Ask Fortuna Admissions

Hi Fortuna,

I wanted to see if your website is down? I have been trying to get in to do more research but am unable to. Can you please confirm.

Thank you in advance!

Hello swadpat18,
We always recommend talking to us in one of our consultations, as you will get a lot more detailed info, and we can ask you the proper questions to offer better advice. So please do sign up, as its free: https://www.fortunaadmissions.com/free-consultation
In the mean time, here are just a few comments:
You have good international experience, sounds like you have a very strong professional track record. Some good extra curriculars, but might want to reinforce your profile in this dimension before applying.
GMAT is below average especially for Indian students at top business schools; if you can’t retake, you should really focus on the value of your professional and extra curricular profile.
Re career goals: difficult to comment without knowing what your real goals are. Would need to discuss this to offer more detail.
Re recommenders: most important is whether they know you very well, and how highly they are going to speak of you. Having said that, having some diversity in your recommendations can be a positive.
Given his goal to come back to Asia - we would suggest you look at INSEAD, which is very strong in Asia, due to the Singapore campus; otherwise all of the top US schools also carry weight with employers in Asia, and have a reasonable network (bear in mind that bigger programs have bigger alumni communities and therefore often more alumni across a broader range of countries). LBS would also likely appreciate your profile. His international experience will carry more weight in the evaluation process at INSEAD & LBS than it will at the US schools.
We truly look forward to hearing from you and talking more about your goals. You can also email us directly at info@fortunaadmissions.com

Sincerely, The Fortuna Team

Hello! The site is definitely not down, but we are sorry you are having trouble.
You can reach us directly at info@fortunaadmissions.com or try again at www.fortunaadmissions.com/free-consultation

The Fortuna Team

Hello!
Could you evaluate my profile?
I am a re-applicant having first applied in 2017. I will re-apply in 2018.
I will be 28 years old in 2018.
730 GMAT; 50 Quant, 40 Verbal, 5.5 AWA, 5 (52%) Integrated Reasoning
3.9 GPA in Masters from a Top 5 engineering schools in the US
8.x/10 GPA from a Top 10 engineering school in India
5 years Work Experience as an engineer: 4 years at a Tier-II company like Walmart/Etsy/eBay, and currently at a Tier-I: Microsoft
Volunteer Teacher ( 10 + hrs/week the past 4 years)
Yet another Brown Male
Future Goals: Transition into a Product Management role at one of the tech companies.

A) Do I stand any chance at the M-7(HBS, GSB, Wharton, Booth, Kellogg, Sloan)?
B) Should I re-take the GMAT?730 seems to be the norm these days and that 5 on IR isn't too helpful.
C) Anything else I can and should do to increase my chances

Thanks very much!

hi MV23
Thanks for the message. As an Indian male engineer, you should aim for a GMAT of 10-20 points above the average for the school you are targeting. For an IR score, we would suggest 7+.
Demonstrating a high level of professional achievement (in terms of results generated, fast track promotion, etc) will be very important for you. With a re-application, it is important to show exactly how have you have evolved and improved since the previous application. This will show growth and potential.

We would welcome the chance to speak to you in more detail about this. We offer free 30-minute consultations, where you can speak with one of our experts about your goals and your specific profile story.
www.FortunaAdmissions.com/free-consultation

We hope to hear from you!
The Fortuna Team

Hi,
Izul here from Malaysia. Would appreciate an assessment on my profile for a chance to get admitted into a top 10 business school. I personally am looking at Wharton, Booth, Berkeley and MIT. I know it is quite a stretch for my GMAT score, it would be useful if there are suggestions for other schools that fit my persona and aspiration and whether I should retake my GMAT to push towards 720+ given limited time.

This would be quite long. Thanks in advance.

