Stacy Blackman Consulting | MBA Admissions Consultants

I got familiar with Sherry through students admitted to Kellogg. Sherry could be the best consultant that each MBA applicant could ask for. She is really approachable, and patient, gave me feedback on my resume and documents with great accuracy. I believe that having a professional consultant like Sherry can really do a charm when applying for MBA programs at top business schools.

I know it’s extremely difficult choosing among all the different MBA consultants, but candidly, I don’t think there’s a better person to support you than Caryn. She made the daunting application, truly seamless. I knew immediately that we were a good personality match and that she would be easy to work with; what I didn’t know was how sharp, thorough, and thoughtful she was on the end-to-end adcom process. As a generally disorganized person, she kept me motivated and on track. With her guidance and the SBC team, I was admitted to 4 top ten MBA programs with scholarships and a full ride.

I had an amazing MBA application experience thanks to Meg and SBC. When I first contacted Esther, she was very communicative, quick to respond, and so helpful in kickstarting the process. Esther got to know me and matched me perfectly with my primary consultant and former MBA adcomm, Meg. We clicked instantly on our first call, and she quickly understood my strengths and themes I could leverage through the materials in my applications. Meg helped me plan out my MBA application process, including a very detailed schedule with due dates for drafts, and helped me clearly write my personal and unique story. She made me feel at ease throughout. Meg was incredibly supportive and gave me so much confidence in everything I was working on. She was my cheerleader when at times I was feeling doubt. She made me believe in my story and my candidacy.

SBC provided me with an incredible support system. Not only was Meg so knowledgeable in every aspect of the process, reviewed my drafts as many times as needed, and gave feedback promptly, but I also had the support and feedback of two other former adcomms, Beth and Anthony. Beth was my flight tester and a second set of eyes who reviewed my application of choice and gave me great feedback. Anthony helped me with my Wharton mock interview and gave me great points to improve on during the real interview. All in all, SBC had an amazing team of former adcomms to help me every step of the way.

I was able to get into three out of the four schools I applied to: Wharton, Booth and Kellogg, and with significant scholarships. I would recommend SBC and Meg to anyone looking for a supportive team. Thank you, Meg, for being a remarkable consultant!

Working with Yvette was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I received multiple admission offers (including HBS and GSB) thanks to her help!!! I never even dreamed I’d be in this position—I will always be grateful to Yvette for being my coach and number one champion.

Here are three things that made working with Yvette so awesome…

(1) Personal and genuine. This process involves a LOT of reflection and introspection, and from day one I knew Yvette would be the perfect coach and cheerleader. We used our first call to go through my entire background/life story and I felt like she really heard me. She helped me tie pieces of my background together that I’d never even realized were linked. She also helped me preserve more personal/emotional aspects of my story and weave them across my entire application. When I pressed submit, I felt relieved and excited because I knew those applications represented ME—had it not worked out with any given school, I would be at peace because I had put my absolute best foot forward.

(2) Honest and efficient. It’s easy to get attached to early versions of your essays, but Yvette helped keep me on track by distilling what was strong content vs what needed improvement and always pushed me for a better rewrite. She doesn’t sugarcoat or beat around the bush—if any points in your writing are vague, inconsistent, or misleading, she will raise them and give you suggestions on how to improve. She consistently turned in edits very quickly with incredibly thorough and insightful feedback.

(3) Expertise. Yvette is an expert in what the different MBA programs are looking for, which was especially important in nuancing how I shared my story to each of the schools (i.e., which parts I chose to emphasize over others). Certain schools are big on dreams and plans for the future, while others are almost entirely focused on past professional experience. Yvette helped me execute my story in the way that was most compelling to each.

Lastly, a big thank you to the wonderful SBC team. I knew I was in good hands from my intro call with Esther, who gave me an honest read on my profile, and there were some potential strengths/weaknesses. The coach-matching process was extremely thoughtful as well—it’s a big investment in yourself and your future, so Esther had no problem working tirelessly to find me the perfect fit. The flight test was a great bonus, especially after spending nearly two months writing/rewriting, I found it incredibly helpful to get a fresh pair of eyes on my full set of application materials. Caryn, my flight tester, helped identify what are some areas in my story that she wanted to hear more about, so Yvette and I quickly got to work and made my essays that much better.

THANK YOU again!! It truly does take a village, and I can proudly say Yvette and the SBC team were an instrumental part of my village.

I was accepted to Wharton, Kellogg, and Tuck with generous scholarships, and I have Stephanie and the SBC team to thank. During my admissions process, I worked with Stephanie C. (a former Admissions Officer). Working with Stephanie was great – she was very professional, helpful, and knowledgeable. Stephanie was super helpful throughout the entire process, even when I was feeling stressed and anxious. She was also always encouraging and positive! I also used the flight test component of SBC, which provided additional helpful context and the Wharton TBD prep was incredibly useful to help prepare for my Wharton interview.

