Because admissions consultants represent such a significant investment, I wanted to make sure I worked with a consultant who'd have a night-and-day impact on my Kellogg application. But, it was challenging to evaluate that before committing to move forward with one firm. I'm sharing this review of Beth because she was exactly what I was looking for. In my admissions call, the admissions officer told me one of my application reviewers said they were hard-pressed to find anything wrong with my application. Beth made a significant impact on my application in two ways: (1) In all areas of the application, especially the essays, she maximized the portion of content that Kellogg admissions officers care about. Before working with Beth, I had iterated my essays several times and thought they were in a decent spot. After she reviewed, it turned out only a small fraction was content Kellogg admissions officers actually care about. We worked together to maximize the portion of the content admissions officers care about and pared down the rest. (2) While I had a high-level idea of what a good application looked like, I didn't have a crystal clear picture, and as a consequence, I found I would iterate on application components much more than necessary because I wanted to be sure they were as good as possible. Beth let me know when each one was in a good state so I could focus my time effectively, and that allowed me to put adequate effort into every portion of the application. There's nothing magic in those two items, which is why I recommend her so highly: I'm confident that her impact on my application is repeatable with any application. I could tell in working with her that she's evaluated thousands of Kellogg applications, and that makes her uniquely suited to advise in those two areas. read more

I'm so thankful that I chose to work with the SBC team, and particularly Amy Hazen, my consultant. The MBA admissions process is grueling, and I knew that I needed a partner who would guide me through the journey with patience, understanding, and expertise. The SBC team works together to create a holistic experience. Bill took the time to understand my goals before pairing me with a consultant. Amy spent countless hours with me understanding what made me tick and helping me translate that into an application. Beth flight tested my application and made sure that there weren't any glaring holes, and Anthony helped me prep for my Wharton Team Based Discussion. By far the most valuable part of this process was having Amy by my side. No question was too trivial for her, and she had limitless patience with me as I obsessed over every detail of my application. Amy's most valuable contribution, however, was her ability to help me focus on the RIGHT details. It is easy to lose sight of what you are building as you write the applications from the ground up, and it can be particularly challenging not to write applications based on what you THINK the AdComms WANT to hear. Amy encouraged me to embrace my authentic voice, and ensured that I was telling a story that highlighted who I am as a human. Thanks to Amy and the SBC team I was admitted to FIVE MBA programs: GSB, Wharton, Booth, Columbia, and Stern (with a full ride). read more

On the contrary with external reputation, the initial communication with Stacy Blackman Consulting (Esther Magna) has been the worst I experienced among all agencies. The lack of basic process and professionalism from their team was appalling: 1. After leaving my information on website for 2 weeks, receiving no follow up other than spam emails. 2. I called to follow up, being instructed to leave only phone number. 3. Received texts from Esther Magna, the Principal MBA Admissions Consultant, requesting to email my information. 4. It took 5 emails between me and her to send the intake process and questionnaire with an editing date of 2014, mostly overlapping with one I filled out initially on their website. 5. No follow ups They could be quite full for the round when I inquired, therefore having little interests for new clients. However, this is not an excuse for the gross lack of professionalism. I chose to not work with them. read more

I had a wonderful experience with SBC. As other yelpers have mentioned, the process starts with a kick off call with one of the principals, who then suggests several consultants based off of the initial conversation. My first call was with Sarah, who did a great job matching me to Lisa as my primary consultant. Lisa was WONDERFUL to work with! She broke down the process and setup a timeline. Lisa was extremely responsive to any question I had and always returned drafts to me in under 24 hours. She also always had something encouraging to say regarding everything from a sub-par GMAT attempt to eventually selecting an offer. With the help of Lisa and my flight tester Caryn, I received offers from the three top programs I applied to and was awarded significant scholarships to two. Lisa believed in me, and helped me to put forth my best application. I would highly recommend her, and the SBC process, to anyone looking to work with a consultant! read more

I called this firm for an initial consultation for their full service MBA admissions consulting services. After contacting a few other firms for comparison, I was expecting a pleasant exchange where the consulting principal would provide some honest feedback on my profile and suggestions for improvement. However, I felt that the initial interaction I had with this company was poor, and would not recommend their personnel based on the first call that I had with them. Primarily, I found the consultant's attitude to be rather condescending. When I asked them reasonable questions about the application process, the questions were met with snarky remarks like 'that's silly', or a condescending laugh and simply 'no' in a rude tone. It made the conversation uncomfortable to navigate. The consultant seemed somewhat disorganized during the beginning of the call. It sounded like they were reading my resume on the spot and coming up with feedback without any prior preparation. They also did not bother to follow up with an email after the meeting, unlike all of the other firms that I spoke with. I will say that there were a few redeeming moments during the interaction when the consultant did provide me with some insightful pieces of information. However, the experience left a bad taste in my mouth and has turned me off of choosing them to help with my candidacy. I expected more from a firm with so many glowing reviews, especially in the arenas of professionalism and compassion towards their potential clients. You would think in this day and age (of social media and online reviews) that a firm of highly educated, Ivy League MBA graduates would know and do better to display respectful behaviour towards customers ;) read more