Name: Izulman Telimik, CFA
Age: 29
University: The University of Sydney
Degree: Bc of Commerce ( Accounting & Finance), Distinction average - 76.4% (Top 10%)
Accomplishment: Ranked #1 in Management Accounting; Ranked #2 in Auditing & Assurance

GMAT 1: 570 (Q44, V25)
GMAT 2: 700 (Q47, V40)

Personal profile:
14 siblings with one deaf brother, from underprivileged family, gained full government scholarship to study overseas. My corporate life has brought me to places within South East Asia (SEA) including a small village at the foothill of Mount Kinabalu, rural Vietnam at Mekong delta and also Battambang Cambodia where pipe water remains a luxury. Aspire to advance SEA and emerging markets through digital innovation.

Work Experience
Total of 6 years working experience

Axiata Group Berhad
. One of Asia's largest telecommunication
companies, regional footprint across 10
countries, approx. 320 mil customers and
250, 000 employees.

. 3 promotions within 5 years
Youngest recipient of Axiata Champion
Award at age 26, top 50 of the 250,000
Axiata Group employees.

. Spearheaded stake acquisition in a
remittance Co, 3 years later managed the
RM1 bil IPO process with expected IRR
return of over 165%

. JVCo execution (with SK Telecom) of
Malaysia's latest e-mall, 11street.my
including one year secondment, within one
year became no.2 in the market

. Set foundation for digital payment business
leading to the setup of Boost, Malaysia's
new digital micro payment wallet for
everyday lifestyle purchase

. Liaison officer for Axiata Digital Funds
(ADIF), established synergy roadmap and
execution plans with 10 local startups
under Axiata Digital Funds

. Dynamic analyses on the RM25 bil
industry, built model and led merger
scenario and evaluation on convergence
for OpCo in Malaysia given saturated
industry and flat growth for long term
action plans

Co-curricular involvement
. Mentor for CFA candidates under Peneraju
Education programme, a government
initiative to increase CFA charter holders in
the country

. Mentor for Axiata Young CEO
Development programme, a nationwide
CSR to groom young professionals (<25)
to be the future leaders of the country

Other Achievements:
. CFA charter, straight pass, full scholarship
from Peneraju Edu foundation - first to
have earned charter in the scholarship
programme

. Axiata War Game 2014, Best Analyst Team

. The Graduan Apprentice 2013, grand
winner for digital media

. Malaysia government overseas full
scholarship award 2006

. Tengku Idris Shah Royal Award 2005, best
high school certificate student (state
level), SPM - 12As

Thanks again in advance, any feedback is really appreciated.

Posted from my mobile device

Hello izulman

Apologies for the delay in our response, but we have had a chance now to look at your profile. One of our founders took a look at what you posted and says that you have a very interesting profile, and that perhaps you may have a chance of acceptance with your current GMAT scores. She would really encourage you to give us a call to discuss this, as she recognized some good potential in what you wrote. The call is free, and there are no strings attached, so its' well worth your while. We hope to hear from you.

Please fill out a consult form or feel free to email us directly at info@fortunaadmissions.com
www.fortunaadmissions.com/free-consultation


Hayley, from the Fortuna Team

Hi there,

I recently took the GMAT and am hoping to gain some insight regarding my candidate profile for FT MBA Programs (ideal matriculation in 2018).
With that in mind, please see the details of my current situation below:

Undergrad - UC Davis (2013)
Major - Economics
GPA - 3.61
GMAT - 710 (44Q 41V 8IR)
Age at Enrollment - 28
Designations - CFA Charterholder, CAIA Charterholder
Extracurriculars - Current: Local CFA Society Mentor, Local CAIA Society Member, University Finance Club Mentor, Corporate Mentor Program. Previous: University Boxing Club Member, University Financial Club Member, Local Middle School Reading Partners Club Tutor, Golden Key Honor Society Member. Additionally, I worked during my entire senior year for a major wirehouse in their PWM department.

I am currently an associate at a boutique investment bank, and prior to that I worked in the wealth management industry within two of the most well-known wirehouses (think ML, JPM, GS, CITI) for approximately three years. I am aiming to work in investment banking post-MBA, but within a technology vertical of a bulge bracket bank (looking to hop industries and level-up in terms of scale).