Anthony was a phenomenal resource, coach, and partner throughout my application, I wouldn’t have gotten into Wharton without him. I worked with Anthony as a re-applicant, specifically a ding analysis, a Mock TBD, and some ad-hoc coaching hours.

On the application deliverables, Anthony had strong recommendations for strategy and positioning. His years of experience showed in the way that we refocused my story from my previous application to the readmitted application that ultimately got me in. His experience was evident when we discussed application round strategy. I received some candid advice from a current AdCom about pushing my applications to R2, however given my fit with Wharton Anthony advised against it and I decided to listen to Anthony. I don’t think I would have been as competitive in R2.

Outside of the deliverables, Anthony was the exact type of coach I was looking for. I wanted a coach who was in my corner from day one, and from my first ding analysis, I always felt like Anthony genuinely believed I would be a good fit for the Wharton program. He showed that through his very quick replies when I would ask about the letter of recommendation positioning or even just a quick pep talk about getting through the tough application cycle. It always felt that my application mattered to him as much as it did to me.

Ultimately, if you and Anthony are the right fit as a client and consultant, there’s nobody better to have in your corner. With Anthony’s help I was admitted to Wharton with a scholarship!

After having initial screenings with several other consulting firms, I picked SBC and specifically wanted to work with Caryn – am incredibly glad I made that decision! I was admitted to 3 of my top choice M7 schools thanks to Caryn helping me differentiate myself despite being in an over-represented minority pool with a cookie-cutter background.

Right from the get go, Caryn was incredibly supportive and encouraging and invested time to truly understand my background and goals. She led me through the whole process seamlessly right from initial strategy discussions to school selection, essays, data form, and interviews – making sure I was bringing my best to each portion of the application. She brings tremendous experience and a deep understanding of how adcoms think and what they are looking for – which helps craft a compelling application. She is also very transparent and direct with reliably quick turnaround times of ~24 hours!

Looking back, I 100% made the right decision in working with Caryn and would highly recommend in a heartbeat!

Mindy is incredible. I came to her after receiving a recommendation from a friend who used her services prior to joining Stacey Blackman. I was terrified when I started the process – I had a low GMAT in an extremely overrepresented bucket. Mindy helped me narrow in on what made me special and gave me the confidence to bring my personality and lived experience to the forefront. I work long hours and she was supportive with tight timelines and patient with my process. She gave me feedback when I needed feedback, support when I needed support, and her EQ was exactly what I needed. I got into 5/6 schools with scholarships.

I had an amazing experience working with Dione on my applications. Starting from the very beginning, she spent time building a thorough understanding of me as an individual and my ST/LT goals. Based on this initial assessment, she helped me craft tailored applications for the two M7 schools I applied to. This tailored approach was proven effective in landing me an offer from one of them and WL from the other program (top 3).

As a non-citizen Asian male (saturated demographic pool) coming from a non-feeder college and a non-standard career path, I’m very happy with the results. Dione played a pivotal role in helping me better position myself to stand out from other applicants with similar backgrounds. In particular, she talked through with me the pros and cons of various options I had when writing my essays and narrowed down the most effective ones for each of the programs. Her POV and candid feedback were super helpful given her nuanced understanding of what each of the schools was looking for, as well as her extensive experience in B-School application advisory.

I highly recommend Dione to future applicants who would like to position themselves as “compelling” applicants to any top MBA program!

I bought an all-in consulting package from SBC to apply to a Sloan Fellows type of program (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sloan_Fellows). Alex was my main partner in choosing the right strategy for mid-career professionals and executing it for my applications. Thanks to Alex, I was able to submit three applications in a very short time (about a month) and was admitted to 2 out of 3 programs. Although we had an 11-hour time difference, we were able to perfectly and efficiently interact online like in a ping pong game – one full iteration every day and the reply the next morning; thus keeping our progress at a constant fast pace. I have chosen MIT SFMBA 2024 program and would like to strongly recommend Alex to mid-career candidates.

I can confidently say that without Christine’s help I would not have had the positive outcome I did. Throughout the process from application to interview she provided keen insights that helped to narrow my focus and improve my presentation of myself. She is kind and easily approachable on all topics of your application. She was great at helping me think through certain aspects of my application that I was unsure about. She also was instrumental in showing me key places to improve my application that I would have NEVER known about. I highly recommend working with Christine and SBC as a whole.

As an international re-applicant from an overrepresented pool and with a master’s degree already my chances of getting in were low, much lower than the admissions percentage.

Thanks to Dawn, we did it!!! I received dual admission to HBS and GSB on the second attempt.

I would like to highlight some strengths that distinguish Dawn from all her colleagues:
– She is laser-sharp when identifying areas that I could improve and those that I could build upon to have a stronger application the second time around. Knowing where I could fall helped me make sure that I didn’t!
– Her meticulous methodical approach: she really does go line by line and does not try to cut corners
– Her supportive attitude, confidence in my success, and true care.
– Oh, and a smiley personality!

