Caryn was a huge help in my MBA applications to several schools including Tuck, CBS, Ross and HBS. I had purchased the Early Advantage package a year and a half before I began writing my apps, and Caryn was instrumental in helping me carve out a solid application strategy back then which we worked incredibly hard to execute as we moved into 2016 which was when I would be submitting my apps.

I had good work experience at a multinational firm with an early promotion, graduated from an Ivy, and had a vague idea of my career goals but my big weakness was my poor undergrad grades in freshman year. Caryn was incisive and to the point during our initial discussion, and made sure I understood that I needed to position myself uniquely so as to mitigate my grades situation.

Over the next year or so, I nailed the GMAT, refined my career goals and made sure I picked recommenders who would write great recs on my behalf - all with Caryn's advice.

When it came to writing the actual application essays, Caryn was equally on the ball and pushed me hard so that I produced work that I was proud of. I made sure to get her at least 2-3 drafts a week and she would turn them around within a day, which was an incredibly efficient process. My essays came out sounding a lot more like me than my first drafts, and I'm so thankful for Caryn's eye for detail and ability to help me figure out the key messages I needed to get across to the admissions committees in each of my essays.

I ended up getting interview invites from Tuck, CBS and Ross, and ultimately got into Ross and CBS - with a merit scholarship! I will be attending Columbia, incidentally my alma mater, this fall with a scholarship. I'm certain I would not have been able to get this far without Caryn's extraordinary help. Thank you so much Caryn!!

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I worked with Caryn at Stacy Blackman on applications to Kellogg and Ross. I wanted to use a consultant because I made a career change one year before applying to school and was concerned about telling the appropriate story. I chose Caryn because she worked with two close friends of mine who were both admitted to their top choices (HBS).

I immediately appreciated Caryn’s honest and knowledgeable feedback, as well as her awareness of resources. She helped me create a timeline for my GMAT prep and application process, which was incredibly helpful as we moved along. She was frank about my GMAT score and guided me toward the right resources when I was struggling to get my score up. We did a good amount of work up front to craft my story and this made essay writing, interview prep, etc. later on much easier to manage.

One of the most helpful elements of the SBC package was the Flight Test. I appreciated having another set of eyes on my complete materials and was able to incorporate the feedback from Margaret to tie a few loose ends with my undergraduate transcript and career change. I also benefitted from doing the Ross group interview prep, which helped me feel more comfortable going into that session.

Caryn was a wonderful cheerleader, while always staying on top of our deadlines and keeping me on track. I always received quick responses and felt like she could accommodate my schedule as needed. I am pleased to say I was admitted to both schools, with strong scholarships at each. The result well compensated for the cost of SBC’s services.

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This past year I worked with Caryn@StacyBlackman and was tremendously satisfied with the service I received. Her advice and guidance was extremely helpful throughout my entire application process and instrumental to my Wharton admission.

As a candidate coming from an untraditional background I wanted to work with a consultant who would help me navigate the application process. After evaluating multiple firms and consultants I chose Caryn@StacyBlackman because of not only her previous adcom background and brand management career experience, but also because of how much she cared about my candidacy. While I spoke with other qualified consultants, she was the only one who I felt looked beyond our relationship being a business transaction and would be there to support me no matter what curve ball the application process threw me. This turned out to be very true, as she supported me on eight applications and advised me on multiple waitlists.

Caryn’s approach to the process was very disciplined and detailed. She would respond to my emails within 24hrs and was always patient with my questions/comments. Her comments were always honest and constructive. There is no doubt that Caryn served as an excellent sounding board for me throughout the entire application process and I am grateful for the time and effort she put in to supporting my admission to Wharton.

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I was a candidate with an over-represented applicant profile and I was worried that I would not be able to stand out in my applications from other similar applicants for M7 on my own. I applied to Round 2 and signed up for the service with a month and a half left to the first deadline. The SBC team wasted no time in getting me plugged into the process. I had the very first introductory call and resume review with Sarah and she gave me valuable, honest feedback with no strings attached, and I was sold! The SBC team was not pushy at all and even gave me a few days to reconsider “fit” after an initial call with Becky, who ultimately became my admissions consultant. The signup process was very transparent, respectful and organized.