My major concern is that before UCD I spent four years at city college. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do (was 17 years old), and even considered attempting to become a professional boxer. It wasn't until my third year that I saw the light and began to seriously pursue a finance path (finished with a 3.07 GPA).

I am planning on applying to: Anderson, Haas, Tuck, Stern, Fuqua, Johnson, and Kellogg. To my hopeful audience....what're my chances with these programs?

Thank you in advance for any and all responses!!!

Hi Beanz33

You have some great extra curricular and work experience, and we would love to have a call with you to discuss. It's always difficult to do a full profile analysis on a forum post. So we invite you to set up a time to speak. We offer 30-minute consults with no strings attached (really), so we encourage you to get in contact.
www.fortunaadmissions.com/free-consultation or email us at info@fortunaadmissions.com

Hope to hear from you!

Hayley on the Fortuna Team

Hi Melissa, can you please evaluate my profile:

Background and nationality - Indian
Undergrad Information - B. Technology, electronics and communication, Non IIT/NIT, 69%
GMAT: 730

Work experience and leadership - More than 5 years in total.
Electrical engineer incharge in offshore industry with experience on vessels and in shipyard. During my training period, I was recommended to be promoted to an independent role before the actual time period. Was first one in my company to get promoted that soon. As an electrical engineer I was incharge of everything electrical and electronic with a small assisting team. Job included operational management, maintenance, installation and repair of electrical systems. Was a part of major offshore operations such as rig towing, platform service/support, underwater oil pipeline inspections with help of underwater robotic vehicles for different clients such as Exxon-mobil, GSPC, Reliance, ONGC etc. Was electrical supervisor/inspector for construction and commissioning of multimillion dollar platform support vessel from a Chinese shipyard to Nigeria. Passed numerous classification surveys by independent bodies such as DNV, ABS etc. Never had a single electrical downtime in my career. Have taught and supervised interns, and reported their performance.

Last year I quit to join an IT startup to get hands on business experience. Joined as an intern and got promoted to product strategy role after 3 months. Company is very fast growing and has over 15million users now. Managing product strategy now. It's been one year here

Community and others - Coordinator in a local NGO dealing in awareness campaigns and free medications in rural areas. Coordinator of college youth fest fund raising team. Won and participated in several art competitions during schools and college days. Won annual inter-school quiz competitions twice in a row.

Have completed 2 coursera courses by UPenn in Marketing and financial accounting.


International experience(if any) - Areas of work include: India(2yrs), China(6 months) and Nigeria(15months). However, for few months was in involved in projects in Singapore, Cape town as well.

Post MBA goals - Work in a consulting/ strategy (in sustainability if possible)

I relate everything thing to creativity. I am an art buff since childhood and have participated, won several art competitions during college and school days. Be it my learning process or troubleshooting methods I try to find different ways to do so. However, lack of time has slowed me down. I don't devote much time to art now. Still, last October I organised an art exhibition with a theme of Human emotions. It was covered by local media. I am not sure how relevant this hobby, still i will write it here to get some feedback.

My concern- I am not able to relate my past with present and present to future. My experience and qualification in electrical sets me up to understand major sustainable technologies, but I can't vividly think of how to lay that out on paper. energy/power--IT business role--sustainability. I don't want to risk my admission because of lack of clarity in goals, so even if you suggest me something about altering my goals a bit I'm all ears.

I am targeting top 5-15 US b-schools or Insead. Or please give your suggestions.

Hi rhtmhjn
As you are no doubt aware, you are in the most fiercely competitive demographic in the applicant pool. However, your start-up experience sounds interesting, especially as it sounds as if the company is doing so well. The international experience is helpful, especially for schools such as INSEAD. It is not clear if your community volunteer work is ongoing? Often, Indian candidates have great extra curriculars from their undergrad years, but very little since then, so this is an area where you could potentially differentiate your profile. The creative and artistic side is interesting and relevant, and again, weaving this into your story could help you stand out in the pool of engineers (who don’t always have such a strong right brain side!) We’d be happy to discuss your profile and career goals in more detail - please contact us to schedule a free consultation at info@fortunaadmissions.com.

