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Admission Consultants
 

aq25's picture
(Chimp, 5
 
Points)
 on 6/15/12 at 8:16pm

Hi all,

I'm applying to some M7 programs this year and am considering using an admissions consultant. I've narrowed it down to two consultants: Stacy Blackman and Amerasia. Does anyone have any experience with either? I'd really like to get some honest feedback on both.

One thing I noticed is that Amerasia only seems to have reviews on gmatclub, and I am wondering why it doesnt have reviews elsewhere like Stacy Blackman. Candid feedback appreciated. Really interested in things like responsiveness, insights.

Thanks!

Tags:
solb22's picture

I'd go with Sandy K if you

 
Points)
 on 6/16/12 at 12:27am

I'd go with Sandy K if you can afford it. Hands down the best. And he doesn't charge per hour. Be careful with per hour consultants. Less incentives to be productive and you don't know what you're paying for

Brady4MVP's picture

DO NOT use stacy blackman.

HF
(Neanderthal, 3,158
 
Points)
 on 6/16/12 at 1:28am

DO NOT use stacy blackman. Probably the worst consulting service out there.

I talked to Adam and Drew Hoff at Amerasia. Nice guys, but I don't think they're worth the money.

The value-add of these services, given the price tag and lack of a refund, is quite dubious.

cinnamontoastcrunch's picture

solb22: I'd go with Sandy K

O
(Orangutan, 262
 
Points)
 on 6/16/12 at 10:21am
solb22:

I'd go with Sandy K if you can afford it. Hands down the best. And he doesn't charge per hour. Be careful with per hour consultants. Less incentives to be productive and you don't know what you're paying for

Evidence to support this claim? I find Sandy, and his ridiculous "predicting your odds" series on P&Q, to be obnoxious.

My WSO Blog

seedy underbelly's picture

.

IB
(King Kong, 1,090
 
Points)
 on 6/16/12 at 10:55am

.

seedy underbelly's picture

.

IB
(King Kong, 1,090
 
Points)
 on 6/16/12 at 10:56am

.

solb22's picture

I used his service and found

 
Points)
 on 6/16/12 at 12:59pm

I used his service and found it exceptional. I got into HBS. As far as any other evidence-not sure what you really want but from the consensus I've seen online he's the best in the business.

I'd use him for your one dream school if you're worried about price. If you really don't find his series informative and funny on poets and quants, I don't know if you're gonna like working with him. But don't let your fear of having your essays torn apart stop you from hiring him.

Either way-good luck

aq25's picture

Any other experiences with

(Chimp, 5
 
Points)
 on 6/16/12 at 2:34pm

Any other experiences with amerasia or Stacy Blackman?

Brady4MVP's picture

cinnamontoastcrunch: solb22

HF
(Neanderthal, 3,158
 
Points)
 on 6/16/12 at 3:00pm
cinnamontoastcrunch:
solb22:

I'd go with Sandy K if you can afford it. Hands down the best. And he doesn't charge per hour. Be careful with per hour consultants. Less incentives to be productive and you don't know what you're paying for

Evidence to support this claim? I find Sandy, and his ridiculous "predicting your odds" series on P&Q, to be obnoxious.

People find him obnoxious because he's blunt and brutally honest in his assessment of candidates' chances. This stands in sharp contrast to what other admissions consultants do, and as a reasult a lot of people get turned off by him. I personally find the honesty refreshing. If you read through the poets and quants series, his analysis of the applicants' chances are spot-on. I would love to see a follow-up series where they actually reveal which schools these people got into. I'm guessing sandy's prediction success rate will be around 90%.

As I said before, I corresponded with sandy via e-mail regarding my chances. He told me in no uncertain terms that HSW are out and that booth/sloan/columbia are possible if I raise my gmat and do something outside of work that stands out. He basically said, "look you're an asian guy in trading at a company almost no one has heard of. HSW is not gonna happen for you." I actually liked his candor in that regard.

Stacy Blackman is truly awful. I used one of their consultants the first time I applied. Ok essay revisions but nothing that my friends could not have done. Very little insight and after I got dinged I sent my consultant an e-mail asking for her thoughts on what happened and how I can improve when I re-apply. Absolutely no response whatsoever. I thought that was remarkably unprofessional given the money I spent on the service. Jeremy Shinewald of MBA Mission was pretty bad as well. I talked to him for about an hour for an initial consultation; the guy is a slick talker but no substance whatsoever. He's sort of the Barack Obama of admissions consulting.