During the first kickoff call, Becky was able to peel back the layers and asked pointed questions to learn about my strengths and motivations. I was not very prepared and had to think aloud and talk through my answers many a time. Becky was very patient with me. The resulting application master document she prepared included a detailed timeline of to-dos and a list of perceived strengths with a couple of accompanying key anecdotes. I kept coming back to this document while writing my essays and filling out my applications. Even if you only sign a portion of your schools up for the comprehensive service, the rest of your applications will benefit immensely from it.

Becky has a brilliant way of isolating weaknesses in my essays, and providing options on how to improve and bring clarity, as she had gotten very familiar with my background and achievements. Also, as MBA applications get creative (Sloan’s faux-optional second essay, Booth’s ppt essay, video essays, Wharton’s TBD etc.), Becky and the rest of SBC team were able to provide more than adequate support and feedback across all of those elements.

Thanks Becky!

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I was initially very skeptical of the gloating reviews and the value add of hiring a consultant. However I did so anyway because I felt it would put me at a disadvantage if I didn't. I'm very glad I did!

I used Stacy Blackman because they seemed to have a long standing track record. My initial consultation was okay but my follow-up conversation with Sherry Holland really sealed the deal for me.

The B-school application process is a very stressful process and coming from a non-traditional background I was overwhelmed with the amount of information out there. Sherry is incredibly competent and offers great insights but moreover she is kind and patient. I got into b-school with substantial merit award. I would have been perfectly elated with just an acceptance so getting a scholarship was a complete surprise. I do not think I would have gotten any money without the help of Sherry.

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With Andy’s help, I was recently admitted to several top programs including Stanford GSB. I do not think I would have been able to accomplish this without Andy’s expert guidance, not to mention the sense of calm and positivity he delivered throughout my application process. Andy’s feedback was extremely detailed, and I never got the sense that he was providing cookie-cutter advice. He does not use templates during the advisory process, but rather provides thoughtful and challenging feedback that helped my application develop into a unique and comprehensive expression of my candidacy. He never re-wrote any of my materials which guaranteed that my genuine voice could shine through in my applications.

A couple of things that I can’t thank Andy for enough were his suggestion that I apply to two programs that I had previously not considered—and how generous he was with his time helping me prep for interviews. Responsiveness and reliability were stellar working with Andy. I also want to add that I purchased a 2 school package with SBC. This allowed me the peace of mind to work with Andy as much as I needed without having to worry about “the clock.”

If I had to do it again, I would pick Andy. I look forward to the opportunity to refer him to my peers and friends.

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I don't know where to begin. I was accepted to my first choice school, Yale SOM - a dream that I never thought possible and that would never have BEEN possible without Stacy Blackman Consulting.

As a very unusual candidate, I knew that I needed the comprehensive package to have any shot. From my first communication with Esther Magna over a year before I applied, I felt that SBC differed from all of the other admissions consulting companies I was speaking with. Esther was forthright about my strengths and weaknesses and laid out clear advice in our free 30 minute call, and I felt that her assessment was more realistic than that of anyone else with whom I'd spoken.

I cannot speak more highly of Sherry, my consultant. I wouldn't have made it through this process without her. She is so knowledgeable, perceptive, thoughtful, and clear - she helped me conceive a strategy and then held my hand and cheered me on every step of the way. She is extraordinarily responsive over email and would always give me a time frame in which she would get back to me. From helping me plot a timeline and stick with it, to guiding me through writing my essays, to preparing me for my interview and advising on my communication with the Admissions Committee, she helped me navigate every step of the process. Sherry asked incisive, challenging questions that made me think hard about who I am and what I want - and enabled me to convey those things to the Admissions Committee in a coherent and compelling way. Sherry couldn't have been more helpful with my essay - she was honest about the ways in which she thought that it could and should be better and more true to me, and so when I finally got it right after many drafts, I knew that her praise was entirely genuine.