Hi,
So, I did my MBA in HR from one of the borderline premier institutes in India.
Currently am a HR Manager working with a major sales and distribution firm in India. My role is of HR Business partnering for sales division of an entire state.
Prior to this, post my engineering I had 2 years of solid work ex with a major battery manufacturing firm in the role of product development.
I plan to take the GMAT and go for a second MBA with the sole purpose of transitioning my career out of HR, preferably into general management or strategy.
My query is, would my workex in HR be a major hurdle in getting admitted in the top B schools? Are professionals with work ex in HR given a differential treatment?
Also, will my workex in HR be detrimental to the career transition that I am planning to make while getting a job post the MBA?
Please help!

I havent found any examples of people with HR workex getting into the top B schools. would be great if someone shares such profiles.
Also can anyone guide me regarding whom or where should I talk with regarding my queries?

Here is my profile:
X-92%
XII- 85%
Btech from National Institute of Technology India - 7.31 CGPA
2 years of work ex in New product development role in major battery manufacturing firm. (Market Leader)
MBA in HR from borderline premier institute in India
3-4 years of work ex as HR manager in HR Business Partner role.


TIA

Hi bokachele,

MBA programs are open to all kinds of background/professional experiences. Many MBA's not only take your typical bankers, consultants, engineers but also athletes, musicians, people who've worked for the military and so on. So they are definitely open to people with HR backgrounds. It's what you've done in your career that you need to showcase. Have you progressed eg had multiple promotions? have major accomplishments to speak to? Lead teams? Also they don't just look at your prof experience but what you've done outside of work like extra curriculars and volunteer work. So if you have a very well rounded profile then you will make a great MBA candidate. (plus strong GMAT of course). But since you have an MBA you definitely need to make it clear why you need a new MBA. If you'd like to talk to us for a free assessment, sign up at www.fortunaadmissions.com/free-consultation as we can help with your early stage planning. All the best,

Hey guys,
Need advice asap
Have been admitted to both programs for the February intake.

GMAT 710,Low GPA , Decent co curriculars, Mexican living in India- Lots of international exposure and experiences. 1.5 years of work ex (full time)( My own Organic Food startup), speak 3 languages, Intern at IBM
B.Engg Comp science background.

1.IE MIM is the clear winner in terms of rankings and global recognition, However after talking to ALumni and given spain's economy, Job prospects are bad post graduation.I know spanish.

2.ESCP MSc Marketing and Creativity has a interesting course and one year of stayback option in france post graduation.Also i think i will eventually have to do an MBA later on after both the courses which would mean i would be repeating most MIM subjects. Hence makes more sense kind off to do this right now.
ESCP recognised only in france, dont know french.

3. dont go for either and try for an decent USA MBA college after waiting for 6- 8 more months (2 years work ex)
- Most people have said MBA s are good only after significant work ex

Any opinions would be great.
Thanks

ayush Hi there,
Unfortunately I don't know much about the first two programs...our specialty is the top MBA programs. Sounds like you have a great profile though for a US MBA program once you get 1 or 2 more years of work experience under your belt ( I would definitely wait longer than 6 months). It really depends what you want out of your higher education. Are you looking for skills to grow your business? Looking for a career change? Sounds like you want something right now so if it's something you feel you need at the moment, then go for it (at the 2 schools you mention above). An MBA will be much more credible though for your CV. Like I said it really depends on what exactly your motives are and why exactly you want to go back to school. Hard for me to make this kind of decision for you! Sorry I can't be of more help. If you have more MBA specific questions, just let us know. Best,

Hey ChristineFortuna,

I'd like to kindly request you to evaluate my candidacy for Full-time MBA programs for the Class of 2021. Below is a brief description of my profile.

