John

I chose to work with John because I was feeling overwhelmed by my MBA application timeline while juggling a demanding job. From our first conversation, he reassured me that he would work with me night and day if that’s what it took to meet my deadlines—and he truly delivered.

John was incredibly fast with feedback, often returning edits within just a few hours. He also took the extra step of consulting other experts at SBC for second opinions, which I really appreciated. Beyond just giving me edits, he took the time to get to know me as a person, which made his advice feel truly tailored. His targeted insights and encouragement helped me through the lows of taking the GMAT and my nervousness with the interview process, and ultimately, I got into my top schools!

If you’re looking for an MBA consultant who is responsive, supportive, and truly invested in your success, I highly recommend working with John!

John was an incredible help throughout my MBA application process. He was always quick to respond, and was knowledgeable about any questions I asked. He took the time to get to know me and my goals, and helped push me to think outside the box when it came to finessing my story and writing my essays.

John also was always a huge support system, and helped me to feel more confident in myself and my applications even when I was feeling unsure. It was also clear how genuinely happy he was for me when I got into my top choice of CBS.

I would 100% recommend John to anyone looking for help with their MBA applications in the future!

John is incredibly knowledgeable of the B-School admissions process, especially for Kellogg! Working with John was a pleasure – he provided valuable, direct feedback throughout the application process and always in a timely and efficient manner. It’s also evident that John really cares about his clients and knows when to step in as a cheerleader to help push through the inevitable periods of doubt that can occur throughout the process. If you’re looking for a consultant to help you maximize your chances of admission, John’s going to help you get there!

Working with John on SBC’s 2-school package, I was accepted into both HBS and Kellogg’s MMM program. I would not have been able to do this without him. He helped me connect seemingly disparate parts of my life, career arc, and interests to create narratives crafted specifically for each school and essay. He was extremely engaged and bought into my success while we worked together. He both believed in me and challenged me – two things that were invaluable throughout the process. I highly recommend working with John!

When being matched with potential SBC consultants, I specifically requested if John could help me with an all-in package and he agreed. Upon first reading through his profile, he had a very similar background to me and was an MBA graduate of Kellogg, which is my dream school. We had great chemistry from our first call and he truly did a phenomenal job coaching me throughout the application journey and managing my expectations.

John is extremely knowledgeable about the MBA application process and talented at helping prospective applicants craft their authentic stories. He is lightning-quick with his written feedback, essay revisions, and resume edits. John was always accessible and very accommodating to my busy work schedule to find times to meet and go over materials. Whenever I had doubts, John was my personal cheerleader and reminded me that I wasn’t giving myself enough credit.

I am not a good test taker, so my GMAT was not high. Therefore, I decided to apply with a GMAT waiver and was worried that my application would lose its competitiveness. However, John gave me confidence that with my high GPA from a well-known undergrad institution and unique work experiences, I could make a strong application and demonstrate I was somebody who fit Kellogg’s community. We did mock interviews and very similar questions showed up during the real interview. I felt extremely prepared for this.

Ultimately, I got accepted into my dream school and am very excited about this opportunity. I could not have done it alone and am incredibly grateful for John’s help throughout this process. There were many things I was naive about in the MBA application process that John educated me on to make my application stand out from the crowd.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND John to anybody with their MBA Admissions Consulting needs. I would give him a 10-star rating if I could.

I enjoyed working with John Noum from Stacy Blackman Consulting and couldn’t be more impressed. From the very beginning, John was professional, knowledgeable, and responsive. He took the time to get to know me and my goals and provided valuable insights and guidance throughout the MBA application process. His feedback on my essays was incredibly helpful, and he was always available to answer any questions I had. Thanks to John’s expertise and support, I have been admitted to my top-choice MBA program. I highly recommend working with John and Stacy Blackman Consulting for anyone pursuing an MBA.

I started working with John at the beginning of my application process journey. I was attempting to understand better what top schools are looking for and what each application requires. John was immediately helpful in breaking down and putting together a narration of my experience, distilling the unique aspects, what would differentiate my story from other candidates, and what would attract the interest of top schools. He continued to press me to dive in and reflect, helping me to refine, over multiple iterations, what I wanted to do with my future and what was unique about my longer-term aspirations. During my time working with John, I continued studying for the GMAT. I took it three times, eventually ending with a score we were both happy with submitting. While initially not knowing what GMAT score I would submit, John helped me highlight the aspects of my application that helped to offer additional evidence to my capabilities and continued to encourage me in the study process. He ran through two mock interviews with me and gave me a pep talk call before my interview with my top school. I felt prepared and confident as a result. John was responsive, encouraging, thoughtful, and aware throughout the process, committed to helping me put forward my best story. I would recommend John to anyone unfamiliar with navigating this complex process and wanting to put together and submit their best possible application.

John was helpful, I worked with him for a short duration of time, but he gave me good advice that helped me make decisions and work out my story for Kellogg. He was very responsive and worked fast, while there were some things he suggested that I did not use, he was always professional and great to work with.

I sought application help towards the end of my MBA application process, as I felt unsure whether my essays, resume, and story matched what MBA programs were looking for. John helped me hone in on my story and challenged me to restructure my essays to tell a more compelling and personal story. He was extremely quick, efficient, and helpful in providing feedback and advice for me, and ensured that my application was the strongest it could be. I was a bit nervous that my quant qualifications (GMAT and undergrad transcript) were a bit low, and he was realistic in giving me opportunities to highlight areas of excellence or alternate ways to showcase my proficiency. I applied only to Kellogg R1 as it was my top choice program, and was admitted a few weeks ago. I definitely recommend working with John for any MBA application needs!

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!

When I kicked off the MBA application process, I was not sure if I was going to be using an admissions consultant or not, but after speaking with Sarah and getting her feedback during our initial session I knew immediately that Stacy Blackman was different from the other companies I had spoken with at the time.

My primary consultant was John Naum and I could not have asked for a better consultant. John not only helped me think critically about my story and develop a strong application, but he was one of my biggest supporters and pushed me to continue forward even when I was doubting my own capabilities. I always appreciated his quick response times when it came to giving feedback on deliverables and always making time to answer my questions throughout the application process. Thanks to John and the rest of the Stacy Blackman team, I was able to not only get admitted to every school I applied to, but I also managed to secure full tuition or near full tuition scholarships to several top 10 schools.

Looking at my admission results, it was clear that choosing Stacy Blackman was one of the best decisions I made during my MBA application process and it provided a huge return on investment through all the scholarships. I can’t say thank you enough to John and everyone else and would highly recommend anyone going through the MBA process to go with Stacy Blackman if you are looking for a great partner to help you through all the stress of applications.

Before working with John, I worked with a different consultant of a different firm and it was a disaster. I was extremely skeptical about the full school package (given the cost) and assumed it was not worth it, but ultimately I decided to sign up. BEST DECISION EVER MADE. I offered to work with John since we had some traits in common.
John is a rare gem: he was more of a friend than a consultant. He cheered me up, pushed me across the finishing line, always being kind and generous with his time and dedication.
Response time: 11/10, I don’t know how to better describe this.
Emotional intelligence: he must have a PhD in helping others
My profile is good, but it is not stellar (low GMAT), but still, I made it into two top 10 schools and waitlist from the other two (5 total).
I highly recommend working with John, no matter the cost.