MBA Admissions Hourly Services Reviews

I applied to business school and was considering hiring a consultant, but due to a tight timeline, I decided to take a go at it independently. During that time, I had a free consultation with Bill. My solo-attempt at navigating the application process resulted in being waitlisted at my top-choice schools. I was discouraged and frustrated.

While waitlisted, I had many free consultations with numerous companies, all of whom seemed informed and knowledgeable. My gut told me that I should revisit Bill, and after speaking with him a second time, I knew that I wanted to work with not only with the Stacy Blackman Consulting but specifically with Bill.

I am so happy I made that decision. Thanks to Bill’s help and advice I was accepted to my top choice school with a full scholarship. I also received 2 additional scholarship offers from top 15 and top 25 b’schools.

I cannot say enough wonderful things about Bill. He’s a true professional. His edits and advice were simple, yet incredibly insightful. He is an unbelievable writer. My essays were so much tighter and more impactful once Bill worked his magic.

During the interview process, he really helped instill confidence in me and helped me develop skills which I now use while recruiting for internships and will continue to use during my professional career.

Lastly, I really appreciate how Bill didn’t try to sell me more hours than necessary. He could have easily convinced me that I needed the all-In package, but instead, suggested a very modest hourly package, which he stuck to.

I truly cannot say enough wonderful things about Bill. I wish there was someone like Bill at school that could guide me through the process.

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I hired Sherry for the 5 hour package to assist in selecting essay topics and putting the finishing touches on my applications. Fuqua was my top choice school so I selected Sherry based on her previous career in Fuqua's admissions office. Sherry has a framework for drafting Fuqua's essays and evaluating your "25 Random Facts" which was helpful in selecting what helped tell my complete story. She was also instrumental in editing my essays for Darden and Goizueta. I applied and was accepted in Round 1 to Darden, Fuqua, and Goizueta with $48k scholarship from Goizueta! Even if you have a solid application strategy and essays, I would recommend at least a few hours with Sherry to ensure your application is sound before hitting submit!

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I’ll start off by saying I’m absolutely a miser - I over-research every purchase over $100. I say this to give you some perspective when I say that hiring Bill Chionis of SBC was some of the best money I’ve ever spent in my life.

- From the very first call, it was immediately obvious how experienced and knowledgeable he was of the entire process. I never once doubted he knew exactly what he was talking about. He would say things like "I think you have a very strong shot at x, y, and z, but you should go for z and y because your background is more of a fit for what their adcoms are looking for" And he was right.
- He made every single minute count - he was a fountain of information that was clear, articulate and confident. He answered questions I didn’t know I had. We got it done with far less hours than I expected. In the end, his services cost me a third of what some other consultants wanted.
- I’m a fairly neurotic person. Bill answered all my questions patiently and expertly, no matter how small or nitpicky. I didn’t realize how important it would be when I started, but working with Bill made the anxiety of the whole process so much more manageable. Just small things like whether a certain experience was worth putting down in my essay or not, how to word or represent a certain story, etc. I knew exactly how to represent different aspects of my life without second guessing myself.
- He responded FAST. Very important and helpful while I could only snatch an hour here or there to work on my apps.
- I am starting at H/S/W in May and I fully believe I would not have been able to get in without Bill

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Bill took his time to understand my professional and career goals and help me to refine my application materials to make them superb. He and his wife are both MBA's so he's an insider helping. He's successfully placed others into NYU Stern so he knew how I paired up w/ others.

After a few emails and a calls, he was patient and constructive in terms of helping me identify trouble areas. We'd walk thru issues he believed would be critical to the Ad Com and noted best practices in how to over come them.

He was also genuinely curious to get to know who I was and my rationale for applying. He would question me and try to pulled insights I hadn't mentioned, this was really a great method.

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I knew I had a strong application, with the exception of limited quant background and a low GRE score. I wanted a consultant to help share my best self with admissions committees, and navigate around my "weak spots". Not knowing where to start, I decided to book some consulting hours with SBC to get support for essay writing and general application process guidance. I worked with Sherry to create an ASD (application strategy document) and then write essays for the 5 schools that I applied to. Look no further for essay and application expertise. Sherry has been on the other side of admissions - she helped me quickly identify my strengths and weaknesses both as a B-school candidate and in my essays, and used a critical eye to help me effectively communicate my story to each MBA admissions team. She also was an incredibly useful guide - a candid and thoughtful one at that - to have throughout the application process regarding one-off questions I had about admissions, etiquette, optional essays, etc. I highly recommend SBC and Sherry in particular. I was accepted with a full scholarship to one of my top choice schools and could not have been as successful without help from SBC! The services are worth every penny and you won't be disappointed.