I reached out to Esther only a few months before Round 1 applications. Despite being initially skeptical, I am SO HAPPY that I ultimately decided to go for it. Dione was able to quickly understand my background, my story, and my future goals in order to help me craft a compelling application. She was incredible to brainstorm with and was always available to run through ideas or to answer my (many) questions. She helped me edit all of my essays up until I felt they were truly exceptional, and she was fantastic as keeping these concise, to the point, but still genuine and authentic. I was truly impressed with her work and extremely confident with my applications. Before deciding to go forward with SBC, I had initial talks with numerous other consulting firms. SBC stood out because of the matchmaking process, the entire team's efforts toward your final application (through their helpful flight test), and their resources. I received interviews at 5 of the 6 schools I had applied for, and the SBC interview resources helped tremendously with my interview preparation. In addition, I'd like to add that the team at SBC was genuinely so kind and it really felt like they were on my side in this process. I had lots of ups and downs while applying (personally and professionally!) and Dione and the team continued to be there to cheer me on and push me forward. I ultimately got accepted to my dream school and cannot recommend Dione and SBC enough! read more

I'd like to preface this review by saying that I did not use the full consulting package - I utilized the free fifteen minute consultation. I've used MBA consultants before. They all want you to succeed, and I've enjoyed overwhelmingly positive experiences with them. This was a different case. I contacted SBC because of the raving reviews on GMATclub, Poets&Quants, etc etc. I'm sure Stacy Blackman herself may be absolutely phenomenal, but my experience wasn't. I expect an MBA admissions consultant to be positive, eager to work with me specifically, and a good coach. I didn't find any of these qualities and was turned off by the fifteen minute consultation with one of the associates. Immediately, I felt like I was talked to condescendingly, and that the person on the other end didn't review my profile whatsoever. They didn't seem interested in learning about me as a candidate. Instead, they rushed and pushed me to ask questions which all led to selling their services. I get it. At the end of the day this is a business, but our conversation did not give me the trust or confidence that this would be a good working relationship. There's a fine line between making someone feel like they need your services to put their best foot forward and making someone feel inadequate. The vibe I got was that I was wasting your time, and I'm sorry for doing so. Again, this is only a review for the fifteen minute conversation with one associate. The rest of the firm may be excellent, but I didn't care to find out. read more

Coming across Stacy Blackman's Youtube videos on effective MBA application strategy, being captivated and deciding to hire them, and working with Amy Bergrud have drastically changed the course of my life for the better. As I write this, I will be an Incoming MBA Candidate at The Robert H. Smith School of Business at University of Maryland. I owe this once in a lifetime opportunity due to working with Amy. Hiring Stacy Blackman Consulting and working with Amy was the best investment I ever made. My goal was attending graduate school in 2021, but due to Covid-19 I was forced to reprioritize my goals and apply to graduate schools at the last minute. To make matters worse, I did not have a stellar undergraduate GPA (2.75) and had to provide reassurance to the Admissions Committee by submitting an additional essay that my undergraduate academic performance will not be repeated. Amy listened to my overall experience, shared challenges we needed to address and was able to provide a clear roadmap to strengthen my candidacy. She transformed my resume, MBA Professional and GPA Explanation Essays by revising these materials ensuring my background and story aligned to the MBA program's mission. Additionally, we conducted rigorous mock interviews where she provided instantaneous feedback to make sure I aced the interview with the Admissions Counselor. With our hard work, I felt confident being the strongest MBA candidate possible, proceeded with the application process, and performed flawlessly in the interview. While implementing Amy's feedback strengthened my application, Amy truly elevated my candidacy by encouraging and coaching me to be vulnerable and authentic to the Admissions Committee. Upon receiving the official acceptance email, Amy was one of the first few individuals I wanted to share the great news. I remember calling Amy teary-eyed and emotional telling her how thankful I am in having her as my MBA Consultant and achieving our goal. It was a special moment for both of us and I felt Amy really cared about me not only as a client but as a human being as well. I am forever grateful to Amy and would recommend her services anyone seeking an MBA Consultant at the top of their craft and dedication to see her clients succeed. Sincerely, Tom Sin read more

I had an absolutely amazing experience working with Kim and the rest of the SBC team. Kim took the time to get to know me, my aspirations, my story and built a structure within which I felt comfortable submitting my application. She gave me the confidence to apply to my dream school Kellogg, where I was accepted with a generous scholarship. Her wide breadth of knowledge was abundantly clear in how she helped me find the right programs for myself, supported me as I drafted my essays, prepared for my interviews, and even as I made the hard decision of selecting where I would finally go. She was always easy to reach and responsive, and gave thoughtful feedback on my essays in a matter of hours. I am truly grateful for Kim and I believe my investment in SBC was worth every penny. I selected the All-In package for 4 schools, and ended up paying for an hourly package to apply to a 5th school. Thank you to Kim and Esther, for the guidance and support!! read more

I worked with Yvette from the beginning on my applications. She made me feel comfortable with my own story, she guided me to write better essays while being honest with myself. But she also went above and beyond. She advised me on which schools could be a better fit given my personality. Applying to business schools is no easy task. Yvette helped me organize my applications from the beginning. She made my life easier during this stressful process. Her feedback was on point, and very honest. My narrative was compelling, but not clearly articulated. She helped me improve the way I presented my story. This feedback was customized for each school I was applying. And she has an amazing knowledge on what top schools wants. We also worked together on my interview preparations. Which is not my strength. She knew right away I was doing things common for non native speakers. And we worked together on improving the structure of my answers based on this. I was able to get into 2 schools 1 full ride, 1 scholarship. And I am also currently waitlisted in other 2 top schools. read more

