I had Ashley as my consultant and got into Tuck, Booth with scholarship, and Sloan. Coming from a nontraditional background with a low math score I was extremely concerned and she really got me over the finish line. In particular, I 1000% credit her with my Sloan acceptance. She was patient and always responsive within 24 hours. I struggled a lot to define myself in the beginning and she helped me work through how to play to my strengths while acknowledging my weaknesses and positioning myself uniquely for each school. Although SBC can be expensive, I do think it was worth it.

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Strengths:

Experienced and Personalized Guidance, Commitment of the Counselor, Authenticity over Conformity, Comprehensive resources, Professionalism and Value

Would make the product better:

More clarity upfront about what's included in the "all-in" package. I think The Vault and Flight Test are huge selling points that a lot of applicants would be attracted to.

When I began exploring MBA consulting firms, I wasn’t sure if I needed one—let alone if the investment would be worth it. I had spent the first part of my career in biotech before transitioning into my family’s business, where I plan to return after my MBA. With a nontraditional background, I knew I needed to tell a story that was both authentic and compelling.

I found Stacy Blackman Consulting through Google and was impressed by their reputation, deep bench of former admissions officers, and extensive applicant resources. After an honest and helpful intro call with Sarah Tsai, I connected with several potential counselors and ultimately chose to work with Margaret Strother.

At first, I was skeptical of the all-in package, but those doubts quickly disappeared. Margaret was more than a consultant—she was a true thought partner. She helped me bring structure to my ideas and asked thoughtful questions that helped me dig deep and frame my story in a way that felt true to who I am. She was also consistently responsive and willing to bounce around ideas whenever I needed it.

What set Margaret apart was her commitment to authenticity. I had worked with another consultant who tried to fit my story into a mold. Margaret did the opposite—she encouraged me to be real and different.

With her support, I was admitted to Stanford GSB, HBS, Kellogg (with a full scholarship), and Booth (with a partial scholarship).

SBC’s resources like the Vault and the “flight test” added even more value. Looking back, the experience was absolutely worth it. For anyone serious about top MBA programs, I can’t recommend Margaret—or SBC—highly enough.

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Dione Chen was my dedicated consultant inclusive of strategy, positioning, and career visioning, etc., She was incredibly helpful, especially in helping me think through my career vision before writing essays. Dione is extremely responsive (almost always replies within a few hours). I was admitted Round 1 to HBS, GSB and Wharton.
SBC has a team based influence and support: Esther as my matchmaker to a consultant; my flight tester, Amy, who is a former Admissions Officer etc; Anthony who facilitated the mock Wharton TBD discussion.
I selected SBC and Dione based on colleagues and friends who recommended SBC and Dione highly.

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Strengths:

Responsive, positive, and honest feedback. Having someone to turn to with any question made a huge difference. The Flight Test was a major reason I chose Stacy Blackman over three other firms I spoke with, and it did not disappoint.

I had an incredible experience working with Sherry from Stacy Blackman Consulting. She was responsive, positive, and honest, always providing constructive feedback while making the process enjoyable. With her guidance, I was admitted to HBS, Darden with a full ride, and Fuqua and McCombs with scholarships. She worked quickly, even under tight deadlines, and I always felt fully supported. Having someone to turn to with any question made a huge difference. Sherry was backed by a strong team, including the initial matchmaker, and an experienced former admissions officer who conducted my Flight Test. The Flight Test was a major reason I chose Stacy Blackman over three other firms I spoke with, and it did not disappoint. If I had to do it again, I’d choose Sherry every time. Highly recommend!

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Strengths:

High level of expertise; personalized approach; timing flexibility; invested in candidates success

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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I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Alex Liff and Stacy Blackman Consulting for their unwavering support over the past six months with my business school applications. Their guidance was instrumental in securing my admission to The Wharton School, complete with a generous fellowship.

When I first reached out to SBC in July 2025, I had less than six weeks before the Round 1 deadlines. Although I had already taken the GMAT and given some thought to other components of my application, my demanding role at XXX consulting firm left me with little time to put pen to paper.

To meet the Round 1 deadlines, I required two key things: a structured approach to the application process with clear milestones and deadlines, and expert advice to rigorously review my written materials. The SBC team exceeded my expectations on both fronts.

Esther Magna, my intake coordinator, understood my needs perfectly and paired me with Alex Liff. I was also tasked with completing SBC's 360-degree personal reflection and critical assessment exercise, which involved answering ~35 detailed questions. Though time-consuming, this exercise allowed me to articulate everything from my leadership stories to my career goals to my thoughts on recommenders.

Alex then meticulously reviewed the 25 pages of content I had put together and helped me devise a strategy for each school, ensuring that my best stories were presented cohesively. This strategic approach enabled me to quickly produce high-quality drafts of my resume, essays, and other application materials. Alex's insightful feedback during our numerous iterations helped me further refine these materials.

One standout aspect of the SBC process was the "flight test," where Lisa Anderson, a former MBA Admissions Officer, reviewed one of my applications as an actual Admissions Officer would. Her feedback was invaluable in further fine-tuning my application.

SBC's support didn't end there. I was fortunate to receive multiple interview invitations, and SBC’s assistance with interview preparation was crucial. Anthony Penna, one of the original architects of Wharton's Team-Based Discussion (TBD), conducted a mock TBD with real candidates. His feedback highlighted key areas for improvement, significantly enhancing my performance in the actual TBD. Alex also conducted mock interviews for my other schools.

