Kate

I have nothing but the highest praise for Kate. CBS was my top choice for b-school, and with Kate’s help, I was able to get in (with $$$). I made the decision to apply to CBS rather late in the game, and with only a few weeks until the Early deadline (and app materials in disarray), I desperately reached out to Stacy Blackman and was matched with Kate. Despite the time crunch, and working on a five-hour package, she helped me craft the perfect strategy (from scratch) and worked step-by-step to make sure all of my materials perfectly reflected me and my story. She brought an incredible wealth of knowledge about CBS, and helped me tailor my application in a way that not only spoke to AdCom’s preferences but also genuinely brought out the best of my own experiences and strengths. Above all, she’s an incredibly kind and caring person, and will go out of her way to make sure that you’re putting your best foot forward on your application. If you’re applying to CBS and considering hiring a consultant, there’s no one better than Kate for the job.

I had heard of SBC through a friend and recent admit to CBS. He had an amazing experience and could not have had better things to say. I reached out and emailed with Esther from SBC before getting paired with Kate on a 5 hour package. She reviewed my initial materials (first essay draft, resume) and then we scheduled a video call to go over the application materials and I was able to brainstorm ideas for an overall story.

Kate was very responsive during our time working together and was able to reply back within 48 hours. Aside from reviewing essay drafts, Kate was also able to review application data forms which was very helpful during the final application process.

Overall, Kate was extremely helpful and an amazing advisor. She helped me craft a real story throughout my application as well as gave guidance on test and interview prep. I highly recommend both Kate and SBC for MBA consultant help.

When I began looking into B-school admissions consulting services, I suffered from a bit of sticker shock for the full school packages, but after emailing back and forth with Esther from Stacy Blackman Consulting, I felt that using them at an hourly rate would be a great fit for my financial situation. After purchasing a four-hour package, I was quickly matched with Kate, who has a well-qualified background in Columbia Business School’s admissions office.

Right from the get-go, Kate was exceedingly flexible and offered to provide support in whatever method best worked for me. We agreed that a review of my essay rough drafts would be the best starting place, and Kate provided her high-level edits via email within 48 hours. She provided pointed feedback on how the essays contributed to my overall profile and even advised that I totally scrap one of the essays I had written. Back to the drawing board, I refined my essays over the next few weeks, and for the second check-in, we agreed to chat through feedback live. Kate was generally pleased with where the essays were at that point and only provided small tactical guidance.

Further, Kate and I spent the remainder of our allocated time on application submission and interview preparation. For interview prep, Kate provided a comprehensive list of CBS interview questions as a pre-read, then we actually did a mock interview. Not only did I love the opportunity to do this with Kate because it helped alleviate my jitters, but because she knew me so well from our essay editing, she was able to give advice on how to best present my unique self.

I would highly recommend hiring Kate to help you if you are interested in an admit at CBS. She was professional, warm, and took the time to know me for me. I feel confident that my final application and interview were 100% me, but just the best version of me!

I recently was accepted to Columbia Business School after applying last summer. My experience working with the SBC team was fantastic. After being referred by a friend, I had an initial consultation call with Esther, who discussed my interests and goals. Given my strong preference for CBS, she suggested I work with Kate, a former CBS Admissions Officer. The team-based model and support didn’t end there, as we also worked with Beth, another former admissions officer, for a “flight test” before submission.

Kate tailored the experience very much to my needs and schedule. As an investment banking analyst with limited time, it was important that whoever advised me was flexible for calls and emails. Additionally, Kate did a fantastic job of assisting greatly throughout while I still owned the application. I had a natural tendency to want to change my “story” or veer off the path, but Kate kept us on track while making sure it was truly my voice.

Lastly, from a process standpoint, Kate was full of helpful pointers and best practices. From working with recommenders to interview preparation, I couldn’t speak more highly of the experience.

Kate’s temperament and experience with CBS make her the ideal advisor. She did a great job of putting me in the shoes of the admissions team and helping me stress test my understanding of what makes CBS unique and why the school was a good match. She doesn’t take this for granted, and applicants that haven’t clearly fleshed this out should be prepared to examine this further while working with Kate. This is exactly what you want in an advisor, as Kate helped me validate why the CBS culture was uniquely suited for me. My main concern with my application was not knowing how my “story” would resonate with the admissions committee, and working with Kate gave me a sample of exactly how my story would be received. Be prepared to put in the work and iterate on your materials because Kate isn’t going to just tell you what you want to hear. I’d eagerly recommend Kate to qualified applicants I know personally. If you’re set on CBS, but on the edge and not sure if it’s worth the money to hire a consultant, that’s exactly where I was last year, and it’s been well worth it. There is obviously some positive confirmation bias that comes into play here since I was fortunate / lucky enough to get in, but I also worked with other advisors for other schools (I got into some and not others), and Kate was the most professional and successful at communicating where I should be focusing my efforts in the application process.

Kate is the best consultant you can ever ask for. With her first-hand experience as AD of Admissions at CBS, Kate gave me thorough, detailed, and actionable recommendations. I simply love the way she was able to pick small, interesting details in my profile to add the colors to my application.

Kate is extremely professional as well. While she gave me a lot of helpful advice, she always made sure the entire application — every word of it — is 100% mine.