Erika

I don’t have a single regret about hiring Erika and wonder where I’d be today if I hadn’t. I was nervous about the MBA application process and Erika, using her decade of experience, guided me through each component, expertly teasing out the aspects of my background in order to craft a compelling narrative. She is extremely thorough, knowledgeable, and professional. I also valued and depended on her frankness; I always felt that I received a completely honest and transparent opinion of my essays and other materials. Above all, I felt that Erika was truly invested in my success, which assured me that we were putting forth my best application. After many weeks of hard work with Erika, I was admitted to Booth and my dream program, HBS. Erika rocks, and I would have picked her to be on my team 10/10 times.

Erika and I worked together for ~12 weeks toward one objective: get into my dream schools. She guided me from the application strategy, all the way to interview preparation. Her structured and detailed advice, combined with her decade of expertise, has given me absolute comfort throughout the application process. Erika portrayed the highest level of professionalism and approachability, and made sure that every minute spent with her is valuable (e.g., through very efficient email communication). I also ENJOYED working with Erika… I mean, she’s super cool!! I would HIGHLY recommend Erika and SBC to any person applying for MBA — it was such a great experience, AND I got into both HBS and SLOAN!!! (round 1)

Erika was absolutely fabulous throughout the entire admissions process. From brainstorming what schools were the right fit for me, to helping me decide which school was the best fit after acceptance, she was always there! I applied to HBS, GSB, Wharton, and Sloan and she was able to navigate the intricacies of each application. Her methodical process had me well prepared for the madness of application season and I never felt overwhelmed because of it! She very effectively utilized all the tools of the broader SBC such as the flight test and knew exactly when and what to look for. Terrific with the small details as well. Such a nice person too and a real pleasure to work with. I wish I could put six stars for the review!

Erika is an absolutely terrific consultant, resource, and all-around person, and I could not be happier with my experience. I worked with her on all three of my MBA applications – GSB, HBS, and Wharton – and was admitted to all three schools. To be clear, I haven’t done anything world-changing to warrant that track record… I have a pretty traditional finance background. But Erika has an amazing ear for stories and a gift for drawing out the personal side of applicants, which is so critical to the process. After a lot of digging, she gave me the confidence to write about topics that I initially thought wouldn’t be “high impact” enough to include on my application. (While also kindly but firmly dismissing loads of fluffy essay drafts.) Her editing skills and eye for prose were also very helpful in polishing up my rusty writing. Erika was also instrumental in keeping me on track timing-wise, especially when I got sucked into a very intense work project midway through our Round 1 applications. She was always firm about deadlines but was never unreasonable and was also SUPER kind and understanding, even when I was MIA for a few days. I will be forever grateful for her patience!

As someone who applied to business school several years ago on my own (interviewed at HBS but not admitted), I truly believe having Erika in my corner this time around made all the difference. The whole process was night and day in terms of the quality of my application package, the natural flow of my story, and just personal confidence in the process. SBC also provided tons of resources that I leveraged, and the application flight test was particularly helpful in polishing the finer points of my application.

I would highly recommend Erika (and SBC) if you are going to engage a consultant. She was an incredibly supportive partner throughout and I truly don’t think I’d be headed to GSB without her.

I worked with Erika in the 20-21 admissions cycle on applications for top MBA programs as a traditional applicant – despite the risky strategy, Erika helped me feel confident in each step of my journey. She called BS on an initial essay idea and helped me craft it in an authentic yet compelling way. She answered all the small and detailed questions, often leveraging the entire team at SBC to give me the most accurate and recent data possible. She gave me expert copy/editing advice, calling out what’s confusing or redundant. Most of all, she helped provide an objective perspective on what key moments were worth telling in the apps vs. not.

Thanks to her help, I got into my dream school, and thanks to the very thorough introspection that she encouraged at the start, felt even clearer about how I hope to use my MBA!

Erika is a rockstar, through and through. She is a fantastic application consultant and can truly do it all. I worked with Erika as my primary consultant on a comprehensive two-school package as well as a-la-carte hours for a third school. It is obvious she cares deeply about you and her other candidates. Erika’s upfront work digging deep about you, your personality, your history, what makes you “tick”, etc. is incredibly thorough and makes her that much more effective throughout the application process. I applied to Harvard, Wharton, and Columbia and was ultimately admitted to Columbia — I attribute most of my success to Erika’s masterful work.

I would strongly recommend SBC, and particularly Erika, to anyone who wants a top-tier consultant to be admitted to a top-tier program!