I purchased the 2-school all-in package with SBC for my R1 applications. I worked with Dione for over 2 months revising my resume, brainstorming essays, and crafting a compelling narrative across my application. Dione was an incredible resource that not only provided me with strategic advice but also moral support throughout the stressful process. When I hit a road bump with laying out my career path, Dione checked in on me frequently and provided solid guidance for me to get past the bottleneck. Every step of the way, Dione prepares thoughtful documents detailing an actionable plan, from constructing an overall application strategy in the beginning to picking and requesting recommendations to preparing for interviews. Dione is efficient in reviewing essays and other written materials. She usually responds to emails within hours. When problems and unforeseen circumstances popped up during my application, she utilized resources at SBC, consulted her colleagues, and gave me valuable advice. Beth, who was a previous Kellogg admission officer, was my flight tester. She was a great set of fresh eyes and provided me with much confidence in my application. With the help of the consultants at SBC, I was admitted to CBS, Sloan, Kellogg, and Haas with scholarships. It was a great experience working with Dione and SBC. They made the whole application process a lot more manageable and less stressful. read more

Worth every penny. I chose SBC after doing extensive research on top admissions consultants and felt like SBC was consistently getting the best reviews. I was hesitant to pay for the "all-in" service at first because the price tag was intimidating, but I don't regret a dollar spent. After my consultation with Sarah I was paired with Erika. Before meeting with Erika, I was told that if I didn't feel the match was best serving my application, I could switch consultants. SBC wants clients to feel comfortable with their match. I soon learned that I absolutely did not want to switch consultants, because Erika is a rockstar. She is thorough, has a decade of experience, and most of all was truly invested in my success. Erika has a keen eye for detail and was able to expertly tease out the aspects of my background that would add to my application. Coming from a technical background, I had challenges articulating my professional experience for a broader audience, and Erika was hugely helpful in clarifying my role and responsibilities. She is also refreshingly candid with her advice. She gave me honest (sometimes hard to hear) feedback that allowed me to improve upon my application because she wanted me to succeed. She definitely knows what she's doing. The Flight Test is also an awesome resource, as you are able to have your application vetted by former adcom members who have real experience looking at thousands of applications and can help you tighten or shift your story. Although it's always difficult to feel confident in the crapshoot we call the MBA application process, I submitted my applications feeling confident that Erika and SBC had helped me portray myself and my vision in the strongest way possible. Ultimately I was accepted to Booth (with a substantial merit scholarship) and my dream program, Harvard Business School. read more

Just received an offer from Kellogg!! I simply can't wait to share how much I appreciate the support from Alex and SBC! My experience with SBC started with Sarah who demonstrated deep insights of the admission procedure. She was also able to point out a few areas that I need to work on in our very first meeting. Based on my personal background and target schools, she recommended Alex. In addition to being professional on application, Alex is a strategic, organized and super responsive mentor. Working with him has been more than pleasant and beneficial. He guided me to set up the overall game plan and timeline, provided insider perspectives on my profile, and most importantly, helped me stand out among other candidates of some extremely competitive programs. His vast experience with past cases over the years also gave me unique angles to view certain challenges, and he went beyond expectation to answer any of my questions. Needless to mention, Alex has amazing editing skills and did a fantastic job translating my engineering achievements into the language of business. I would also thank Caryn for the flight test, an assessment with a former admission officer. Based on her feedback, I was able to work with Alex to address some of the concerns that might be raised during the actual admission procedure. Overall, I would highly recommend Alex and SBC!!! read more

In fairness, I wanted to update my experience as SBC and their leadership reached out very quickly after I wrote about my experience. It seems there have been recurring issues with these consultations but I got the impression that they took my experience seriously. Even though the consultations are free and are of course screeners, I would hope they're professional and done in good faith. I feel that I can't give a 4 or 5-star review without having used their actual packages, but I appreciate their response and wish them luck. read more

I began my MBA prep and admissions journey late in the game with the intention of starting in Fall 2021. I reached out to a few different admissions firms for support, including Stacy Blackman. One never responded and another told me they required at least a year to help me. Sarah, a Principal with Stacy Blackman, responded enthusiastically, and, after a thoughtful intake conversation, matched me with Deanna based on my background and goals. For context, I entered the process 8 years removed from undergrad, with just over two months to refine my school selection, take standardized tests, complete applications, and complete additional quantitative coursework that would subsequently be recommended. Enter Deanna. She reached out within 24 hours of my initial conversation with Sarah and came ready with the next steps and suggestions. Deanna's expertise navigating MBA admissions and her up-to-date knowledge on trends and new developments with admissions were instantly apparent and shone through during our entire time working together. Combined with her personality and responsiveness, she really was both an exceptional consultant, coach, and cheerleader for my success. Hands down, I could not have pulled everything together in such an effective way and on such a tight timeline without her help. Stacy Blackman took the time to weigh my background against my ambitious Fall 2021 desired start and decided they could help me achieve my goal. Deanna, in turn, took the time to get to know my story and background and tailored her knowledge and resources to fit my specific needs. In one of the most competitive years MBA programs have seen in a while and in the midst of COVID, I succeeded in getting admitted to a nationally and internationally recognized top school, which I plan to attend this fall. My recommendation of Deanna and Stacy Blackman comes without reservation. read more

