<p><img src="https://static4.businessinsider.com/image/600ef0997e47190011cb9087-2034/mba leaders to know to get into top school 2x1.png" border="0" alt="mba leaders to know to get into top school 2x1" data-mce-source="Anna Primavera; Roy Cohen; Caryn Leigh Photography; Charlie Kaufman Photo; Samantha Lee/Insider"></p><p></p><bi-shortcode id="summary-shortcode" data-type="summary-shortcode" class="mceNonEditable" contenteditable="false">Summary List Placement</bi-shortcode><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-it-takes-get-accepted-stanford-graduate-school-of-business-2019-8">Stanford Graduate School of Business</a>, the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-mba-programs-in-the-world-2020-9">best business school in the world</a>, according to global higher education analyst QS Quacquarelli Symonds, accepts just over <a href="https://poetsandquants.com/2019/06/05/meet-stanford-gsbs-mba-class-of-2020/2/">6%</a> of applicants. Even if you don't want to compete with the best of the best, top programs such as the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kellogg-school-of-management-northwestern-mba-program-admissions-student-advice">Kellogg School of Management</a> at Northwestern University, ranked No. 14 in the world, or New York University's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-into-new-york-university-stern-school-of-business-mba">Stern School of Business</a>, ranked No. 19 in the world, still only accept around 20% of those who apply.</p><p>That said, there are ways to give yourself an edge over the competition, such as knowing who's who in the MBA space who can help make connections and offer advice.</p><p>Insider collected nine prominent figures, based on recommendations from industry experts, who have strong ties with admissions teams, long legacies in the business school community, and expertise on the process and what it takes to succeed.</p><p><strong>The following influencers are listed in no particular order.</strong></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hype-handbook-to-build-credibility-make-it-scientific-2021-1" >How to send the right credibility signals in order to shape people's perceptions of you and your work, according to a 'hype' expert</a></strong></p><h3>Andrea Sparrey, founder and CEO of The Sparrey Consulting Group</h3><img src="https://static4.businessinsider.com/image/601033381d2df20018b70d8b-400-300/andrea-sparrey-founder-and-ceo-of-the-sparrey-consulting-group.jpg" alt="" /><p><p>Andrea Sparrey founded <a href="https://www.sparreyconsulting.com">The Sparrey Consulting Group</a> in 2007. With an MBA from the University of Chicago's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-into-university-chicago-booth-school-business-grads-admissions">Booth School of Business</a>, Sparrey has celebrated countless client successes as they earned admission to elite business schools including <a href="https://www.insider.com/how-to-get-into-harvard-business-school-according-to-admissions-2019-7">Harvard Business School</a>, Stanford GSB, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-into-whartons-mba-program-2019-8'IR=T">The Wharton School</a> at the University of Pennsylvania, Chicago Booth, and Kellogg. </p><p>She and her firm continue to support clients in school and after graduation through the <a href="http://www.100weeksprint.com/">100 Week Sprint</a>, which helps MBA candidates make the most of their investment in graduate school. She and her team also sponsor an annual MBA <a href="https://www.sparreyconsulting.com/page/mba-extraordinary-womens-weekend-2021">Women's Weekend</a> for networking, bringing together MBA matriculants, students, and alumni from top schools to ensure that the next class of students has the best possible experience. She also offers post-MBA career coaching. </p><p>Sparrey served as co-chair of local alumni groups for Chicago Booth and is past president of the <a href="https://aigac.org">Association of International Graduate Admissions Consultants</a> (AIGAC), the leading organization for graduate admissions consultants, and has co-chaired global conferences. </p><p><em>Follow her on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreasparrey/">Linkedin</a> or contact her at partner@sparreyconsulting.com.</em></p></p><br/><br/><h3>Stacy Blackman, founder of Stacy Blackman Consulting</h3><img src="https://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5d5edcccadbcf8302d1ef8a3-400-300/stacy-blackman-founder-of-stacy-blackman-consulting.jpg" alt="" /><p><p>Stacy Blackman launched <a href="https://www.stacyblackman.com">Stacy Blackman Consulting</a> in 2001, and told Insider back then there were almost no services of its kind. Since then, Blackman, who earned an MBA from Kellogg, has grown her team to over 60 former MBA admissions officers and graduates. </p><p>According to Esther Magna, principal MBA admissions consultant at SBC, Blackman's consulting firm is the only one in the industry that has on their team a complete panel of former MBA admissions officers from the M7 US programs as well as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-into-london-business-school-grads-admissions-2019-10">London Business School</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-into-insead-business-school-mba-program-consulting">INSEAD</a>. </p><p>Blackman's firm is also the only large firm that's exclusively focused on MBA admissions that's led by a woman, according to Magna. </p><p>"10% of SBC's consultant pool is either hispanic or Black, 25% of its consultant panel is of minority background, and SBC has five consultants who identify as and specialize in LGBTQ+ candidacies," Magna said. "This reflects the company's mission to further diversity in the MBA applicant pool." SBC has also been selected by the GRE General Test as their business school admissions partner.