Many Thanks to Stacy Blackman & Maureen

After an introductory call with Esther at SBC, I was matched with Maureen based on her experience working with my target program. The matching process in itself felt very personalized, unlike other companies with which I spoke (and worked) where I was randomly assigned to a consultant.

Maureen began our conversation helping me to set very realistic expectations. She forced me to think through my story and challenged a lot of my assumptions about the admissions process. Maureen was both kind and firm – the sign of a great coach – and rather than micro-editing my essays, she asked pointed questions to drive me to dig deeper and expose more of my personality.

While no one likes to be told that their initial ideas need work, or that they need to work harder, her efforts and emphasis on pushing me helped me earn admission to my target program. Maureen was always quick to respond and answered many one-off questions throughout the process (she even calmed my nerves after I realized I had a typo in one of my essays after I submitted the application).

Overall, I found my interactions with SBC to be professional, personalized, and effective start to finish. Like I said, I worked with another consultant on a different application and, though admitted to that program as well, Maureen’s ability to help me carve out my story, rather than just edit essays, was critical to my admission. Thanks SBC!