Admitted to my target school!
It was the absolute right decision to work with Stacy Blackman Consulting on my MBA application process.
My consultant, Cathy, has been incredibly helpful during the whole process. Cathy provided very detailed, thoughtful, and customized insights. She supported me in the evaluation process of my own profile (defining strengths and weaknesses) and provided great feedback on all relevant materials. I was super satisfied with the structure of collaboration, the speed at which I got answers to specific questions (one day max), and even the interview preparation.
With the broad set of resources that SBC offers (e.g. flight test your application) I felt confident and satisfied when submitting my application.
I would definitely recommend SBC and Cathy to anyone considering working with an MBA consultant.

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Dreaming of just one admission to an M7 school. I applied to 6 of them and received acceptances to 4! I am so grateful to Dawn and excited to say that I will be matriculating at The Wharton School this fall!

After I decided to transition out of the military, I knew that a full-time MBA was the bridge that I wanted to cross to the private sector. While I felt that I had a good chance with my unique experience, I wanted someone to provide me with some direction. After my initial Plan Ahead call with Dawn, I knew that she was someone who truly goes against the “one size fits all” approach and fully supports an applicant’s future dreams during the process.

In the beginning (about 9 months out from the Rd 1 deadlines), Dawn provided me with actionable advice on how to strengthen my applications: try the GRE to compare with the GMAT, make impacts to my professional and personal communities in a COVID-inflicted environment, carefully decide between two different positions to serve my last duty in. I followed through on her recommendations, and I believe our work ahead of time truly set me up in the best position.

Once application preparation was in full-swing, Dawn would provide very customized feedback on my essays, resume, and recommender strategies in accordance with the school. While it wasn’t always easy going back to the drawing board, I really want to thank Dawn for not settling and just letting me have it my (wrong) way. Once you communicate who you are and what you want to do, she is not afraid to take more time and energy to help you get to the desired end goal. She has a gift for reading both for clarity and in between the lines.

Looking back, I was lucky to have some rocks to lean on throughout the stressful process. Dawn was a rock from Day 1, and I strongly recommend her to anyone who is serious about attending a top business school!

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Accepted by HBS and Wharton (with substantial merit fellowship) - very happy about the outcome of my cooperation with Dawn!

I am an international candidate, therefore I was not familiar with the US admissions process. From the very beginning, Dawn laid out step by step what we needed do and supported me along the way. I felt she truly cared and was very strategic. I also appreciated her kind and upbeat approach to getting things done.

All in all, I believe the investment was worthwhile. I will be going to my top-choice MBA program in the fall. Thank you Dawn!

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I was able to receive offers from both Rotman and Stern FT MBA thanks to months of back and forth working with Christine Hawkins from SBC. She was very knowledgeable about the entire process and helped me break down a daunting mission into very doable tasks by providing detailed guidance every step of the way. She was completely honest with me and gave me no-BS feedback from the very start which was what I appreciated from her the most. She also pushed me to think hard about how I can improve my application when I needed it the most. The entire SBC staff from intro to mock interview was also amazing. I couldn't have gotten these amazing opportunities without the SBC team and Christine's patience and expertise!

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Christina was an absolute pleasure to work with. From the very first session, she was extremely honest and provided the very best advice with all the information she had, which then lead to the creation of an extremely effective and impactful action plan for our time together. Things ended up working great in the end, as I got into my top MBA choice (Columbia Business School, early decision), and I have Christina to thank for a good portion of my success in the application process. She also works tirelessly for her clients and will make herself available when you need her. She is a very special individual that will be genuinely immersed in your process from start to finish and will go above and beyond the call of duty to maximize your chances of success. Words will not do justice to how much I recommend Christina’s advisory services!

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I really can't say enough good things about Caryn and the entire team at SBC! After researching a ton of different firms and speaking with more than a few other consultants, I started to have decision paralysis because everyone seemed so similar. What separated SBC for me, however, was the team-based approach they took to my application. From my very first screening call with Bill, my strategy sessions with Caryn, and the flight test / interview prep I took part in with other consultants, SBC gave me access to 4-5 MBA consultants / ex-admissions officers who all gave me unique perspectives and advice for improving my candidacy.

Caryn in particular completely exceeded all of my expectations. Because I had a job with long hours, one of my biggest concerns was how I'd get all my apps done in time but Caryn handles everything with a laser-focused efficiency that kept me on track and moving at a steady pace throughout the 6 months I worked with her. She was always responsive (within a day), gave clear/detailed instructions and comments, and even followed up with me whenever I got behind (which was often..). She also helped me take disparate parts of my resume and finance-heavy background and craft a narrative that clearly articulated my career transition goals and all-important why MBA response.

