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Product Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions Hourly Services
Consultant Dawn (SBC)
I will be attending INSEAD next year thanks in no small part to Dawn’s help! Dawn took a truly holistic approach to developing and defining my story, which was essential to helping me stand out as an over-represented candidate. Dawn has highly detailed knowledge on all the programs I was considering, and she did a phenomenal job of helping emphasize different components of my background to tailor to what specific schools were looking for. Dawn has mastered the craft of business school applications with her unique approach, wealth of knowledge, critical thinking, and meticulous attention to detail, and I would recommend her to anyone looking to differentiate themselves from a sea of competitive applicants. Thank you, Dawn!
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Product Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions All-in Services
Consultant Dawn (SBC)
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!
I also would like to thank wider SBC team:
- Amy, who was my flight tester (test drive of a full application) and provided a comprehensive and independent advice on how to strengthen my application even further
- Esther who had an introductory call with me, was very helpful in walking me through the packages and matched me with Dawn
- Large SBC database which was priceless, especially when understanding the differences between schools and when preparing for interviews
Very grateful to SBC and Dawn - would not be able to do this without them!
Product Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions All-in Services
Consultant Dawn (SBC)
Dreaming of just one admission to an M7 school. I applied to 6 of them and received acceptances to 4! I am so grateful to Dawn and excited to say that I will be matriculating at The Wharton School this fall!
After I decided to transition out of the military, I knew that a full-time MBA was the bridge that I wanted to cross to the private sector. While I felt that I had a good chance with my unique experience, I wanted someone to provide me with some direction. After my initial Plan Ahead call with Dawn, I knew that she was someone who truly goes against the “one size fits all” approach and fully supports an applicant’s future dreams during the process.
In the beginning (about 9 months out from the Rd 1 deadlines), Dawn provided me with actionable advice on how to strengthen my applications: try the GRE to compare with the GMAT, make impacts to my professional and personal communities in a COVID-inflicted environment, carefully decide between two different positions to serve my last duty in. I followed through on her recommendations, and I believe our work ahead of time truly set me up in the best position.
Once application preparation was in full-swing, Dawn would provide very customized feedback on my essays, resume, and recommender strategies in accordance with the school. While it wasn’t always easy going back to the drawing board, I really want to thank Dawn for not settling and just letting me have it my (wrong) way. Once you communicate who you are and what you want to do, she is not afraid to take more time and energy to help you get to the desired end goal. She has a gift for reading both for clarity and in between the lines.
Looking back, I was lucky to have some rocks to lean on throughout the stressful process. Dawn was a rock from Day 1, and I strongly recommend her to anyone who is serious about attending a top business school!
Product Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions All-in Services
Consultant Dawn (SBC)
Accepted by HBS and Wharton (with substantial merit fellowship) - very happy about the outcome of my cooperation with Dawn!
I am an international candidate, therefore I was not familiar with the US admissions process. From the very beginning, Dawn laid out step by step what we needed do and supported me along the way. I felt she truly cared and was very strategic. I also appreciated her kind and upbeat approach to getting things done.
All in all, I believe the investment was worthwhile. I will be going to my top-choice MBA program in the fall. Thank you Dawn!
Product Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions All-in Services
Consultant Dawn (SBC)
After receiving my acceptance to HBS, I immediately sent a note to Dawn: "DAWN, WE DID IT!!!". I say "we" because I truly could not have rendered such a thoughtful and thorough application without Dawn's remarkable guidance. From the beginning of the written application through the conclusion of my interview, Dawn provided clear, actionable, and insightful guidance that I would have been completely lost without. I never thought I'd be the one to say this, but I actually enjoyed the application process as I learned more and more about myself in my sessions with Dawn. Dawn's greatest strength - amongst many - is her ability to look granularly at every single element of an application (literally, line by line of an essay if she needs to) while also taking a holistic approach to ensure a compelling story is told for the admissions committee. Her guidance is also a masterclass in keeping the application process moving and progressing: she always keeps you informed of timelines, what progress needs to be made, and why she is recommending certain edits. When I had my intro call with Dawn, there were a few minutes of pleasantries followed by a tactical discussion of how we would succeed - after those short moments, I knew Dawn was best-in-class. For anyone thinking about applying to business school, I have two pieces of advice: 1) hire an admissions consultant, and 2) make sure it's Dawn. Thank you again, Dawn, for all of your help, I could not be more grateful.
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Product Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions All-in Services
Consultant Dawn (SBC)
Before starting my MBA application, I spoke to at least 10 admission consultants. Stacy Blackman stood out to me because of consistently good reviews and also because I felt they were very straightforward while analyzing my profile.
I worked with Dawn Clare, who is one of their senior consultants. Dawn has a very high admit record for whoever works with her on a 4 school package.
My experience with her was extremely positive. I felt so comfortable discussing all my personal stories with her. Dawn has a strategic bent of mind to use the stories and help form strong narrative for the essays. She helped me distinguish my profile which was specially important given I come from an overcrowded background (Finance / India). Her way of working with the candidates is very interesting. She makes the process so smooth - I was able to work on my essays in a very stress free manner compared to my colleagues who used other consultants and were overwhelmed with the process most of the times.