Erika was a phenomenal resource throughout my application process. She spent the time listening to and understanding my experiences and helped me translate these into compelling stories. I especially wanted to hire a consultant given what I felt like was my typical background post-college. By the time I had finished my application, I realized that there was a lot more to my story than I had originally anticipated. I’m not sure I would have gotten there without Erika’s help.

I worked with Erika throughout my admissions process applying to three different business schools. She helped translate my work and life experiences into a coherent and impactful admission essay that I could not have done on my own. She forced me to dig deep into the past through self-reflection so I could figure out what I wanted and why. Erika’s passion to help me find my why not only helped my application but also has me excited for the next chapter!

Working with SBC was a seamless process. I first interviewed with Esther, who helped identify a consultant based on my past experience. Shortly thereafter, I was connected with Erika who worked odd hours to make sure she was available to talk to me while I was working in a time zone with a 12 hours difference. Additionally, the flight test from a prior ADCOM provided a separate set of eyes that validated everything that Erika had recommended throughout the admissions process.

I would not have been accepted to my dream school without Erika’s help! I highly recommend her to anyone who plans on applying for an MBA program in the future.

I worked with Erika for two schools as a full package and then also engaged with her on an hourly basis for some other schools. She is absolutely amazing at her job. I got admitted to every business school I applied to (Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Haas) with significant scholarship money to both Haas and Yale. I do NOT have a background that is “I saved the world” or “I started a company that went public” or whatever it is that someone might expect given these results. I attribute my success to Erika helping me masterfully craft and share my honest story. Her upfront work in helping me reflect on what that story is/should be was incredibly valuable and then throughout the process she provided fast, direct, and impactful feedback on all aspects of my application.
In general, SBC also makes the whole process seamless – from the “consultant matching” phase, the “flight test” (this is where another consultant at SBC who isn’t your primary advisor reads your entire application as if they were an adcom member and gives feedback. I had Kim for that and her comments were very helpful!)
I considered a few different consultants before deciding on SBC/Erika and I am SOO glad I chose her. I felt completely supported throughout the whole process. I really don’t think I could have done it without her.
If you’re reading this and making a decision about whether to use a consultant and which one, I would highly highly recommend SBC and especially Erika. (She also hosts their podcast ‘B-Schooled’ which I listened to a lot during the process and found to be quite helpful).

Erika was wonderful to work with, providing comprehensive advice and support from the beginning of the process to the end. 
Erika’s background as a writer and editor was clear in the insightful edits and thoughts she offered on my personal statements that went so much further than just superficial grammar/syntax. She had such a clear view of the big picture and helped me tease out my true story and helped me tell it in the best way possible, leaving me confident I was putting my best foot forward in my application. 
Her advice was integral to me receiving not just admission to Wharton and CBS, but merit aid as well. I would not have been able to do this without her insight and experience in helping me tell my story in the best angle for admissions. 

I enlisted Erika’s help for 1 H/S school application (end-to-end) and I wholeheartedly recommend her.

Certain qualities of Erika particularly stand out to me:

– Erika has unparalleled insight into the admissions system. I was both a conventional and unconventional applicant, with certain elements of my profile that really required some thoughtful consideration to convey. Erika was masterful in handling these aspects – she knew exactly how to communicate these to the AdCom and how they would be perceived

– Erika’s system of feedback via email is superb – all communication after the initial call is done via email/comments on documents. This is hugely helpful – it saves a significant amount of time, and Erika ensures all her comments are captured with rich detail. She is extremely responsive to emails too. I could not imagine going through the process any other way

– She’s also simply a pleasure to collaborate with – extremely positive but always grounded in reality. She’s extremely thoughtful and incisive in her comments on application material, and ensures you feel confident and comfortable throughout.

With Erika’s help, I managed to get into H/S and I’m immensely grateful for her assistance. Erika is the elite admissions consultant who knows the system inside out!

I first reached out to Erika for help in putting together my “story”. On my own, I would have been much more risk-averse in my essays, and would likely have had a very run-of-the-mill application that would go unnoticed by AdComs. Working with Erika gave me the confidence to put myself out there and tell a more genuine and meaningful story through my essays. I was able to bounce ideas off of Erika, and she’d be very direct and honest–she has no problem saying “sorry, but nope, this doesn’t work”. But eventually, we got to a point where she’d say “you hit on exactly what they are looking for.” My essays were quite deep and personal, and something I wouldn’t have felt comfortable submitting on my own. But Erika got me out of my comfort zone to write applications that were much more effective, and I received acceptances from Wharton, Sloan, and Tuck.