Very grateful to Dawn for her coaching and would not be able to do this without her!

Ashley helped me both review my essay content through the eyes of a former HBS Admissions Board Member, as well as to mock interview. Her mock was the most challenging of any of my practice interviews, but I really think that it prepared me well for what was to come on interview day. Ashley was always friendly, supportive, and willing to work around my busy work schedule – I cannot thank her and the SBC team enough!

I believe Margaret made all the difference in my success in getting accepted to my top two choices, Tuck and Darden. She was extremely process-driven and kept me on schedule by creating an environment where I had to stick to key deadlines and write dozens of iterations of each essay draft. It was really hard work but the results speak for themselves. Additionally, she helped me be honest with myself about which programs were suitable for me and also which programs were realistic targets given my academic background, work history, and test scores. Finally, I think she does a masterful job of helping a candidate pull out what makes them unique based on the stories you can tell from your experiences. I could not recommend a consultant more highly.

I worked with Ashley for my HBS mock interview. Ashley is absolutely amazing and has a lot of experience in HBS interviews. She sent me this very detailed email explaining the HBS interview structure before our mock session. During the session, she really helped me to organize my responses to interview questions more clearly and understand the unique interview format of HBS better. I felt so much more confident and prepared after having a 1:1 mock interview with her. I’d highly recommend working with her!

The journey of working on my MBA application with Dione was as rewarding as the result – admittance by HBS. A few highlights:

1) throughout the process, Dione pushed me to do a lot of work to understand myself and my career drive. This was a valuable exercise even outside MBA application.

2) she helped me identify my personal narrative that was both authentic and unique and ensured this narrative carried through the whole application process: essays and interviews.

3) great advice on how to effectively communicate with people who can help me (e.g. recommenders, B-school alums)

I got in touch with Mark because I was having trouble effectively communicating my life story. Mark helped me portray my lived experiences in a positive manner.

A few minutes into a conversation with Mark, you can tell that he’s a seasoned veteran at this. The interview prep I did with him really helped me calm my nerves before I went into the interview.

He is extremely punctual and turns docs around very quickly. He communicated proactively and replied to every single one of my annoying emails within the hour.

10/10 would recommend.

I had some issues with my essays and was not a professional at writing and designing resumes, so she helped me with my application. She was an excellent guide; She explained all the details that mattered and showed me how to write and complete my application better. Also, she has a fantastic attitude, and it was such a great time when she coached me. If you need to focus on all points, I recommend you hire her for help.

Laura was an integral part of my MBA application process and key to my acceptance at Duke Fuqua (Class of 2025). I received interview initiations to all three schools that I applied to but withdrew my other two applications as I was accepted to Fuqua in the binding early action round. I have a very nontraditional background and Laura helped me pull from my experiences and craft a compelling application for the admissions committee. She guided me through every step of the process – my school selection, resume, essays, and all other free-response parts of the applications. I am embarrassed that I sent out my resume before Laura helped me rework it. For the first time, I feel like it accurately depicts what I have worked on and accomplished during my ten-year entrepreneurial career. While high school was 10+ years ago for me, she reminds me of one of those special teachers that always brought the best work out of her students. She pushed me to do some of my best writing to date. I highly recommend that anyone that is willing to invest time and money in applying for MBA programs work with Laura – you won’t be disappointed!

I started the process having no idea how to present myself to the ad com. Laura helped me find my own words and guided me through the application process from start to finish. Her feedback both big picture and granular was fantastic, her turnaround was very fast, and the time she billed was very low for the content she gave me.

I worked with another consultant last year and had a horrible experience. Laura was indeed the best person to work with in terms of building up my profile by suggesting what pre-MBA classes I should take and working with me on a timeline to submit my application early. I really appreciated how responsive Laura is as well as candid. It made this application (and acceptance!) experience truly exceptional. I cannot recommend her as a consultant enough.

I’m very lucky to have Mark help with my application to the EMBA of Oxford. He is such a genius who deeply understands every detail and plays a crucial role in my final success. No matter the application documents or the interview coaching, his sound knowledge of the program and every step of the application helped me achieve the final target. All questions asked in the actual interview were covered in the mock interview Mark prepared for me, which is impressive.
I strongly recommend Mark to those looking for a real expert to guide your whole journey. He will be a precious asset you can have when applying for top business schools in Europe.

You will not regret working with Christina. Choosing her was an absolute game changer in my application strategy. I worked with her through all the steps of the application…from creating a strategy that worked for me all the way to choosing which offer to accept.

Yes, CHOOSING. I got into all 6 schools I applied to, including my dream school: HBS, GSB, Wharton, Columbia, Booth, and Kellogg!!!

