B-Schooled: Get Your MBA Admit

We're often asked: "This is my GMAT/GRE score and this is the score I want—how many hours of tutoring do I need?" Our honest answer: before we can recommend a plan, we need to review one of your recent practice tests alongside you. This deep-dive analysis allows us to pinpoint strengths, weaknesses, and the most efficient path to your goal. Enter Stacy Blackman Consulting's Test Review package. Th...

In this installment of Paths Less Traveled, Stacy talks with Ann Hsing. Upon graduating from undergrad at MIT, Ann opened and operated a bubble tea shop in Boston. She then worked as a strategy consultant at the small boutique Callidon Group, focusing on private equity due diligence projects and pricing structures. Next, Ann returned to school to earn her MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Ma...

In this episode we talk to Ty Greenberg, a former SBC client and a Stanford GSB graduate. Ty talks about his unusual background, his initial rejection from all of the business schools he applied to, changes he made and his eventual success as a reapplicant. HIs inspiring story offers helpful lessons to applicants coming from unorthodox backgrounds ,or who are considering whether to reapply to thei...

The things that scare us – especially in the context of MBA essays – are often the things that make us feel vulnerable, uncertain, or insecure. In short, things that force us to take our armor off and be vulnerable. Vulnerability in business school essays also offers you a powerful opportunity to connect with your reader, demonstrate self-awareness and/or EQ, and – most importantly – tell a really...

Stacy interviews Anthony Ritz, Stacy Blackman Consulting's Head of Test Prep, to reveal the biggest MBA test-prep missteps he's seen students make over his many years in admissions consulting and test-prep tutoring.

In this episode, Stacy interviews David Aufhauser, a C-suite executive, entrepreneur, and investor operating at the intersection of sports, media, and technology. He has built and scaled businesses across immersive media, streaming, fan and athlete engagement, and women's professional sports, working with global partners including the Olympic Games, NFL, and NBA. From launching one of the first 24...

Memorial Day weekend in the US serves as the unofficial kickoff of the 2026-27 MBA application season. In this episode, learn what you can be doing now to get ahead of the competition in the process. Also, now is the perfect time to download the new MBA Launchpad app from Stacy Blackman Consulting... it's built out of 25 years of proprietary MBA application data to help business school hopefuls wi...

In this episode, your host Chandler covers 10 tips to give waitlisted applicants all the tools they need to not just survive their time on the waitlist, but hopefully thrive. Insights from this episode include: What being on the waitlist means (and what it doesn't), The importance of developing an individualized waitlist strategy, Specific guidance about following your school's waitlist process (w...

Stacy interviews her former Kellogg classmate Michael Rosenband about his wild ride of a career, and how he ended up founding the Requity Foundation (https://www.requity.org/) in Baltimore after a career spanning several industries and geographies.

In this episode we discuss the unique value proposition offered by Cornell's Johnson Graduate school of management via a variety of MBA programs. Cornell offers a full two year MBA on its Ithaca campus, a one year, tech focused MBA at its NYC campus and hybrid MBA programs split between it's NYC and Ithaca campuses. Cornell also offers deferred MBA admission via its Future Leaders program. In this...

The second installment in this two-part series outlines the final 6 of 12 things that admitted MBA applicants should do between now and matriculation. This episode covers budgeting for your MBA, planning to relocate, and figuring out how to best spend your time between now and matriculation (when you aren't attending to all of the other to do's!), and more. As a reminder, last week in Part 1 (epis...

This episode is the first half of a two-part series discussing 12 things that admitted MBA applicants should be doing between now and heading to campus in the fall.. Part 1 covers To Do's related to an applicant's current and future networks, as well as other important actions to take before leaving a job. We also discuss how to head off possible issues with your background check after you're admi...