However, I feel like I got much more from Erika than just application consulting and advice. She has truly been a partner and supporter along the admissions journey. I would seek her advice regarding more individual matters, such as if this year was the right year for me to apply. I think most telling is that despite Erika having successfully “done her job” by reviewing my applications and me having gained admission, Erika and I still have regular conversations on related subjects (for example, we discussed extensively what the fall semester might look like given COVID). The MBA admissions process is a 12+ month journey, from the time you decide to apply until the moment you set foot on campus. And having Erika as a partner over these past 12 months was simply invaluable.

We have, and will continue to recommend Erika to anyone who can afford this service. Working with her offered a real advantage in this process as she kept us organized and helped craft our application. She did an excellent job of getting to know us and providing invaluable guidance on how we tell our stories to fit what each school was looking for.

A couple points to note (highlights for us):
⁃ Erika is really honest. She gets straight to the point and will not hesitate to provide direct feedback. Her feedback is always constructive.
⁃ Erika is also really kind. She invested in us and we both felt that she was pulling for our success. She engaged in our stories, both individually and as a couple.
⁃ She looks at the whole picture and is engaged the whole way – not just essay writing, but through interviews, waitlist processes, etc

She made our dream to go to business school together possible. In the end, we actually had a few great options and chose to go to Boston where one of us will go to HBS and the other MIT. Even though SBC is expensive, we both feel like we still owe Erika big time for helping make this possible! We also received significant scholarship offers from excellent programs, which would significantly offset some of the costs associated with this service.

I truly enjoyed working with Erika on my business school applications and am so glad I chose to work with her and the rest of the SBC team. Given that I was coming from an over-represented field, I wanted to work with a consultant who would take the time to help me comb through my story and help me cherry-pick the most compelling aspects of my candidacy. Erika was truly helpful in that regard. She provided invaluable advice and recommendations for the entire application process – from formatting tips to interview insights, she always had an answer for my questions, responded quickly and thoroughly, and most importantly, helped me “get out of my own head” and assemble 2 applications to my dream schools with confidence. I am thrilled to say that working with Erika helped me gain admittance to both GSB and HBS.

It was a pleasure to work with Erika and the rest of the SBC team, and I cannot recommend them highly enough!

Coming from an over-represented career background with a relatively “blend” personal story, I knew that an outstanding personal essay would be the key component of my application package. Seeking professional help, I chatted with quite a few MBA consultants before making a decision, and Erika stood out within the 5 minutes of our first conversation. And as it turned out, my first impression of Erika was right – she was highly professional, experienced, and absolutely fantastic to work with.

At the beginning of our cooperation, Erika spent a significant amount of time understanding my background and helping me look for the unique personality traits and anecdotes that could differentiate myself from other qualified candidates. This self-reflection process has proved helpful in essay brainstorming and writing and was the cornerstone of my entire application.

Working with Erika is truly enjoyable. She is highly efficient and responsive in giving feedbacks to my essay ideas and is always honest when telling me whether or not my ideas would work. I appreciate the open communication we maintained throughout the process, which was critical to our successful collaboration.

Erika has years of experience mentoring applicants and knows the process inside out. Whenever I have doubts, concerns, and worries before and after submitting my applications, she is always there for me to answer my questions and provide guidance. Her presence offered me a great deal of reassurance in the stressful application process.

If you are looking for a constant for the upcoming MBA application season, I highly recommend Erika Olson at SBC!

I reached out to Erika after hearing amazing reviews from two friends who both worked with her and ultimately ended up getting into Harvard Business School. I couldn’t be happier that I did decide to touch base with her, working with Erika was one of the best decisions I’ve made! The care, guidance and attention I received from her during my MBA application process were exactly what I hoped for! She provided candid feedback throughout the process, helped me to shape and stay on a timeline, and assisted with laying out a clear vision for how an MBA would help me to achieve my long-term goals.

I have absolute trust in her ability to guide candidates through the oftentimes intimidating process of applying to business school. I recommended her without hesitation to a close friend who is an MBA hopeful and would share that recommendation with anybody else hoping to get into a top business school. With her help I was able to gain admittance into the HBS class of 2022 – truly a dream realized!

