SBC Crowned Best MBA Admissions Consulting Firm by Beat the GMAT
Beat the GMAT has just named Stacy Blackman Consulting as the best MBA admissions consulting firm in 2022. Woohoo! We couldn’t be more proud of the caliber of talent and expertise on the SBC consulting team.
Are you considering partnering with a consultant to reach your MBA dreams? Beat the GMAT advises business school aspirants to evaluate the following factors when deciding whether to engage in consulting services:
- Check online reviews for the admissions firm to validate quality, track record, and service. Beat the GMAT has amassed a huge database of verified online reviews.
- Assess the caliber of the MBA admissions firm and what type of consultants, such as top 5 MBA admissions officers, they have in-house.
In recent years, MBA admissions firms have grown their teams to include former Admissions Officers (AdCom) from the elite MBA programs. These former AdCom have closely-guarded, insider knowledge of how AdCom committees make admit and ding decisions.
Assessing the Best MBA Admissions Consulting Firm
Beat the GMAT launched its site in 2005, making it one of the earliest players in this industry. Here is how they explain their ranking methodology:
The online reviews on the Beat the GMAT site were our starting point. From there, we looked at the caliber and type of consultants by firm. We focused on the former AdCom from the top 5 US programs as those business programs have the highest demand relative to other ranked schools. While rankings change by institution and by year, we defined the top 5 MBA programs to include: Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton, Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and Columbia Business School.
We scoured the team profiles on MBA consultant websites. We compared the team profiles with data on Linkedin to find out which MBA admissions firm had former Admissions Officers from the elite programs. We looked for former full-time employed Admissions Officers (AdCom) to see the differences in talent across the known MBA consulting firms. We excluded student or alumni interviewers, as they are not former Admissions Officers, although some firms counted them as such.
Lastly, we encourage you to also look closer to evaluate the scope of services provided by your admissions consulting firm. The same is true of the comprehensive engagements offered by some MBA admissions firms. Ask about whether the comprehensive model is truly unlimited by time, if there’s a diligent matchmaking process, and if there will be access to other consultants/ resources at the firm. Too often, MBA applicants get stuck in a tunnel-vision relationship with just one consultant at a firm and aren’t able to benefit from the firmwide resources because of contract fine print.
If you plan to reach your highest professional goals through the MBA degree, let us help! Contact SBC today to schedule a free 15-minute candidacy assessment. Let us evaluate your MBA potential and develop your game plan.