</p><p>"I'm a firm believer that every weakness can become a strength, and that each applicant should celebrate what makes him or her unique," Blackman said. "I believe in exploring the 'white spaces' on a resume, the journey that took a candidate from point A to B to C."</p><p><em>Follow her on <a href="https://twitter.com/stacyblackman">Twitter</a> or contact her at <a href="mailto:info@stacyblackman.com">info@stacyblackman.com</a>.</em></p></p><br/><br/><h3>Roy Cohen, executive coach and author</h3><img src="https://static6.businessinsider.com/image/6010335e1d2df20018b70d8e-400-300/roy-cohen-executive-coach-and-author.jpg" alt="" /><p><p>Roy Cohen is an executive coach and graduate of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-into-columbia-business-school-advice-from-admissions-alumni">Columbia Business School</a> whose work focuses in large part on coaching MBAs for finance industry career management, as well as helping early career professionals contemplate their next steps. </p><p>He's advised clients who've applied and been accepted into a range of MBA programs, including Columbia, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-into-mit-sloan-school-of-management-mba-program">MIT Sloan School of Management</a>, Wharton, Kellogg, Chicago Booth, Michigan Ross, HBS, Stanford GSB, and NYU Stern.</p><p>"One of my clients, at the time, was the youngest student in Stanford business school history," Cohen said. "Fast forward: He was not long ago selected as a Forbes' '30 Under 30.'"</p><p>In addition to having advised countless clients on strategy and best practices for MBA admission, Cohen is also a frequent speaker at events for MBA students and alumni. He routinely delivers workshops, including upcoming events at Columbia Business School and Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management.</p><p>Cohen added that his bestselling book, "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wall-Street-Professional%C2%BFs-Survival-Guide/dp/0137052642">The Wall Street Professional's Survival Guide</a>," is in virtually every business school library and career office.</p><p><em>Check out his <a href="https://www.careercoachny.com">website</a> or <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/roylcohen/">LinkedIn</a> or contact him at roycohen@careercoachny.com.</em></p></p><br/><br/><h3>Shaifali Aggarwal, founder and CEO of Ivy Groupe</h3><img src="https://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5d9ddd2f122bd5015b4506f8-400-300/shaifali-aggarwal-founder-and-ceo-of-ivy-groupe.jpg" alt="" /><p><p>Shaifali Aggarwal is a graduate of HBS and has been an MBA admissions consultant since 2012; in 2017, she founded <a href="https://www.ivygroupe.com/">Ivy Groupe</a>, a boutique MBA admissions consulting company. </p><p>Her goal is to help candidates maximize their chances of gaining admission to the most prestigious MBA programs. Her clients have been admitted to a long list of top schools, from HBS, Stanford GSB, Wharton, and Kellogg to Columbia Business School, Chicago Booth, MIT Sloan, INSEAD, and LBS. </p><p>In 2020, Poets & Quants ranked Aggarwal #1 in <a href="https://poetsandquants.com/2020/08/26/best-mba-admission-consultants-of-2020/">client satisfaction</a> among MBA admissions consultants, noting that she was the only one in the top 20 consultants who received a perfect score in this area.</p><p>"I work with clients to turn their stories and their passions into their success," Aggarwal told Insider. "Essentially, I consider myself to be a master weaver who ties together the unique threads of candidates' stories to help them craft the most authentic and compelling MBA applications possible."</p><p><em>Follow her on <a href="https://twitter.com/Ivy_Groupe">Twitter</a> or contact her at info@ivygroupe.com.</em></p></p><br/><br/><h3>Barbara Coward, founder and principal of MBA 360 Admissions Consulting</h3><img src="https://static2.businessinsider.com/image/601034276dfbe10018dfff52-400-300/barbara-coward-founder-and-principal-of-mba-360-admissions-consulting.jpg" alt="" /><p><p>"I've worked with successful applicants who have struggled with impostor syndrome, self-doubt, and lack confidence," Barbara Coward, founder of <a href="https://mba360admissions.com">MBA 360° Admissions Consulting</a>, told Insider. "This includes supporting applicants who did not think they had a shot at a top-tier school but were ultimately accepted."</p><p>Coward has helped applicants secure admission to a wide range of MBA programs, including Wharton, Stanford GSB, Columbia, INSEAD, and LBS, through her expertise in strategic and influential messaging.</p><p>The name of her firm comes from her "360° perspective" as a former admissions director at Loyola University Maryland and a marketing consultant for business schools across the globe. She explained that this background enables her to understand the full range of options available for graduate management education, as well as an appreciation of how an application comes across to the admissions reader.</p><p>"Most of all, I understand the importance of finding fit," Coward said. </p><p><em>Follow her on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbaracoward/">LinkedIn</a> or contact her at <a href="mailto:bcoward@enrollmentstrategies.net">bcoward@enrollmentstrategies.net</a>.