Bill (SBC) Reviews

Bill was very professional and knowledgable. During our first discussion, he helped explain to me the pros and cons for each of the program I was considering. His feedback helped me filter the list of schools I was considering and helped me save money on applications. That alone was worth every penny!

Throughout the process, I felt a lot more comfortable with the help from Bill. He was clearly knowledgable of business schools, and the application process. Bill made the process a lot less nerve wrecking.

Overall, I would definitely refer Bill and SBC to my friends and colleagues who are interested in business school admissions consulting.

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Being international and not having a vast network of colleagues/peers in top business schools, I knew starting off that I would need help with my application process. Additionally, considering my age and other personal factors, timing was critical from my side, and I absolutely needed to put my best foot forward in my application.
Going primarily off of online reviews, I decided to try out SBC. However, I was a bit skeptical initially given the high cost of services. I was paired with Bill, and at the very outset, was pleasantly surprised by his professional yet warm attitude. He was genuinely interested to build a good working relationship and he even suggested that I purchase hourly services to keep my costs low (and my costs indeed turned out much lower than I had initially anticipated). I was also very impressed by his knowledge of the whole admissions process. Quite honestly, although I knew I wanted to do an MBA, I was a bit fuzzy on my exact career path, and by way of the application process, Bill explained the business world really well and prepared/mentored me on possible career paths based on my background, interests & goals. I must emphasize that the interview prep session was especially helpful and I will carry my learnings from that throughout my career. I had only applied to one top business school and was thrilled when I was admitted to that program.
I definitely recommend his services to anyone considering consultation for his/her application.

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I applied to business school and was considering hiring a consultant, but due to a tight timeline, I decided to take a go at it independently. During that time, I had a free consultation with Bill. My solo-attempt at navigating the application process resulted in being waitlisted at my top-choice schools. I was discouraged and frustrated.

While waitlisted, I had many free consultations with numerous companies, all of whom seemed informed and knowledgeable. My gut told me that I should revisit Bill, and after speaking with him a second time, I knew that I wanted to work with not only with the Stacy Blackman Consulting but specifically with Bill.

I am so happy I made that decision. Thanks to Bill’s help and advice I was accepted to my top choice school with a full scholarship. I also received 2 additional scholarship offers from top 15 and top 25 b’schools.

I cannot say enough wonderful things about Bill. He’s a true professional. His edits and advice were simple, yet incredibly insightful. He is an unbelievable writer. My essays were so much tighter and more impactful once Bill worked his magic.

During the interview process, he really helped instill confidence in me and helped me develop skills which I now use while recruiting for internships and will continue to use during my professional career.

Lastly, I really appreciate how Bill didn’t try to sell me more hours than necessary. He could have easily convinced me that I needed the all-In package, but instead, suggested a very modest hourly package, which he stuck to.

I truly cannot say enough wonderful things about Bill. I wish there was someone like Bill at school that could guide me through the process.

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I’ll start off by saying I’m absolutely a miser - I over-research every purchase over $100. I say this to give you some perspective when I say that hiring Bill Chionis of SBC was some of the best money I’ve ever spent in my life.

- From the very first call, it was immediately obvious how experienced and knowledgeable he was of the entire process. I never once doubted he knew exactly what he was talking about. He would say things like "I think you have a very strong shot at x, y, and z, but you should go for z and y because your background is more of a fit for what their adcoms are looking for" And he was right.
- He made every single minute count - he was a fountain of information that was clear, articulate and confident. He answered questions I didn’t know I had. We got it done with far less hours than I expected. In the end, his services cost me a third of what some other consultants wanted.
- I’m a fairly neurotic person. Bill answered all my questions patiently and expertly, no matter how small or nitpicky. I didn’t realize how important it would be when I started, but working with Bill made the anxiety of the whole process so much more manageable. Just small things like whether a certain experience was worth putting down in my essay or not, how to word or represent a certain story, etc. I knew exactly how to represent different aspects of my life without second guessing myself.
- He responded FAST. Very important and helpful while I could only snatch an hour here or there to work on my apps.
- I am starting at H/S/W in May and I fully believe I would not have been able to get in without Bill

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Bill took his time to understand my professional and career goals and help me to refine my application materials to make them superb. He and his wife are both MBA's so he's an insider helping. He's successfully placed others into NYU Stern so he knew how I paired up w/ others.

After a few emails and a calls, he was patient and constructive in terms of helping me identify trouble areas. We'd walk thru issues he believed would be critical to the Ad Com and noted best practices in how to over come them.

