10/10

Bill was my initial contact at SBC and I ended up going with the All-In package with Caryn Altman to tackle my list of target schools.

Caryn was absolutely fantastic to work with. She really understands the application process on a granular level and helped me execute a strategy that highlighted my profile's best attributes. She was fantastic in identifying the spots of my application that were weak and really helped me focus on rethinking and improving those areas. Her wisdom and guidance, from essay editing to letter of recommendation support, was nothing short of stellar.

Caryn is largely responsible for my acceptances at Kellogg (MMM program) and Chicago Booth with scholarship. In addition, quick shoutout to Beth, my flight test consultant, who provided valuable insight as well.

I have ZERO regrets with choosing SBC for my MBA applications and am truly grateful for Caryn's and the firm's support!!

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After having initial screenings with several other consulting firms, I picked SBC and specifically wanted to work with Caryn – am incredibly glad I made that decision! I was admitted to 3 of my top choice M7 schools thanks to Caryn helping me differentiate myself despite being in an over-represented minority pool with a cookie-cutter background.

Right from the get go, Caryn was incredibly supportive and encouraging and invested time to truly understand my background and goals. She led me through the whole process seamlessly right from initial strategy discussions to school selection, essays, data form, and interviews – making sure I was bringing my best to each portion of the application. She brings tremendous experience and a deep understanding of how adcoms think and what they are looking for – which helps craft a compelling application. She is also very transparent and direct with reliably quick turnaround times of ~24 hours!

Looking back, I 100% made the right decision in working with Caryn and would highly recommend in a heartbeat!

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I really can't say enough good things about Caryn and the entire team at SBC! After researching a ton of different firms and speaking with more than a few other consultants, I started to have decision paralysis because everyone seemed so similar. What separated SBC for me, however, was the team-based approach they took to my application. From my very first screening call with Bill, my strategy sessions with Caryn, and the flight test / interview prep I took part in with other consultants, SBC gave me access to 4-5 MBA consultants / ex-admissions officers who all gave me unique perspectives and advice for improving my candidacy.

Caryn in particular completely exceeded all of my expectations. Because I had a job with long hours, one of my biggest concerns was how I'd get all my apps done in time but Caryn handles everything with a laser-focused efficiency that kept me on track and moving at a steady pace throughout the 6 months I worked with her. She was always responsive (within a day), gave clear/detailed instructions and comments, and even followed up with me whenever I got behind (which was often..). She also helped me take disparate parts of my resume and finance-heavy background and craft a narrative that clearly articulated my career transition goals and all-important why MBA response.

With Caryn's (and the whole SBC team's) help, I received admission to HBS, Wharton and Kellogg (with a scholarship) and I could not be more thrilled with the outcome! While hiring a consultant was a big investment, I knew that getting an MBA would be an ever bigger one so I wanted to make sure I gave myself the best possible chance of getting into my dream schools. I really don't think I could've gotten into the schools I did without Caryn's help and would highly recommend SBC to anyone who's considering applying.

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I worked with Caryn and SBC for class of 2023 applications. Working with Caryn and the rest of the Stacy Blackman team / resources was an absolute pleasure and I found Caryn’s support indispensable as I navigated the challenging and intensive process. Ultimately, the decision paid off as I was accepted into Wharton, my top choice, as well as Booth and Kellogg!
I kicked off my process in late June, which was a little late given my desire to submit all my applications for the Round 1 deadline. Caryn quickly designed a schedule that would push me appropriately to stay on pace. Early in the process, she helped me think through my story and application strategy to best differentiate me, especially with my background in an over-represented group (male in finance). Caryn was incredibly responsive in iterating essay drafts and helping position myself in the best possible light. Post-essay process, SBC offered a flight test to review my overall application, which provided a tangible review of my materials and overall candidate profile from one of the other consultants, Lisa. Upon receiving interview invites, I conducted interview prep with Caryn and, for Wharton, attended a virtual, team-based discussion mock interview hosted by SBC. Overall, SBC offers all of the resources that one would need through the process.
I originally reached out to Stacy Blackman and discussed my background with Esther. Once I solidified my plans to apply to business school, I requested Caryn and Esther connected me with her directly. My brother used Caryn and Stacy Blackman with his successful MBA application process a couple years ago, so it was a natural selection for me. I also received recommendations from a few others at my company who went through the process, and many of them had used Stacy Blackman. Overall, Caryn’s experience as a former MBA Admissions Officer and her expertise in advising clients was evident. I’m very happy with my decision and would highly recommend Caryn and Stacy Blackman to anyone looking to succeed in the MBA admissions process.

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One of the best decisions I made during the MBA program application process was to work with Stacy Blackman Consulting, specifically, Caryn Altman. From the very beginning, it was all hands on deck. My emails were always returned within 24 - 48 hours, which was so important as I had so many questions in terms of timing, school selection, essay ideas, etc. I had decided to go with the All-In-Package, which for me made the most sense. Caryn’s insightful questions, ideas and general knowledge of the schools made it so much easier for me to focus on coming up with ‘my story’. Importantly, while it took several rounds of edits, etc. Caryn was always patient with my initial, verbose essay drafts, helping me to determine the important ideas as I worked to craft final essays which best answered the questions asked and also conveyed who I am as an individual. Given that applying to business schools can be a stressful process, it was so helpful to know that I had someone of Caryn’s caliber in my corner. The results speak for themselves, I was accepted to Wharton, Kellogg, Tuck, and Ross with multiple scholarships including 2 full-rides. I also was able to work with multiple members of the Stacy Blackman Staff including Esther, always very responsive to questions, and others to do my ‘flight tests’ and practice for interviews, including a mock team-based interview to prepare for different schools. I strongly recommend working with Caryn and the Stacy Blackman Team!

