In at Yale and Oxford! Coming from a non-conventional government background, there is no doubt in my mind that I would have not been accepted to these MBA programs without the assistance of SBC. My consultant knew how to specifically sell each school I was considering on my unique story, and helped me to effectively tailor my background experiences to the essay questions at hand. What most impressed me, however, was the caliber of individual that I was working with. My SBC consultant was easy going, flexible with time, willing to offer advice on a whole host of issues, and most importantly, incredibly competent. In my opinion, it is a rarity to find a consulting company that produces consultants who put in as much effort as the applicant. In my case, the application process felt like a team environment, where ideas fluidly bounced back and forth, and communication was constant. I would recommend SBC to anybody who wants to significantly improve their admissions chances. After my experience, I find it hard to believe that there is a better MBA admissions consulting company out there. Looking forward to Yale and New Haven in the fall! Can't wait!

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My biggest fear going into my MBA applications was how I would differentiate myself. I come from a very over-crowded demographic and felt like I was the same as every other applicant in my pool. Carol at SBC fielded late night panicked phone calls and many emails about this issue. However she showed me how to position myself in a way that showed that I was unique. Even if I had some shared activities or characteristics, I also showed how I was different from my competition. Carol's advice worked, because I am going to Columbia next year, and I viewed it as a stretch school when I started with her. SBC offered a great service, and I really could not have asked for more from their team.

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I used Carol Grayson at Stacy Blackman for admissions counseling this year and was extremely happy with the experience.

For background, I graduated from an Ivy League school magna cum laude, have worked in PE for four years, 750+ GMAT, and was accepted into both CBS and Wharton.

Carol fully understood my background and came into
our first conversations wanting to get to know me before helping us come up with an admissions strategy together. She didn't take a
cookie-cutter approach (which I did fear), and helped me get to know myself better, which really came through in my essays. She helped me to become my own best advocate, and without her advice there's no way I would have been as successful with this process. She also helped me work around some holes in my application that I feared would prevent me from
being accepted at the top schools.

Carol also took the time to have several conversations with me (both in-person and over the phone) to prepare me for interviews at CBS and Wharton. She was extremely knowledgeable about what the schools would be looking for and I felt confident going in to both interviews because of her help.

I also got two great pieces of help from SBC (aside from Carol). I found that the Flight Test was a great way to hear someone else's perspective on my application package and gave me additional ideas on how to improve. Even more importantly, I had short notice on my Wharton group interview and SBC made sure to get me into a practice group interview with other candidates to prepare for Wharton's unique interview model. I found that to be EXTREMELY helpful, and the moderator gave me plenty of feedback after the mock interview, both written and over the phone. These were two major benefits of working with a larger firm that I wouldn't have gotten with a one-on-one consultant.

All in all, I'd highly recommend SBC to anyone.

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Overall, I had an excellent experience with Stacy Blackman- both with the company itself and my consultant, Carol Grayson. I cannot overstate my satisfaction with the firm.

I got in touch with Stacy Blackman in the beginning of my application process- after I had taken the GREs and decided to move forward with B-school, but before I meaningfully researched schools and application processes. I didn’t know anyone with personal experience with the company, but it was consistently listed as a top five b-school consulting firm. I was immediately impressed by the Stacy Blackman staffs’ professionalism and this was consistent throughout the process. After I submitted basic profile information, I was connected with a representative within 24 hours. My conversation with the initial contact (Christina Woo) was substantive; she had already analyzed my basic strengths and weaknesses, assessed my profile, and suggested a Carol Grayson as a consultant match given my personal objectives and work style. I specifically appreciated Christina’s honesty- she was able to immediately highlight my strengths but provided an honest appraisal of the issues that needed to be addressed. I was reassured that my money would be well spent with Stacy Blackman.

