Accepted to every school on my list!
I used SBC's hourly services and was matched up w/ Paul. If you are aiming for a Top 3-4 school, he is one of the best in the business. He is a Harvard AND Stanford grad, so he really does know what they are looking for. He was instrumental in essay review and making sure my "story" lined up across my applications. He was especially helpful during the interview prep, since he has given admissions interviews himself. 

I was ultimately accepted to every school I applied to, including Harvard and Stanford. I would absolutely recommend Paul to those who are looking at top schools! Thanks Paul!
 
Paul got me into my dream school
I'm off to HBS because of Paul. 

I wasn't the easiest client, I admit, but at every stage wherever I was nervous/stressed, Paul was a beacon of calmness and confidence and, in fact, used this to direct my essays and ideas. 

[] is great in that it allows you to pick the person who works with you. For me, it was no contest: Paul is a Harvard grad and Stanford GSB grad with relevant work experience and gets countless in to the top schools every year. 

Our initial conversation looked at aspects of my personality, helping me to think about myself and how this could drive what I wrote and my application strategy. 

From then, Paul was always available - for a chat to discuss ideas and always ready to respond to an email at double speed, no matter what time or what day of the week I sent it. 

I particularly liked the fact that Paul's strategy was more hands off, concentrating less on correcting my grammar and English, and focusing more on the content and how we could target each school. A number of times he reiterated that changes might not be 'authentically' me. As a result what I handed in was a snapshot of the real (and polished) me. 

He was also happy to look through each of my applications innumerable times. 

I still can't express fuly how thankful I am.
 
Comprehensive Service with Paul
Applying to b-school is an extremely stressful process that can be difficult to navigate on your own. If you plan on going full-time, you need to walk away from your income and likely take on serious debt. Before applying to schools, I thought, if I’m going to do this, I better make sure I get into the best school I possibly can. With high GMAT scores and a decent undergraduate and prior work experience, I thought I had a chance at some top 10 schools, but was certainly not a shoe-in anywhere. 

I chose to use [] because of all the great reviews I read online. I bought the all-in service for 4 schools and worked with Paul. The approach to take on each essay was my biggest area of concern. Paul was a huge help on giving me direction on how to attack each school. He knew the programs that the schools were proudest of and helped me tap into my experiences and future goals in a way that would appeal to each school uniquely. We’d usually have a brainstorming session to discuss the approach and outline the essay and then multiple emails back and forth with drafts/edits. He was very accessible and didn’t mind me using him as a sounding board throughout the process. 

I applied to NYU, Columbia, Wharton and Harvard. I got into Columbia early and am heading there in the fall. You obviously will never know if you would have gotten into the same schools without the help of the consultant, but I certainly would not be willing to take the risk to find out. [] will ensure that you present yourself in the best way possible to get you into b-school. They have a vast amount of resources available to help guide you through the process and consultants that have top notch credentials (many have sat on ad coms of the most elite programs). You need to keep reasonable expectations, but with [] you can rest assured that you’ve maximized your potential.
 
HBS Bound Thanks to Paul!
WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR: I reached out to [] in November and this point had submitted 2 round 1 applications but wasn’t 100% satisfied with my essays. I was getting ready to submit my last application to HBS round 2 and knew that my essays / application as a whole needed an extra umph! I first thought of hiring a consultant to help me better position myself through the essay. Given that I was further along in the process, I opted for hourly services vs the whole package and had a better idea of how I wanted to use my time. 

WHY []: Before deciding to work with [], I reached out to 4-5 other consulting services to get a better idea of which one was the right fit for me. I spoke directly with the consultants that I would be paired with and this helped me to finally settle on [] and Paul. I definitely think it is critical that you do your homework beforehand and speak directly with the consultant you are going to be working with so that you and they have a better idea of what you are looking for and how they can help you. 

WHY PAUL: My initial free 30 min conversation with Paul went over the allotted time. During this first conversation, Paul already had pointers about how I could better position myself for HBS and areas / strengths that I should focus on. This initial conversation with Paul let me know that (1) he was genuinely interested in helping me through this process and (2) was willing to put in the time and effort to do so. I cannot stress how important it is to find the consultant who is genuinely interested, is going to put in the time to really help you through EVERY step of the process and is able to give you the insights specific to your application. A few of the other consultants I spoke to came across as though they were reading from a script and applied the same "mold" to each person. 