My first experience with Stacy Blackman was after my wife and I hired them to help her with her admissions applications for her Full Time MBA a few years back. So naturally, when it was time for me to begin my own MBA journey, I decided to hire them for help with my Part-Time MBA applications. My candidacy had many challenges to overcome. My undergraduate GPA was lower than average, my test scores were just alright, and my career journey was a bit unusual. Add to that, when I was much younger I had previously attended a part-time MBA program and failed to complete it. With all of this in mind, when I first spoke with Bill, I expected him to recommend that I try to apply to a mid-range business school. He reassured me that despite any shortcomings I may have, he would recommend that I try for some of the top part-time MBA programs. I was so surprised and excited that someone like Bill saw potential in me. He was so instrumental in shaping my essays and telling my story to the admissions committees. That is one of his greatest strengths as a consultant. He kept asking me to go deeper into my personal and professional experiences to tell the story of my life and how I've reached the decision to pursue an MBA. He also helped me find ways to improve my resume to demonstrate the full scope of my impact in every role I've held. Further, Bill's expert knowledge of what each top program seeks in a candidate was key in helping me properly prepare for my interviews. He did mock interviews with me that perfectly replicated the challenges of the actual interviews. When it was all said and done, I gained admission to Chicago Booth, Michigan Ross, Texas McCombs, and Ohio State Fisher. In spite of my many challenges as a candidate, I was able to gain admission to almost all of the schools to which I applied. I wouldn't have even thought that I stood a chance at any of these institutions if not for Bill's help and faith in me. At my lowest points in the application process when I felt like this was all a waste of time and that I'd never get in, he believed in me and continued to build me up. He would say things like "Adam, you are a great candidate; we just need to demonstrate that you're a good fit for this program." Almost a year later, I'm well into my first year at Chicago Booth, a school that I never imagined I'd have a place in. I'm having the time of my life in this program meeting some of the most talented and kind people. I feel confident that I'm building a great network of current students and alumni that will pay dividends for the rest of my professional career. And I never would have taken the first step towards Booth if not for Bill's services but more importantly his support along the way. If you're anything like me, on day one, you will be thankful that you hired Bill. read more

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 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 thou ght 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. Overall Jen was very easy to work with and I'm so happy I pulled together the applications in such a short amount of time. I got the result I wanted and couldn't have done it without Jen! read more

When I decided to work with Stacy Blackman Consulting, I thought that they would assign me a consultant to help me with my MBA application. What I received instead was a true partner who genuinely believed in me, wanted me to succeed, and ensured that I was putting my best foot forward. I cannot emphasize enough how much Emily helped, both technically with the application, and emotionally as a coach. From day one, I could tell that Emily was genuinely excited about me as a person because she truly believed that I had the experiences and perspectives to craft a powerful application. At the same time, she was practical and honest: she understands the MBA application enough to be critical of every piece of the application in order to improve it. Some of my initial essay ideas were awful, and she was direct with her feedback. This perfect balance between believing in the outcome and remaining critical of each output was what made Emily an invaluable partner for this process. From the beginning, Emily got to know me holistically: my experiences, background, strengths, weaknesses, interests, and goals. She drafted a comprehensive strategy document, which helped so much for writing the packets to my recommenders explaining my motives for the MBA. I was also in a situation where I couldn't get a recommendation from my current manager, so Emily helped me navigate that messaging and strategize the people to select for the recommendation to best cover my strengths and what admissions would want to know. My resume went through a thorough makeover with Emily, and her feedback on the essays were so insightful. She has an impeccable intuition for identifying what the essays are missing and being able to articulate them in a way that helps me act on that feedback. While she knew exactly what the story needed from a bird's eye view, she could also easily jump into the details. She was so meticulous, culling out the smallest errors here and there, and always looking to make sentences and paragraphs flow more clearly and effortlessly. She never missed a detail. She also went above and beyond many times. For example, she looked up the classes that I mentioned in my essay and pointed out that one of the names was wrong. Because I was applying to the program from which she graduated, she also forwarded me information on the school and articles about classmates who made the career transitions that I hoped to make. When I procrastinated several weeks on my essays, Emily was there every day, reading and rereading through my revisions during crunch time. The application process is stressful, and I doubted myself many times, but Emily was always there to pull me out of my head and push me forward. Even after I had received my acceptance letter, Emily gave me thoughtful advice for the MBA program itself. I'm honestly not surprised because, after working with her, I've gathered that she is just that type of person: she will always help where she can and wants to see her clients succeed, whether it be in the MBA application or beyond. I couldn't have imagined this application process without Emily because she is truly an expert at what she does. If you are lucky enough to work with Emily, you will definitely be in the best of hands. read more

With Deanna's guidance, I had someone who is both knowledgeable of the MBA application process and attentive on my side helping me stay on track and focus on what's important. Deanna was my primary partner and I'm happy to report that I was admitted at my top choice, Duke. She responded quickly to my questions and provided thoughtful feedback. She also made suggestions, such as taking the executive assessment and taking a math class that helped shape my application in the best possible way. Overall, I had a positive experience with SBC. In addition to her guidance, there was team based influence and support throughout the process with Esther as my initial contact at SBC and my flight tester, Caryn, who is a former admissions officer. I had initial consultations with two other companies- Veritas Prep and MBAmission. I ultimately moved forward with SBC because they made me feel positive about my candidacy and that getting into my dream school, Duke was possible. From the first contact to my admit day, Deanna was really invested in my success and I would highly recommend her to a friend. read more