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My dream came true and I was admitted to HBS and MIT after working with Caryn on 5 applications.

I am from Brazil and this was a very challenging season, specially for international students, due to soaring applications and deferrals.

I was very diligent on selecting my consultant, talking to other 3 top firms, but it was SBC that stood out for their expertise and service. Esther was my guide and matchmaker and took me step-by-step through the whole process. I ended up asking for Caryn directly because of her outstanding record as a U.S. top 10 consultant and background as former admissions officer.

Caryn's ability to synthesize a compelling story and tread throughout the whole application is invaluable. She can clearly show you your strenghts and help mitigate your weaknesses. While the process is stressful, Caryn helped me gain confidence and reflect on my true motivations on pursuing an MBA. With all done, my flight tester was Lisa, which is also a former admissions officer and brought a fresh pair of eyes to the material, giving good insights on how to better communicate some ideas. And finally, the mock interviews were also great and prepared me very well for the real interviews.

I had a great experience with SBC and they offer the best service. If your dream is a top ten school, SBC is the right place.

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I was originally referred to Caryn through a friend who had a similar engineering background and applied last year. Caryn was so reassuring yet honest in her assessment during our initial call; I knew that she would be the right person to guide me through my MBA application process. I decided to go with the all-in package and applied to 5 schools, got interviews at 4, and was accepted with significant scholarships (>50%) at Kellogg, Ross, and Fuqua.

I definitely could not have done this without Caryn’s help. She was instrumental in helping me figure out how to translate my technical background and experiences into applications in a way that would resonate with the admissions committee. Caryn was also very much an accountability partner for me, helping keep me on track in terms of timelines especially with all the craziness of the past year. She was always very prompt in her responses and went through several drafts with me, while keeping the essays and applications true to who I was as a person. In addition, the resources that SBC offers like the flight test, sample essays, and mock interviews were really important to helping at each step of the process. I could not recommend Caryn and SBC enough!

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I found out about SBC through a referral, and after my initial consultation with Esther I could tell SBC was going to be the right choice! I went for the all-in package and could not be happier with my choice! I was accepted into 3 of my 4 schools (the 4th was a waitlist), including HBS!! Something I never would have thought possible prior to going through this process.


Caryn was amazing! She previously worked as an admissions officer and had tons of knowledge, not only on the program she had worked for, but on all the schools I applied to. From the beginning, she took the time to genuinely understand me, my experiences, and my goals. She helped me figure out which schools would be the best fit and was with me through every step of the application process, helping me craft my story as a non-traditional candidate. The application process can be very intense, and having Caryn on my side made it so much better! She was always very honest, and provided very constructive feedback (with a quick turnaround) throughout the process and kept me on-track.

SBC has a ton of helpful resources and lots of officer intelligence in-house. Not only did Caryn have experience as a former admissions officer, but Beth (also fantastic), conducted my “flight test” prior to submitting my first application. I also worked with Erica to prepare for my HBS interview, and went in feeling very prepared.

I have already recommended Caryn and SBC to my friends considering applications, and will continue to do so. Absolutely fantastic experience!

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To start with some general context, I predominantly have an engineering background and am currently in consulting. I started the application process with zero background info/tips on b-school apps and felt totally at a loss. I pretty quickly realized I needed help and I spoke with several different consulting firms and actually didn't have a great start with SBC. My intro call was with Bill who I didn't quite connect with so I asked if Caryn had availability because I had read all her raving reviews. And man, am I glad I did. After speaking with Caryn I immediately knew I had found the perfect person. You can tell she is incredibly experienced and was able to immediately put my mind at ease as she took me through her overall process, what B-schools are looking for, what she thought about my candidacy and my profile, etc.

In terms of the general application process of working through brainstorming ideas, essay revisions, etc, Caryn simply could not have been better. She helped me shape my profile to highlight all the strengths I had and paid particular attention to make sure my application as a whole worked well together. One thing in particular I liked was that whenever I had ideas that weren’t the best, she would always provide the rationale for why and she could always tell if I felt comfortable with the decision or if we needed to talk through things a little more so I felt more confident. I quickly learned to trust her which led to offers from Wharton($$), Sloan, Booth, and Kellogg! It’s been incredible and I absolutely would not have gotten into these schools without her help! Also, once my offers came in I was in a bind on where to go because of some personal factors, but she had a long conversation with me and helped me work through where to pick which I’m really grateful for.

Overall, I highly highly recommend working with Caryn. She is the kindest, most down-to-earth person who gets incredible results!

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I had the pleasure of working with Caryn throughout this past application cycle. After applying to five of the M7 schools, I was offered interviews at four and chose to interview at three. I ended up receiving significant scholarships from two of the schools and was waitlisted at the remaining program. Coming from an untraditional background, with issues such as gaps in my education history, I was concerned about my chances at a top MBA program.

Caryn was incredibly supportive throughout the entire process, helping me be deeply introspective when refining my career goals and reflecting on my past experiences. By using her expertise as a former admissions officer, she then helped me craft my story in a way that best highlighted these experiences, fully showcasing what I would bring to an MBA class while meeting the nuance required for each unique essay prompt across the various schools. In addition to Caryn, I received great support from the entire SBC staff and was grateful for the database of application resources SBC has available.

Prior to starting my MBA admissions process, I spent a considerable amount of time researching different admissions consultants. Ultimately, I felt that Stacy Blackman’s comprehensive services, proven track record, and robust roster of former adcoms would help me put forth the best applications possible. I could not be happier with my decision, and I would highly recommend Caryn and SBC to anyone considering the services of an admissions consultant during the MBA admissions journey.

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