My background is in engineering, and I worried that I would have a hard time making the case for an MBA. Lisa partnered me with Amber because she also had a technical foundation and is a graduate of Haas, where I will be attending this fall! Amber spent countless hours with me to understand how my experiences were different than the many other engineers I was competing against. I was mesmerized by how careful she was to create a strategy for me and make sure every detail was well told throughout the resume, recommendation letters, essays etc. She coached me on other activities, like taking a leadership role in my NGO and those initiatives addressed gaps in my candidacy that I wasn’t even aware of. I think the biggest value of hiring a consultant is that they have the history and volumes to know exactly what makes a given applicant strong and weak. It’s only with this lens that I became competitive. Thank you to Amber, Stacy, Lisa, and Maggie.

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I am about to begin INSEAD and wanted to take a moment to thank Kevin and the SB team. I chose SB because it seemed to be the longest in the field of consulting and their knowledge with placing international clients is impressive. Julie, who I spoke to initially, explained that 25% of their clients are international, and I liked that there are former Admissions Officers on their team. I was paired with Kevin because of his marketing background and Kevin became a mentor, as it’s unusual for an Indian applicant to be in marketing. I worked on 4 applications and received admission to 3, which I couldn’t have done on my own.

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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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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 am starting at Booth this fall thanks to Denise and the SBC team! I knew I was a solid candidate: two years bulge bracket I bank following by 1 year global PE firm. I just didn’t want to take the chance on applying on my own. I had too much on the line, as there were a couple colleagues who were dinged across the board last season. I was worried that B schools are more critical of finance candidates.

Denise was brilliantly dedicated. Late night phone calls. She had extraordinary creativity with her ability to discover the unusual from my background (which I thought was fairly high performing but vanilla). The amount of knowledge of how the process from the inside was astounding. I could have never known on my own.

I also had Caryn review my application and give me feedback from the Flight Test. Caryn was formerly in a top program Admissions office so, again, I felt very fortunate. I was accepted to 3 of my 4 programs because Denise and the SBC team kept me focused on what was most important every step of the way. She, Caryn and Maggie were fully engaged with me. I remember essay draft #14 and Denise was still giving me 1:00 am responses that were on target.

SBC has the rare combo of knowledge from AdCom on their team AND genuine commitment to their clients. It was the BEST investment.

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I had some reservations about working with an admissions consultant. I spoke with a few friends and all had mentioned Stacy Blackman consulting.

At first, I reviewed the blog which is a great resource for essay tips. I then took a 30-minute call with a Principal of the company. I remember wrapping up that call in amazement. I could not believe how much we covered in such a short time. It was an eye-opening experience.

It was August, so I felt like I was a little late in the game. I had a limited budget so I opted for the Hourly Services. Sarah ensured that we maximized the time we had together. She proved most valuable in helping me craft my story. Her questions uncovered great examples from my past that I would have otherwise overlooked. The strategy document that she put together helped me lock down my target schools and what strengths I would highlight.

What made the difference to me was that I truly felt Sarah was my coach. She supported me every step of the way with great encouragement. She understood the coaching style that I would best respond to and executed it to perfection. I can't imagine putting my essays together without her guidance.

Even if you're not willing to splash the cash for the comprehensive services, I found value in working with her on an hourly basis.

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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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With a low GMAT, decent GPA and an ordinary finance background, I got a SCHOLARSHIP to my top choice. Bryan, my consultant at SBC was tirelessly creative and strategic about every aspect of my candidacy. The team that supported me, including Maggie and my Flight Tester, Caryn, were thoughtful, responsive and prolific with their advice. I partnered with SBC Consulting because they have been in business the longest and seem to have the most tenured consultants in the business. That was a fortunate choice! All I wanted were choices of MBA programs and I got that and more. The $60k will go a long way in defraying my expenses.

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At the beginning of 2012, a really tough task lay ahead of me. I wanted to go to business school, but had significant weaknesses in my application and was applying from a really competitive pool. Even though I had a plan on how I could address these weaknesses, I didn't have clarity on how I could position myself in my essays.

Andy was pivotal in guiding me through the application process and helping me formulate a strategy that addressed my weaknesses and differentiated me from the rest of the pool at the same time. His passion, dedication, and openness was apparent from our first call and I had no doubt in my mind that we could work together on this. He helped my build upon my strengths and really showcase them in a clear, consistent manner. Prompt responses to draft versions, flexible schedule, late night conversations, and honest feedback were some of the characteristics of Andy's work ethic that made it possible for me gain admission on my first try to Johnson.

However, the most crucial strength that Andy has is his demeanor. He realizes how grueling the admissions process is and that most of the applicants are juggling work and other tasks while applying. He managed to be open and honest in his feedback, yet keep my spirits up. And that made all the difference!

Andy stuck with me throughout the application process and provided critical feedback/guidance when I was waitlisted. I can't thank him enough for his help and I am absolutely stoked that I'll be joining Johnson in the fall!

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I came into this process feeling very average and wondering if I had a shot at all at a top 10 school. For those who like stats (3.2/700). Shanna was realistic but very encouraging and pushed me to apply to more competitive programs than I really believed I could get into (along with some back-ups). While I was not admitted to my number one stretch school, I WAS admitted to Kellogg and Sloan and was ecstatic to get one of those, let alone have a choice.

I think the key to success in our process was her ability to really understand me and what I wanted to say, almost better than I did myself (I know that doesn't make a lot of sense, but she could put my random thoughts into words) And once the plan was defined she could coach me towards pulling it together. My end product reflects me and feels very authentic, but is also a very tight marketing piece that I was ultimately very proud of.

I went through a process up front of selecting my consultant and felt great about Shanna from the start. I put all my trust into Stacy Blackman's team and process and I was not let down.

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