She truly cares about her candidates. She chooses them carefully and truly gets to know them at a deeper level. Through our discussions, I have learned so much about myself and the path I wanted to follow: a much-needed introspection ahead of an MBA and when writing your essays! Her input was crucial when building the flow and themes for my essays.
She also becomes so invested in your success that she just goes above and beyond to support you throughout this process – she will be your advisor, coach, mentor, friend, role model, shoulder to cry on (virtually), and most importantly…your Nr.1 Fan. She knows the unique ways in which you shine and is able to leverage these to help you reach your goals. She gives honest advice and makes herself available when you need her. Most importantly, she is so resourceful and will help you find the best solutions to any roadblocks you’ll encounter along the way.

I can not recommend working with Christina enough! I would not be at my dream school today if it wasn’t for her.

Meg was an incredible asset in achieving success in applying to MBA programs.

Frustrated with my current consultants who lacked the professional experience on the other side of the table as adcomm staff, I set out to interview several different consultants. After several calls, I knew that SBC was the right fit for me. Sarah was my first introduction to SBC and she was informative, communicative, and understanding. Most of all, I clicked with her better than with any of the other staff from competitive firms.

SBC selects a partner based on industry, interests, and target schools. Basically, they understand you and so I was matched with Meg. Again, I clicked immediately. SBC just seems to have great people! We went through the discovery process and their structured approach and expertise gave me the support and the insight in order to be able to go through the application cycle intentionally.

Throughout the process, Meg provided guidance and suggestions which allowed me to determine the best program to achieve my goals. Once the programs were determined, we set about planning and crafting every element of the application to create a very thoughtful, robust, and compelling package.

Meg was always thoughtful, inquisitive, supportive, and prepared and always available to bounce ideas, squash self-doubt, or anything else that happens during the process. Her experience as an adcomm, her passion for the process, and her commitment to learning about the applicant in order to help them craft their best package was definitely unparalleled.

Working with Meg was exceptionally rewarding resulting in a process of self discovery which I would certainly recommend and do again. Ultimately, it culminated in an acceptance to Booth and CBS.

Meg was an incredible help and I couldn’t have gotten into Booth without her. In the beginning, I had some preconceived notions of what I “should” present or how I “should” look on paper. After showing some of my drafts and speaking with Meg on the phone, she strategized an alternative approach and thoroughly explained her reasoning – erasing all of my preconceived notions and putting me at ease with the new strategy. I use the phrase “putting me at ease” because, for me, it was a daunting task to change my initial approach. After all, this is the most important application of my professional life. But this is why Meg is great. She not only brings her incredible expertise but a way to communicate that expertise that doesn’t leave you in the dark. She not only analyzed my essay but also helped me with supplemental explanations regarding my professional and academic career. In the end, I was completely satisfied with my application and I felt confident that Meg truly helped me put my best foot forward. Retaining Meg for her services felt like I was investing in myself and it certainly paid off.

I had the privilege of working with Collette on my MBA applications resulting in admits from Kellogg, Booth, Tuck, Fuqua, and Ross with significant scholarships from each one.
Working with Collette felt like a true partnership – I took the time to give her a detailed overview of my profile, and she took the time to truly understand my profile and helped me craft a strategic narrative. She provided honest feedback on my application and patiently reviewed multiple revisions to bring my essays to the next level. The MBA application process is a rollercoaster and having Collette to turn to for a variety of questions throughout the process played no small part in helping me navigate it. I strongly recommend working with Collette – she is prompt, strategic, and invested in your success.

I applied to 3 schools R2 for the class of 2024. I worked with Kim for 2 of the schools (1 previous reject). I loved the intro strategy session where Kim dove into my past and helped pull out the best experiences and a direction to craft my applications. She had fantastic perspectives around crafting resumes, LOR, and how to build/frame my essays based on my experiences and career goals. She always replied promptly to my endless questions about the admissions process and the different intricacies (and overthinking) of my application. Overall, I was waitlisted to the 2 schools I worked with her on and was rejected from the one I didn’t. After being waitlisted, Kim provided great support in helping craft my final push to stand out and provide a meaningful waitlist update. I was finally accepted into my dream school and could not be happier with the outcome. Thank you so much for your help, Kim! You are truly appreciated!

I couldn’t recommend Beth enough! It was a pleasure to work with her from start to finish. She helped me brainstorm what parts of my story to emphasize to help me to stand out, plan a timeline for writing my essays that kept me motivated but not overwhelmed, and was always kind and thoughtful when answering my questions. Her guidance and support were integral to getting into my goal MBA programs (including one with a scholarship offer!). I really felt like Beth cared about my process each step of the way, and I’m very grateful for it!!

Christine was the best to work with! She was so thorough in helping me strategize and plan my story. She was steady support throughout the entire process from resume review to interview prep and even guided me on how to overcome obstacles such as GMAT score delays. She gave honest feedback and always pushed my application to be better. I have her to thank for my acceptance to Haas and CBS, my top choice!

The Stacy Blackman team was also so great! The resources that they give are so valuable and Lisa, my flight tester, gave such valuable feedback on my application that I’m sure contributed to my acceptance. So glad that I chose SBC!

