I worked with SBC and Yvette Romero during my admission process.
First off, the whole admission consulting process is an expensive proposition, but is worth the investment for someone who is not comfortable tackling all the minute details and different essay strategies that go in to each application by themselves. I certainly wasn’t.

Yvette and I hit it off from the very beginning and I was extremely comfortable with her approach to things. She was always very direct with me and never sugar coated anything, especially when giving me feedback about my essays. She was available to chat and re-strategize whenever necessary, which put me at ease.
My whole admissions process was also particularly stressful, because I was put on the waitlist and had to be very calculated about each correspondence with the admissions committee. Yvette really helped me with this and luckily it was all turned out well in the end and I got in.

If you are considering hiring SBC for your admission cycle, definitely ask for Yvette, especially because you want someone who isn’t going to tell you what you want to hear, but what you need to hear during this process. She tore apart many of my essay and resume drafts with no remorse and gave me very pertinent feedback on what needed to be done. She had good insight on the schools, and the way they each function, which helped me tailor my essays accordingly. She was also very informed about career approach and industry trends, which I found very useful as well.

All in all, they aren’t miracle workers. Luck still has to be on your side to get into any of the most competitive programs, but they certainly improve your chances of getting in and make you more comfortable with the entire process.

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I worked with Yvette for several months throughout the application process using the hourly service. She worked with me on my resume, essays, interview preparation, and in particular- helped to illuminate a compelling life narrative that existed already, but needed to be crafted and clearly articulated.

Yvette is experienced and thoughtful in her analysis, prompt in her feedback, and she helped to connect me with resources that not only got me into two of the top executive MBA programs I applied to, but also helped me to ultimately decide where to attend.

I am certain that Yvette will help others introspect, and leverage their driving motivation for business school- ultimately leading to successful outcomes. I give Yvette my highest recommendation.

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I am so glad that I decided to work with SBC and Yvette Romero on my MBA apps. I got accepted to my top choice school just three months after my initial call! The process started with a multi-hour call with my consultant, Yvette, to lay out my strategy for how I would approach my applications and what message I wanted to communicate about myself to admissions committees through my essays, resume, etc. I felt that by the end of our initial call, Yvette had a strong understanding of who I was and what I wanted to do, and thus, was able to help me throughout the process in defining and sharpening my story. As I started writing and compiling the various parts of my apps, many thoughts, ideas, and tweaks would come up that I would consider. Yvette was always readily available to discuss these and offer further insight. She was very honest with her feedback, and tough in a way that motivated to me make the right decisions and not just the easy ones. When I prepared for my interview, Yvette ran me through a mock and gave very effective constructive feedback that ultimately played a large part in my success during the real event.

Stacy Blackman's suite of tools and resources also was incredibly helpful during my process. The AdCom Flight Test (a mock admissions committee reviews your application before you send in the real thing) allowed me to identify and fix a few high-level things with my application that ad coms look out for. The interview resources were also very helpful, and the practice platform allowed me to prepare in a real-life type scenario.

I cannot stress enough how satisfied I am with Stacy Blackman. I would recommend this service, and specifically Yvette Romero, to anyone interested in applying.

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As a non-traditional candidate (art world entrepreneur) applying to business school was an overwhelming and daunting task. I can't say enough about how professional and great SBC and Yvette were. After my initial consultation with SBC staff, I had a phone meeting with Yvette, and really feel that she understood the best strategy to help me with my applications. We went through a list of schools together, and her insight helped me target programs that not only had brand recognition, but whose teaching style would better fit my unique background and education goals.

Despite an undergraduate degree in Communications, and a VERY light quant background, Yvette helped me draw real world examples of quantitive abilities in my essays and resume. She is extremely knowledgable in what admissions staff are looking for, and really helped brand me as a unique candidate.

Besides helping with essays, Yvette was a great counselor, helping me through a couple (inevitable) anxiety ridden moments before deadlines and interviews. She was always prompt with a phone call or email.

Our work paid off, and I was admitted first round into Berkeley's PT program (top in the nation), and couldn't be happier with my decision to attend.

I truly feel that without Yvette's help, I wouldn't of been admitted.

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I worked with Yvette for Round 2 applications to HBS, Wharton and Haas. I was already familiar with the process having applied to Stanford in Round 1. Yvette brought a very professional manner and great background experience. She was extremely helpful as we shaped my application further for each specific school, and in analysing my international background in finance and entrepreneurship. Her responses were timely and the comments themselves good. I was accepted to several programs and decided to come to Haas as I wanted to draw inspiration from the west coast entrepreneurial ecosystem and was offered nearly a full scholarship here.

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Working with Yvette was the best choice I made for my MBA application. Given my background in finance (and the surplus of financial profiles there is in MBA applications) Yvette really helped me overcome the challenge of differentiating amongst other finance professionals. She helped me identify the key aspects of my personal and professional life that needed to be highlighted in the application to show fit with the value of the school. In particular, the way she laid out the differences between schools helped me enormously, and it was really great to be able to speak with someone who felt identified with my international background. More importantly, Yvette was very encouraging and, although very realistic, her positive attitude was contagious and made the application process less painful.

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I worked with Yvette during my SBC experience and it was thanks to her guidance that I developed a successful application package.

I knew the MBA was the next step in my professional development, but coming from a non-traditional background (e.g. non-business undergrad, GRE, non profit work) I needed help creating a compelling story that tied my background to my career goals.

Yvette's feedback and insights helped me refine my career vision and brought focus to my keen interest in international brand development. It's thanks to the hours we spent reviewing and refining my application that I'll be joining an Ivy League MBA program this fall!

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I worked with Stacy Blackman Consulting and had a great experience. My consultant was always available, reviewed my applications countless times, and provided great advice to help me turn qualities that otherwise seemed normal into ones that would seem compelling to business schools. I was accepted into 2 MBA programs, both of which I was very pleased with. While I did not get my top choice, I did get into Booth and Kelogg. At the beginning of the application process, I was lost. But my consultant helped me identify schools and helped me put together stories for each of my applications. I am sure I would not have had any success without Stacy Blackman.

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