Stacy Blackman Consulting

Words will never be enough to describe my experience with SBC, Esther, and Susan. I decided to be thorough in my approach to finding a consultant, speaking to several companies. I was specifically looking for a company that was established (i.e. high success rates) and structured (i.e. clear process), yet had personalized attention (i.e. are there too many people?). I concluded that there were endless companies that fulfilled only one of the criteria, but only SBC was able to meet both of them. The next step to my process was having an initial call with Esther, who "matches" you with a consultant given your profile and goals. Esther has this rare gift of being able to assess your profile in mere seconds. What I appreciated most was that Esther gave supportive yet objective advice. Remember, you do not want to spend time and money for nothing! Thanks, Esther! Having been "matched" with my consultant, I then had the amazing opportunity to work with Susan. As a global citizen, I particularly admired Susan's widespread work experience from the U.S. (i.e. CBS) to European markets (i.e. LBS). From this experience alone, Susan has this "automatic" credential of being able to work with diverse applicants, ranging from traditional and non-traditional career paths, to various personalities, ages, and backgrounds. I know that's what I admired most about Susan! The biggest insight -- aside from fantastic advice in every step of the process -- was Susan's ability to complement my weaknesses without ever me recognizing or surfacing them. I'm quite organized, yet there were times wherein I didn't realize I was lagging behind in certain aspects of the application process. I also have an infinite number of ideas and thoughts, resulting in sometimes over-complicating or confusing messaging. However, Susan was quick to point out rational solutions and more importantly, the rationale behind them. I was also extremely familiar with participating in school events, yet Susan is brilliant when it comes to knowing insider information into a school's communication method, frequency, and strategies. Most importantly, Susan can look at things holistically when you're laser focused in the process. Firstly, I was dual pathing my test re-take and application process, resulting in juggling numerous priorities. With application deadlines creeping up, Susan surfaced a modified possible test strategy with me, ultimately allowing me to realize a target score. She was the last person who messaged me before entering the test center and the first person I texted upon seeing those numbers on screen. I was also juggling interview invites in very different locations, yet Susan emphasized an optimal way to ensure I could maximize the entire interview experience. At the end of the day, this entire MBA application process is no doubt extremely stressful, overwhelming, and complex. It takes a true mentor, someone who has your best interest at heart, someone who's passionate about making a difference in others' lives, and an expert in the process to be with you every step of the way. Susan was all those things and more; she believed in my story and credentials when no one else did. Through her guidance, I received two offers (thus far) with scholarships, which I didn't even apply for or expect. Never in my wildest dreams did I think this was all possible. And, when I get on that graduation stage, I'll be thinking of how forever grateful I'll be because of Susan. More power to SBC and Susan!

Working with Stacy Blackman and Margaret was the best decision of my application process! I had 2 hours with her and spent it brainstorming essay ideas for Northwestern - Kellogg's 2Y MBA program as well as received some resume tips. I am a relatively younger candidate, 2 years of experience at time of application, and I was struggling with how to present myself. I felt very average in the applicant pool - Big 4 Advisory experience, 3.83/3.75 undergrad/master's GPA in accounting, 730 GMAT and participation on an associate board of a non-profit post graduation - in comparison to people with 5-7 years of experience coming from ibanking or start-ups. Margaret took the time to listen to my background and understand what was important to me. Her insight and critiques helped me present my story genuinely and highlighted my strengths. Her tips on what application readers are looking for were invaluable. Most importantly, she gave me so much confidence in my application, and her support helped me decide that this was the right time for me to apply. My 2 hours with Margaret turned into Kellogg accepting me round 1 with an $80,000 merit scholarship!

I am a business school re-applicant. I decided to re-apply because I knew that I didn't put my best foot forward during the first go around. I also knew that if I actually wanted to improve my application, I would need professional help. I spoke with many of the top MBA Admissions consulting firms, and I chose Stacy Blackman after my initial consultation with Maureen C. Maureen was insightful, sincere, honest, and I truly trusted her experience and guidance from the start. I am so thankful that I did. Maureen was instrumental in helping me create each of my applications. She helped me think through my school selection and craft my overall strategy. She pushed me to dig into my background to help me identify specific experiences that matched exactly what each of my target schools was looking for. She provided tireless, professional support as I iterated on each of my essays and brought every piece together. After I submitted my last application, I had a completely clear conscience knowing that I did the best I possibly could with Maureen's help. It all paid off last week when I was offered admission to my dream school: Wharton. I did the work, but Maureen and Stacy Blackman provided the guidance and tools I needed, and I am incredibly thankful. I would highly recommend anyone who wants to work hard and submit their best applications to work with Maureen.