Being from a section of the population/profession that applies for Business programs there was very little I could bring into the whole diversity dimension apart from my experience with my family business. Kimberly Ge's approach made me dig deep and bring out my qualities and past professional/personal experiences that would prove to be valuable. I only applied to Booth and Haas as I wanted to go to the best schools or not pursue this path at all. I chose the whole package from application material prep to prepping for the interview for Booth. Kimberly is very perceptive and understands the applicant quiet well more than themselves and delivers accordingly which makes the entire process stress free. I actually enjoyed working on my apps as the process was streamlined and broken down into small pieces/milestones. The only mistake I made was, I took the Haas interview before we scheduled the mock interview session as I was confident with the material we had prepared. I got an offer from Booth. This only proves that every step of consulting process is critical to the application. Kimberly is also very prompt and quick in getting back with review responses and suggestions which made it possible for me to complete the application in time. Her attention to detail is remarkable. Her attitude of not settling for anything but the best version be it the essays or the resume will definitely improve the odds of securing an admit significantly. Highly recommend her to anyone applying for the best schools. read more

SBC was so helpful with my free consultation. I have already spoken with at least 5 other companies (IvyGroupe, MBA Exchange etc..) and felt that I was simply being told what I wanted to hear and up sold to get a larger package. Bill and Esther were honest about my MBA candidacy and gave me advice on how to improve my application over the long haul to get into the best possible program (what I assume we all want), which requires applying later than I was expecting. I'm still working with them and have not yet been admitted so I will update this post in the future but I was so impressed with my consultation I felt compelled to write a review immediately. read more

Christina is simply the best - I got admitted into 4/4 schools I applied to, including my dream schools: HBS, GSB, Wharton (with a 130k Lauder scholarship), and Columbia; and this is largely thanks to Christina. Christina helped me put my best foot forward in all aspects of my application in ways I would have never been able to achieve myself and has an extremely deep understanding of what it takes to enter top MBA programs. She truly understood my profile's strengths and weaknesses and how to make the best of these in my application. She started by understanding me and what drove me, to help me craft a great, yet authentic application. She went above and beyond in terms of her engagement and dedication to my application, always going the extra mile and putting in the extra effort and hours to make sure that EVERY SINGLE element in my application thoughtfully reflected my profile in the best possible angle. Beyond helping me put forward my strengths, she also pushed me to work on the weaker points of my applications throughout our 8 months of work together. Though a combination of incredible intelligence, care, persistence, and honesty, she pushed me beyond what I expected was possible. Christina was EXTREMELY supportive and was a huge source of motivation throughout what can be a long and challenging process. Along the way, Christina also helped me learn more about myself and my life goals. I could not recommend Christina more highly - she is definitely THE consultant to work with. You will never regret working with her throughout your b-school application journey. read more

I am so exceptionally grateful to have had the experience this spring working with Caryn! I was originally planning to submit Fall 2021 R1, but with her encouragement was able to conquer the application process, remote testing, and other inbound hurdles that came with this year's extended rounds for the Fall 2020 incoming class. I was a very non-traditional candidate with a unique set of experiences and skillsets that I wanted to clearly convey in my application. With her consulting expertise, I was admitted to my first-choice school, Fuqua, with a large scholarship. I was also admitted to my 2nd and 3rd choice schools as well. I highly recommend Caryn for anyone curious about the MBA application process and looking to target top schools. She is a rockstar! read more

I am an international applicant with a non-traditional background. I applied to several programs last year, but failed to get admittance. Before approaching SBC, I did not have a good understanding of my strengths or feasible career goal. My journey started with a 30-min phone call with Esther for an initial evaluation. Esther has the talent and acumen to quickly summarize the main issues in my previous applications and point out the key theme to draft my story and career goal. Her suggestions became the foundation of my application strategy. She is the reason why I chose SBC instead of other prestigious MBA consulting firms. I was then assigned to Maria as my primary consultant and opted for the comprehensive 3-school package. SBC truly cares about matching you with the right consultant as Maria is a former Adcom in one of my target schools. She was instrumental in guiding me to refine my career goals and craft my story from an Adcom's perspective. She persuaded me to visit the schools and talk to current students, which I found to be very critical in writing a genuine essay that stands out. SBC's Flight Tester was a game changer for me. They bring in a 2nd consultant to review the entire application package for my first school. In my case, Caryn, a former Adcom for that specific school reviewed my application. She responded quickly and gave vital advice on my essays. I honed in on her message and made critical changes to my essay based on her feedback, which I think secured my admission for that school. As a non-traditional applicant with a very niche major and in one of the most competitive international application pools, my problem has always been getting over that initial bump of acquiring an interview invite. I am glad to say that Maria and the team were able to get me interview invitations from all three schools. I was admitted to two schools with a large amount of scholarship to cover 50-80% of the tuition (a great return on my SBC investment)! This would not have been possible without my team of super consultants: Esther, Caryn, and Maria. I highly recommend SBC for applicants like me who have great potential, but do not know how to package themselves well and stand out in the application pool. read more

I'm attending my dream MBA program this fall and owe so much of that success to Sherry Holland and the SBC team. As someone who questioned the value of MBA consulting, the ROI is unimaginable. The experience and network within SBC really gives you a comprehensive and honest assessment that will make you a stronger applicant in the end. Out of all the consultancies I spoke to, SBC was the most enthusiastic, optimistic, and willing to take a chance on me. Sherry also kept me accountable, was willing to reach out to her MBA contacts whenever I asked, and helped me through the interview process. Looking back, I have no idea how I would have made it through. I would especially recommend this service to anyone coming from an oversaturated applicant pool or applying later on a short timeline - they were able to push me over the finish line and I am forever grateful. read more