With Caryn's (and the whole SBC team's) help, I received admission to HBS, Wharton and Kellogg (with a scholarship) and I could not be more thrilled with the outcome! While hiring a consultant was a big investment, I knew that getting an MBA would be an ever bigger one so I wanted to make sure I gave myself the best possible chance of getting into my dream schools. I really don't think I could've gotten into the schools I did without Caryn's help and would highly recommend SBC to anyone who's considering applying.

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I signed up for the all in package with Laura Nelson and was successfully admitted into LBS and UCLA. I signed up before finishing my GMAT and Laura was helpful throughout the process. Going through the brag sheet early in the process was very in depth and helpful and allowed us to craft the best story that was a great fit for each school I applied to. Laura was very resourceful and pushed me to find current students and alumni to talk to which was incredibly helpful to understanding each school. The SBC wiki has a ton of resources on the schools, application tips and essay samples. Laura did a great job of making every sentence count in my essays. Overall, she was very easy work with, available and efficient, and easy to be vulnerable with and run ideas by. She will keep it real with you which I appreciated. You will need to be proactive to get the most out of SBC, but this shouldn't be a problem for those motivated to have a succesful application and it pays off!

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Why I decided to hire an MBA consultant:
Honestly, I was quite confident in my own profile, and really pondered on the idea of whether or not to hire an MBA consultant. After all, it’s thousand of additional dollars adding to the total cost of pursuing an MBA. I made the decision to hire a consultant because: 1) neither me nor anyone in my close circle had experience applying to a top US MBA program. I have no one to turn to to ask questions related to the application process; 2) I needed guidance to put everything into a format that tailors to top business schools.

Why SBC?
I interviewed a few (5-6) MBA consultants from different firms. My gut feeling tells me that some over-evaluated my profile and some under-evaluated my profile - I do not want to work with either, as they could be biased. I had an initial call with Bill from SBC - he was confident that I could get into one of the schools on my narrow list, but he also pointed out what I needed to work on based what I got. I really appreciate the confidence booster and the practicality of his advise.

Overall experience with SBC and some afterthoughts:
I had a very good experience with SBC. I was able to get into my dream school with a decent scholarship! Of course, this is largely made possible by my consultant, Kim, who was wonderful to work with. During the application, I also did a Flight Test with another consultant, who was also very professional and helpful.

Looking back, I’m so glad that I hired a consultant - the whole process was way more competitive and challenging than I ever thought. It’s not just about how good your profile is; what also matters is presenting it in a cohesive and persuasive way to business schools - and this definitely requires a third-person perspective during the application process.

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If I were to share every detail about how truly invaluable SBC and Christine's help was, my review would be 10 pages long...

In summary, Christine is the best consultant you can ask for. She listens to your experiences, thinks critically, identifies those key interconnections, and helps you craft the most compelling narrative that will be your strongest asset when submitting your application. A lot of people go back and forth on investing in a consultant, but working with Christine was absolutely worth every penny - I wouldn't have been accepted to Columbia had it not been for her seasoned guidance and insight. She forces you to think outside of the box and is with you every step of the journey, from thinking through all pieces of your last 10+ years to writing up essays to interview prep. Christine ended up being my true partner and support system throughout the entire MBA application process.

I couldn't recommend Christine and SBC more!

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I personally learned out about SBC through a few friends and decided to give them a shot after reading some of the positive reviews online. My business school application process spanned 6 months (the first 3 were at quite a leisurely pace, so realistically 3 active months) and I applied to two schools. SBC’s team-driven culture stood out to me from the beginning - for example, after reaching out on the SBC website, I was connected with Esther - my initial match maker - who eventually paired me with Carol P. As an all-in package client, SBC also gave me access to valuable resources on the wiki database, which housed a good number of essays and other reference material, and access to a flight test by Amy, a former admissions officer. Throughout the entire period, Carol’s wealth of experience and passion for helping others tell their stories certainly showed. She was a great sounding board for ideas and an invaluable source of advice. Carol was also very quick to respond whenever I had any questions, even in the days leading up to the submission deadline. Despite juggling numerous clients, she was able to recall specific nuances about my background/examples we spoke about and offered targeted suggestions to craft impactful essays. This ultimately helped me secure a spot at the Stanford GSB as a finance industry applicant from a non-feeder firm in Round 1. I have nothing but great things to say about Carol and the SBC team, and highly recommend business school applicants to consider them.

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