After a 16 year career in Finance, I decided to change my career path and pursue my MPH - Masters in Public Health. My top choice school had an acceptance rate of less than 10%, so I decided to get help with the application process. I was also concerned because my GPA from college was less than ideal. A friend suggested Stacy Blackman. He was accepted into a top MBA program with their help.
Stacy Blackman worked very hard to match me with the best consultant based on my interests. I worked with Esther Magna who has her MBA as well as her MPH.
During our initial 30 minute consultation, Esther really focused on learning about my goals, strengths and weaknesses. Throughout the entire application process, she provided invaluable feedback and advice. With Esther's help, I highlighted my past experiences and revamped my resume and personal statement, which were especially important components in my application since I was doing a career change. Esther also prepared me for my interviews, by giving me great interview tips and drafting questions for the admissions committee. Admissions later told me the interview was the key deciding factor in my acceptance.
Esther was patient, professional and quick to reply to any emails. It was also very easy to schedule calls with her, despite the three hour time difference. Working with her made a normally stressful process very easy.
I would highly recommend Stacy Blackman Consulting to anyone applying to a masters program, even if it's not for a MBA.
I was accepted into my top choice school and I couldn't of done it without the help of Esther and Stacy Blackman Consulting.

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I completed a mock interview with Esther Magna before interviewing with several top schools and found it extremely helpful. Her insights into both the interview process, as a whole, and the criteria used by the specific schools for which I was preparing were invaluable. I know that I felt more at ease going into my interviews after having done a "trial run" with someone who was helpful and friendly but still felt more formal than just rehearsing with a friend. I took the notes from our conversation with me on all of my interviews and wove Esther's constructive criticism into my planned responses. I was accepted to a few of my dream schools and even offered a generous monetary fellowship at one of them. I highly recommend Esther for mock interviews and/or general consulting re: the admissions and interview process. She is a fantastic resource!!

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With the help of SBC, I was admitted to one of the top MBA programs with full scholarships for the first year! I knew SBC could help me when I spoke to Esther for the 30-mins free consultation. As I had less than two years of work experience, Esther suggested creative ways to show my maturity and leadership abilities. I was then paired up with my primary consultant Meredith, who turned out to be a great fit for me in terms of personality, writing style and professional background. Meredith is flexible, extremely resourceful and responsive. We went through over 10 drafts of my essays and every time she was able to respond within a day or two. Meredith helped me identify my strengths and guided me to find the best stories to tell in order to bring out the uniqueness in my experience. I am extremely grateful that she was also there to calm down my nerves and advise me on my career plans. Thanks to SBC and Meredith, I will be heading to the Big Apple this summer!

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I just wanted to take a minute to fill you all in on my experience with SB. I wouldn’t take the time to do this unless I really felt positively about my experience. I signed up with the firm in 2012 and was paired with Esther Magna, my consultant. I knew from the beginning that I wanted to use a consultant to assist with my applications since my GPA was really low (<3.0).

I applied to three schools and hired SB for all of them. Esther was great! I was genuinely worried about being accepted to any of them, but Esther really helped me identify the strong points of my background and experience, and ensure I consistently stressed those to the admissions committees. I know I can be overbearing with the frequency that I send emails, but Esther was fantastic (she may be more addicted to her Blackberry than I am!). I ALWAYS received a prompt reply with helpful feedback.

My background is not especially distinctive - white male, finance background, etc. - but with Esther’s help, I was able to craft an application strategy that stressed my attributes that I believe differentiated me from other applicants. She also had personal connections with former members of various admissions committees who reviewed my essays and critiqued them in advance – this was a huge help.

One last comment. Although the price of SB can be intimidating, as it was for me, hiring the firm turned out to be a great decision financially in the long run. I ended up receiving a scholarship for a full year’s tuition at a top 10 US MBA school. Clearly the expense of a consultant can be high, but it paid off for me big time with Esther.

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In order to make myself the best candidate and produce the most successful application, I had to change my way of thinking and writing, pushing myself harder than I ever have before. Esther made all that hard work worth it--getting accepted to 4 out of four programs would never have been possible without her commitment to my success. Her innate knowledge of the application combined with her real world experience as an MBA is absolutely priceless.

There was never a dull moment; I thought I had enlisted in Esther's help to pine through the bureaucracy of the MBA application when in fact Esther engaged me on an unexpected academic and spiritual journey where I learned information that I know will be integral to my success in my MBA program and beyond.

Over the course of the application process, Esther transformed from an admissions consultant to my MBA application mentor. She was with me every step of the way, fine tuning my essay writing skills and interviewing techniques. I will be attending UCLA Anderson in the Fall and couldn't have done it with her and the entire SBC team. We overcame obstacles that I thought were MBA dealbreakers because of their infinite wisdom, in house resources, and inside knowledge!

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I set up a phone consultation with Stacy Blackman because I was impressed with the quality of information available on their website, and my consultation with Esther Magna was comprehensive and helpful. I reviewed two other consultants' information, but I chose to work with Esther because of her positive attitude and the helpful advice she gave me even in our first conversation.

Throughout the entire application process, Esther’s proactive support and extensive knowledge of business school admissions were invaluable. Her upbeat and timely responses kept me on track, and her guidance helped me focus my applications on my most relevant accomplishments and goals. She answered all of the questions I asked, and many I didn’t know I had. Esther spent time understanding my background, and when I struggled with a few of the essay questions, her thoughtful feedback and creative suggestions helped me craft polished responses that highlighted my strengths as a candidate.

The comprehensive service is definitely an investment, but it was excellent - Esther helped me prepare for my interviews and was always available for my time-sensitive questions. I was admitted to two of the three schools to which I applied, and I received amazing fellowships from both of those schools (which covered the cost of consulting many times over).

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