process. I really could not have done it without her guidance.
Some specific strengths that I really appreciated was that Amber was always available by phone and email, with very quick responses and turn around time, especially during the essay writing process. She was also extremely thoughtful and insightful in her feedback given her experience with the application process, which I valued as it was all new to me. Amber took the time to get to know me as a person, which also really allowed her to be effective -- her recommendations on how to present myself in the strongest way possible were invaluable.
She also identified and helped remove all barriers to my admission. For me it was a lower GMAT score, which we overcame by taking a required quantitative course and completed thankfully with an A before the second round decision.
Overall, I got so much more value out of having a consultant than I could have imagined - thanks to Amber!!!
Product Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions All-in Services
Consultant Maureen (SBC)
As I prepared to apply to business school, Maureen's advice and expertise was invaluable. She provided me guidance in all facets of the application, including but not limited to GMAT scores, essay topics, and recommendations. Maureen's ability to challenge and probe me when writing about difficult topics furthered the depth of my essays. It is very clear that she has a thoughtful understanding of how to construct an essay that paints a story about a candidate. During a long process such as this one, Maureen made herself available to me at any time and supported and encouraged me even at the hardest moments. Working with Maureen allowed me to conquer this challenging process and be accepted to the school of my dreams! In general, the resources that SBC provides are top notch. These resources were great guides for essays and interview prep. It is clear that they have all the best materials and are committed to helping all of their clients.
Product Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions All-in Services
Consultant Fiona (SBC)
I received acceptance from a top EMBA program and couldn’t have done it without the amazing consultants at SBC. Early in my application journey, my goal was a top full-time MBA program, which would allow me to be fully immersed in the learning atmosphere on campus. Because of my extended work experience (10+ years), my primary consultant Fiona Edwards suggested that an EMBA program would be a better fit for me. I expressed my desire to stay on the full-time MBA path, and Fiona was very understanding and supportive. She worked tirelessly to make sure every aspect of each application was as good as it could possibly be. Having an MBA from Harvard and a BA from Oxford, Fiona asked very insightful questions to help me go much deeper on my essays. She also offered many great suggestions to make my essays so polished! Fiona’s honest and supportive style was extremely helpful to keeping me on track.
After completed three full-time MBA applications, I was finally awakened to the idea “maybe an EMBA is a better fit for me”. After much research and consideration, I decided to switch gears toward an EMBA. Fiona introduced me to an EMBA expert, Bill Chionis, who is extremely knowledgeable in top EMBA programs. He answered all my questions and got me very excited about my new decision. Bill also provided me essay guidance from an EMBA’s perspective. With Fiona’s continued support on my essays, application form reviews, and the mock up interview, I finally reached a goal that’s better for me than my original goal was.
If you are serious about getting into a top MBA or EMBA program, I would absolutely recommend SBC!
Applying to b-school is an extremely stressful process that can be difficult to navigate on your own. If you plan on going full-time, you need to walk away from your income and likely take on serious debt. Before applying to schools, I thought, if I’m going to do this, I better make sure I get into the best school I possibly can. With high GMAT scores and a decent undergraduate and prior work experience, I thought I had a chance at some top 10 schools, but was certainly not a shoe-in anywhere.
I chose to use Stacy Blackman Consulting because of all the great reviews I read online. I bought the all-in service for 4 schools and worked with Paul. The approach to take on each essay was my biggest area of concern. Paul was a huge help on giving me direction on how to attack each school. He knew the programs that the schools were proudest of and helped me tap into my experiences and future goals in a way that would appeal to each school uniquely. We’d usually have a brainstorming session to discuss the approach and outline the essay and then multiple emails back and forth with drafts/edits. He was very accessible and didn’t mind me using him as a sounding board throughout the process.
I applied to NYU, Columbia, Wharton and Harvard. I got into Columbia early and am heading there in the fall. You obviously will never know if you would have gotten into the same schools without the help of the consultant, but I certainly would not be willing to take the risk to find out. SBC will ensure that you present yourself in the best way possible to get you into b-school. They have a vast amount of resources available to help guide you through the process and consultants that have top notch credentials (many have sat on ad coms of the most elite programs). You need to keep reasonable expectations, but with SBC you can rest assured that you’ve maximized your potential.
Product Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions All-in Services
Consultant Bill (SBC)
I cannot express how grateful and appreciative I am that I had the opportunity to work with Bill Chionis. We connected immediately, he was patient, diligent and his insights were critical at every step of the process.
I was an untraditional applicant, with an entrepreneurial background. Bill's positive attitude and confidence helped put my mind at ease from the beginning, as I was unsure of the process.
I opted for a 3- school comprehensive service (all-in) and Bill supported me from essays to interview. He also provided me with observations into the programs I was considering and also encouraged me to expand my search.
Bill played an integral role in guiding me through the process of successfully crafting a genuine, powerful and unique collection of essays. He provided me with great tips in selecting the best topics and situations for the essays. He was always responsive and available.
I found the "Flight Test" to be very constructive: a SB team member (not your consultant) reviewed the application simulating the admission committee of the top school of your choice. I found the feedback to be valuable, allowing us to fine tune the application in preparation of submission.
Next was the interview prep, which I felt I was going to be a breeze as I get the opportunity to speak in front of large groups frequently. I underestimated the importance of preparation for this section and immediately Bill recognized that I did not practice or prepare, but he assisted me in refining my responses and transitions, while helping me find my pace Bill again provided great tips, precise feedback and to account for variables.
I believe the quality of support that Stacy Blackman provided was excellent. Thanks to the passion and wisdom Bill brought to the process, it allowed him to be prepared for any possible situation. Bill was an incredible resource to me throughout the application process. He saved me an enormous amount of time and stress, he was a trusted advisor. Having Bill as a resource provided me with the ability to focus on the important aspects of my applications and was critical in my success. To anyone looking for an MBA admissions consultant with proven results, I highly recommend SBC and Bill Chionis.
I am forever grateful to Bill and SB for helping me gain acceptance into my dream school.