When I first spoke with SBC, I really felt the excellent team bond and dynamics throughout the entire firm. You are not just hiring one consultant, but the entire team of SBC. Sarah was my initial matchmaker and was thoughtful in her advice to me as a prospective applicant as I had called her two years and a half before applying. After evaluating all the largest MBA consulting firms, I still remembered my conversation with Sarah, which led me to ping her again (a year after we first spoke). She was extremely attentive and eventually recommended I match with Jennifer.

Jennifer was truly amazing to work with. When I compared my experience working with Jennifer to others’ experience working with their respective consultants, I realized just how lucky I was. She not only is one of the most thoughtful human beings I’ve encountered but also a very tactical consultant. She was extremely patient in helping me figure out my voice and was there throughout all parts of my application process.

The thing that makes Jennifer stand out is that she went beyond being a consultant and became a friend throughout the entire application process. She was so easygoing that I could ask her any question; I would text her at all times throughout the day and she would be lightning fast with her responses. Her guidance and advice were unparalleled. After we mock interviewed, she even introduced me to a former client to provide additional interview practice.

The rest of the SBC team was also amazing to work with. For example, Beth completed my “flight test” for my full HBS application. She was instrumental to make sure that my entire application tied together as well as made sure we could get another set of eyes of a former MBA admissions officer on my app.

It still feels unreal to get into my dream schools of Stanford GSB, Wharton, and HBS. I could not have done it without Jennifer and could not have done it without SBC.

I would recommend working with SBC and especially Jennifer in a heartbeat! Jennifer is truly the best.

When I embarked on my MBA journey, I dreamed of getting accepted into one of the top European MBA programs. I wanted to work with someone who knows the schools and admissions well, and when I explored my options, I found that Mark O’Brien had previously worked on Oxford’s admissions committee.

I read up a lot on choosing the right admissions consultant for you and saw that there is this perceived notion that consultants who previously worked in admissions were less personable than someone who hadn’t. Some previous MBA applicants implied that admission consultants that previously worked in MBA adcoms would only be great as a reviewer after an application was completed to dissect whether it fit the requirements of a prospective student. Well, let me fast forward and say that that was not the case at all with Mark! I’m thrilled to say that Mark’s experience working on an Adcom was a tremendous asset. Mark was phenomenal with all aspects of my application, helping me capture the readers’ hearts. He is very knowledgeable and highly competent, and I would even go as far as to say that he is an expert on UK and European MBA programs.

Mark is very friendly and has a natural way of connecting to people. He makes you feel relaxed and willing to open up and share things about yourself that you might not have realized were essential for the application. He was able to highlight them and teach me how to use them strategically because all of these details make up the person that I am today. Contrary to what some people had implied, Mark’s experience allows him to know precisely how admission committees think – what they look for, what they like, and what they don’t like. Just like any other MBA applicant, I am not perfect. There are rough edges, and Mark taught me how to smooth out those rough edges.
Mark believed in me, and because of that, I felt like he was my ally, and we were a team on this journey. He goes above and beyond and genuinely cares. It was so apparent that my success would be his success, and he inspired me to put my best application forward.
I’m happy to say I was admitted to my dream program and awarded a scholarship as well. I know that if it weren’t for Marks’s guidance, it wouldn’t have been possible. From the initial strategy work to interview coaching – Mark was an outstanding coach, and I am fortunate that I had him by my side during this stressful time.

In conclusion, thank you so much, Mark! Anyone reading this, if you’re hoping to get into a top MBA program, especially in the UK and Europe, I highly recommend you have a free consult with Mark; it’ll be worth it!

As a military candidate, I was a little hesitant to go with someone who had no prior experience in the military. Though, I think Margaret was the perfect person to translate my military jargon into something others could easily understand. Margaret was always quick to respond and always had great feedback. She kept me on track to complete all my required materials early and fully utilize the flight-testing experience.

I purchased the two-school package, and we started right away almost 8 months before the round 1 deadlines. While working with her, she challenged me to really research and figure out what I wanted to do. I think this is what helped drive my essays, and it got me even more excited about life after the military. With her guidance, I learned a lot about myself through different brainstorming and reflection exercises while completing the application process.

I was admitted to both HBS and MIT LGO. Choosing one over the other ended up being one of the toughest decisions of my life, something that I doubt would have ever happened without her help!

I would highly recommend Beth – she was lovely to work with and absolutely invaluable for securing multiple M7 offers during my MBA journey. She is so much more than just a proofreader – she’ll help you take your background and stories and package them in a way that is compelling and understandable for the admissions committee.
Me: an applicant with a 730 GMAT, a middling GPA from a random state school, and high flying, but VERY non-traditional work experience. Goals: M7 MBA, ideally, with $$$. Enter Beth – I would absolutely not have been able to take my non-traditional background and cohesively string together a narrative for an admissions committee without Beth’s guidance.
In short, I’m heading to an M7 in the fall, with $$, and would not have been able to get there without Beth’s help.

