I was skeptical at first about using a consulting service to help me with my MBA applications, but I’m a believer now. From the initial strategy call, to the edits and re-edits of essays, all the way to the interview-prep help, Erika was my cheerleader, trusted advisor and go-to person whenever I had questions (and trust me, I had a lot). When it comes to MBA applications, candor is king, and Erika did an amazing job at keeping me on the path that we had outlined.

Initially, Erika told me that my four top-choice schools—Stanford, Harvard, Berkeley and MIT—were the four toughest schools to get into (by acceptance rate, respectively). Even knowing this, Erika and SBC took the risk and worked with me, knowing that it could hurt their own client acceptance rate numbers. My GMAT/GPA stats were very average at the schools I was applying to (below average at my top choices), and I knew that I would need a compelling story. I had the work background and personal initiatives on my resume to tell that story, and Erika challenged me to be authentic, to show and not tell, and to craft my story until it was perfect.

I ended up applying to six schools in round one (all top-ten), and with the help of Erika and SBC, I was able to land four interviews, eventually getting admitted to one of my top choices—Berkeley!

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I started this cycle of applying to business school with no knowledge of what programs look for in their applications. I contacted Stacy Blackman and was paired with Nakeyshia Kendall. I wanted to get all of my applications submitted by the first deadline, but Nakeyshia made various recommendations to me to strengthen my application which ultimately made me submit all of my applications in round 2. Nakeyshia is extremely knowledgeable and knows the MBA application process inside out. We went through several drafts of my essay until it was perfect. Ultimately I was able to get into an Ivy League MBA program with <3.2 GPA <700 GMAT and < 3 years work experience. I highly recommend both Nakeyshia and Stacy Blackman.

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I was referred to SBC by a friend who used the service last year and am very glad that I went through with it. The entire SBC team was extremely professional and helpful. My personal consultant, Lisa Anderson, was fantastic. She always made herself available, gave constructive feedback on my applications and was simply a pleasure to work with. She was also extremely responsive which made the process run that much more smoothly. Although I was waitlisted at my top choice, I was admitted to three top 20 schools (including a scholarship at one) and waitlisted at another top 10 school. The investment is definitely worth it and I want to thank (again) the team at SBC and especially Lisa.

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I went through the business school application process recently, and am glad that I used Stacy Blackman Consulting. SBC is responsive, organized, and knowledgeable. I applied to eight top 20 full-time programs for entrance in the fall of 2015 and used SBC’s all-in package for five of them. Ultimately, I was offered interviews at five schools and accepted at three. I am happy and excited to say that I will be attending one of them, a top 10 school, in just a couple of months.

Initially, I had planned on not using a consultant. After reading a lot of articles and books, I felt like I was capable of handling things on my own and didn’t want to spend any extra money. Fairly quickly into the process, however, I realized that I would benefit significantly from some expert guidance. I had taken a week off from work in July to get the ball rolling, but immediately found myself struggling with and taking much longer than expected on some of the early steps of the process, including redoing my resume. On Thursday of that week, I emailed SBC. I had been referred to SBC from a friend whose sister had used them and had gotten into her top choice. Almost immediately after doing so that day, Esther, one of SBC’s principals, contacted me, and before I knew it we were off to the races on an eight-month journey together.

My SBC consultant was Joyce Whang, and I recommend her highly. Joyce is a real professional. She is effective, thorough, and fast. Additionally, it was obvious to me that she truly cared about my outcome. She took the time to fully understand my background and goals, and quickly pinpointed my strengths and weaknesses as an applicant. She was frank and honest with me about these weaknesses, which was somewhat tough for me to take initially but pretty quickly became evident to me as absolutely necessary. In doing so, we were able to develop and pursue a strategy that put my application in the best light possible by highlighting the most unique and powerful aspects of my story while crafting reasonable and persuasive responses for those other aspects of my story that needed explanation and support.

To me, such highly personalized and nuanced help is one of the major reasons to use a consultancy during the business school application process. Personally, I was a candidate at the older end of the applicant age range and did not have some of the other so-called check-the-box qualities or experiences of many other candidates. So, without a doubt, I know I benefitted immeasurably from the guidance SBC and Joyce provided in navigating some of these challenges. In all honesty, there is a good chance that I would not be getting ready to go to the school that I am if I hadn’t made that call to SBC almost a year ago.

Finally, if you can afford it, I recommend going with the all-in package for as many schools as you can. Although higher priced than the a la carte options, I believe it was money well spent because it gave me the full, around-the-clock help and attention that I needed. Good luck to all current and future applicants who read this. I hope you get to where you want to go, and maybe I will see you around on campus.

