Sherry (SBC) Reviews

I decided to engage Stacy Blackman after submitting a number of unsuccessful applications in round 1. Of the 6 schools I applied to, I was rejected from 4, waitlisted after interview at 1 and waitlisted without interview at another. Initially, I was skeptical about the value of using a consultant. However, I was blown away with Sherry and the results that she delivered!

From day 1, Sherry was very responsive and engaged and we built a great working relationship. I really valued Sherry’s honesty in reviewing my applications and together we reshaped my entire application. I found that I had a lot of support at Stacy Blackman, including the flight test, which I found exceptionally helpful! Sherry and I also conducted a mock interview, which was invaluable for my later interviews. Sherry conducted many interviews during her time in admissions and the questions she asked all came up in my later interviews!

I used the all-in package and I can’t recommend it highly enough! The package included support of a great team (including the flight test and mock interview). All up, I applied for 4 top 15 schools with Sherry. I got into 3 (including my top preference) and was awarded merit scholarships at all 3, including a 100% scholarship, 50% scholarship and 25% scholarship. Sherry helped me negotiate with the schools and the 50% scholarship was later increased to 75%.

On reflection, I wish I engaged Sherry earlier as she helped make the entire application process much less stressful. I now view the fees I spent on Stacy Blackman as an investment in winning my scholarship.

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My experience working with Sherry Holland on the 2-school consulting package was wonderful. Sherry is not only an expert consultant but also a genuinely kind, encouraging, and positive person (which really does make a difference when you work with someone for months on your personal story and goals). Sherry understood that I was weary of the MBA application process and literally walked me through each and every step. (1) School selection - this was one of the many areas where Sherry’s deep knowledge and experience as an adcom member was invaluable. I had a long list of schools and Sherry was able to give me an idea of the culture of each school, what kind of students thrive there, and other things to consider like the cost of living and what kind of companies were in the area, etc., allowing me to narrow down my list. (2) Resume and essays - Sherry pushed me to turn drafts on both my resume and essays until they were perfect. She really took the time to get to know me as a candidate, resulting in essays that were authentically me. Sherry also turned comments around very quickly, was always available throughout the process, hopped on the phone with me to talk me through my concerns, and was super flexible and understanding about my work and family commitments. She kept me on track and made a very difficult process manageable. (3) Interview preparation - my interview prep with Sherry was harder than my actual interview. She provided thoughtful, actionable feedback and most importantly, helped me feel prepared going into my interviews. (4) Decisions and waitlist - I worked on 2 schools with Sherry, Darden and Fuqua, and ultimately was accepted to both schools - a 100% track record! I had initially been waitlisted at Fuqua and felt very discouraged. All the blog posts I had read made it sound as though getting off Fuqua’s waitlist was next to impossible. Sherry again took the time to consult with me about what I really wanted and let me know that if Fuqua was where I wanted to be, we could work together on strategies to get off the waitlist. She explained that it really was not hopeless and not to be swayed by blogs. Upon Sherry’s advice, I prepared updates and additional information for Fuqua’s adcom and was offered a place in Fuqua’s class of 2020! Thank you, Sherry, I really couldn’t have done it without you!

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Sherry was a great resource for my MBA applications. She was very timely and had invaluable knowledge of both the application and admissions processes from her days on a prestigious school's admissions committee and her experience as an admissions consultant.

Although Sherry helped me in each stage of the admissions process, I wish she would've explained to me that some MBA scholarships are negotiable. This is something that I had no idea about and a simple email to a school, at the right time, could have increased my scholarship reward.

With that being said, I firmly believe that Sherry provided me with the best opportunity to position myself for each of the four schools that I applied to. I could not have done as well in the admissions process without her.

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Sherry was a huge help throughout my whole application process. After picking out my target schools, thoroughly completing my resume with her help, and waiting on one final GMAT score, we dove head first into the applications. My first application was due only one and a half weeks from that point and Sherry made sure to keep me on track and help me produce a very strong application. From there on out, I completed 5 more applications in only 6-7 weeks and she was there every step of the way. I was working on very tight deadlines and Sherry was able to efficiently and effectively help me work through recommendations, essays, applications, and everything else that came my way. After sending out 6 strong applications and moving onto the interview portion of the process, Sherry continued to show her dedication and knowledge through this part of the application. At the end of the day, I got interviews at 5 of the 6 schools and was accepted to my top choice (top-15 program).

From start to finish Sherry was always diligent, focused and showed complete dedication to my success. Her extensive expierence and knowledge in every aspect of the MBA application proccess was always apparent, and I would not have gotten to where I am without her. I am very excited for what the future holds and Stacy Blackman Consulting, Bill Chonis (SBC Principal Consultant), and most importantly Sherry were a huge part of my acceptance to a top-15 business school.

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I hired Sherry for the 5 hour package to assist in selecting essay topics and putting the finishing touches on my applications. Fuqua was my top choice school so I selected Sherry based on her previous career in Fuqua's admissions office. Sherry has a framework for drafting Fuqua's essays and evaluating your "25 Random Facts" which was helpful in selecting what helped tell my complete story. She was also instrumental in editing my essays for Darden and Goizueta. I applied and was accepted in Round 1 to Darden, Fuqua, and Goizueta with $48k scholarship from Goizueta! Even if you have a solid application strategy and essays, I would recommend at least a few hours with Sherry to ensure your application is sound before hitting submit!