Background:
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: Male
Current age: 24 years
GMAT: Target 760 (Scored ~700 on mocks after a month of preparation)

Education:
Business graduate from a Tier 1 business management undergraduate college in India (Top 0.1% selected out of ~30,000 applicants based on a written aptitude test)
GPA: 63.3% on a percentage scale

Work Experience: ~3.5 years (4+ years at the time of applying)

1. Analyst, Ernst and Young in Gurgaon (India)
Duration: June 2014 – June 2016 (2 years)

-Member of the Ethics and Integrity Due Diligence Team - worked on 70+ due diligence engagements spanning across various sectors over 2 years

-Key engagements include:
Conducted pre-investment due diligence for one of the largest Indian e-commerce companies looking to acquire a popular online recharge portal for USD 467 million
Conducted pre-investment due diligence for a leading private equity firm on a USD 34 million investment in a real estate firm
20+ similar high profile engagements for leading private equity clients

-Received the KUDOS award in July 2015, awarded for consistent superior performance amongst peers in the year-end appraisal
-Received multiple emails of appreciation from the Partner and Senior Managers for exemplary performance on various projects

2. Co-Founder, Garment Manufacturing Company
Duration: July 2016 – Present
The garment manufacturing company is based in India and is engaged in manufacturing women’s winter accessories such as shrugs, ponchos, stoles, capes, mufflers, gloves and caps, among others as well as women's summer tops and dresses.

I started the company with my mother who works as the production and operations head and my father who works as the CEO of the firm. I directly manage a team of ~10 people, heading the business development and marketing functions.

-We have grown to 80+ clients (retail outlets) across India with an annual turnover of INR 6 million in ~2 years.
-We sell on various e-commerce websites which amounts to an annual turnover of INR 500,000.
-We aim to increase our customer base to 150+ clients with an annual turnover of INR 15 million over the next year.

Internship:
Worked with the strategy consulting team at KPMG India for six weeks during the summer before the final year of undergrad

Extra-curricular:
Strong volunteering experience spanning 5+ years at a specially abled children's school, old age home, juvenile prison as well as experience of teaching less fortunate children.

Letters of Recommendation:
1. Senior Manager at Ernst & Young with whom I had a direct reporting relationship over my stint of two years at the firm.
2. Top billing client with four retail outlets – have been dealing directly with the client since inception of the garment company.

Post-MBA goal:
Business development/Strategy role at an early/growth stage startup.

I would be highly grateful if you could guide me with the following queries:

1. Please evaluate my candidature for top 20 US schools as well as top 5 schools in Europe.

2. Please suggest areas where I can improve my profile over the next year before I apply to schools in September 2018.

Thank you very much!

Hi MBAaspirant1993 ,

Wow your profile seems terrific for a top MBA program. You've got some great corporate experience as well as a start up experience that will look favourably at MBA programs. Another year of work experience will definitely add to your profile before you apply.

As for what to do until you start applying to schools, just keep up the good work at your company (are there plans to expand internationally?). Leading and managing others is always a plus for b-schools so it's great you have that experience too and speak to your management style/efforts - b-schools like to hear about collaborative management styles and how you work well in teams/how others view you as a strong leader so just keep these in mind. The more leadership you can demonstrate, the better (not just of people but of projects/expanding the business/revenue etc - any results that you can speak to. You've got great extra curriculars so please do keep that going as they will look to see if you are currently involved. Any other hobbies/passions you can speak to? If you have some (I'm sure you do) just keep that up too. As you are an India male - a highly competitive applicant pool - you have a good target of a 760 gmat. You definitely want to get above the 75th percentile on the quant and verbal parts of the exam for a top tier MBA program.

I can't exactly say which schools to go for as it depends on so much. But if you want to get into more details, you could sign up for a free 30 minute consultation with us and we can give you some further guidance. Plus we can cover more of what you could do over the next year to help build a strong application for when you apply (early stage planning). www.fortunaadmissions.com/free-consultation

Hope that helps and hope to hear from you!

Melissa at Fortuna