I had an excellent experience with SBC, they exceeded all my expectations: -I was a Marine officer and I worked with SBC for HBS and Wharton, this cycle I got into HBS, Booth, and Sloan - they get results! -Margaret was more than I could have hoped for! She showed me that she genuinely cared about me, my story, and my ambitions. She made such a big effort to get to know me and how I communicated. She made the entire process fun and was a rock to lean on throughout the entire process. -As a military applicant without a background in business, I needed a lot of hand holding in the beginning of the process, the SBC team, especially Margaret, was there for me and helped me find a concrete footing. I asked Margaret all sorts of questions and she always was there to answer them - even the ones not fully related to my two school package. Again, she proved she was 100% on my team! -I initially had a rocky start with SBC - I partnered with Dawn and we were not a good fit. We could not find a way to communicate effectively, I did not feel like she cared about me or my success, and I felt that she belittled me at points. When I went to SBC with my concerns, the firm came in and saved the day! They instantly went to work finding a consultant who was a better fit and I had no issues switching over. The firm as a whole proved that they cared about my experience and were dedicated to my success. I would wholeheartedly recommend SBC to any applicant, especially military, who is serious about applying to a top-tier MBA program. They will find a good match, and ensure you put your absolute best foot forward. If you can, ask for Margaret, you will not regret it! read more

SBC is as good as it gets! I had intro calls with a few other admissions consultancies, but I could tell from my first call with SBC that it was the one for me. I worked with Stephanie on my top school application. I decided to use a consultant because I came from a background that is highly represented, and I knew that I needed to make sure that my application was solid and stood out from the crowd. From our first call together, Stephanie laid out of the framework for what to expect throughout the process. The MBA application process is not an easy one, but with Stephanie's help, it was much more manageable. We spent a lot of time at the beginning crafting my story. This made writing essays and interview prep that much easier. Throughout the entire process, Stephanie was always available for calls whenever I had any questions about essays or I was having a moment of stress. She really cared about making sure that I had everything in order, and I could tell that she wanted me to succeed. The Flight Test was another invaluable tool. Having a second set of eyes on my complete application made me feel more comfortable about submitting my final application. After the Flight Test, we tweaked a few things here and there, and I knew my application was good to go. Without Stephanie's help, I would not have been able to craft such a well-rounded application and can happily say that I was admitted to my top school. I highly recommend both SBC and Stephanie to anyone who is applying to MBA programs. It might seem expensive, but receiving that admit call made it worth every penny! read more

SBC lived up to its reputation as a premier MBA admissions consulting service. I really enjoyed my time working with Bill. I thought he was practically lying to me at first when he said he could help get me in to all the schools that I planned to apply to. Not only did I get accepted to all the schools in which I applied, 3 of the 4 extended me some sort of fellowship or graduate assistantship offer! If you're thinking about using SBC but are concerned about cost, you need to recognize the potential ROI. From re-working my resume to editing my essays, I'm not sure if I would have even received an interview if it weren't for Bill's assistance. He not only helped me from an applications material standpoint, but also taught me quite a bit about an MBA in general and how that will ultimately shape my career. Just keep in mind that this service is only as good as you allow it to be. You have to put in the work and be willing to accept the feedback that you receive, even if it is not what you want to hear. I am more than willing to answer questions anyone may have regarding my experience with SBC. read more

To anyone shooting for their dream school, you must consider having Beth in your corner. Her process forces you to fully reflect on accomplishments from all corners of your past and craft a complete personal brand to present to the adcom. She is SO much more than just a proofreader or generic strategy developer. I come from a non-traditional background and had concerns about turning my stories into impactful anecdotes that someone from outside my industry could fully understand. Beth is amazing at this process and has the experience as a Director of Admissions (along with a strong network of others) to ensure your stories don't bog down in lingo and hit the right points that resonate with adcom. Every detail of your application will receive the utmost attention from Beth, from the obvious in the essays all the way to more thoughtfully thinking through why your positions or roles at a company changed. I can't recommend Beth enough and if you come to the MBA application process as a non-traditional applicant, Beth is a MUST. Results from my own experience: Admitted to 100% of schools applied with scholarship. read more

I would consider myself a very driven person and good writer. I also am an avid researcher as I like to follow most blogs and forums about writing excellent MBA essays and mastering your interviews. Despite all this, I still felt that I needed an objective and honest third party to keep me on task and humble throughout the process. That's why I turned to Stacy Blackman and her team. I worked mainly with one consultant throughout the whole application process, and she was the ultimate professional. Despite a similar profile relative to my peers, she helped me differentiate myself with great stories/examples. She wasn't afraid to tell me when my essays weren't going to cut it. Even when I was close to the finish line, she calmed me down during our interview preparation and demanded the best of me to the very end. When it was all said and done, I'm now heading to the top business school in the land. I know I wouldn't be moving to the East Coast this August if it wasn't for SBC. read more

