MBA Admissions Hourly Services Reviews

After a 16 year career in Finance, I decided to change my career path and pursue my MPH - Masters in Public Health. My top choice school had an acceptance rate of less than 10%, so I decided to get help with the application process. I was also concerned because my GPA from college was less than ideal. A friend suggested Stacy Blackman. He was accepted into a top MBA program with their help.
Stacy Blackman worked very hard to match me with the best consultant based on my interests. I worked with Esther Magna who has her MBA as well as her MPH.
During our initial 30 minute consultation, Esther really focused on learning about my goals, strengths and weaknesses. Throughout the entire application process, she provided invaluable feedback and advice. With Esther's help, I highlighted my past experiences and revamped my resume and personal statement, which were especially important components in my application since I was doing a career change. Esther also prepared me for my interviews, by giving me great interview tips and drafting questions for the admissions committee. Admissions later told me the interview was the key deciding factor in my acceptance.
Esther was patient, professional and quick to reply to any emails. It was also very easy to schedule calls with her, despite the three hour time difference. Working with her made a normally stressful process very easy.
I would highly recommend Stacy Blackman Consulting to anyone applying to a masters program, even if it's not for a MBA.
I was accepted into my top choice school and I couldn't of done it without the help of Esther and Stacy Blackman Consulting.

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Bill was absolutely amazing. I purchased the hourly service (6 hours in total), and now I wish I worked with him for full service and for a longer time period – and that’s after getting into all the schools to which I applied. I was not the strongest candidate (gmat and gpa wise) but he was able to guide me through these challenges incredibly.

Bill tells you everything straight - which is what you need to hear. If you can't make realistic goals, then you probably shouldn't be applying to b-school. He worked on every data point and focused on what each school looked for in their applicants. This was crucial for the essays / interviews – displaying how you’re unique and how this uniqueness will benefit the school and how the school will help in nourishing your unique abilities.

Bill, to me, was very easy to get along with and also very available to all my questions/concerns. You will have to work hard, but he makes you work hard on the things that matter, so you don’t waste time with dead-ends or items the schools will not care about. I got into every school I applied to (3 U.S. News top 25’s) and definitely could not have done that without his guidance.

I am very glad to have worked with Bill. He was a definite stress reliever and believed in me more than I believed in myself.

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For round 1, I only applied to HBS and didn't use a consultant. I was well aware of consultants, but felt that I wanted to do the process on my own. I felt that using a consultant would make my application unauthentic. I didn't get in.

For round 2, I decided that I needed the help. I did my research and landed on SBC. I was paired up with Andy and couldn't have been happier with the outcome. I was admitted to Stanford and Wharton.

Andy was incredibly helpful in crafting my story. To my surprise, my application did not lose any authenticity. In fact, I felt like Andy was able to help me better tell my own story and ultimately helped give my application depth and personality. I picked Andy because of his experience in writing and editing, and it paid off. He always gave great edits and feedback in a very timely manner. I really can't say enough positive things about Andy and the help that he gave me. He's a great guy and a great consultant.

Coming from someone who consciously decided not to use a consultant for Round 1, the truth is in the facts. I was dinged on my own with HBS and was 2/2 with Andy's help.

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In October, I decided to apply to business school. I knew I would need to stay focused, organized and motivated in order to meet the R2 deadlines for four schools. I also knew that I was a subpar writer and lacked confidence in marketing myself at the level that top business schools often expect. I discovered SBC and met Andy, who graciously took on the task of helping me with my resume and essays.
 
I really enjoyed working with Andy, because he offers direct and honest feedback. If a topic would not work, he would say so rather than spending time trying to make it work. Additionally, Andy is incredibly responsive over e-mail, even on weekends. He has a 24-hour response goal, but he was always able to turnaround my essays ahead of this goal. Lastly, Andy is VERY patient. There were many times when I really struggled to connect the essay prompt with a good story, but Andy did not give up on me by just telling me what to do. Instead, Andy offered constant guidance as I slowly worked through idea after idea after idea and version after version after version of the same essay. Even as the R2 deadlines were fast approaching, Andy stayed available and supportive to the point where I started an essay three days before the deadline (not recommended) and was still able to get a strong essay together with a day to spare!
 
In the end, results speak for itself, as I will now be attending my dream school - Wharton!

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I could not recommend Paul more highly.

I consulted with Paul as part of my round 2 application process for GSB, which is the only school I applied to (and which I was admitted to!).

I reached out to SBC because I had heard exceptional things about their service through friends. After doing an initial call with Esther, I did a little diligence, learned of their shockingly high GSB admit rate, and agreed to connect with Paul, a GSB alum who worked with the admissions committee as a student, who is still part of their alumni interview network, and who has advised many students successfully with their GSB applications.

My situation was also unique in that I had done a fair amount of work on my application (written essay drafts, found recommenders, etc.) beforehand over the course of one week of long nights, but was unsatisfied with the results I was seeing. Paul immediately turned it all around for me. He single-handedly pushed me to develop the necessary self-awareness to write compelling GSB essays, helped hone my stories and anecdotes, explained in detail the way that applications are read and reviewed (and what they are looking for), and shared best practices around style, content, and tone that would simply be unknowable except by consulting with someone as knowledgeable as Paul.

Paul was readily accessible for follow-up calls, reads, moments of frustration, and I was always 100% confident that he would make it a priority to get back to me quickly, and with succinct, clear and practical advice that I could act on immediately.