The business as a whole has a very perverse incentive structure. You pay a pretty hefty sum ($2500/school for most services, discounted rate per school if you do multiple apps), the amount gets paid all at once, and there is no chance of any sort of partial refund if you don't get in anywhere. Essentially what this does is ensure that consultants are given little incentive to be honest with applicants and to work their butt off for them. The structure is similar to pro baseball in this aspect, where you see players get ridiculous guaranteed money, only to flop due to complacency.

cinnamontoastcrunch's picture

I agree that Stacy Blackman's

O
(Orangutan, 262
 
Points)
 on 6/16/12 at 3:19pm

I agree that Stacy Blackman's service isn't worthwhile. I was not impressed when I did my initial consultation with them.

I did one with Sandy as well, and I can handle his brutal honesty; it's his pompous attitude that I can't handle. I think if you want someone that won't bs you, Alex Chu is a good choice.

On the point that consultants are cheerleaders that will unrealistically tell you that you have a shot at school XYZ...they will work with you on any school of your choosing, but it shouldn't take an admissions consultant to tell someone that he/she doesn't have a shot at H/S/W with a 2.9 and a 670. Gotta give them something to work with. At the same time, they should have an incentive to be honest with candidates because their reputation and track record is at stake...perhaps that's why they encourage people to apply to a safety school in their top 3 so they can save face.

I think admissions consultants' value is in their ability to babysit an applicant and hold his/her hand through every step of the process. Some people like/need that, others don't.

Disclosure: I'm not working with a consultant on my apps.

My WSO Blog

pr0ficient's picture

I used Adam at Amerasia. I

EN
 
Points)
 on 6/16/12 at 4:17pm

I used Adam at Amerasia. I thought he was worth every penny.

You should schedule an initial consultation with both, see who impresses you the most and then make a decision.

Shoot me a PM if you have any specific questions about Adam/Amerasia. I'd be happy to chat with you about it.

obscenity's picture

Brady4MVP: [I'm] an asian

 
Points)
 on 6/16/12 at 9:28pm
Brady4MVP:

[I'm] an asian guy

My whole world just got turned upside down.

Spalding Get Your Foot Off the Boat's picture

Has anyone used an admission

 
Points)
 on 6/17/12 at 11:56am

Has anyone used an admission consultant for just one application (whichever has the most re-usable essays), and then tried to leverage the advice for the rest of your apps? Trying to justify the expense...

HG14's picture

I researched a whole slew of

O
(Monkey, 64
 
Points)
 on 6/17/12 at 7:26pm

I researched a whole slew of admissions consultants before choosing one. I had a free consultations (either email, phone, or both) with HBS Guru (Sandy), Veritas, Clear Admit, Inside MBA Admissions, Stacy Blackman, MBA Mission, Paul Bodine, and MBA Exchange.

I am an nontraditional candidate and I have some unique work experience. I am also a good writer (I had to write a ton in a past job), but I had no idea what b-schools were looking for in the application. From forum browsing, I could tell that my work experience and GMAT made me a strong candidate, but I used the admissions consultant feedback sessions to find out which schools I should target and what strategy I should use when applying.

Interestingly, most consultants (except for one) generally gave me the same advice and feedback based on my story, GMAT, undergrad GPA, and work experience. They each reinforced what I had found in my own research and told me how they would help me polish my applications. Here is what I thought of each:

HBS Guru: Blunt feedback and gave me my chances of admission to the top schools. He was very nice to me on the phone and I liked much of his advice. He thought I had decent chances to the top schools but a couple things (like my age) could hold me back. However, I decided not to go with him because he told me that with my background I should say I want to go into consulting (which would be a lie) because it made the most sense. MC isn't something I want to do and I have a personal problem with being dishonest to get into a school. Maybe I am foolish, but if I have to lie to get in I would rather not go - also I don't "need" an MBA, I just think it will help.

Inside MBA Admissions: Seems like a good firm. Nothing special though. Cheaper than most.