</em></p></p><br/><br/><h3>Linda Abraham, founder of Accepted.com and cofounder and former president of AIGAC</h3><img src="https://static5.businessinsider.com/image/601034621d2df20018b70d93-400-300/linda-abraham-founder-of-acceptedcom-and-cofounder-and-former-president-of-aigac.jpg" alt="" /><p><p>Linda Abraham has been focused on the MBA admissions space for over 25 years, having founded <a href="http://www.accepted.com">Accepted</a> in 1994 and launched its website in 1996. Among Abraham's other notable achievements was cofounding AIGAC in 2007 and serving as its first president. She earned an MBA from UCLA's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/qs-quacquarelli-symonds-top-mbas-specializations-for-tech-career-2020-11#20-carnegie-mellon-tepper-6">Anderson School of Management</a>.</p><p>"She is a true pioneer in our field and continues to be an insightful and impactful source for MBA applicants," said Natalie Grinblatt Epstein, who was previously an admissions director at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business and Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management. </p><p>"While I definitely prefer to encourage and support an applicant's dreams, when appropriate I also tell clients and prospective clients when they have a lot of work to do to become a competitive applicant at the schools they are most interested in," Abraham said. "I won't pander to them or merely tell them what they want to hear. Most of the time, applicants appreciate the constructive candor."</p><p><em>Follow her on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindaabraham/">LinkedIn</a> or contact her at <a href="mailto:linda@accepted.com">lindaa@accepted.com</a>.</em></p></p><br/><br/><h3>Nupur Gupta, founder of Crack The MBA and president of AIGAC</h3><img src="https://static4.businessinsider.com/image/601034976dfbe10018dfff57-400-300/nupur-gupta-founder-of-crack-the-mba-and-president-of-aigac.jpg" alt="" /><p><p>Nupur Gupta launched her boutique consulting firm <a href="https://www.crackthemba.com">Crack the MBA</a> in 2012. </p><p>"I personally work with my clients to understand their academic strengths, their leadership skills, their personality types, their financial needs, and more to create a winning MBA application strategy that is best suited for them," Gupta, an MBA graduate from The Wharton School, told Insider. </p><p>In 2015, she signed on as social media manager of the <a href="https://aigac.org/members/annual-conference/">AIGAC Conference</a>. Today, she's serving her second term as president at the organization, and has also served as conference co-chair for the past four years. </p><p><em>Follow her on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nupurgupt/">LinkedIn</a> or contact her at nupur@crackthemba.com.</em></p></p><br/><br/><h3>Hillary Schubach, founder and president of Shine/ MBA Admissions Consulting</h3><img src="https://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5fe9fba7a64488001819371b-400-300/hillary-schubach-founder-and-president-of-shine-mba-admissions-consulting.jpg" alt="" /><p><p>Hillary Schubach<strong> </strong>earned an MBA from HBS in 2001 and founded <a href="http://www.shineadmissions.com">Shine/ MBA Admissions Consulting</a>, a boutique consultancy serving top business school candidates around the world, in 2008. She's been an MBA admissions adviser since 1999 and has helped her clients gain acceptance to every <a href="https://shineadmissions.com/school-acceptances/">top 20 school</a> year after year.</p><p>Schubach explained to Insider that her background, which includes 25 years of marketing and brand management experience at world-class companies such as Kraft Foods and Unilever, has proven to be the "ideal foundation" to help aspiring MBAs market themselves to the schools of their choice. </p><p>"As a lifelong marketer, I see the application process as a marketing exercise at its core," Schubach said. "Of course, an applicant must be authentic. Yet I believe an applicant should truly understand his/her personal brand: what they stand for, what differentiates them, where they are strong — and where they are not."</p><p>Schubach is also an active member of AIGAC and speaks internationally on the topic of MBA admissions.</p><p><em>Follow her on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/hillaryschubach/">LinkedIn</a> or contact her at <a href="mailto:hillary@shineadmissions.com">hillary@shineadmissions.com</a>.</em></p></p><br/><br/><h3>Candy Lee LaBalle, founder of LaBalle Admissions</h3><img src="https://static4.businessinsider.com/image/601034fd1d2df20018b70d97-400-300/candy-lee-laballe-founder-of-laballe-admissions.jpg" alt="" /><p><p>As an independent MBA admissions consultant with over 15 years of experience, Candy Lee LaBalle describes herself as "on a mission to take the mystery, and the misery, out of the MBA application process." </p><p>In addition to being a former board member of AIGAC who organized six of their conferences, LaBalle has also helped over 600 people enter into the most elite MBA programs, including LBS, INSEAD, MIT Sloan, Columbia Business School, Wharton, Chicago Booth, UC Berkeley <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-into-uc-berkeley-haas-school-of-business">Haas School of Business</a>, and Kellogg, as well as HBS and Stanford GSB.</p><p>LaBalle said that she takes a "head and heart approach" to her clients, helping applicants make strategically smart decisions about where to apply, how to manage the letters of recommendation, and what stories to tell in their essays. </p><p>"Despite the avalanche of content produced by admissions teams, advisors, and content providers, the application process remains a very personal, demanding, difficult process," LaBalle said. "That's where I shine with my applicants."</p><p><em>Follow her on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/candyleelaballe/">LinkedIn</a> or contact her at <a href="mailto:candy@laballe.co">candy@laballe.co</a>.</em></p></p><br/><br/>
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