Stylistically, I felt Paul was pretty unique. My brother also used an admission's consultant (10 years ago) before attending HBS, but his consultant was extraordinarily micro-managerial and my brother ended up writing something like 15-20 drafts of each essay over the course of 4 months as a result -- it worked but it was painful. In contrast, Paul's style is very much above the board. He tells you when you're going off track (in a nice way), he helps you hone your strategy and encourages you to make sure your strategy is compelling before putting pen to paper, and he ensures that what your application walks the right balance between representing yourself most effectively and being humble and authentic (not an easy task). He is not focused on editing your vocabulary or grammatical choices, or at least he wasn't with me. I ended up putting together an application that I felt very excited about in just a few weeks and with only a few hours of Paul's help (and many long nights of working on my own, but with clear vision of what I was doing thanks to Paul).

Paul also helped me prepare for my interview on late notice. We did a preliminary 30 minute call, he gave me some high-level guidance and told me to prepare -- I did -- and then two days later we did a 1-hour mock interview. The mock interview went well (thanks to Paul's preliminary tips on how to prepare), my real interview went well (and shared a lot with the mock interview Paul conducted), and it all worked out in the end!

Great guy, great service, very happy with the result, obviously... highly recommend!

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I used Stacy Blackman Consulting's hourly services after a friend recommended them to me. She used the comprehensive package but I was not able to afford that so started using them after I had a list of schools I was interested in and had started writing the essays. I worked with Sherry, who was incredibly helpful, on overall application strategy (briefly), essay review (45%), and interview prep (45%). She also was able to talk me through what to highlight from my career and extracurriculars, and how to tailor each application to each school specifically. I got the flu a few weeks before the application deadline so was running behind on the essays, but Sherry still managed to fit in editing my many essays. While the comprehensive package would have been valuable, the hourly services were just what I needed and working with Sherry was great!

I was interviewed at 4 out of the 6 schools I applied to (and was really reaching for 4 of the schools I applied to in terms of test scores) and so far have been accepted at 3 of those schools including Fuqua. Thank you Sherry!

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I had a very positive experience with Stacy Blackman, and Margaret particularly. I did the hourly service and Margaret was extremely sensitive with my time and used it efficiently and with care. I liked that most of our communications were via email so we could respond to each other quickly.

The greatest strength in my opinion was helping you craft your own story. Margaret really listened to my experiences and helped me pull out relevant stories that would be compelling to admissions. One of my biggest concerns going into the consulting process was that my essays wouldn't sound "like me." That is the exact opposite of my experience here -- my essays were the best versions of my experiences and views, in my own voice. This was never compromised.

Margaret also assisted tremendously with prioritization. She told me when to move on from an essays that were 95% of the way there in order to spend time on essays that needed more work. This was helpful when coming up against deadlines, while working at a full-time job, as we all do.
Margaret was ruthless when managing her and my time - it was incredibly helpful!

I didn't notice a particular weakness, but my advice would be to take an inventory of where you think you might need the most help. I was very sensitive to the financial investment here, so I wanted to focus on the areas where I thought they could make the most impact. For example, I didn't have Margaret help too much with recommendations. I edited these myself and I'm very comfortable with how these turned out. This will differ with everyone, I'm sure, but worth thinking about where the consultant can add the most value for you.

Overall, highly recommend! They gave me a lot of confidence throughout the process that I was on the right track. I absolutely think they made a difference in my applications.

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I couldn't be happier with Stacy Blackman Consulting. I started working with their Oxford expert before my interview. The main goal was to ensure that I was a good fit for SBS and SBS was a good fit for me.

My consultant provided me with so much valuable information about Said Business School that I actually became more excited at the prospect of attending, something I didn't think was even possible! It was great to hear not only about the wonderful people I would meet, but also about the stimulating and variegated learning opportunities.

As chance would have it, I ended up having a pretty tough interview. My consultant, however, prepared me well for the questions that would arise and I was able to navigate the conversation with flying colors.

It's difficult to express how thankful I am to my consultant for their commitment to my success. Without their help, I would not be starting the Oxford MBA in the fall. This person is undoubtably an Oxford expert!

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At first, I was very apprehensive about approaching admission consulting firms as most of my friends and colleagues also advised me not to. However, when I heard about Stacy Blackman from one of the Booth students, whom I met in one of the networking event, I signed up for free consultation to give it a shot. I was impressed by the tips and techniques that Sarah Tsai had to offer. After going through my profile, my resume, and where I am at my professional career and application process, she mentioned how Stacy Blackman could add value. She paired me with Bill Chionis. Bill is a great guy, very helpful, and, most importantly, candid with his opinion and thoughts. He and I discussed in lengths about my background, and the reason I wanted to pursue the MBA program. Unlike any other Admission Consulting firm, Stacy Blackman and their consultant act as a true partner in your MBA journey. Bill worked with me on my essays and the stories that I wanted to tell AdCom to best present my candidature. He also helped with my resume and even interview preparation. I give Bill and team of Stacy Blackman 5 stars without a doubt. Yes, their services are expensive but you certainly get the best return on your investment.

Thanks Stacy Blackman for helping me to get through the very competitive Haas application process and to eventually come out as winner!

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I subscribed to the Hourly Service offered by Stacy Blackman and I had the good fortune of getting the help of someone as erudite and thoughtful as Paul. Given that I am from Asia and from traditional consulting/PE backgrounds, it was critical for me to differentiate myself among the crowd. Paul helped me do this and more importantly express myself better. The high point of the interactions with Paul was that he ensured that all my application material reflected my authentic self. Thanks to Paul's help and support, I was able to secure admission to Harvard Business School, which was the only school I had applied to.

I strongly recommend the hourly service provided by Stacy Blackman and in particular Paul who was quite remarkable in the way he helped me.

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