Caryn, my Flight Tester, was fantastic. She was honest about anything that she perceived as unclear and had very actionable suggestions, which was critical at that point in the process and made me feel confident when I submitted my application.

After submitting my application I quickly had to turn to the video questions, and SBC's video platform is excellent. I submitted practice video question responses to Bill Chionis for review, and he gave tremendously thoughtful, detailed feedback that I found hugely helpful and was able to implement when I actually completed the video questions. This same video platform was fantastic when I was preparing for my interview, but I found the questions that Sherry asked me to prepare and our mock interview to be the most essential to what I thought was a very good interview.

I cannot adequately express my gratitude to the entire SBC team. I could never have done this without you all - you changed my life!

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Hiring SBC was the smartest move I made while applying to b-school. I worked with an incredible consultant, Chris, who made all the difference for me. Chris has been consulting for many years and knew exactly how to tweak my stories so that they were more authentic and strategic. The difference was clear to me very quickly and I ended up increasing to a full three school package. I actually really enjoyed working with Chris - he is smart, funny and helped me to get real. He never made me feel like I was pestering him even though I am sure I was - there were a few times where I freaked out about small details and could not decide which path to take. He was my voice of reason. Additionally, within my three school package, my application was reviewed by another consultant who came from Kellogg Admissions. This was valuable because she identified a few details that we needed to refine. At the end of the day, I am going to Kellogg and my only regret - that Chris cannot come along....My before and after essays, resume, application form, rec letters etc are striking. The difference is clear. I gained so much from this partnership with the SBC team and am eternally grateful!

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I am very happy I took the plunge to opt for a comprehensive package with SBC - I was very hesitant about the price tag but can say that it was very well worth it! I applied to two schools during R2 and got into both, including my top choice, Stanford GSB.

I came across SBC from Poets & Quants, and because I was starting the application process very late, I didn't shop around much. I had an initial call with Bill, which I honestly did not feel good about - it was a bit cold, impersonal, and rushed, but I decided to go ahead and look at the consultant profiles he sent. I chose Jen Vargo because I liked that she went to Stanford and similar to me studied engineering in undergrad. I had an initial call with Jen and was sold! She was smart, nice, & efficient, and I really appreciated her honestly on some of my questions.

Throughout the course of 4 weeks Jen helped me pull together two applications. We hit the ground running with her strategy- I thought she was spot on with the strengths to highlight (which she gathered after just one phone call!). She also helped me brainstorm essay ideas when I was having terrible writer's block. And I think her edits made all the difference - the essay contents were fundamentally mine, but her edits really pulled them all together.

She was also very responsive - I would email her work products in the late evening and I'd have a response in my inbox by the time I woke up. We primarily communicated via email, but she was also willing to talk to me in the evenings after work.

All in all it was very easy to work with Jen. My only source of stress was when I was about to click "Submit" because I didn't have a good sense of if my application was any good. My fault because I chose competitive schools to apply to and never asked for any feedback, and Jen did not give much unsolicited positive reinforcement during the process (but better than giving false hopes!)...so if I were to do it over again I would've asked her for her opinion earlier in the process! But as I mentioned the end result was fantastic, and I wholly recommend Jen Vargo & SBC.

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Throughout the process, Stacy Blackman was able to: a) expertly select the proper consultant, b) walk me through the admissions process generally, c) mold my non-traditional background into a compelling and relatable admissions profile, and d) answer any questions I had (even the most minute) at any point during the process. I had an incredibly specific story but one that posed a lot of potential issues during the application process, but SBC, and my consultant, truly provided me an unparalleled (and comforting) level of care that put me at ease. I was blown away by my consultant's attention to detail, knowledge of the process, and most of all, excitement over my specific candidacy. I also recommend SBC's flight test package for anybody who can afford it. I cannot recommend SBC enough!

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