Working with Erika and the SBC team was one of the best decisions I made. Going into the application process, I had my eyes on only one program that I felt was within my range. After talking with Erika, I decided to shoot higher for the top tier schools. Erika’s thorough approach got the best out of me for my resume, and her advice helped me convey my true self to the admissions committees. She helped me tailor my application for each school I was applying to, prepared me thoroughly for my interview, and kept me on schedule during a hectic application season with her gentle reminders. She remained in my corner as the decisions came out, including the inevitable dings, and her encouragement helped me get through the toughest parts of the process.

I’m writing this review from a study room at my dream school, and I couldn’t have gotten here without Erika’s help and guidance. I highly recommend her to anyone looking to put their best self forward for one of the most important decisions of their lives!

Applying to the top 5 MBA programs and coming from a fairly traditional financial background, I knew I would need to differentiate myself through my story in my essays. I enlisted Erika for this exact reason, and she was able to help me execute on this. Erika will push you to craft your own ideas, which allows you to take ownership of your essays, but will provide necessary commentary to turn your ideas into a thoughtful story that tactfully addresses the essay question. She was very helpful in streamlining my essays to actually get to the point, while leaving an impression on the reader. I would definitely recommend Erika to anyone applying to top MBA programs, who sometimes struggles with expressing themselves via writing! Erika is also extremely honest, and will tell you quickly when an idea, essay draft, or application draft are not going in the right direction. With my busy work schedule, I really appreciated this focus on efficiency.

In addition, Erika is personable, and we had great conversations about travel and even shared pictures from vacations! I believe Erika truly cares about the her clients, and strives to develop not only a professional, but personal relationship as well.

I was very lucky to work with Erika at SBC on my HBS application this year and couldn’t be more pleased with the process.

I’m sure each applicant struggles with information overload when applying to MBA programs – there are many (and often conflicting) opinions available online that can over-complicate the application process.

I found Erika’s approach to be extremely thorough yet efficient, which was particularly valuable given I was applying from a finance job that didn’t leave a lot of time for second-guessing my application materials and approach.

Erika has a gift for quickly internalizing your “story” and nuanced qualities of your overall applicant profile and helping you highlight elements that you may otherwise overlook or take for granted. This fresh, focused perspective really helped me to communicate what was most important through the various components of the application and submit with confidence.

Finally, I found SBC’s database of application resources to be extremely helpful in keeping my application process focused and saved me going down “rabbit holes” searching through discussion forums for answers.

I was on the fence about hiring an admissions consultant. With so much information available online, it seemed like it may have been unnecessary. I ended up getting an all-in package from SBC and working with Erika and I am so glad I did. Erika did a great job of helping me tell my story in a unique and creative way that brought success. I got into every school that I worked with Erika on (HBS, Kellogg, and Wharton), and the insights she shared were helpful for other schools as well. I cannot speak highly enough about Erika, and my only regret would be that I did not enlist her help earlier in the process.

I worked with Erika on Round 1 applications for the Class of 2021. Coming from a military background, I didn’t know what schools were looking for or how to speak about my background in a way that would make sense to the admissions committees. Erika’s perspective was invaluable in helping me create a personal brand that resonated with the schools I applied to. She not only helped me translate professional jargon into a language understood by the adcoms, but she also highlighted many skills and experiences that I had but took for granted, having only worked around military colleagues my whole career. Erika was an excellent sounding board for essay ideas and gave me candid feedback on which ones to discount and which to run with. She was always responsive (I always got emails and revisions back within 24 hours) but also took the time to thoroughly understand my background and materials before providing feedback. The tough, pointed questions she asked during the revisions and mock interview reflected the amount of personalized care and attention that I got during each step of the process. Last but definitely not least, Erika was a supportive friend who kept my confidence up when I was having doubts during the application process and provided a reassuring voice as I was getting psyched for my interviews. I ended up getting accepted by all of the schools I applied to (HBS, Booth, and Darden) and with generous fellowship offers from all. I don’t know where I’d be without Erika’s help, and if I had to do it all again, I would seek out Erika and SBC without hesitation.

Starting the application process, I was daunted by the challenge of applying to eight schools (all top ten) while trying to figure out how to make my profile stand out in a common and competitive applicant demographic. I started working with Erika at SBC, and was immediately impressed with how efficient she made the process, and how insightful her feedback was. Erika was quickly able to help me focus on the key stories from my professional and personal experiences that would differentiate me. As we progressed through all the applications, I had peace of mind in knowing that with her guidance, I was writing essays that would resonate with the admissions committees. Ultimately, I was accepted to five out of eight schools (Booth, Columbia, Sloan, Kellogg and Tuck) with significant fellowships from some of them. These results would not have been possible without Erika’s help, and I cannot recommend her highly enough!