Stacy Blackman: This was the outlier. The consultant was severely unfriendly. From the very first minute of the conversation she seemed to have an axe to grind. Maybe someone from my industry rubbed her wrong previously, but I have no idea. She also basically told me that I had nothing to offer a top school and was wondering why I was even bothering to apply to HBS/Wharton/CBS/etc. Honestly, I was shocked during the conversation because you would think I ran over her dog or something. I thought about emailing Stacy herself to complain, but I decided that I don't care if her company destroys itself.

MBA Mission: Jeremy was very friendly and we got along well because we were/are both writers. Gave me blunt feedback on my candidacy and odds of admissions. I chose not to go with them because they are truly a bunch of writers. They help you tell the story. That's not what I needed. I can write well, but I need strategic guidance to bring out the best of me in the application. I would recommend this company to those that aren't good storytellers but know what admissions strategy they want to use.

Paul Bodine: I had read his book and had high expectations - he delivered. I like this guy and I think he knows what he is talking about. He is lesser known and only selects a handful of clients. He was easily one of my top choices.

MBA Exchange: These guys seems good as well. The email feedback was really useful. However, they allow for a phone consultation. For me, this was a deal-breaker.

Veritas: Big player with lots of consultants. They have decent backgrounds and seem to know what they are talking about. They also occasionally offer discounts.

Clear Admit: This is the company I ended up going with. I paid much more money but they seemed to have the whole package: Experience in admissions departments at top schools, full-time consultants, industry experts, honest feedback, consultants value integrity and honesty, and friendly customer service. This was not an easy decision, and I ended up paying a few thousand more dollars. I feel it has been worth it as I got the best.

Here was my order of preference for admissions consultants taking into account quality, price, service, etc.:

1) Clear Admit (Excellence in every category, but you pay $ for it)
2) Veritas or Paul Bodine (Good overall)
3) MBA Mission (Good for those who need writing help)
4) HBS Guru, Inside MBA Admissions, MBA Exchange (Depends on your situation/perspective)
5) Stacy Blackman (you couldn't pay me to use)

Hope this helps.

Spalding Get Your Foot Off the Boat's picture

HG14 - thanks for sharing

 
Points)
 on 6/17/12 at 10:33pm

HG14 - thanks for sharing your thoughts, this is very helpful. It sounds like we have similar backgrounds (consulting), and as a career switcher, i'm interested to hear what your thoughts are in terms of discussing this in your applications. If you don't mind sharing a little more about your background and the strategy you ended up employing, i for one would definitely appreciate it.

HG14's picture

Spalding, I may not have made

O
(Monkey, 64
 
Points)
 on 6/18/12 at 11:17pm

Spalding,

I may not have made it clear, but I don't come from consulting. I have a background in both the military and in the private sector. My strategy was to be completely honest in my goals. Since I am fully sponsored, I stated how I will take the business I am working in to the next level. I described a realistic progression in the business - including eventually becoming the CEO. I briefly explained my passion for the industry. I also highlighted my past leadership experiences - especially in the military.

I don't want to give too much of my history away because I am willing to bet that I am the only applicant with my particular background.

Stacy Blackman's picture

After reading the posts in

(Chimp, 1
 
Points)
 on 7/6/12 at 5:47pm
solb22's picture

I'm almost positive that

 
Points)
 on 7/6/12 at 5:50pm
HG14's picture

I followed up with Stacy

O
(Monkey, 64
 
Points)
 on 7/7/12 at 3:30am
Betsy Massar's picture

aq25: Hi all, I'm applying to

EN
(Gorilla, 534
 
Points)
 on 7/7/12 at 3:54pm

Betsy Massar
Check out my B-School Q&A Forum on WSO
Good posts get silver bananas!
Founder of MasterAdmissions.com

fghy's picture

pr0ficient: I used Adam at

(Chimp, 1
 
Points)
 on 12/3/12 at 3:08am
judajuda's picture

I got into an M7 without

 
Points)
 on 12/6/12 at 9:18pm
futurectdoc's picture

What is the value proposition

IB
(King Kong, 1,675
 
Points)
 on 12/6/12 at 10:48pm
FunnyReference's picture

Who did you work with at

(Chimp, 5
 
Points)
 on 12/18/12 at 9:39am
HG14's picture

I worked with Deena and got

O
(Monkey, 64
 
Points)
 on 12/18/12 at 2:42pm

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