I used SBC over the course of multiple applications, and they were a very supportive, and encouraging team. Specifically I used Sherry for my Essays to Ross and Fuqua and when my plans changed and I deiced to refocus on EMBA programs, I did not hesitate to enlist her services again, with outstanding results! I have used other services, and the level of engagement, professionalism and genuine desire to see you succeed are unrivaled by the other groups I used. I would not hesitate to use, or recommend Sherry and the SBC team to anyone who is looking to put forth the best application possible.

Read More

The service that I received from SBC was excellent. I truly felt like they delivered more than I expected at every touch point. From the minute I signed up, I received access to many very helpful documents as well as the resource center and their guides. Most importantly I had my amazing consultant by my side. What I liked most about Karla is that she challenged me at every turn, She kept saying "you can always make it better" and she would push me to think deeper, ask more of myself. She was always asking me questions - why? why? that caused me to develop essays that were a lot deeper than the surface level stories I initially thought of writing. I also found the interview prep to be extremely helpful. I took advantage of many resources. I used their video platform, which gave me many practice hours. I also did mock interviews with Karla and did the group interview with Rachel. I was extremely confident (but still nervous) going into my interviews because I had practiced all of my stories so many times. As it turned out I was very prepared - I had several identical questions to what we had practiced.I knew that I was going to sign up for a consultant because I was going for top schools and wanted to give it my all. Upon researching I settled on three firms that were clear leaders. Once I talked to them all, I had no doubt I wanted to go with Stacy Blackman. It was a big investment but one that I knew I wanted to make and one that absolutely paid off as I am now going to Wharton next year.

Read More

Briefly about my background
My GPA is 3.56 and my GMAT is 700. Most of my career I had worked in finance sector as a financial analyst and later at EY Georgia (Ernst & Young) as assurance auditor. With MBA I wanted to make a transition into Investment Banking and I wanted to get into a good finance school. Guys like me with Auditor background (even though I was quite successful at it, being in charge of some of the most complex projects) and not that high GPA and GMAT find it quite difficult to get admitted to a good school, which is why I thought that some help from a professional would do me a great job. Additionally, I was struggling with formulation of my goals: if someone asked me what I wanted to do short and long term, I could explain this in 10 minutes, whereas business schools require that you convey your message in much less time with limited amount of words. Additionally, I knew I had some really good stories which could truly strengthen my candidacy, though I could never achieve to formulate this story in way that it would be easily readable and enjoyable. Alongside these problems, I did not have enough money to pay for the MBA consulting services and I was thinking whether it was worth taking this amount as a loan. I was sure I wanted to apply to Booth (because last year I was invited to Booth interview and because of this I wanted to try again) and Cornell (my dream school). Finally, I applied to 5 schools: 1) Booth 2) Duke Fuqua 3) Cornell Johnson 4) Columbia 5) Georgetown and was accepted at Cornell and Georgetown.

Choosing comprehensive package at SBC
Before deciding on SBC, I had interviews with several MBA consulting companies (including SBC) from top 10 list. From SBC I first talked with Esther Magna, who, after analyzing my profile, immediately suggested Ryan as my consultant: as Esther explained, Ryan had extensive experience in working with international students and had success rate of getting them to desired interviews above 90%, which had really big effect on my further willingness to chat with Ryan. I liked the dialogue with Ryan immediately, because, even after a brief chat, I got the feeling that he understood what kind of personality I was and how I wanted to present myself in MBA applications. I chose comprehensive package because it allowed communication with less time limitations compared to hourly packages.

Working with Ryan
I will start from the end by saying that working with Ryan was absolutely amazing. First, we had a warm-up call which lasted 2 hours, during which we discussed the schools which I wanted to apply to and I received Ryan’s feedback on whether it was worth applying to them taking into account my chances. I wanted to use Ryan’s help for Booth, Cornell and Georgetown applications, whereas I was going to do Columbia and Duke myself. During warm-up call we went through my brag-sheet (this is a document which I filled in several days prior to the warm-up call). Brag sheet included questions mostly asking about my achievements and life-stories and this was a good opportunity to recall all the stories which could be worth mentioning in the application. After this call we started working on applications, first we did Booth, then Cornell and lastly Georgetown. The process was amazing and Ryan was tireless in writing notes to the drafts I sent to him. At the end, when I counted, we had 5-6 drafts for resume and each essay and final versions were really up to application level. Ryan was really very flexible regarding scheduling our calls; for example, if I wrote to him by email that I needed a call with him, he was ready to make the call the same day and I really did not need to wait long. Except for that, we had really productive discussions about my goals, about how to present them and Ryan really made me think through some fundamental issues, which partly changed my vision. Additionally, Ryan would never give up pushing on me to write one more draft of my essay, so that we achieved a better presentation of my stories and personality.