I wish the ratings had even more stars because Ally was incredible. She was there anytime I needed her. She answered my 1000 questions at all times. She was super patient and worked with me on tight deadlines and turnaround times. She made a daunting experience much more enjoyable. I would recommend Ally every single time! My experience would not have been the same without her and I would not have gotten to where I am without her help!

It was truly a privilege to work with Beth. She is passionate about her work and that shows in every interaction. She clearly cares about her clients and is rooting for their success. These qualities made it very easy to be open and honest with her, which in turn allowed me to craft a cohesive and impactful narrative in my applications. She provided timely, thoughtful, and honest feedback that both focused my efforts and gave me confidence in the quality of the applications I put together. I cannot overstate the comfort I felt in knowing that Beth had reviewed my applications and provided her seal of approval. Beth was recommended to me by a friend, and I am extremely grateful that I took that recommendation. I recommend Stacy Blackman and Beth’s services without hesitation!

Chandler was absolutely transformational in my journey to getting into my top choice MBA program, the Stanford GSB. From the first intake call all the way through preparing for my final interviews, Chandler was a steadfast support and treasure trove of insight and advice as someone passionate about remaining in the social impact sector. He equipped me with the invaluable tools I needed to find my voice and confidently tell my story, a testament to his deep listening skills and empathetic coaching abilities. His superpowers as a strategic thought partner for those passionate about social impact careers shined in our many 1:1 calls and essay revisions, as he helped me crystallize a powerful data-driven narrative about my career and future ambitions.

Simply put, Chandler is exceptional. The value you will get from working with him will last far beyond your MBA application journey and shape your career decisions for years to come. I couldn’t be more grateful for his mentorship and insight!

I was able to get into my dream school, MIT, thanks to all the support and guidance Meg and SBC offered (the podcast series couldn’t be more helpful). In particular, I wouldn’t have succeeded without Meg’s highly valuable adcom experience, her commitment as a passionate coach, and her talent for helping others develop their own authentic stories.

I truly appreciated how responsive and straightforward Meg was when my essays needed serious improvement. The perspective and feedback from Meg constantly pushed me to think deeper about what I wanted to show about myself in my narratives. The first mock interview I had with Meg was a real life saver – it helped me fix my biggest problem with being too prepared or even scripted in an interview; the second one was a huge confidence booster for me. I would not have been able to do so well in my actual interview without either session with Meg. Last but not least, although I only used hourly service up till my application was submitted, after I got admitted, Meg continued to help me navigate the scholarship negotiation process as well as pick the school best for me before my dream school took me off the waitlist!

I am genuinely grateful for having such a supportive partner who always believed in me and motivated me along the at-times stressful and difficult journey. Thank you, Meg! Anyone would be lucky to have you as their admissions consultant.

Dione is simply 11/10. There is no other way to put it. I applied to 2 schools: Stanford GSB & Harvard HBS. With Dione’s guidance, I received offers from both. The proof is in the pudding.

I came to Dione with the ingredients (drafts, GMAT, rec letters) and Dione helped me take those drafts into a truly powerful application – telling my story in a way that was true to myself and compelling. We worked on my story arc together, diving deep into my experience and personal motivations. Working with Dione also helped me clarify personally why the business school was right for me.

Whenever anyone approaches me about my success in MBA applications – the first thing I do is send them to Dione. She is diligent, attentive, caring, and invested in you. Furthermore, she is flexible – from quick reviews of my post-HBS interview reflection in 24 hours to working right towards deadlines. You can work with Dione however works best for you – with structured shared goals or when you need that quick bit of advice on a question you are stuck on.

Being an international applicant, working with Dione was especially useful to understand how to craft and tell my story in a way that US business schools are looking for.

After my admissions, Dione continued to be on hand to help me think about the right school for me and apply for scholarship applications. I really couldn’t recommend Dione & SBS anymore.

Chandler was instrumental throughout my MBA application journey. I write “journey” because when my initial application round was unsuccessful, Chandler helped me reflect upon what I needed to change and inspired me to improve my resume, essays, and more. Beyond the tactical help, he was outstanding at finding my authentic story and assisting me with weaving it into all aspects of the application. As an atypical applicant with various roles, his ability to weave it all together was extremely beneficial. I couldn’t recommend working with Chandler more!

I decided to go for MBA last year. I got a good GMAT score. But with limited knowledge about top B-schools and procedures, I was unsure to apply for this year. To simply put, Mark has been exceptionally supportive in providing guidance and resolving all my concerns. I got admits from Said Business School, Cambridge Judge, INSEAD, Tepper Business school, Cornell Tech MBA, and ISB. It would have not been possible without Mark’s support. He asked me to write stories about my experiences and helped in creating end-to-end stories while filling out the application. He made me feel confident in writing the applications. We put most of our efforts into writing the SBS application. but because of that overall learning experience with Mark, I have been able to crack the other colleges. When I was in doubt, he gave me the confidence to apply and aim for top ranking colleges.
He provided support beyond the contractable time and resolved all my concerns while I was going through a dilemma in college selection.
I would truly recommend Mark to anyone who is looking for phenomenal mentorship during the application process.