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I knew I had a strong application, with the exception of limited quant background and a low GRE score. I wanted a consultant to help share my best self with admissions committees, and navigate around my "weak spots". Not knowing where to start, I decided to book some consulting hours with SBC to get support for essay writing and general application process guidance. I worked with Sherry to create an ASD (application strategy document) and then write essays for the 5 schools that I applied to. Look no further for essay and application expertise. Sherry has been on the other side of admissions - she helped me quickly identify my strengths and weaknesses both as a B-school candidate and in my essays, and used a critical eye to help me effectively communicate my story to each MBA admissions team. She also was an incredibly useful guide - a candid and thoughtful one at that - to have throughout the application process regarding one-off questions I had about admissions, etiquette, optional essays, etc. I highly recommend SBC and Sherry in particular. I was accepted with a full scholarship to one of my top choice schools and could not have been as successful without help from SBC! The services are worth every penny and you won't be disappointed.

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I had a wonderful experience working with Sherry. I am a non-traditional applicant coming from an international development background and political science undergrad major. My GRE score was good but not stellar (160 math, 162 verbal) and I was looking for someone to help me navigate the application process and help with my essays. I had decided to apply to 6 schools, so there were going to be a lot of essays to prepare.

From the first time I met with Sherry she put me at ease about the process. I did not feel overwhelmed about the next steps and she made me feel confident about what I had to offer business schools. Sherry helped me figure out which schools to look at and ultimately apply to based on my skill set and what I wanted to do (social impact consulting). We then worked on my essays, starting off with ideas in bullet points and then on through the final version.

Sherry was very upfront with me on how many hours/minutes I had left with her and also asked me to be upfront with her on what I was looking for out of the service so that she used my time efficiently. I felt like I was in control and got what I wanted out of the service - guidance, answering one-off questions, and reviewing my essays. I bought 3 hours to start off with, and then decided to buy an additional 3 hours because I enjoyed working with her so much and really felt like I would get a good amount of guidance with an additional 3 hours. It was expensive, but I think it was worth the cost.

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I was initially very skeptical of the gloating reviews and the value add of hiring a consultant. However I did so anyway because I felt it would put me at a disadvantage if I didn't. I'm very glad I did!

I used Stacy Blackman because they seemed to have a long standing track record. My initial consultation was okay but my follow-up conversation with Sherry Holland really sealed the deal for me.

The B-school application process is a very stressful process and coming from a non-traditional background I was overwhelmed with the amount of information out there. Sherry is incredibly competent and offers great insights but moreover she is kind and patient. I got into b-school with substantial merit award. I would have been perfectly elated with just an acceptance so getting a scholarship was a complete surprise. I do not think I would have gotten any money without the help of Sherry.

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I purchased the hourly services when looking at working with SBC. Overall, I chose SBC because of their reputation and the pricing gave me what I thought was the best value. With Sherry, I worked essays for 3 different schools as well as my resume and had plenty of time to do this.

Sherry was incredibly helpful to work with and was very active in providing me direct feedback on the different essays and resume. The work we did on my resume opened my eyes on exactly how a resume should be specifically for a MBA application. Going in, I also knew that my essays needed the most work and Sherry helped me by going through a stepped process to properly tell my story to the different admissions committees. I always felt that her feedback was sincere and overall it helped me to shape my story in an appealing way. Sherry was very timely with her feedback and it gave me plenty of time to reach the deadlines for the January due dates for the different schools that I was applying to.

I would highly recommend the use of SBC because of the attention to detail that they provided me in working on my application essays and resume. Everything that I wanted to accomplish with them was completed and was more than satisfactory. I am happy that this year I chose to use an admissions consultant to help me with my applications.

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I don't know where to begin. I was accepted to my first choice school, Yale SOM - a dream that I never thought possible and that would never have BEEN possible without Stacy Blackman Consulting.

As a very unusual candidate, I knew that I needed the comprehensive package to have any shot. From my first communication with Esther Magna over a year before I applied, I felt that SBC differed from all of the other admissions consulting companies I was speaking with. Esther was forthright about my strengths and weaknesses and laid out clear advice in our free 30 minute call, and I felt that her assessment was more realistic than that of anyone else with whom I'd spoken.

I cannot speak more highly of Sherry, my consultant. I wouldn't have made it through this process without her. She is so knowledgeable, perceptive, thoughtful, and clear - she helped me conceive a strategy and then held my hand and cheered me on every step of the way. She is extraordinarily responsive over email and would always give me a time frame in which she would get back to me. From helping me plot a timeline and stick with it, to guiding me through writing my essays, to preparing me for my interview and advising on my communication with the Admissions Committee, she helped me navigate every step of the process. Sherry asked incisive, challenging questions that made me think hard about who I am and what I want - and enabled me to convey those things to the Admissions Committee in a coherent and compelling way. Sherry couldn't have been more helpful with my essay - she was honest about the ways in which she thought that it could and should be better and more true to me, and so when I finally got it right after many drafts, I knew that her praise was entirely genuine.

Caryn, my Flight Tester, was fantastic. She was honest about anything that she perceived as unclear and had very actionable suggestions, which was critical at that point in the process and made me feel confident when I submitted my application.

After submitting my application I quickly had to turn to the video questions, and SBC's video platform is excellent. I submitted practice video question responses to Bill Chionis for review, and he gave tremendously thoughtful, detailed feedback that I found hugely helpful and was able to implement when I actually completed the video questions. This same video platform was fantastic when I was preparing for my interview, but I found the questions that Sherry asked me to prepare and our mock interview to be the most essential to what I thought was a very good interview.

I cannot adequately express my gratitude to the entire SBC team. I could never have done this without you all - you changed my life!

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