Conclusion
My final word is that service received from SBC and Ryan was worth every penny I paid for it and most importantly I got admitted to Cornell, which was my goal from very beginning. One additional great benefit was that I freely used materials from 3 applications (which Ryan helped me with) for two other applications, which I filled in myself. I highly recommend Ryan to every student wanting to do MBA, especially to internationals and to those wanting to get into Cornell.

Read More

After interviewing representatives from several admissions consulting firms, I chose to work with SBC and was matched with Stephanie. From our initial call, it was clear that we had similar backgrounds and that she had a lot of experience with my post-MBA goals.

After filling out the initial paperwork, Stephanie scheduled a call to review my goals and possible target schools. We spent well over 2.5 hours on the phone, with Stephanie answering many questions along the way and pushing me to ensure that my goals were clear. Based on our conversation, Stephanie developed a week by week calendar with all due dates and other requirements. As someone who as limited time outside of work, this calendar proved to be invaluable in keeping me on track throughout the process.

Throughout the application process, I found Stephanie very helpful at all times. Her prompt reviews of my writing and responses to my questions eased some of my stress, and I'm sure that I presented the best possible case to each program based on her advice. Her interview preparation was also helpful, as the questions she predicted nearly always came up in interviews.

I found that Stephanie's greatest strength was her ability to guide me towards presenting a consistent message and goal throughout each application. Her assistance allowed me to demonstrate my credentials and goals, while also showcasing my personality in a sincere manner.

Overall, Stephanie exceeded my expectations and I would not hesitate to recommend her. Her professionalism and care throughout the admissions process was a great help. Considering the extraordinarily competitive nature of MBA admissions this year, it would have been very difficult, if not impossible, to be accepted to two choice programs without her help.

Read More

Investing in Stacy Blackman's comprehensive package was a wise decision, to say the least. I was admitted to two M7 MBA programs with significant scholarships. I do not believe that I would have been accepted to these programs without the help of Caryn and the SBC team, let alone with scholarships.

Sure, I spent a lot of money on the comprehensive package and some family members thought I was crazy at first, but what I spent was less than 10% of the scholarship I was awarded and less than 5% of the total cost of business school (2-3% if you include lost wages). It was well worth it.

From the start, the SBC team provided the structure, guidance, and strategy that I needed to gain admission to a top business school. At first, the application process was complex, confusing, and overwhelming - Caryn's wealth of knowledge made it feel surmountable.

From the high-level application strategy, timeline, and list of schools, to the nitty-gritty of editing essays (sometimes up to 15 times), Caryn far surpassed my high expectations. Any work that I submitted to her was edited and returned within 24 hours, she was not afraid to give harsh/blunt feedback, and she was very strategic about how to highlight my strengths based on the specific questions being asked.

Throughout the process, Caryn, Esther, and the rest of the SBC team were a pleasure to work with. They were very professional and, in speaking with friends who have worked with other firms, I can confidently say that they are the gold standard in admissions consulting. One important note is that SBC will not do the work for you, but they will help you structure your time and energy and help you hold yourself accountable.

If you are on the fence about hiring a consultant, I would not hesitate to set up a call with Esther and discuss your candidacy. From the very first conversation, I felt more at ease with the process and, needless to say, am very happy with the results.

Read More

After rejection to the MMM Kellogg program in R2 last year, I made the personal decision to work with a consultant to give me a third-party perspective about how to build a compelling story. I was matched with Jessica due to my background, post-MBA goals and top choice school (Kellogg). Immediately, she helped focus my MBA goals by asking incisive questions. Our phone conversations and emails back and forth made me consistently feel like she was in my corner. The relationship was completely what she had defined at the beginning - she was the coach that could help with strategy, but it was up to me as the 'player' to execute.