From the very first phone call I had with Meg, I knew that she was going to be the greatest support and guide through the application process. She is warm, caring, and has an incredible amount of knowledge and insight into admissions and the application process. Meg knows exactly what happens when someone looks through your application, and how to best tell an applicant’s story. More than anything, Meg gave me the confidence I needed to really go after my dream school. She consistently reassured me that my story had value and encouraged me to just tell it.

I started my applications in August for Round 2, so I knew I needed to be focused and organized in the process and Meg was incredible in building out a plan and working with me to ensure that every part of my application was thoughtful and prepared. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I didn’t know a lot about the process or have a lot of people to guide me, but as soon as I met Meg, I felt that I had everything I needed and would be able to get everything done. She was an exceptional editor and I trusted her entirely to edit my essays and responses. I was nervous about a lot in my application, my GPA, GMAT, and career history, but with Meg’s guidance, I knew that there was a reason and purpose to every component of my application, and was confident that my application would be more than just a bunch of statistics.

I got into every school I applied to, including my top choice, HBS. There is not a doubt in my mind that I would not have been this successful without Meg. I have absolutely nothing but incredible things to say about Meg and know that anyone who works with her is incredibly lucky to have such an exceptional consultant on your team.

I am thrilled and really excited to confirm that I got admitted to two of the B-schools I applied to. Fuqua was definitely my first choice and I have decided to pursue my MBA from Duke this fall for the class of 2024 with a merit scholarship.

The B-school application is a rigorous process. DeeDee provided the strategy and approach to each of the applied schools which helped me from day 1 to analyze my strengths and weaknesses against each school. DeeDee helped me build and navigate my story in the most simplistic and authentic way which naturally came out to be the best version of me.

Working with DeeDee was exceptional with her friendly and point-to-point interactions. DeeDee was really prompt in her response whenever I needed support to build my application. She has a ton of admissions experience and you can feel that when you interact and work with her.

I can only say that my admission would not have been possible without DeeDee!. So all credit goes to her continuous guidance and support throughout the application process. I would blindly recommend her if you want to pursue an MBA from the top b-schools in the world.

I’ve worked with Cathy on an hourly basis for support in my applications to IESE and INSEAD. Cathy has helped me significantly improve my essays and resume by prompting me to self-reflect and clearly articulate my thoughts to craft a personable application.

Cathy was very positive and encouraging throughout our interactions and at the same honest with her feedback. Her approach to identifying and conveying weaknesses and opportunities for improvement as challenges has played a major role in the success of both applications.

Cathy is very experienced and understands the nuances of different business school applications and what they look for. I would highly recommend her to anyone applying to those two schools.

I was referred to SBC by a friend/former colleague. I was connected with Dione as my consultant and could not be more pleased with my experience. She is a kind and knowledgeable individual and mentor who genuinely wants to help her clients succeed. I highly recommend her to anyone and still keep in touch with her to this day!

Below are my highlights of Dione:
– Very clearly knowledgeable in the MBA application process and top programs.
– Quick responder to emails and questions; works on the weekends (which not all consultants do). I’m a perfectionist and ask a lot of questions and Dione always took the time to answer my questions with care and thought.
– Extremely patient and willing to iterate many many times on essay drafts. Dione and I probably iterated ~10-13 times on my career goals essay, to ensure it is as “perfect” as can be. I appreciate that she puts equal effort into her feedback for each iteration.
– Helped me craft my “story” to ensure that my desired career path is both aspirational and achievable.
– Understands how to highlight strong points and mitigate potential weaknesses in an application.

I ended up being admitted to my top school (CBS) and received the highest scholarship amount (granted to only 2 students per class). I strongly feel I could not have received this without Dione, as she helped me highlight strong points of my background. I purchased a 5-school comprehensive package but decided to drop the 4 remaining schools – and I still strongly feel that working with Dione was worth paying for the 5-school package.

Thank you, Dione!

My stats will show you how good John was. GMAT 710, 3 years of work experience at a top consumer company, top 5 engineering undergrad. I got into Kellogg and Sloan as a full time MBA. He is extremely responsive and straight to the point. He gave me advice to balance my average quant score (low for my ethnicity). He is also good at giving mock interviews. Go with John!

Received an admissions offer from GSB/HBS, as well as MIT. Alex was fantastic in helping me navigate the entire process. I can’t thank him enough.

It’s very difficult to know where to begin when starting the MBA application process. Alex was great at helping me figure out how to weave together my (very) non-traditional experiences and develop a compelling narrative.