HOW PAUL HELPED ME: I had several phone conversations / emails with Paul about my background, work experience, future aspirations, etc. It was through these conversations that Paul helped me to really pinpoint certain strengths / areas that I could develop into a full essay. I wrote several different versions of my final essay and at each step Paul was there to provide me with feedback / steer me into the right direction. I also want to point out that Paul or any other consultant will not write the essay for you – you definitely have to put in 99% of the work. 

Paul also helped me prepare for my mock interview – really focusing on the questions that I would be asked and how I should respond – and also reviewed my post reflection essay for HBS. Getting his sign off and help during the latter part of the process was incredibly reassuring and helpful. 

WHY PAUL IS GREAT: Paul has an outstanding track record of placing people at top b-schools and is also a GSB alum. Paul’s greatest strength is his understanding of what b-schools are looking for. Through his insight, he was able to help me steer clear of sensitive / mundane essay topics and help to really broaden my perspective of what I wanted to write about. Secondly, Paul is incredibly flexible. During this period, I also used another consultant who was not as flexible and it definitely showed. My other consultant required the standard 2 business day turnaround (with time constraints) and was completely unavailable during certain periods of time. Given that this process is extremely time sensitive and time consuming, it made a world of difference that Paul was willing to hop on the phone / email day of or next day. 

RESULTS: I am happy to say that I am HBS bound this fall and could not have done it with Paul’s help (seriously!!!). I know that the $$ is high, but it is 110% worth it! I can only speak on behalf of my own experience with Paul and with hourly services, but highly recommend Paul!!
 
Wonderful Experience
I had the pleasure of working with Paul during my bschool admissions process. I truly enjoyed my experience. He was encouraging, supportive, and pushed me to submit the best version of myself. He took a holistic approach to my candidacy, and didn't try to stop me from pursuing my dream schools. 
Paul was available to talk to when I needed him, and had great insight when I was stuck in certain areas. Paul helped me get into a top 10 business school, when everyone else was trepidatious. His motivation and coaching, helped me feel so proud and confident in the application I put out. 
I would highly recommend [] to anyone considering the investment.
 
Admitted to Columbia and Yale
I was going through a lot of changes in my life during the application year and I needed a mentor to help keep me on track of my MBA plans. I had evaluated about 7 to 8 admission consulting firms before choosing []. Fast responses (Esther at [] responded to me on weekends), a focus on my profile during first profile evaluation call (rather than promoting their packages, or trying to “gauge my budget” for their services), and unique prospective on my profile were the reasons I decided to choose []. 

Paul was introduced to work with me once [] evaluated my profile and school selection. I was very impressed by Paul’s background: Harvard undergrad and Stanford MBA, worked for P&G and GS and now president of an M&A advisory firm. Despite his impressive background and experiences, Paul was an approachable and humble person. My first GMAT test was only 700. Paul encouraged me to retake and dream big. Once I got GMAT out of the way (760 in my second attempt 1.5 months later), we decided to work on HBS, Stanford, Columbia and Yale. 

I felt very comfortable talking about all relevant aspects of my life and experiences with Paul. He would push me enough to unearth why and how rather than just knowing what and when. There was a lot of soul-searching for me. These open conversations during brainstorming helped a lot because we would have a lot of ideas to work on for the essays. Paul also thought highly of me for self-awareness. Thanks to his experience with MBA admissions and applicant pool, Paul guided me to focus on experiences that would differentiate me from other applicants. He would give me high-level advice on my essay content, themes, structure and tone and allow me to work on many iterations so that the essays are of my own work, before helping proof-read final versions. 

Sometimes we would have disagreements on what experience to include. But every call was an intellectual discussion – we could share our opinions, try to understand each other’s perspective, be enlightened by each other and come to an agreement. Working on essays with Paul was like painting an artwork. Watching my artworks taking shape after each iteration and seeing the final results was inexplicably satisfactory. 

Because essay writing was such a deep soul-searching journey, my interview practice became a natural and easy process. We spent most time working on HBS and Stanford essays and we both felt I had a good shot for the two. Although I wasn’t admitted to these two, I am very pleased with Columbia and Yale admissions. Thank you very much Paul.
 
Highest possible recommendation for Paul
I could not recommend Paul more highly. 

I consulted with Paul as part of my round 2 application process for GSB, which is the only school I applied to (and which I was admitted to!). 

I reached out to [] because I had heard exceptional things about their service through friends. After doing an initial call with Esther, I did a little diligence, learned of their shockingly high GSB admit rate, and agreed to connect with Paul, a GSB alum who worked with the admissions committee as a student, who is still part of their alumni interview network, and who has advised many students successfully with their GSB applications. 

