A friend of mine referred me to SBC because several others in my firm worked with them successfully on their applications. I liked that the comprehensive packages were unlimited by time/email/essay versions, and I knew I needed a meticulous strategy because of a lack of extracurr in my recent years plus I was a young candidate. I spoke with Sarah initially and she was really insightful and productive on our call, so I short listed SBC and MBA exchange. SBC was far more tailored in its approach. Their framework was probing and compelling—rooted in my identity instead of the superficial categories of GMAT, leadership, brand of company, etc. I worked with an HBS graduate, Jonathan, and he became a mentor in many ways because he knew which career paths would work best for my candidacy and gave me the HBS knowledge that was relevant to my candidacy. Many dozens of hours were spent and, in hindsight, I realized I would have paid any price to get the edge they offered. I was accepted to HBS and Wharton (dinged from Stanford). Thank you to the team at Stacy Blackman - you all do great work!

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I signed up with Stacy Blackman after about a month of research. I spent a lot of time on the phone with several firms and when I was finally leaning towards Stacy, I then spent a good 7-10 days screening who I would specifically work with. I think this investment up front, making sure that I had the right consultant for me, was critical to me being really satisfied with my experience. I saw at least four bios of different consultants and spoke with three of them on the phone. When I spoke with my consultant, John, I knew I had found the right person for me to go through this experience with. All of the consultants that I spoke with were competent, smart, experienced, but I did not get as good of a sense that we would click. And I really wanted someone that I could communicate with, toss ideas around. So I proceeded with John and had a very good experience working with him. I also have to give props to Julie, who I worked with up front to get settled in. She was very patient and happy to spend the time with me to make sure it was right. I had little interaction with Ms. Blackman herself outside of a few emails, but I can say she runs a very tight organization. Ultimately I was happy with my choice but I think this is personal so you have to take the time to do your own research.

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I purchased a 4 school package - a big investment with only a small guaranteed refund if not successful. I was skeptical and I admit a pretty demanding client. My consultant was patient and knowledgeable and proved his worth very quickly. Hardest part for me was coming up with topics for the essay questions. We spent a lot of time working on topics and outlines until we were both satisfied. In the end we knocked it out of the park with admits to every school. I am still on cloud 9 and very grateful. 5 Stars - no question about it. My consultant was awesome and Stacy Blackman Cons. was professional in every way.

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