I would STRONGLY suggest anyone to work with her. For me, it was a completely worthwhile investment.
I would be going to Columbia Business School next fall - thanks to Dawn!!
Product Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions All-in Services
Consultant Dawn (SBC)
Trust the process. That's what I kept telling myself when decided to re-apply to the top 2 business schools in the world. I knew even an interview was beyond a long shot after being dinged without an interview in 2016 Round 2 but after the previous year's rushed and half hearted submission, I was determined to give it my all.
I vetted both MBAMission and SBC and after my introductory call with Dawn I knew I had found my match. SBC's approach was more introspective, not formulaic, and was specific to who I was as an applicant and the experiences that had shaped me into who I was. I was indeed a unique candidate and Dawn had a unique approach that was tailored to me, my experiences and my story. Her in depth knowledge of both schools and their specific applications helped put me at ease and gave me confidence that I could get past the black box of admissions and get to the interview stage. Not only did I get interviews at both schools but I got offer letters from both as well. I would not have made it without her help and guidance.
I would highly recommend SBC to anyone who is considering applying for an MBA. The investment is well worth it.
Product Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions All-in Services
Consultant Dawn (SBC)
I had a great experience working with Stacy Blackman and in particular, my consultant Dawn.
When looking for an admissions consultant, I wanted someone who was ethical and who could best help craft my story and position me for each school's unique criteria. I selected Dawn because it was clear she was a very intelligent, strategic thinker who would give me honest feedback.
While working together Dawn developed a very helpful strategic plan/assessment for my candidacy - a roadmap for mitigating my weaknesses and highlighting my strengths. As someone who is not naturally and consistently introspective, this was feedback was very helpful! I flipped back to this plan often while writing my essays.
In addition, Dawn's honesty and willingness to hold me accountable were important throughout the application process. During one stretch, I was so jammed at work that I was not able to write a quality essay, and instead sent Dawn a half-baked draft. Dawn held me accountable and told me to completely re-do the draft, which was definitely the honest feedback that I needed to submit the best application possible.
All in all, I had a very good experience and it led to a great outcome - I will be going to Wharton next year! Thanks Dawn!
Product Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions All-in Services
Consultant Dawn (SBC)
A quick summary of my profile - liberal arts undergraduate university, double major in business/econ, IB then PE, white, male.
After evaluating a number of consulting firms (MBA Mission, Paul Bodine, Critical Square, Square One Prep, Personal MBA Coach), I chose to work with Dawn at SBC. I also liked Square One Prep and Menlo Coaching.
As an HBS graduate, I felt Dawn was most comfortable with HBS but had a good handle on Wharton and Columbia as well. Dawn's strength was helping me evaluate my profile and craft a story. She then worked with me to develop the high level structure / flow of the document. Thereafter, the heavy lifting was on me to develop a detailed outline of each essay and ultimately write the essay. Dawn explained that I was a strong writer so she essentially provided zero edits on most essays after I wrote the essays (this is in part because we got so detailed on the outlines).
Overall, I enjoyed working with Dawn. She is extremely positive and supportive. She is great at helping you craft stories and I am sure she can dig into the language / grammar if need be.
I used the comprehensive package for 3 schools. I was accepted to my top choice.
Product Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions All-in Services
Consultant Dawn (SBC)
I chose to work with SBC because I felt that they were the most realistic in helping me determine my target schools. In fact, in my initial call with SBC they were VERY upfront with me about the quality of my candidacy. I really appreciated this and ultimately chose to work with SBC because of how direct they were.
After my initial call with SBC, I spoke with Dawn (who eventually became my admissions consultant). The purpose of this call was to determine if we were a good "fit". I will say this - the people at SBC know how to pair their clients with the right consultants because our call could not have gone better. Dawn was highly intelligent, extremely motivated, and expressed a genuine interest to help me get into each one of my target schools.
Working with Dawn was an absolute pleasure. She helped me navigate the process with ease and was always VERY responsive. Dawn knew all of the intricacies of each of my target schools' applications and did an excellent job of helping me to identify how to connect my story to each application. I genuinely believe that any prospective MBA applicant would be lucky to work with Dawn throughout the admissions process.
Thanks to Dawn and SBC I was accepted to every school that I applied to (all top 10 programs) and received significant scholarship offers to multiple programs.
Hi congratulations on your acceptance!! I am applying to HBS as well and I have a current GMAT online score of 680 and was told that my score is too low for HBS. These colleges apparently filter student applications by the GMAT score and CV first; if the CV and score are not up to the mark, the Adcoms don't even go through the essays is what I was told.
I see that you have a similar score, so I was wondering how it didn't come in the way of your admission! Would really appreciate it if you have any insight on this :)
Thank you!
Hello and thank you! While I'm not an expert, I have seen many articles detailing that HBS does not use any filters in the application process (some of these articles are published by HBS itself). My understanding is they read every application thoroughly and and make an assessment on a holistic basis. No one element of the application will get you accepted, and the same goes for a rejection. If your GMAT score is below the median of prior classes, you should do your best to highlight other great parts of your application that are unique. The best piece of advice I received was to just apply!