My situation was also unique in that I had done a fair amount of work on my application (written essay drafts, found recommenders, etc.) beforehand over the course of one week of long nights, but was unsatisfied with the results I was seeing. Paul immediately turned it all around for me. He single-handedly pushed me to develop the necessary self-awareness to write compelling GSB essays, helped hone my stories and anecdotes, explained in detail the way that applications are read and reviewed (and what they are looking for), and shared best practices around style, content, and tone that would simply be unknowable except by consulting with someone as knowledgeable as Paul. 

Paul was readily accessible for follow-up calls, reads, moments of frustration, and I was always 100% confident that he would make it a priority to get back to me quickly, and with succinct, clear and practical advice that I could act on immediately. 

Stylistically, I felt Paul was pretty unique. My brother also used an admission's consultant (10 years ago) before attending HBS, but his consultant was extraordinarily micro-managerial and my brother ended up writing something like 15-20 drafts of each essay over the course of 4 months as a result -- it worked but it was painful. In contrast, Paul's style is very much above the board. He tells you when you're going off track (in a nice way), he helps you hone your strategy and encourages you to make sure your strategy is compelling before putting pen to paper, and he ensures that what your application walks the right balance between representing yourself most effectively and being humble and authentic (not an easy task). He is not focused on editing your vocabulary or grammatical choices, or at least he wasn't with me. I ended up putting together an application that I felt very excited about in just a few weeks and with only a few hours of Paul's help (and many long nights of working on my own, but with clear vision of what I was doing thanks to Paul). 

Paul also helped me prepare for my interview on late notice. We did a preliminary 30 minute call, he gave me some high-level guidance and told me to prepare -- I did -- and then two days later we did a 1-hour mock interview. The mock interview went well (thanks to Paul's preliminary tips on how to prepare), my real interview went well (and shared a lot with the mock interview Paul conducted), and it all worked out in the end! 

Great guy, great service, very happy with the result, obviously... highly recommend!
 
Wharton Admit, thanks to [] Consulting
I am extremely grateful to my consultant Paul and everyone at [] for guiding me through every stage of the business school admissions process with knowledge, strategy, kindness and patience. Thanks to them, my dream of attending Wharton will be a reality later this year. I grew up outside the United States and have a very unusual background for business school. I did not have friends to ask about the process and was becoming confused by the discussions in the forums. Paul helped guide me, answered all of my questions and spent many many late nights reviewing essays and advising on strategy. The practice session for the Wharton group interview was excellent. I gained so much from this application process, including of course, my admit! I learned a lot about myself and credit the team at Blackman for helping me with the self-discovery!

HBS Bound!
I had very high expectations when I hired []. My brother and his roommate both worked with them and had very positive results. Plus I was writing a big check and they had quite a reputation. So I expected professionalism and excellence, and results. Almost a year after deciding to engage with them, I am happy to report that they did not let me down at any turn. I may have driven them crazy at several points along the way, but I definitely received the insights, support and level of service that I was looking for. When I initially met with my consultant I knew that I had many stories to tell, and there were many angles that I could take. But I felt extremely scattered and overwhelmed as I did not know how to weave it together, what to leave out etc... The HBS essay especially threw me as there was so much I wanted to convey to my first choice school and I was not even sure if I should be submitting anything at all. My consultant helped me weed through everything and brought a calm, expert, outside perspective, helping me bundle ideas together and form the pieces of my strategy. There was a very systematic approach that helped me to see the big picture and fill in details. I appreciated the confidence with which my consultant directed me - of course I could do as I wished but he absolutely had no doubts with regards 
to the way he advised me and that boosted my confidence in the path we took. The fact that I could leverage additional [] 
resources throughout the process was also very helpful. Knowing that I had some extra reviews from others on the team just added to the thoroughness. I truly recommend [] Consulting - great approach, great team, excellent process. And...oh yeah - 
I am HBS bound.
 
Thank you [] and Paul
I subscribed to the Hourly Service offered by [] and I had the good fortune of getting the help of someone as erudite and thoughtful as Paul. Given that I am from Asia and from traditional consulting/PE backgrounds, it was critical for me to differentiate myself among the crowd. Paul helped me do this and more importantly express myself better. The high point of the interactions with Paul was that he ensured that all my application material reflected my authentic self. Thanks to Paul's help and support, I was able to secure admission to Harvard Business School, which was the only school I had applied to. 