SBC is truly amazing! Christina is a fantastic MBA consultant who truly cares about the success of her clients. With Christina's professional advice and dedication, I received an offer from Wharton, CBS with a full tuition scholarship, Yale SOM with $100K scholarship, and Kellogg's MMM program with $40K scholarship. Christina not only guided me with creating an application strategy and timeline, but also helped provide me with useful tips for each school that I applied to. She is very direct and will tell you her honest, professional opinion about your application package. This was a common characteristic within the SBC team which I noticed and greatly appreciated. For example, when speaking with some other consulting agencies, they were very general and told me that my application looked good and that they could definitely help me make it even stronger. On the other hand, the SBC team was very honest and told me that while my application had potential to be very strong, at the time it lacked focus and some parts were confusing. This was very helpful for me to understand the weak parts of my application and how to improve them. Christina was also great with pushing me to stay on my timeline track! In summary, I decided to choose SBC for 2 main reasons : 1) I appreciated the constructive criticism and detailed feedback and 2) Sarah on the SBC team matched me to Christina who I had a chance to speak with before working together, and we connected very well and had some similar interests as well. SBC also has many helpful tips with the application and interview process. For example, SBC helps run a "flight test" where a former AdCom officer can review and provide feedback on a final application after you have worked with your consultant on it. Furthermore, the team-based mock interview simulation was very helpful and gave me a good idea of what to expect during Wharton's interview. SBC has lots of admissions officer intel in-house, which is very resourceful! Ultimately, it was really a pleasure working with Christina. I highly recommend her as a MBA consultant. She is very motivated and never gives up on her client. I still remember her working with me on a tight timeline and emailing me at 5am in the morning to answer my questions. Even after receiving acceptance notifications from the school, she will call me to congratulate me and help answer additional questions! read more

MBA is a stepping-stone towards my ultimate career goal - I knew this for a while and like hundreds and thousands of other MBA aspirants, I wanted to get into one of those coveted top B-schools as well. Due to its strong focus on both Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprises, I, upon completion of the school research process, knew that Oxford Said Business School will be the most suitable to complete my MBA from. However, coming from an overly represented group of aspirants, I did not really know how to stand out from the rest and get into my dream school. After talking to a few of my friends who just completed their MBA, I realized an Admission Consultant could really help me to get in. I started talking to various consultancies out there and I do not have any qualms in saying that Esther from Stacy Blackman was someone who seemed to be truly helpful. By going through my profile, she was quickly able to discover consultants who could help me. I also remember how Esther sent me links to Said school essay discussions right after knowing my preference. This was before I even signed up and I was truly surprised to see her level of involvement. Esther introduced me to Susan Roth, whom I worked with for preparing the essays. Just so that everyone knows, I bought the comprehensive package from Stacy Blackman Consulting. Susan knows what she is doing and her help throughout the process not only got me in to Said, but she made me understand how to present myself in a better manner. I cannot think of a single instance where she took more than 24 hours to get back to me with the suggested edits of my initial drafts. Those replies always followed up with additional video calls to explain the mistakes I made or suggest changes with reasons. I remember that once she did a video session with me to explain certain edits while she was at the airport. She truly cared about my success and that reflected in her overall behavior as well. The story was mine, but it was presented certainly in a far better manner than I ever could and that credit goes to Susan. The other thing that I liked a lot about Susan is that she is brutally honest. She was very clear with me about the weaknesses in my profile, but off course, she helped me to shine through the application essays by highlighting my strengths anyway. As we all know, application process to the top business schools is a tedious process with all those numerous edits and sleepless nights. Susan kept encouraging me and though I sometimes missed my deadlines to deliver her first drafts or edited versions, she never missed one. Her help extended beyond what is included in the package to be honest. She helped me select some backup schools and assisted me with navigating through an employment offer that I received during the process and suggested me that how I should communicate that to the school. From my personal experience, I can definitely say that Susan invests time and energy into the students and she loves to see them succeed. I can never forget how she kept cheering me up at times of despair and how happy she was when I conveyed the message that I got into Said. There is not a thing that I will change about Susan and I enjoyed every single moment when I worked with her. I highly recommend her to aspirant MBA students who are in the lookout for an MBA Admissions Consultant. I will like to conclude by saying that overall, Stacy Blackman follows a very structured approach to help out the students and one should certainly leverage on all the guides and suggestion available - they are really informative. I should also mention that the flight test feature is something that can prove to be extremely beneficial to applicants applying to the top schools. First, it is always better to get your essays checked by two pairs of eyes than one and secondly, it is done by a former Admissions Officer who knows exactly how the applications are reviewed and analyzed (In my case, the flight test was conducted by Beth Tidmarsh). Incorporating flight test feedback into my essays with help of Susan is something that I truly believe to have helped me get ahead in the race to the offer of admission. read more

Stacy Blackman and her consultants bring calm to a crazy time in one's life. When I was applying to business school, I was beyond stressed. SBC helped me make sense of it all, and got me on the right track. My consultant's words after he read my first essays. "These are terrible, you are making the classic mistakes. We will fix these, these will rock". He was right. After taking his advice, I got into all four schools I applied to, and ended up attending Kellogg. It was definitely the right choice, and I couldn't have done it without SBC. read more

SBC came highly recommended by a work friend from Wharton. I bought comprehensive packages and I am very happy with my results - I am (as of yesterday) offcially a dual admit at both Harvard and Stanford! I really love their system which is both structured and personalized. The initial 30 min assessment was very helpful. Esther Magna matched me up with Meredith Shields as my consultant and I couldn't have been happier. Meredith was extremely responsive and really pushed me to get the most out of my essays. Her interview prep was also spot on for HBS. She even helped calm my nerves so that I didn't sweat the small stuff throughout the process. I highly recommend both SBC and Meredith in particular! read more