I was coming from a tough application season in 2018, where I was dinged at all 3 schools I applied to without interview, I knew I needed help with my 2019 applications. I am an older international engineer, and I knew I needed to find a way to stand out. Luckily I had spoken to Esther M way back before I had even attempted the GMAT and she reached out to me immediately I expressed interest in working with SBC. We spoke about my candidacy and to determine who the best consultant to work with would be. Esther was extremely responsive and knowledgeable about the elements of a strong application. She immediately matched me with Sherry H and this proved to be a fantastic match! Sherry is a former admissions officer at Fuqua and she immediately went to work preparing a strategy plan for R1 2019. We discussed school selection and how to make my applications stand out. She reviewed my prior applications and highlighted aspects of my candidacy that I should have expounded on in order to differentiate myself and others I should mitigate against such as my undergraduate transcripts. It is glaringly obvious that Sherry truly cares for her clients and it shows! I went for the 4 school, all in package and while it was tough working on all those applications, Sherry made the whole process super smooth and I daresay fun! We went through countless iterations of essays and she was always on top of things, meticulous and organised. i never felt harried or stressed as I did with my prior applications. She did a fantastic job of managing my recommenders, which can be one of the most stressful parts of the application. She was my biggest cheerleader, but also was quick to dish out the tough love, she really wants you to have the strongest application possible! She was super responsive and was also pro-active in letting me know when she would be unavailable and who to reach in case of an emergency. I benefited from the flight test, conducted by Beth Tidmarsh, herself a former admissions consultant, and while my applications were already strong, her insights and recommendations made them even better! The teamwork at SBC is truly unparalleled. Sherry helped me with mock interviews as well, which really helped me put my best foot forward when I started receiving interview invitations. In the end, I was admitted to 3 out of the 4 schools I applied to, all with significant scholarship! I am so excited to say I will be attending Tuck in the fall!!! I know this would not have been possible without Sherry and SBC! I could not have asked for more from them.

Christine at SBC is a rockstar consultant! As an applicant, I went to a top-tier liberal arts college, had a 710 when I hired SBC (a 720 by application time), and work for a well-known investing shop, but have two low quant grades from college and am on the younger side. The turnaround from learning about the world business school application consultants to enlisting Stacy Blackman Consulting was really short for me. A handful of friends who graduated the year before me in college were all accepted to business school in Round 1 of the last cycle, and they shared a tool: a great SBC consultant. I did my due diligence on a few other firms, but ended up asking Bill C at SBC to connect me with three Columbia-experienced SBC consultants (I had visited the campuses of five schools, and knew that CBS was my top choice). I “interviewed” the three, and a problem arose: all three were amazing and raring to go. Bill gave me great advice with how to pick: choose the consultant who you’d like to communicate wi th for 6+ months. I asked to sign a one school contract with Christine for an application to CBS, and am incredibly grateful for her. Christine went to CBS and knows how to navigate the intricacies of CBS’ application like the back of her hand. But Christine’s biggest impact on me as an applicant was not in the essay editing or in the interview preparation, but rather in how she suggested ways for me to become a better applicant to any competitive business school. She pushed me to retake the GMAT to increase my quant score and take an online Berkeley course to buttress my profile, and helped me to figure out my narrative as a CBS applicant. Christine worked with me from January to July, and I was accepted ED to CBS (one and done!). Looking back, it was so easy to go back and forth with her via email and telephone calls about brainstorming for essays, resume revisions, and the process of preparing my recommenders. She knew how I would be different and interesting to CBS’ AdCom, and recommended aspects to highlight. She gently prodded me to work really hard, but it never seemed like a drag to do any of the tasks — she explained to me why each was important, and I knew that if I gave the SBC “formula” my all, I would produce the best application I could. Christine answered each of my questions (“how do I answer this question on the CBS application form,” “what shirt should I wear with which suit to the interview,” “what do you think about this email to my recommender to remind him about the deadline,” “should I mention that I met this person at a CBS event,” etc.) earnestly and swiftly. She always asked about how I was doing in the process, and truly rooted for me the whole way. In the end, the process with Christine far exceeded what I thought it would be like to hire a business school consultant, and I will continue to sing her praises (and SBC’s) from the rooftop to friends who are thinking about applying next cycle.

