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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Working without professional guidance, I went 0/5 on my round 1 applications last year. I was clearly doing something wrong and needed help. I have an unconventional background and I simply wasn't telling my own story effectively. I contacted six consulting companies and decided to go with SBC.

I cannot believe how lucky I was to be paired with Andy. He helped me to understand why certain anecdotes or stories would be ineffective--or worse, potentially detrimental --to my application. The most valuable aspect of our partnership was Andy's ability--based on his vast experience critiquing countless essays--to tell me when the angle I was pursuing simply wasn't working. When that happened, I'd come back the next day with another idea, and he'd explain why that didn't work either and we would work through it together. Eventually, I was able to produce something that really clicked. We both knew when It hit it.

Whenever I sent Andy a draft, his turnaround was crazy fast; he must check his email every minute on the minute. He has a gift for intuitively understanding what I was striving to accomplish, and clearly providing ideas around better ways to do it. And yet, Andy is somehow capable of delivering his critiques in a good-natured, positive way. In the end, I gained admission to Chicago, Tepper, Columbia, and NYU. After my shutout from round 1, I'm not just relieved, I'm thrilled!

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Really enjoyed working with SB Consultants - very helpful and flexible to my busy schedule! I ultimately applied in Round 1 to both HBS and Stanford and got into both, so thank you for the help! Found the interview help especially helpful!

Joyce assisted me by talking through what I planned to write and helping me organize my thoughts - invaluable. Having someone not from my company help was very beneficial

My background is in consulting for reference and before that I attended a small liberal arts college. Definitely liked having an unbiased person with whom I was able to speak .

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I worked with Caryn at SBC on an hourly basis. Caryn's familiarity with the application process for Kellogg is unmatched, and her guidance on recommendation letters, essays, and interview preparation is well worth the investment for any top-5 MBA program. The attention to one's personal situation and tailored advice provided is premium for any admissions consulting service. I interviewed 4 different services before selecting SBC and Caryn. Additionally, responsiveness during the entire course of your engagement with SBC is very fast. Overall I give SBC and Caryn both 5 stars. I highly recommend engaging SBC if you have clear goals and a strong background, but may be unfamiliar with the MBA application process or not sure how to best position yourself. The school by school insight offered is the true value for this consulting service - it gave me a huge leg up in effectively and honestly presenting myself to adcom.

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Called up SBC after I got wait listed at Booth (in round 3). I had put my application together with very little outside help and was disappointed that I didn't get in. I felt I needed to bring an outside perspective, from someone with a proven track of record, and this is how I called up SBC.

The service was pretty much what I was expecting: I signed up for the 2hr consulting package and within hours, I got contacted by Kevin and started working with him on making a video and writing a supplemental essay. Kevin quickly identified the weak spot on my application and suggested several elements to highlight on the video and additional essay. We went back and forth for a few days until we were both satisfied with the result. In all, Kevin was fairly responsive and helped me meet a very tight deadline for the additional material (about 1 week to submit the additional materials).

My only chagrin is that the service is a bit pricey (and I didn't get the impression that my consultant was a former dean of admission at some school) and it has a normative tendency: essays tend to conform to what admission consultants think they should conform to. But at the end, those are fairly insignificant details. All that matters is that the service is effective, right?

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The entire team at SBC was very strong. From initial matching to highly frequent interaction with my consultant, SBC knew what it took to produce a strong application.

My consultant was Andy Pelletier and I could not have found a better one. He is a superb admissions coach who exudes a perfect blend of personality and professionalism. What makes him truly great, is his tireless focus on adding value to your application. No matter if you are on your umpteenth iteration of your essays, Andy candidly pushes, probes, questions, and refines, all in the pursuit of crafting that truly authentic and meaningful application. He is extremely responsive too, doing whatever it takes to meet your deadlines. If you are looking to not only produce a stellar application but also come to know yourself on a deeper level as a result, then SBC / Andy is your guy. I highly recommend SBC at large.

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I enlisted Stacy Blackman for hourly services after writing my first set of essays and feeling dissatisfied with the end product – I wasn’t confident they’d get me into my dream school (one of H/S/W).

I was assigned a consultant named Dawn Clare. Her thoughts on content changes, structure and themes were spot on and took my app to the next level. She weeded out a couple 'weaker' content topics from my successes / set-backs essays (eg, weathering the recession - like most other applicants...) and had me focus my energy on some areas unique to me that I didn't necessarily think full essay worthy but turned out to be really great subjects and my favorite essays. She was also very helpful pushing me to clean house in terms of language, making my essays very crisp and action-oriented (and below the word limits, argh!). The final product really had a bow on it - highly polished and highly unified, which I think is just what admissions was looking for.

I also used Dawn for two hour long skype sessions that were EXTREMELY useful. Several of her questions were repeated in my real interview, but it was also just a great confidence-builder to interview with a complete stranger as opposed to a friend or relative.

I was accepted round 1. I do not think I would have been accepted if I’d submitted my essays without the changes Dawn suggested or if I hadn’t felt so good going into my interview. I highly recommend Stacy Blackman Consulting to anyone and especially Dawn Clare.

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I was skeptical at first at the value of an MBA consultant, but after going through the process I am so happy I hired Stacy Blackman. I used Margaret to help me edit my essays only (hourly service) and she was amazing. She challenged me to think through the real meaning of my essays and my story and pushed me to answer the questions in the best ways. I would send her essays which I thought were done and she was great in telling me I needed more. I don't think I could have come out with better essays.

I applied to the top 2 schools and received interviews at both. I was accepted at one and waitlisted at the other. After I told Margaret I was waitlisted she gave me her advice on how to approach a waitlist even though our hours were over.

I've had an extremely professional and positive experience with SB. I think Stacy Blackman was instrumental in helping me effectively communicate my story and would recommend them to anyone.

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I initially inquired about an admissions consulting service because I wasn't sure how to approach my essays and there was concern about my undergraduate GPA.

After my free consultation with Bill Chonis of Stacy Blackman, I decided to work with Bill on an hourly basis. We clicked right off the bat, and yes, chemistry is extremely important for someone to have with his/her consultant. I found Bill to be extremely professional, insightful, and because of the application deadlines I had to meet, very timely and responsive throughout the whole process.

Bill had the patience of saint with me in regards to writing my essays as it took awhile for me to find my “voice.”(I never thought that Bill was trying to get more hours out of me since I was on an hourly rate. And Yes, I am a very cynical person. For the five hours I was charged from Stacy Blackman, I probably worked with Bill 6.5-7 hrs.)

On a side note, Stacy Blackman does have some great tips on a PDF that you can send to your recommenders. I would get my hands on this.

Before hiring Bill, I read many reviews on GMATCLUB of the various consulting services and although the majority of the reviews are positive for most of the consulting companies, you’ll always find a few negative ones in the bunch. I think most of the individuals who wrote the negative reviews are the ones who didn’t get into their school of choice. Keep in mind, these consultants aren’t miracle workers. Some just give you the best chance of getting into your school of choice. However, I do believe that a great admissions consultant manages the expectations of his or her client.

I am giving a five star review of Bill Chonis of Stacy Blackman Consulting. I have no idea how the other consultants are over at Stacy Blackman, but I assure you that Bill is an excellent admissions consultant. My advice is to make sure you click with your admission’s consultant before moving forward and at least talk to two different consultants before making a decision.

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