Speak to Admissions Consultants on the TopMBA.com Forums

If you’re thinking about applying to business school and need some feedback from an informed source, TopMBA.com now has three of the most knowledgeable MBA admissions consultants in the business standing by, ready and willing to answer your questions.

Stacy Blackman Consulting, Clear Admit, and Accepted are available on TopMBA.com’s business school forum. You’ll find them in the admissions category, at the top of the list of discussions. To ask their advice, just register on TopMBA.com, click on one of the messages posted by the consultants, and reply.

The three consultants can answer all sorts of MBA admissions questions – from admissions strategy to essay writing to GMAT scores. They can also review your profile – work history, undergraduate institution and GPA, GMAT score, goals, and reasons for undertaking an MBA – and make suggestions for improving your chances of getting admitted to the school of your dreams. All three employ a team of consultants who hail from the admissions committees of top business schools. All three have been in the business for years.

About the MBA admissions consultants

Blackman, who has an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, says success in the MBA admissions game is about more than just skills and test scores.

"Over 80% of applicants to top MBA programs are qualified to successfully complete the course of study. However, admissions rates at top schools range from under 10% to 25%,” says Blackman, who had a career as an entrepreneur and in private equity before becoming an admissions consultant. “At Stacy Blackman Consulting, we focus on uncovering every applicant's unique qualities, and matching those attributes to the values of a target school. Through an exceptional understanding of every top program, how admissions committees operate and how to market applicants to programs, we make the application process less stressful and far more successful."

Clear Admit, run by Eliot Ingram, a Wharton MBA, takes its name from the term used by admissions teams to describe applicants with no problems that might derail their applications, and who have high potential for making a big contribution to the program. Each client is paired with a single consultant who stays with that person throughout the admissions process.

“We work closely with applicants to co-develop their personal brands, teaching them to identify and communicate their strengths to business school admissions officers through each step of the application process,” the Clear Admit website explains. “In doing so, our aim is to democratize the admissions process and help aspiring MBAs determine which program would best meet their needs and decide which schools are the most appropriate and realistic for a given applicant in light of his or her background and objectives.”

Accepted’s Linda Abraham has authored or co-authored 13 e-books on the admissions process and helped clients win acceptance to Harvard, Stanford, Wharton and many other top business schools. For her, a big part of advising applicants involves managing expectations and finding the right school for each candidate.

“In advising applicants before they apply we will give our most accurate assessment of applicant prospects, encourage clients to identify and evaluate the full range of options – not just the top-ranked ones – and counsel applicants to apply to the most appropriate schools for them,” according to the Accepted website.