Stacy Blackman Consulting - Los Angeles, California

Michael Belick

Laura Nelson was my consultant and I am so grateful that Stacy Blackman paired me with her. Laura was the exact consultant I needed – honest, supportive, reliable, and an expert with the Business School application process. From our first call to my last essay draft, Laura was there throughout the entire journey. At the beginning, Laura spent significant time understanding who I was and what I wanted to accomplish. This is one of the reasons Laura was able to really help me bring out the best in my stories and applications. Additionally, she was very responsive and always made time for a phone call. Lastly, she could always find a way to reduce word count while maintaining the idea!

I am beyond pleased with the results and want to thank Laura and Stacy Blackman for helping me successfully navigate through this challenge. Applying to business school can be very overwhelming and there will be many ups and downs. Stacy Blackman has the experience and expertise to help shape you into a strong and worthy candidate.

Shreya Singh

I really enjoyed working with Beth - a former member of Kellogg's admissions committee. Beth helped me organize my thoughts on my essays, craft effective stories and prepare for the admissions process. She was always very timely with her responses and incredibly caring throughout the whole process. With Beth's help, not only did I get into school, but also secured a scholarship! Beth was instrumental to my business school success. If feasible, I would highly recommend investing in a few hours with SBC during the application process.

Viji S

This is my review for my consultant- Laura Nelson. We worked together on 4 business schools and I got admitted into 2 of the 4 with a substantial fellowship from one. Laura and I made a great team!! Laura was very clear in the aspects she could help me with and was always a pillar of support as I put together my application. She effortlessly brought out my stories and helped me highlight the experiences that were unique and interesting in my essays. Coming from an over represented pool of applicants, this aspect seemed most important. She paid lots of attention to the details in my essays. There were several points where I doubted parts of my content. At these points, she would ask me the right questions, kindling my experiences and helped me stay on track. She encouraged me to try new ideas and themes for my essays and was ready with feedback in less than two days. Her quality and quick feedbacks really helped turn in my applications well before the deadlines. We also tried some mock skype interview sessions and these really made the interview experiences a breeze. I am so glad I got to work with her and so grateful to her for making my MBA dream come true!!

Katie Yang

I had a really positive experience with SBC. My consultant, Jen, helped me pull together two applications in less than 4 weeks, and she was great. She was always responsive by email (within half a day) and willing to chat on the phone to brainstorm essay ideas or hash things out. She was spot on with my strengths to highlight (which she gathered after just one phone call!) and gave me honest feedback on my essay ideas. Overall Jen was so easy to work with and her guidance & edits made all the difference. I'm so happy to say I got into my first choice, Stanford, and I couldn't have done it without SBC!

Massie Lo

SBC comes with a high price tag but it was worth every penny! I was paired with Laura Nelson for all-in-package and she guided me through the whole application process. Thanks to Laura, I was accepted to 2 out of 4 schools with large scholarships! Why working with Laura was such a pleasure?
1. Polished essays – She makes sure that the essays are nothing short from great. The essays went back and forth so many times that sometimes the final essays are completely different from the original essay. It took a lot of time and effort but that’s what it takes to get in to your reach schools.
2. Quick response - I sent her last-minute scholarship essays and she was able to review them in time. I am an international applicant but never had a problem communicating with her despite the time difference.

I recommend SBC for those who are aiming for top MBA schools! I am excited to attend INSEAD this fall.

Harisen Kardon

I had the most incredible experience with Stacy Blackman Consulting and would highly recommend them. Beth, my consultant was incredible. She has been unbelievably supportive but also extremely honest and realistic throughout the business school application process, which I think is key for a trusted advisor. She was not only a sounding board for any and all questions but also always remembered an important milestone and wished me good luck. I would not have survived the business school application process without Beth.

Erin Kim

I worked with Christine Hawkins on 3 applications. Acceptance with a substantial fellowship to my top choice Columbia Business School and interview invite to Wharton would not have been possible without Christine’s and the SBC team’s amazing dedication (both 2Y full-time; withdrew from Wharton and Stern due to Columbia ED).
Even before the process started, I could tell by Esther's (principal manager) enthusiasm and commitment to me to make sure that I was matched with just the right consultant for me, that I had chosen the right company.

I was a female applicant from an increasingly competitive pool, was educated from a US college with mediocre grades, with no off-the-page leadership or community experiences (oh yes, and no GMAT score yet). During what could have been anxious and unsettling times, Christine was a counselor, confidence booster when I was down with unexpected CFA and GMAT test results, and was an honest critique of all my deliverables in the best sense of the term. Christine would lead me to pull out certain ideas, but would never go ahead and write essays FOR me (for many good reasons); when something seemed off to both of us but neither of us could quite put a finger on it, she steered me toward looking in other arsenals of my anecdotes and experiences (which until that point I didn’t know I had or could turn to!) and pulling essay ideas from there.

Christine's comments on my deliverables always came under 48 hours turnaround (though she is not obligated to work so by all means), and I was amazed by her willingness to go above and beyond her call of duty--for example, encouraging me to network with alumni in my area to see if they could submit sideletters for me, and offering to put in extra mock interview sessions. Also, Lisa Anderson's Flight Test put me at east and gave me that much-needed extra boost of confidence as I prepared to hit ‘submit’ for my first choice & anchor school, Columbia. Bill Chionis, my client liaison, was also extremely supportive in keeping me updated of all the different options for application review and his birds-eye-view of the entire process. All of this careful attention to each of my applications as if they were their own will definitely lead me to recommend Christine & the SBC's comprehensive package to friends who are current MBA-hopefuls.

Starkie Schenk

Working with Laura Nelson was an absolute pleasure! She was very responsive and provided great suggestions/guidance all the way through the application process. I would highly recommend working with her. I ended up getting into my top choice MBA program (among others) and I landed a sizable scholarship as well. Well worth the hourly rate!