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I worked with Lisa for a few months and she mostly helped me with my essay and interview prep. I'm really grateful to have her since I didn't realize how out of my depth I was until I signed up. When it came to the essays, Lisa was great at making my papers sound very well articulated while preserving my voice. We did a couple mock interviews too and she was able to help me address my weak spots; I received positive feedback from all of my interviews.

I applied to three Texas schools (UT, Rice, A&M) since I knew for sure I wanted to be in Texas post-MBA. With Lisa's help I ended up getting scholarships to A&M and Rice, and waitlisted at UT. I learned during my MBA journey that it is incredibly difficult for someone with my stats to get scholarship money to UT had I gotten in, and I probably wouldn't be able to stomach the full tuition anyway, so I'm not too miffed about it.

I highly recommend Lisa. Her invaluable help cannot be emphasized enough. Aside from the essay and interview prep, Lisa was available to answer any question I had no matter how trivial regarding the admissions process. The cool thing about Lisa is that she was a former adcom for A&M and Rice, so she knew a lot of ins and outs about the programs. My only regret is that I didn't start working with SBC sooner during my cycle!

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I started to work with Becky from SBC at the end of November. I was just starting round 2 applications and was also planning to take the GMAT again within the span of a month. As a result, I was down to the wire, totally lost on what to write for my apps, and reached out to SBC for help. A friend of mine had worked with Becky last year and recommended her as a consultant. Working with Becky was one of the best decisions I've ever made. She was an unbelievable consultant. She helped to shape my story as an applicant and position myself in the best way possible to the adcomm committee. Beyond that, she was extremely kind throughout the entire process always making sure that her feedback was constructive and keeping a positive attitude when I was panicking. I truly don't think I could have applied without her help. I was recently admitted to Columbia, which was my top choice and I owe it to Becky. Anyone would be lucky to work with her. I cannot recommend SBC and Becky specifically enough. She'll provide unparalleled support and guidance, and I guarantee you won't regret it.

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SBC is the best consulting service for a reason: it really invests the time to help out the client and in term help, the client better understands him or herself. I picked the 10-hour service package for INSEAD (that is the minimum recommended for the 5+ essays and CV, interview prep, etc.). Karla was my consultant and she was great in helping me frame my structure so that all of my stories work together to form a comprehensive package that helped me gain admission into the program. Having said that, SBC is also great in helping the client set realistic expectations. For example, if one has a below average performance in one or more area (ex. GPA, GMAT, work exp) then the consultant will help you identify the list of programs to apply to. Overall, it was a great experience and I would sign up for it again in a heartbeat.

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SBC and Kevin played a critical role in my business school application process and I would highly recommend them to anyone applying to school.

Initially, Kevin and I did an in-depth character analysis which helped identify both my strengths and weaknesses as an applicant and also identify schools that would be the right fit for me. He shared invaluable insight into each school’s academic and cultural profile that helped me narrow down my list. Kevin then walked me through each school’s application and helped me create a plan to attack each section, from asking for recommendations to the essay and short answer sections. Kevin was always very prompt in responding to my emails and was happy to hop on the phone to discuss any and all issues. Throughout the writing portion of the applications, Kevin challenged me to constantly revise and improve my essays. He provided honest feedback that helped me craft essays that I was truly proud of. When it came time to submit my application, I was very confident in my final product.

The business school application process can be daunting but Kevin made the process much easier. His guidance was invaluable and ultimately helped me get into my dream M7 school!

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I honestly went back and forth for a while before deciding to use an admissions consulting service for my MBA applications, but I am so glad I did! Christina was a pleasure to work with and if I could do the process over again (which I definitely don't want to), I would definitely work with her on a comprehensive basis rather than on an hourly basis because I truly came to depend on her for support and guidance. Beyond just helping me with big items like my essays or recommender selections, she also took the time to guide me on the smaller, open-ended response sections of the applications.

Though we worked together on an hourly basis, she was extremely generous with her time. When I scheduled a one-hour interview prep session with her prior to my interviews with HBS and Kellogg, she stayed on the phone with me for a total of 3 hours, to make sure I felt calm, positive, prepared, and excited rather than anxious about my interview. She was more than just an admissions consultant, she was a great emotional and moral support to me throughout the process, and someone I hope to keep in touch with in the future.

Applied: HBS, Wharton, Kellogg
Interviewed: HBS, Wharton, Kellogg
Accepted: Wharton with the Joseph Wharton Fellowship and Kellogg with the Forte Foundation Scholarship

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