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Choosing to hire SBC made all the difference for me. Either way there would have been 20 rewrites of each application and 200 tears and roller coasters of hope and doubt, but with SBC I got admitted into my top dream school. Practically, it’s a relief to have someone tell you “Yes, that sentence sucks, write a new one” or “No, it’s great, don’t touch it anymore”. Saves you time and anxiety, and gives you confidence that you are submitting the best told version of your story. Getting into Tuck is the most incredible opportunity I’ve ever been given and I’m convinced that without Erika Olson and the Blackman team I would not be heading to Dartmouth this fall. With everything you’re about to invest in an MBA, there is no reason not to hire SBC to get into the best program you can. My ego may have gotten knocked around as I grinded through applications, but there is nothing like the feeling I’ve had since I got my admissions call. I’ll be reaching my top potential in life because of SBC.

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As a non-traditional applicant with lower test scores, I needed to come up with ways to best present myself in my applications. I was not planning on using a consultant but knew that I needed help in coming up with ways to tie my experiences together and put together a strong application. Working with Maureen kept me on track throughout the process.
Maureen was patient and insightful in helping me come up with an application strategy. Maureen was great to work with, encouraging, and very responsive. She worked on multiple essay drafts with me, helped me come up with ways to explain and present my employment history cohesively and prepared me for interviews. I found the services to be pretty expensive but comparable (and less than some!) to similar companies. The written materials and information on different schools were very helpful when I was finalizing my list of schools to apply to.

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Margaret was my consultant during the admissions process. Having her to support me kept me focused on the task and she was very professional. She absolutely helped me find my voice and pushed me when I needed it during the essay writing process, and definitely made it easier than it would have been otherwise. She provided very useful comments and helped me think through things from different perspectives. I would not have been able to get to the stage I wanted (3 admits) without her advice. She was also always responsive and very professional throughout. Highly recommend Stacy Blackman for their essay writing support!

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With a 730 GMAT as an international candidate and a fast-track career, I felt that I had everything to get into a top MBA. I applied to three programs in Round 1 and not even one called me for an interview. I was very worried and decided to ask for help for my Round 2 applications
I chose Stacy Blackman because a friend of mine worked with them and had very good comments. Very quickly I was referenced to a consultant, Yvette, who had a background in the industries I wanted to pursue after my MBA. This was very important to me, because in other consulting firms they assign you a consultant only after you make the initial payment. Knowing I had a graduate from a top MBA as a consultant gave me the confidence to make the investment.
Yvette proved to be a great consultant and motivator. She gave me confidence to speak in my applications about a uncommon long-term goal that I was reluctant to mention. By dissecting the essay questions, I understood what professional and personal stories were relevant. She researched programs to find the best fit for me given my intentions and personality. She pushed me out of my comfort zone and told me what I really needed to hear to improve my applications. Together we crafted a set of essays of which I am incredibly proud.
We worked together in three applications. The results were two acceptance letters and a waitlist in a Top 2 MBA (H/S). Yvette helped me throughout the process from choosing programs to mock interviews. I really felt she was very engaged with my candidacy and was excited every time I gave her news of my progress.
Looking back, the only regret I have is not hiring a consultant for my Round 1 applications.
5k may seem like a lot of money -and it is-, but if you put things into perspective, you'll probably going to spend around ~200k on your MBA. Spending 2.5% of that amount to drastically improve your chances of being accepted at a program you really want is a no-brainer decision.
I am incredibly grateful to SBC and Yvette for all the help I received during the process, I know I wouldn't have these results without them.

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I highly recommended Stacy Blackman Consulting.

I worked with consultant Margaret Strother for my MBA application this year. My experience with Margaret is very positive. She is very professional and guided me all the way along my MBA application. Especially, She helped me edit each word in the resume and essay to make sure I can present my experience and stories in the best way. Thanks to her excellent work, I was admitted by a top 10 business school this year. I also recommended many of my friends to use Stacy’s edit services, and all of their feedback are positive.

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Amber was tremendously helpful as an advisor and mentor for me during the MBA application process. I really could not have done it without her guidance.

Some specific strengths that I really appreciated was that Amber was always available by phone and email, with very quick responses and turn around time, especially during the essay writing process. She was also extremely thoughtful and insightful in her feedback given her experience with the application process, which I valued as it was all new to me. Amber took the time to get to know me as a person, which also really allowed her to be effective -- her recommendations on how to present myself in the strongest way possible were invaluable.

She also identified and helped remove all barriers to my admission. For me it was a lower GMAT score, which we overcame by taking a required quantitative course and completed thankfully with an A before the second round decision.

Overall, I got so much more value out of having a consultant than I could have imagined - thanks to Amber!!!

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