He was also genuinely curious to get to know who I was and my rationale for applying. He would question me and try to pulled insights I hadn't mentioned, this was really a great method.

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I contacted SBC in late July 2017 to inquire about Admissions Consulting. Soon after, Bill called me and over a 20 minute conversation I was impressed by his deep and wide ranging knowledge of the process.

After I completed the GMAT on September 1, we signed on together for an All-in 2 school consulting package. Having only 6 weeks before R1 deadlines, Bill laid out the best plan forward and guided me through every step of the way. He never pressured me, but rather always had helpful insights to offer when I encountered difficulty. Bill efficiently coached me through a thorough and introspective evaluation process of my background, from which he helped me understand my strengths and weaknesses. This was not only essential to MBA applications, but will also help me during recruiting in Business school as well.

Overall, SBC and Bill offered me an unparalleled package that provided the tools necessary to build a successful application.

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Someone had recommended that if I was really serious about getting into business school and was only looking at one program (Haas EWMBA, in my case), then it would be worth it to invest in a consultant. Stacy Blackman Consulting had such glowing reviews, and I really liked how the company's consultants were intimately familiar with the programs. When I was paired with Bill, he knew just what direction for me to take with my application so that it would resonate with Haas EWMBA Admissions, which are unique. He provided such great feedback and walked me through every step of the process. I really don't know what I would have done without his direction - he made it so clear, but was also very honest with me. I'm now finishing up my first round of courses as a member of the Haas EWMBA Class of 2020, and I couldn't be happier! I owe a lot of that to Bill and SBC and their expert guidance.

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I hope this review is helpful to anyone applying to business school and wants to make the best possible decision to be successful: hire Bill at Stacy Blackman Consulting. It's that simple.

I was actually working with another consulting company and felt out of control. I had hired them several months in advance with the thought that I would slowly work on my three applications, no rush, no panic. But I was not making progress and felt like I just was not getting the type of direction I needed, I was not sure of my essay topics or even that sure of my schools. Everything felt half baked. When a friend mentioned that she was working with SBC and was very happy I decided what the hell, hire them for a few hours and see what they could do. I started working with Bill and he literally rescued me from the flames. The difference was so obvious - he added clarity to my application, guided me in picking out schools and coming up with topics to use in my essays. We had a great conversation where I hung up knowing what to do. I had focus and direction instead of utter confusion and chaos. So one step at a time, we worked together and created great apps. By then I was down to 5 weeks until deadline and in a panic. But Bill was calm and cool and responsive. Every time we spoke or emailed I made progress and things moved in the right direction, at a good pace.

In five weeks we exchanged hundreds of emails and went through 30+ essay drafts - cant really believe it.

The approach we took was completely different from what I was doing before. There was a strategy behind the whole story and it really reflected me. In the end I pulled off a hat trick with acceptances to three schools! As Bill knows, he has my eternal gratitude.

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I knew I needed extensive help with selecting schools, editing my resume/essays and preparing for interviews. After speaking with multiple consulting companies, I decided to give Stacy Blackman a try. I was paired up with Bill who provided a thoughtful profile evaluation and helped me narrow down a list of schools. Most companies I spoke with pushed their products instead of providing a thorough review of my candidacy, this was not my experience with Bill. Bill had already thought of schools that could be a good fit for me and I couldn't have been happier with my experience.

I had a ton of questions that I asked Bill as we continued through the process of applying to top MBA programs. Bill was extremely knowledgeable and made my life a lot easier by thoroughly explaining each component of the application process. I held mock interviews with Bill prior to my real interviews and they helped immensely in easing my nervousness. Bill has extensive experience that he used well to calm me down throughout the process. One thing that impressed me a lot was how quickly Bill turned around essay edits, Bill usually responded back within hours. Bill continued to be patient with me from start to finish and I can't thank him enough.

I applied to 3 programs and got into all 3! 100% Success Rate. I recommend Bill to anyone who is looking for a knowledgeable, efficient and amazing consultant!

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Bill has a very good expertise of what the Adcom really wants. He helped me focus on my strengths in the application process instead of asking me to retake GMAT. Instead of directly jumping on to essays, he came up with application strategy that gave me a clear picture of what we are going to present to adcom. His feedback on mock interviews was excellent and helped me to present the information in right way. Overall, he created a great application strategy, helped me in coming up with excellent essays and helped me with good interview strategy. Thanks to Bill Chionis and Stacy Blackman consulting.

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