I strongly recommend the hourly service provided by [] and in particular Paul who was quite remarkable in the way he helped me.
 
Highly Recommend []
I worked with Paul on my MBA application process and was very pleased with everything. [] has all the resources you could possibly need and really helped me feel confident in my applications. Paul was extremely knowledgeable about the admissions process for all of the top schools I wanted to go to. Thanks to his help, I was admitted to HBS (my top choice!) and Booth and Wharton (both with significant merit scholarships). Paul was able to identify exactly what I should be highlighting in my essays and applications by having extensive conversations and brainstorming sessions with me. He gave me honest feedback and I felt extremely confident after submitting my applications and when interviewing. I was surprised how many little questions/concerns/nuances came up throughout the process that I needed Paul's help to answer and don't think I would have managed the admissions process successfully without him. I definitely believe Paul was the edge I needed to earn an acceptance into HBS and highly recommend using him if you are looking for admittance into any top school.
 
Admitted to HBS
I was initially very daunted by the opened end nature of the HBS essay question and really didn't know what my "personal brand" was or how to even begin articulating it. I weighed up the cost and decided to hire an admissions consultant. After a bit of research I decided on [], who promptly connect me with Paul. 

Paul was invaluable in helping me craft a story that was true to my personal experiences but also aligned with what the admissions committee would be looking for. I was particularly impressed with the quality and depth of the insights Paul was able to give me after having only spoken to me for such a short period. Paul's availability at short notice and quick response times to my questions were also highly appreciated. 

Working with Paul also saved me immense amounts of time as I was able to quick focus down on my essay topic, rather than spending hours and hours brainstorming ideas. 

Without Paul's help I would not have been able to come up with such a strong essay or strong all round application.
 
Headed to HBS, thanks to []
I was initially skeptical about using a consultant but after going thru the process I'm very grateful to have hired []. I chose the comprehensive service for 3 schools and worked with Paul, who helped me both brainstorm about my strategy and craft my story for the process. He helped me present myself in a manner that is true to who I am but in a manner that the admissions committees found compelling. 

After we had been through my background and experiences to date he helped me pick the best way to present my candidacy. His assistance was particularly useful in three areas: 1) essay editing; 2) interview preparation and 3) post-interview reflection. 

I had an extremely positive experience with [] and am incredibly grateful to the full team in helping me achieve my goal.
 
Paul - a great guide
I applied to HSW this year and managed to get an admit from HBS. I reached out to several consulting firms before I started the process. Despite the fact I was very late in the process, [] matched me with a consultant who has an excellent track record for HBS and GSB - Paul Kang. 

Not only Paul is a GSB and Harvard alumnus, he has also served as the admissions committee member at GSB. This added real practicality to my application. Paul was instrumental in pushing me hard to think about my own life - what I have achieved so far, what I am as a person, what do I want to do in life and why, how would I want to do it, etc., and use all of this to present my story to the B-schools. The biggest advantage of working with Paul, unlike few other consultants, is that he would never force his thinking upon you or write the essay for you. He would always be ready to help you think and write, and to review and improve the same. He would never say no to you even if you send the nth version of the essay. He is always ready to get on a call with you to discuss any small or big thing. 

Paul also helped me fit my application process into timelines and adhere to the same - else it would have been extremely difficult given the work load I had. Moreover, the final essay I submitted with Paul's help was much better that what I could have submitted on my own. 

I am truly grateful to Paul for his support in the process and highly recommend him to be consulted, esp. on HSW applications - he is the HSW guru!
 
Highly recommended
I have had an amazing experience with [] Consulting. At the beginning of my application process, I read reviews from various sites, and found that [] was one of the highest-rated services. I decided to try out 3 different services by scheduling initial calls with them. I was most impressed by how thoughtful my initial conversation with [] went. The person I talked to initially was able to identify different connections between various elements in my life like I had never thought of before and make some concrete suggestions on potential directions of my application right from the very first call. 

[] then matched me with Paul Kang who shared many of my interests. I worked with Paul Kang on my applications to two of the top schools (H/S/W). In our first call, Paul asked many thought-provoking questions to get me to think beyond the surface level. After the first call, he managed to get me to question many of the assumptions I had made about myself, my career direction, and my applications. Throughout the process, Paul was incredibly supportive and always responsive. The final products were definitely reflective of who I am but in a much deeper level than I had anticipated. I got admitted to both of these top schools, thanks to Paul & []. I highly recommend [] to anyone serious about having solid, thoughtful bschool applications.
 