Let me cut to the chase: Margaret, from Stacy Blackman Consulting, is the consultant you will never regret to work with! Margaret is the consultant who brought me to the next level, push me further, and keep challenging me on essays while I felt exhausted after 6, 7 revisions: three days before one school’s deadline, I thought my essays are final but Margaret kept pushing me to the next level. She clearly laid out the strategic applications plan for me and a lot of the information I had never thought about even after tons of research both from online and from peers who had applied MBA programs. Down the road, because of the enormous experience she has, she even predicted the “career goal confusion” I would face after networking with too many current students and alums, and gave me advice on how to handle it. She even predicted that the strategy some schools use to give offers and I was able to get admitted after her encouragement knowing that it’s one of the strategies the school uses. I did tons of research online before I finally decided to work with Margaret, and one of the questions I asked every consultant is: “what drives you to be a consultant.” Margaret’s answer resonates with me so much: “to help others make their dreams come true is also a dream come true itself, right?” She took time to understand who I am, in order to help my strengths, uniqueness, shining through both in my application materials and interviews: really focusing on who I am. I could keep writing the good things about Margaret forever… but to sum: I was admitted at two S16 schools, with scholarship at one of them: None of this would be possible without her help. I would recommend her to anyone: I recommended Margaret to one of my close friends who is also applying this year: “she is popular and GOOD, I MEAN GOOD! and you better get on her calendar quick!”

I talked to other admission consultants and I had a feeling it was about the money in the end. I had a different feeling when I talked to Esther M. She listened carefully to my needs, talked to the consultant, and gave me the response based on what they can do for me. I had an amazing experience working with Margaret S. My deadline was 6 days away because I spent weeks trying to overcome anxiety and start writing my essays. She provided step-by-step instructions and made the process very easy. She went beyond to help me meet the deadline, prioritizing my emails to decrease response time and responding within hour even when she was off desk. As I could afford only 5 hours of consulting, she was kind enough to help me with 2 SOPs for Master of Science program, and also gave recommendations to improve my CV. As a result, I completed two 500 word SOPs in 5 days when I spent weeks forcing myself to write something. She also gave detailed feedback and further suggestions to improve my essays that already looked good. Her guidance helped to make this process as smooth as possible. Working with Margaret was a pleasure – it was a genuine desire to help me as a fellow human being. Overall, it was a fantastic experience, and I am very happy that I had a chance to work with SBC. Thank you, SBC team!

I worked with Meghan throughout my application process and she was great! She offered great perspectives into the admissions process since she was an ex-adcom herself. I was admitted to multiple M7 schools and couldn't have done it without Meghan!

I really enjoyed working with Gina. From the very beginning, she challenged me to really reflect not only on my application but the schools I was considering. She guided me through my resume, going above and beyond what I imagined. Her comments and advice on both my resume and essays were invaluable and absolutely contributed to my acceptance.

The experience was excellent. Beth was clear and upfront with a well though out plan of attack. We moved from the strategy phase to the application phase seamlessly. The application was submitted on the exact day we planned. I only applied to my dream school (M7 program) and was admitted!

It was a pleasure working with Gina. She challenged me, gave me guidance and helped me develop my story in a clear and concise manner.

I was a little hesitant to hire Stacy Blackman Consulting after hearing their high prices, but after my free consultation, I knew I had to work with them. They had very extensive knowledge and experience in MBA Admissions. I worked with Lisa who was so supportive and helpful, she helped me every step of the way. I ended up getting a full scholarship to my top school, so although it was expensive, it paid for itself. The other two people I know that have used Stacy Blackman both also got into their top schools. If you're serious about getting into a top MBA program, they are the company to use!