Ultimately, I was accepted into Wharton with a very generous fellowship, and I couldn't be more grateful to Alex and the entire SBC team for their help. If you are seeking guidance through the business school admissions process, I cannot recommend Alex and SBC highly enough.

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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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Strengths:

Bespoke advice based on my background and strengths.
Rapid response time to essay drafts and comprehensive comments and advice to improve.

Would make the product better:

Nothing!

Meg was instrumental in my securing interviews with 4 M7 programmes and acceptance to Columbia Business School. As an international applicant from a non-traditional background, I really appreciated Meg's faith and enthusiasm about my prospects from the beginning. She provided consistent guidance and insights both in crafting my story and drafting my essays, providing honest and rapid feedback which allowed me to perfect my application. After submission, Meg continued to provide plenty of support and conducted two mock interviews which were invaluable in my preparation.

Having spoken to friends who had used consultancy services and conducted significant research on various different offerings, SBC's excellent reviews made it an easy choice. The broader SBC team (Esther as my initial contact and Lisa as my flight tester) were also incredibly helpful.

I would highly recommend Meg and SBC!

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I only have excellent things to say about Caryn and Stacy Blackman Consulting (SBC). As a result of my work with Caryn, I was accepted into Wharton, Kellogg, Booth, Columbia, Tuck, and Stern (with large scholarships from Kellogg, Booth, Columbia, and Stern). Every part of the Stacy Blackman process was extremely thoughtful. I had calls with SBC (based on a referral from a co-worker) and Menlo Coaching and was impressed by my conversation with Esther from SBC. She was very attentive and seemed to understand my personality, academic and professional experiences, and goals very quickly. By the end of the call, she already had a consultant (Caryn) in mind, who she claimed was a perfect fit. And she was right!

Caryn was very meticulous throughout the entire application process. We began by brainstorming my leadership experiences, zeroing in on my career goals, and discussing personal experiences that have shaped who I am today. All of this thorough brainstorming was worth the upfront investment as the aforementioned topics became the pillars of my essays. Caryn is extremely organized, which made the stressful process of MBA applications as efficient as it could be. Caryn always provided clear deadlines (I had a timeline of weekly deadlines from April through September), which allowed me to meet all of my application deadlines without rushing. Caryn also provided very clear and detailed feedback on my essays and application form answers. I always felt like Caryn was focusing on every word and she wouldn’t give her stamp of approval until we both agreed that the essays were perfect. There were definitely times where I felt good about an essay, but Caryn pushed back as she knew I could do better. And I’m glad that she did, as the revisions always led to essays that I felt even more confident in, especially given her years of admissions committee experience. Caryn’s response time also impressed me as I truly felt like I was the only applicant that she was working with. She promises to provide feedback within 48 hours, but it was often the case that if I sent her something in the morning, she would have it back to me by that night – this was really valuable as I never had to waste a day in the busy application process. Finally, Caryn was simply an extremely pleasant person to work with and I am so thankful that I had the chance to work with her.

In addition to Caryn, SBC had a variety of other helpful resources that I utilized. SBC had an extensive website that included essays of former applicants and useful information on each school. I had a flight test (review of my application from another SBC consultant) with Lisa, which provided an unbiased review of my application package. In addition, I really think that having a mock team-based discussion (i.e., mock Wharton interview) with Anthony from SBC gave me the perfect sense of how the real Wharton interview would go, which allowed me to perform well when the time came.

Overall, I cannot recommend SBC enough – they helped me not only reach, but surpass all of my business school application goals. Thank you, Caryn and the SBC team!

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Strengths:

Communication, knowledge of admissions process, turnaround time and attention to detail, empathy, organization.

Would make the product better:

N/A

I worked with Margaret through SBC's "all-in" program and had an outstanding experience. I can't recommend her and the entire SBC team highly enough. Thanks to her coaching, I gained admittances to both HBS and Columbia (CBS)!

At the outset of my MBA admissions process I was hesitant to use a consultant due to the large price tag. I conducted extensive research, including looking at competitors Menlo Coaching and mbaMission, but ultimately decided to speak with the team at Stacy Blackman due to the thousands of positive online reviews and success stories. It was worth it.

SBC's approach is highly organized - I first spoke with Sarah, who helped connect me with Margaret through their "matchmaking process". Over the course of several weeks / months, Margaret and I conducted a series of exercises to organize my experiences into a succinct, compelling narrative. Margaret was diligent, organized, empathetic and really understood the admissions process at a deep level given her background as an HBS alum. I had a really difficult time condensing my experiences into 250-300 word essays, but Margaret's guidance and candid feedback helped me improve the quality of my essays and gave me confidence as I submitted my applications. I carried this confidence into my interviews (which Margaret of course helped me prep for), and ultimately think that I would not have gotten into HBS or CBS without her.

In addition to working with Margaret, I leveraged SBC's extensive resources to help understand the admissions process and improve my application. I used SBC's Vault (a repository of essays, interview transcripts, admissions guidance, etc. for most of the top 30 business schools worldwide) to read example essays from successful SBC clients and I took advantage of the "Flight test", where Beth (a third party reviewer and former MBA Admissions counselor) reviewed my application and provided advice specific to the schools I was applying for. These resources were invaluable as I conducted initial research on schools, drafted essays, finalized my application and conducted interview prep. From start to finish, I felt supported by the SBC Team and was challenged to improve (in a good way), which I think is what led to my acceptances. Margaret was responsive (often helping me revise drafts late at night or on tight timelines) and an absolute pleasure to work with, as was the entire SBC Team.

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