Carol was an excellent fit and she worked with me on applications for HBS, Wharton, and CBS. Carol is a wonderful application partner- she provides straightforward and constructive feedback while remaining supportive during a stressful process. Similar to the rest of the Stacy Blackman team, Carol’s professionalism was outstanding. Carol is extremely knowledgeable about how the schools consider candidates and how they view applications. Carol made herself available at non-traditional hours to accommodate my schedule (weekends, holiday weekends, and early mornings) and was prepared before each conversation so our discussions were fulsome and productive and efficient. She always responded in a timely fashion was in touch about any potential delays or disruptions (none occurred, she was always on time). I am most appreciative of Carol’s assistance in translating the schools’ specific questions into concrete essay prompts that were more conducive to a 500-word writing exercise. She offered a high level view of the broader objective of the questions, suggested an overarching essay structure, and suggested topics highlighting details from my personal and professional life. Carol’s comments were insightful- she did not focus on nonessential details, but really pushed me to devise a compelling story and express myself in a clear an interesting way. I was always confident that my final product would be excellent as Carol would not settle for less.

In addition to her help on essays and applications, Carol was willing to read my submissions for the entire applications including resume, activities etc. Her consulting services are truly comprehensive.

Ultimately, with Carol’s help and that of the Stacy Blackman team, I was admitted to all three schools! I credit Carol with much of my success in the process.

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I finally wrapped up my experience with Stacy Blackman and can now post my review. It's hard to think back to my mindset when I was trying to figure out how to hire an admissions consultant. It feels like so long ago. I came to forums like this and reached out to the leading admissions consulting firms for the free consultations. There is a ton of information out there on other consulting firms, like MBA Exchange; those articles and posts seemed to be heavily influenced by their own advertising campaigns. Then, I weeded out the newer entrants, like Fortuna and Stratus Prep. The claims of the newbies seemed really alluring (how neat that an owner even bothered to talk to me); but I couldn't put my faith in companies that were in start up mode. Among the existing companies, there are dozens of reviews to sift through. I saw an important trend that directing my admissions consulting pursuit toward Stacy Blackman. Only SBC had posts of positive reviews as early as 2005 and 2006. Those reviews have been consistent over time and seemed the most authentic. I will be attending my first choice, INSEAD, because of this important partnership I had with Carol and the rest of Stacy's team. The ease of communication, 24/7, through holidays, and over the many weeks of our engagement, was incredible.

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I was ultimately successful with my HBS app and do think that my application was much stronger having working with a consultant. To give you context, I was a rather "traditional" applicant, so it was important for me to clearly articulate my story and why I wanted to go back to school. If you are in this situation, a consultant is 100% worth it - Carol pushed me really hard on narrowing my "field of interest" into a "point of interest"for my story. This was a distinction that I didn't understand and probably would not have seen if I hadn't gotten her feedback, and it is what distinguishes stellar applications vs. good applications.

My advice would be to set up a diagnostic at the very least. It's free, and they will give you an honest assessment of your candidacy and what they will work with you on. The assessment that SBC gave me about my application (e.g., strong and weak points) and the schools I was looking at were spot on - they are clearly longstanding professionals who know what they are talking about.

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I can remember spending so many hours sifting through the blogs and speaking with different consultants. The moment I spoke with the rep at SB, I knew I was finally being heard. No sales pitch, just a direct and thoughtful analysis that assured me I had a dedicated and honest partner. It was hard to decide to spend the 3-school package rate. I initially was going to have a friend of mine review my essays. But, I realized that the investment cost of B school was too great not to give myself every advantage. I had two friends last year that applied to many schools and were rejected across the board. I was already on the older side (2007 college grad) so I needed to get this right the first time! I spoke with Esther initially and she methodically explained how the engagement works and shared initial ideas of how my profile compared with others. She partnered me with Carol because of her Admissions Office experience. Carol was a true professional. There's a wealth of knowledge she poured into every aspect of my candidacy. Not a lot of hovering from Carol and that worked for my style because I am super organized. She took calls from me, as needed and answered countless questions of mine almost 24/7. Another consultant, Lisa, was brought in for a review of my Columbia app and Lisa's feedback was incredibly helpful. I was accepted to Columbia, Wharton and Booth and have decided on Wharton!

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