I worked with two of SBC's consultants for my full-time bschool applications. I applied to a total of 6 top schools, all of which had very different app questions. I liked SBCs format of spending time upfront to identify all possible examples/stories that one could use in a variety of essays. The consultants were qualified, very flexible and helpful, and had a knack for coaching you to tell stories effectively. The service does come at a price, so it will help if you can spend a good amount of time upfront in doing your homework and using the consultants time wisely, i.e. more for critical thinking and less as an essay editor. Although I didn't make it to the full time programs that year, I was able to reuse a lot of the content and ideas for the year after and got admitted into one of the top part-time programs in US. read more

I would highly recommend Stacy Blackman's comprehensive consulting services and particularly Sherry Holland. I researched consulting services extensively and am very happy that I chose Stacy Blackman Consulting. Their methodology is very helpful, especially the personalized central plan that guides the application process. As I found that the top consulting services were comparable in price, I choose Stacy Blackman because of Sherry Holland, who became my consultant. She was kind, understanding, and always available. Sherry was fabulous at keeping me organized and on track - creating a timeline, developing a plan, and streamlining the many details and challenges of the application process. It was incredibly helpful to have her guidance throughout. read more

EDIT: I did a free consultation with Stacy Blackman Consulting two years ago when preparing my MBA applications. The call was a negative experience that had left me with a bad impression of SBC. I was reminded of SBC recently and decided to finally write a review about my experience. Ester at SBC contacted me almost immediately after I posted my Yelp review to better understand the situation and apologize. I appreciate her efforts to right things and maintain a high level of service. Sometimes people have off days and having now seen how much care the company places on customer satisfaction, I have changed my opinion of SBC. read more

I cannot speak more highly of working with Stacy Blackman Consulting, particularly Meg and Sarah. I first decided to work with an MBA consultant because I felt like there were so many directions I could take my application, but I didn't have the time to spend hours on google trying to find the correct approach. I specifically chose to work with SBC compared to other consultants I interviewed for two reasons: 1. The team's collaborative working style and breadth and depth of experience working on Ad Comms at top programs gave me the confidence that they knew what they were talking about across all programs and 2. They told me WHY I needed to do certain things so I was bought in to the progress and truly felt like I earned my acceptances. I am delighted that I was accepted to Kellogg, Tuck with an 80% tuition scholarship and Fuqua with a 100% tuition scholarship. Working with this team was absolutely worth the investment! read more

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Erika at SBC for guiding me through the application process. SBC has a great team with former admission officers who can provide invaluable advices for each school I'm interested in. The mock interviews organized by tutor and SBC were very helpful. Erika is super fast in responses and extremely patient with each answer. She helped me distil my stories to illustrate my true self and boost my confidence when I'm feeling anxious. I eventually got into one of my dream schools. A BIG thank you to Erika and SBC! read more

When I initially started looking around for admissions consultancies, I began searching around gmatclub and Poets & Quants looking for the best company to use. Based on some high-level research on those sites, I came up with a list of consultancies (think Stacy Blackman, MBA Mission, Fortuna, Stratus, etc) that I wanted to have a "free consultation" with, specifically asking to speak with the consultant who I would be working with. After speaking with 5 or 6 different consultants, I quickly eliminated 3 of them after I was told by each of them that I ought to lower my expectations and apply to schools that were lower in the rankings than where I was planning to apply. While I lacked the blue-chip names on my resume in terms of undergrad school and employers, I had a solid GMAT/GPA scores and knew that I had a unique, compelling story to tell. It was only during my call with Margaret Strother from Stacy Blackman Consulting where I not only felt encouraged about my chances at the likes of Booth/Kellogg/Sloan, but also felt inspired to shoot for the stars. Having only seen my resume and GMAT score, Margaret had a "right on, let's do this - we can make this happen!" kind of attitude. After a 30-minute conversation with a consultant from each company, my gut told me that Stacy Blackman Consulting was my best bet. So, I decided to trust my gut and went with Margaret from SBC. Looking back, that was one of the best decisions I've ever made. There is no way that I could have gotten accepted to my dream school without Margaret's help. Margaret helped me every single step of the way: from crafting my resume, finding what was unique about me in order to come up with my "story", interview preparation, essay revisions (sometimes up to 7 rounds of revisions for a given essay), encouragement when fatigue started to set in, to the calming voice of reason whenever I entered crisis/panic mode. Margaret has a very efficient, proven method that very obviously works for bother her and her clients. Her experience has allowed her to streamline the revision process to make the most of each party's time and energy. She also has an uncanny ability to elicit ideas from you and take you down thought paths that you never would have explored without her help. Further, never once did I feel like I was one of many clients. I always felt as if I were her top priority. She was extremely patient through the entire 8-month timeframe during which I worked with her. Margaret took time to get to know me as a person. I cannot stress how wonderful Margaret is and how satisfied I am as a client of hers. It was my pleasure working with Margaret and I recommend her as a consultant over and over again. While the upfront cost for an admissions consultant seems steep at first, Stacy Blackman Consulting and Margaret were well worth the money. Not only was Margaret alone worth the cost ten times over, but the additional resources (i.e. background info on schools, mock interview prep, sample essays/resumes, etc.) that SBC provides are also invaluable. read more