I worked with Erika for admission to the Class of 2020 R1. I started working with Erika in January. She was absolutely great as a resource and just a great partner to bounce ideas and issues off of. The application process is filled with self-doubt and uncertainty and she was a steady hand throughout the process. She helped me go over career decisions as it related to the MBA process. On the application side, she helped me pull the most authentic and effective stories for my essays. She was also extremely personal and gave me vacation tips when I visited Bali. She was a pleasure to work with but kept it real. If something I wrote or said was negative, she didn’t hesitate in letting me know. I ended up getting admitted to Harvard and Stanford. I know I could not have done it without her.

I considered Stacy Blackman, Veritas, and MBA Mission before choosing an all-in package. I read extensively online and held phone screens with each before making my selection. After applying during the R1, I am incredibly glad that I chose Stacy Blackman. I highly recommend SBC’s all-in package and specifically have wonderful things to say about Erika.

One of the primary reasons I was initially drawn to SBC is because they let you choose your own advisor, who you work with across all schools/applications, while the advisor will thoughtfully bring-in school-specific experts when necessary. By the time you decide to apply to b-school, your job experiences, grades, and extra curriculars are all set, so the advisor’s primary goal is to help you craft your story.

Besides her impressive background, I chose Erika because one of her previous reviewers had said that she was not afraid to “tell you when you are wrong.” Throughout the process, Erika was beyond candid, letting me know when something was great or making me start from scratch when knew it wouldn’t work. Erika was always reachable and patient, often responding within hours of my countless emails, day and night. Besides having a fantastic eye for helping to craft a narrative around your unique story, she was also very good at keeping me calm and helping me prioritize during an incredibly stressful process.

Erika takes the time to get to know you as a person – asking questions that go beyond what is typical – to make sure your whole life’s story is captured throughout the applications in a way that is impressive and not redundant. The entire time I worked with Erika, I felt like I was her only client – and I felt like she was as emotionally invested in my outcome as I was. I come from an Ivy League undergraduate school with a well-known job and a high GMAT score, so I was especially focused on finding someone to help me figure out how to make my applications standout. There is no doubt in my mind that Erika was a huge factor in my outcome. After applying to seven schools in R1, I am happy to report that I was admitted to both Kellogg and Sloan. I could not have asked for a better partner in this process.

I worked with Erika at SBC, had a fantastic experience, and recommend her with the fullest enthusiasm! Despite feeling prepared, I wanted some support from an impartial but expert source to ensure my applications were strong. Erika provided hourly advice for my applications to 2 schools, and I couldn’t be more thankful for her help. I was admitted to both schools and will be attending HBS in the fall. There are many reasons why Erika was a huge help, but I found three things to be the most helpful. 1. She will save you time and keep you on track: Having someone to be accountable to will inherently help you meet and keep deadlines. But Erika added value beyond this. First, she ensures very quick turnaround time and usually replied within 1-2 days. Second, she removed all wavering and second guessing from my process (e.g., giving me confidence that an essay idea was strong, saving me from wasting time debating other ideas). 2. She is both an expert in writing and in business school: As an HBS grad, she understands the schools and the process. But she is also an expert writer. She knows what you need to do to have your writing be crisp, compelling, and effective. As someone who mostly writes in power point bullets these days, this was really helpful. 3. She knows your story, but is able to remain honest and impartial: Erika quickly was able to learn my stories, work experiences, and strengths, advising me on which to draw upon in each application and interview. But she remained honest and impartial throughout. Erika wastes no time (and none of my $) in delivering direct feedback, and had no qualms in telling me to re-do a paragraph or start an essay over. These are characteristics you can’t get from family or friends. Finally, she was a blast to work with and I enjoyed getting to know her. Thanks again to Erika for the support!

I worked with Erika at SBC and was admitted to both Harvard and Stanford in Round 1! I spoke with many services before selecting SBC for their honesty, professionalism, and straight-forward advice. Most importantly, I felt comfortable with Erika and sharing my perceived strengths and weaknesses. The business school application process can feel like a black hole that you’re stuck in for upwards of half a year. Not only do you need someone with years of tangible experience and best practices to help you position your resume, essays and recommendation letters in the best light, but you also need someone who understands the full weight of the process to keep you above water. Throughout the application process, Erika was not only a fantastic consultant who helped me choose the right stories to tell and was unafraid of shooting down poor choices, but she was also a genuine cheerleader and friend I could always depend on to be in my corner.