Paul at []
I'm writing this having received offers last week from both schools I applied to - HBS and GSB - so clearly a satisfied customer! Paul at [] has been a great help throughout the last 6 months. I have a traditional background (consulting/finance), and felt comfortable with the application process - what I really wanted was someone with the experience to challenge what I was writing and help tease out how to differentiate myself. I chose Paul over a bunch of other consultants who seemed like they would be more hands on - he pushed me only on the pieces that mattered, but pushed me hard on those. Thank you Paul!
 
Thank you Paul!
After my initial 30 minute call with someone from [] whose name unfortunately escapes me, the woman from SB suggested I work with Paul and I could not have had a better experience / it could not have been a better match for me. 

From the first hour-long call with Paul it seemed like he understood the type of person I am and the right way to craft my application to (hopefully) differentiate it from all of the other private equity applicants. The thing I appreciated most about Paul was he was very objective and didn't seem to feel the need to change things / insert his thoughts just for the sake of it. He seemed to be much more focused on understanding the big ideas you could convey and pointing you towards the ones he thinks make the most sense for you. After our first two discussions to really drill down on exactly what it is I was going to write about, we exchanged 3 drafts and we were done. Based on a number of these reviews I've read, I was expecting it to be a tedious process, but after that 3rd draft, he said "any other changes would just be changing it from your voice to mine." I was so happy that when my family proof-read my essays they commented that they sounded like me. 

Paul was of course very helpful in the other aspects of the process: creatively answering short answer questions to help your entire application tie together, resume review and interview prep, and in each case his approach was very much the same. 

I am so lucky and fortunate to say that after working with Paul and applying to Harvard, Stanford and Wharton Round 1, this past week I was admitted to Harvard and Stanford (and am still awaiting notification from Wharton)! 

I could not recommend Paul and [] any more highly.

Consulting services were great!
Working with [] was a fantastic experience. I had originally signed up with another service but decided to complement that with true excellence in the field. I feel very privileged to have worked with Paul, who graduated from the school of my choice (GSB). His insights and experience were fundamental for my success. His unwavering support and overall attention to my application were exemplary. I don't remember ever waiting for over a day from a response from him. I definitely recommend using this service! Good luck and hopefully see you in California (off to GSB). Trusting [] was definitely the way to go for me.
 
Paul from [] is a star!
Paul was my consultant from []. He graduated from one of my dream schools and is well-versed in the different schools and their application process. SB has a thorough onboarding process and I felt like Paul really took the time to know my background and who I am as a person so he could best help me in the process.

It was very helpful to have someone who has read hundreds, if not thousands, of essays review my writing and give me honest feedback on structure/content. I found the essay questions to be fairly straightforward but it was hard to pick the right experiences to write about and make sure your stories stand out from the rest of the crowd. Paul and the SB team was instrumental in pushing me to pick the best stories and refining them over and over again. Turnaround time on essay edits was always less than 24 hours and we did 3-5 edits per essay. 

I was lucky to get interviews with all 3 top schools I applied to. Paul spent hours on mock interviews and giving me feedback on my answers. He also gave me school specific tips for each interview which was valuable. 

I would highly recommend Paul and [] if you are considering applying to business schools. They are an incredible resource to have and worth every penny I spent.
 
Admitted to HBS thanks to []!
The MBA is a pivotal part of your personal and professional life -- why skimp on getting into a dream school? Subscribing for the comprehensive package with [] was one of the best decisions I've made. 

I was paired with Paul, a retired PE professional who had previously attended both Harvard and GSB, as well as serving on several Ivey admissions committees. Having his insights was invaluable -- it is striking how far my essays came from the first draft to final product. When I pressed "submit" I really felt like the application was an honest reflection of who I am, whereas normally from fear of mis-stepping I surely would have produced something much more generic. Other friends have used the [] service, and were equally impressed.
 
Got into Dream School
I’m heading to one of the top MBA programs at my dream school next fall! My consultant, Paul, gave me tremendous help in this process from initial strategy to interview prepping. 

The [] team did a fantastic job matching me up with a consultant based on my background and desired school. Paul’s knowledge about my dream school combined with his creative approach really got me to think outside of the box. I do not have the ivy league + fortune 500 background, and just finished my undergrad education this year. I was initially skeptical about my chance to being accepted by my dream school, given my modest experience, but Paul was able to help me find my unique qualities and strengths. 

In the end I was able to create an application that’s strong, unique and authentic.