In this installment of our Paths Less Traveled series, Stacy Blackman talks with both the CEO of AI firm Woz (withwoz.com) and Woz's intern. Ben Collins, the CEO and co-founder of Woz, is also a Stanford GSB alum and discusses the details of his career, how Woz differentiates itself, and why he chose current GSB student George Lankas to intern at his firm despite George's lack of technical backgro...

In the second installment of our Paths Less Traveled series, Stacy Blackman interviews Terry Cumes and Tristen Langley, a married couple who share how the same Stanford GSB foundation led one to global wellness entrepreneurship and the other to top-tier technology investing — and what this says about career optionality, partnership, and long-term impact. Here are the full bios for these amazing in...

In this episode we discuss 4 things MBA candidates should consider when facing the "Bird in Hand" dilemma: meaning, when they have been admitted to at least one program, but are considering not claiming their spot, forgoing the sure thing and taking the risk of trying again in the future in the hopes of getting into a program they're even more interested in.

This episode discusses how accepted MBA candidates should go about asking for an increase in merit aid; the four situations a candidate might be in and their associated negotiating tactics; and detailed advice for approaching such an ask over the phone vs. email.

For years, MBA applicants have asked some version of the same question: "What job will I get after graduation?" It's understandable. Recruiting is a visible and important part of the MBA experience. But after decades working with business school graduates, Stacy Blackman has noticed something more interesting: the most meaningful MBA outcomes rarely follow a straight line. That's the premise behin...

In this episode, Erika explains how your social media behavior could affect your MBA candidacy — positively or negatively. She covers what admissions committees might be looking for on your online profiles and platforms that could be problematic, as well as what kinds of social media posts might actually end up strengthening your candidacy. She also explains how reviews of your social media accoun...

In this replay of a past episode, Erika talks with Anthony Penna, a fellow SBC admissions consultant who spent 10 years with the Wharton School in Career Management and as Associate Director of Admissions for the full-time MBA program. As Anthony served on the implementation and design team for Wharton's Team Based Discussion (TBD) interview format, this episode focuses on his insight advice for M...

In this episode, Alex Liff interviews Andrew Walker, GMAC's Director of Research Analysis and Communication about the latest MBA application trends survey that he just completed. Andrew offers interesting insights into the latest trends both on the applicant and corporate recruiter sides and talks about what to expect going forward.

Final Thoughts After 20 Years of MBA Advising: Part 3 B-Schooled Co-Host, Chandler, is preparing to step away from his co-hosting responsibilities in order to care for his aging parents and launch a new venture for philanthropists. Chandler has decided to conclude his four years as co-host (and 20 years of advising MBA applicants) with a three-part series in which he gets very authentic and very b...

Final Thoughts After 20 Years of MBA Advising: Part 2 B-Schooled Co-Host Chandler is preparing to step away from his podcast responsibilities in order to care for his aging parents and launch a new venture for philanthropists. Chandler has decided to conclude his four years as co-host (and 20 years of advising MBA applicants) with a three-part series in which he gets very authentic and very bold i...

Final Thoughts After 20 Years of MBA Advising: Part 1 This episode is bittersweet for our longtime podcast co-host, Chandler. Chandler is preparing to step away from his co-hosting responsibilities in order to care for his aging parents and launch a new venture for philanthropists. He would like to share how much he has enjoyed co-hosting and wants to say a HUGE thank you to Stacy, Erika, Yvonne,...

This episode gives applicants 10 things to think about in the days before submitting their applications. This is not intended as something to listen to an hour before you submit… but it does offer incredibly useful information to think about a day or two before the application deadline. As we always say: you want an application that is authentic, bold, and that offers a clear and consistent narrat...

AI AND THE MBA APPLICATION Today we are talking about ai and the MBA application with SBC expert, Yvette. After graduating from HBS, Yvette led the HBS Alumni Circle and served as VP of HBS alumni club. Unique among MBA admissions consultants, Yvette also has extensive experience in the AI space and is the architect of MBA AI, an AI specifically focus on MBA admissions. In this segment Chandler an...