Alex spent a significant amount of 1-on-1 time helping me with my applications, and preparing me to succeed in a flight test with Caryn (a former MBA admissions officer). Alex is highly dedicated. He answered all my (sometimes anxiety-driven) questions on calls, and even took the time to set up an additional reviewer, Christine, to provide some additional insights and feedback for my final GSB essay. Overall, Alex is a consummate professional, as well as a great strategic advisor, partner, mentor, and friend in the (often stressful) admissions process. I highly recommend Alex and could not have gotten into GSB or HBS without his help. Alex is an amazing consultant, and truly changed my life.

I was also highly impressed with SBC throughout my application process. I was originally introduced to Alex by Sarah, who was my initial matchmaker at SBC. Sarah was very attentive and listened to my goals, and then recommended Alex based on our conversation. Alex was the perfect fit for me, and really had great insights about applying to GSB/HBS in particular.

Picking an admissions consulting firm can be a daunting financial decision, but selecting SBC was an excellent decision — they connect you with the right consultant for you, have lots of internal resources to help you with all aspects of the application process (obtaining recommendation letters, etc.), and have an established process/methodology + demonstrated track-record to achieve success in applying. I can’t recommend SBC enough if you’re an applicant that needs help getting started and strategic guidance throughout the entire admissions process.

I reached out to Stacy Blackman during my application season due to its strong track record and reputation within its industry, and I could not be more pleased! I had an initial consultation call with Sarah who matched me with Meg. Meg was super supportive and had full confidence in my candidacy from the beginning. She encouraged me to apply to all the schools I was interested in. As a younger applicant who was unsure whether I could be admitted to a top program and unfamiliar with the application process, this meant everything to me!

Meg was super responsive to all my questions about my schools and application process, no matter how silly some of them were. Most importantly, I always felt I had full creative freedom over my story, and Meg was there to guide me in the right direction and polish my application to be the best it can be. During my interview prep, she was straightforward and thoughtful in her feedback.

Overall, Meg was a crucial part of my MBA journey. With her help, I was able to secure admission at Wharton, Kellogg (100K scholarship), Tuck (120K scholarship), and Cornell (full-ride). Even after I got admitted, Meg provided me advice on how to navigate my offers and pick the school best for me.

If you want someone who 100% believes in you and gives you the exact tips/advice you need to succeed, I highly recommend working with Stacy Blackman and Meg.

When I decided to apply to business school as a non-traditional applicant with an okay GPA from a small liberal arts school, I knew that I needed a coach who could help me craft a narrative and put together an application that jumped off the page.

Chandler turned out to be exactly that. From the get-go, Chandler provided insightful guidance and direction at every step of the process. His experience in the space and thoughtful support helped me throughout the 8 months we worked together, whether that was high level narrative work, essay revision, or even down to nitty gritty details like resume formatting. Chandler has the unique ability to take a step back and look at every aspect of an applicant, then help them craft a story about themselves that makes it easy for any adcomm to understand how valuable that applicant can be in their community. I am confident Chandler could do this for anybody, whether it be the Ivy League educated investment banker or a non-traditional non-profit employee.

With Chandler’s help, I was able to get into two of my top choices, NYU Stern and Dartmouth Tuck, and I know that without him I would never have been able to achieve that goal. I can never thank him enough for his guidance and support.

Colette is the absolute best! I got the “all-in” package with her and it was worth every penny. She is incredibly detail-oriented, focused on improving your profile, and most importantly, genuinely cares about you and your outcomes. She goes the extra mile to help understand you and your story. Her guidance, insights, and advice helped bring my application to the next level and was instrumental in getting me accepted into GSB, HBS, Kellogg, Tuck, and Fuqua. I never imagined I’d be accepted into those schools but Colette helped make it possible! I couldn’t recommend Colette more. A huge thank you to Colette and the Stacy Blackman Consulting Team!!

When I started the application process, I reached out to several coaching companies, but Meg and SBC ended up being the clear standout. I was matched by Sarah with Meg after an initial consultation call, and it was clearly a great match. From the first call, Meg exuded confidence, knowledge and encouragement – all things that I was in need of during the process. Unlike other firms I talked with, Meg believed in me from the start, and encouraged me to apply to all the schools I had my heart set on (other firms discouraged me from applying to the schools I ended up getting into).

She also was straightforward and practical, which was crucial to my success in the process. Just as one example, she suggested I retake the GRE and raise my score to be a more competitive applicant, and with her help and SBC GRE tutoring, I was able to reach the score she recommended. She also coached me through my interviews and went above and beyond by soliciting outside input from colleagues as well. With her help, I entered the interviews fully prepped.

Throughout the entire process, Meg instilled confidence in me, while providing me practical tips/advice that were crucial to my success. With her help, I was admitted to Sloan, Kellogg, Booth and Stern, with scholarships from all of the schools. Even after being admitted, she helped me navigate my scholarship negotiations, and helped me more than double my scholarship funds.

Overall, all I can say is that if you are looking for someone that will not only motivate you and be your biggest cheerleader, but also provide you with practical, crucial advice during the process, Meg is the perfect coach for you!