Without Jessica's support, detailed eye and big-picture thinking, I couldn't have gotten through applying for 4 schools Round 1. Moreover, SBC resources were invaluable. The video essay practice was especially meaningful for Kellogg's application, and I was able to practice a group interview before the Wharton interview. At each step, I felt the full value of the company.

While I look back and realize I had all the 'assets' (resume, scores, etc.), I didn't know how to package it well. As a 'non-traditional' applicant, I needed the SBC perspective to differentiate myself. I think that was invaluable and led to 4/4 interviews. And at the end, I happily got into my original goal - Kellogg!

Read More

I was admitted to Darden with a full scholarship and a fellowship. I also got 1/2 scholarship offer form Fuqua.

I worked with Stephanie Cohn, and one of the things I enjoyed most was her non-judgmental, encouraging approach. It was less critical, and highly constructive. During the strategy session, she pointed out potential weaknesses in my application and ways to counteract them based on my strengths. For example, i have only been at one company, and for almost 7 years. Also, it was in a sales organization. She was able to help me craft my resume to show progression, and highlight analytical projects. Additionally helping me line up recommenders to highlight my broad project experience and progression.

Additionally, Stephanie was invaluable in really focusing and clarifying my career goals and making a compelling case for consulting. Her pointers on both how to technically research recruiting companies and to think through my goalsd also paid dividend in interview.

Stephanie was great about finding the unique portions of who I am that make my application fuller and more interesting. She helped me frame my personal background in a way that represents the kind of classmate and future professional i will be.

Read More

SBC helped me tremendously with my MBA re-applications. I got into my top two choices (INSEAD and Kellogg) despite not having a strong undergraduate GPA. Working with former admissions folks from my target schools was amazing. I had an extra boost of confidence that the advice that I was receiving was spot on. I had several people review my essays at different times. My main consultant was Beth and she absolutely made a difference for me, poring over every word that I wrote and helping me navigate a really personal communication plan. My flight test gave me an additional and slightly different point of view. It helped me realize how I needed to structure essays so that main points came out first to someone who was reviewing the essay quickly. The flight tester's fresh perspective was different than Beth's because Beth was so immersed in the application (like me) so it was great to have that extra check. I also corresponded with Bill who was my associate quite a bit and he had several helpful inputs. I really respected everyone that I interacted with and always felt supported. The team as a whole was incredibly responsive and just nice and easy to work with. Since I talked to Beth more than any family member or friend over the months that I was applying it was great to be able to say that I really liked and respected her. I am quite upset that I cannot bring her along with me to school!

Read More

I worked with Margaret on a one school package and was admitted to that school! From my initial call with Margaret, I could tell that she was a "pro". Together we created an outline and discussed what was feasible while creating a plan of attack. She was extremely helpful in brainstorming ideas, which was obvious from her years of experience. She told me when some of my thoughts had been "overdone" in previous years and guided me to alternatives that would peak the interests of adcom. Throughout the whole process, Margaret was an incredibly supportive voice who comforted me from our initial call. I would highly recommend working with Margaret and SBC for anyone who wants to make sure they are doing everything they can to get into the school of their choice.

Read More

I had a wonderful experience working with Becky at Stacy Blackman. I was very comfortable with Stacy Blackman from the beginning when during my initial call Sarah took the time to get to know me and understand my strengths and weaknesses and then determine which consultant would be the best fit for me. She suggested Becky as my consultant and after reading her bio I agreed that she would be a great fit and she was.

In my first meeting with Becky, she came prepared with questions to help pull out my stories, some of which i never even considered writing about prior to talking with Becky.

Once we got working on the applications Becky was amazing. She helped me choose what story to tell to answer each of the schools unique questions. She was very patient with me as I went back and forth trying different topics for each essay. Whenever I had a question Becky got back to me very quickly (no matter the time of day) and was alway willing to get on a call and talk through any concerns. Not only was Becky very helpful with my essays but also with my application as a whole, she read and edited all of my short answer responses as well to ensure that my application flowed well and told a consistent story.

I was also impressed with the Stacy Blackman consultant community as a whole. At some point Becky and I felt that we had been looking at my essay for too long and wanted to get a fresh opinion. Becky was able to reach out to other consultants and get their feedback on my essay which was extremely helpful.

With Becky's support I was accepted to my first choice school with a very large scholarship.

Thank you Becky and Stacy Blackman Consulting!!

Read More