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Product Fortuna Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Nonie Mackie
I mostly worked with Nonie on my INSEAD application. I also briefly worked with Caroline, who helped me polish my final drafts.
Nonie has been the real superstar in my successful journey to INSEAD. Everything about her is Gold! Her honesty and open-mindedness are the biggest hallmarks of her coaching attributes. She has been pleasantly honest about her opinions and feedback throughout the application process, even if that meant more re-work, drafts and revisions. She has a tremendous eye for detail and helped me rectify things that are sometimes easy to overlook. Nonie is also extremely open-minded, flexible and accommodating. She never restricted my chain of thoughts; she always encouraged me to write different narratives and her insightful critique eventually helped me select the narratives that best showcased my winning attributes and presented me in the best light possible. Although, I started working on my application quite late into Round 1, and hence was always racing against time to submit my application by the Round 1 Deadline, Nonie never allowed me to settle for less or compromise on the quality of any aspect of my application for the sake of meeting deadlines. In fact, Nonie powered me throughout the journey, especially at times when I felt that I might not meet the Round 1 deadline. Despite the zonal time difference between UAE and Singapore, Nonie was very flexible, responsive and her turnaround time was exceptional. Her feedbacks were succinct, crystal clear, and extremely constructive. Nonie leveraged her tremendous knowledge of INSEAD to help me create a bullet proof strategy for my INSEAD application.
However it was not all tough love from Nonie all the time. She displayed abundant sensibility when I shared a few of my personal stories with her. She helped me allay my anxieties and overcome my inhibitions. The mock interviews with Nonie were a lot of fun. I feel, this is where the student-coach relationship really came to life and started thriving on an entirely different level of comfort and camaraderie. Nonie's care and coaching was extremely personal. I could feel that she was really invested, almost like a stakeholder, in my INSEAD dream, and when time came, she seamlessly switched gears from being my essay critic to becoming my biggest supporter. She championed me and positively reinforced my thoughts right until the decision day. Her confidence in my candidacy eventually became the cornerstone of my own belief, faith and confidence. With, Nonie beside me, I never felt alone in the journey - She not only kept me in the race all the time, but also helped me get over the line. I am absolutely indebted to her.
While Nonie was the Superstar of my INSEAD application journey, I would like to remember Caroline as the real Rockstar of my application. Having been the MBA gatekeeper at INSEAD admissions for several years, and having shaped the application procedure herself, Caroline sprinkled the much desired magic dust on my application that quite literally transformed my solid application to a sparkling one. Caroline stressed on brevity, simplified complexities and helped me make my application a breezy read. Her comment's were razor sharp and succinct. Caroline's initial assessment and feedback about my goal was also a massive help as it genuinely made me rethink about my career goals, propelled me towards a more realistic goal and definitely helped me avoid any potential red flags in the minds of the AdCom regarding my post MBA employability. In the end when Caroline, who herself made the final decision for more than 34000 applicants during her time at INSEAD, told me "I enjoyed reading your essays", I did feel a lot more positive and optimistic about clicking that "SUBMIT" button, than I would have felt if I did not have Caroline's blessings.
Succeeding in my INSEAD application, while being a part of the most overly represented demographic (Indian Male Engineer), on the wrong end of the 20's, with a modest GMAT score, a young family, a very demanding work schedule, and no plan B (INSEAD was the only school I applied to) could not have been possible had it not been for Nonie and Caroline, and Matt (who posited a reservoir of optimism, faith, belief and encouragement in me right at the beginning, in the initial free consultation). As Gordon Gekko said “The most valuable commodity I know of is information”, leveraging the collective insider knowledge of INSEAD was my biggest advantage of working with the Fortuna Dream Team. The recipe for success at Fortuna pivots on a fine balance between the various stakeholders at play - the coach, the mentor and the applicant - In my honest opinion the balance, as it is, is perfect.
Therefore, Fortuna's Dream Team receives my highest and strongest recommendation.
Product Fortuna The Admissions Director’s Evaluation
Consultant Emma Bond
I have worked with Emma for 'Director's Evaluation' service as well as 'Hourly Consulting Service' after I was invited for the interview. I enjoyed working with her because of her 1) expertise and knowledge about LBS, 2) insights in admission process (behind the scene), 3) responsive and enthusiastic attitude toward my application (and me).
1) If consultants can provide information that I can find from the web (or even worse, not knowing about the information I find), I think there is no value. In that matter, Emma, from her time at the school, knows every bit of the school that outsiders cannot really find out. Also, even though she left the school some time ago, she is up to date with all the history and changes to the programme (curriculum, events, culture, etc.) because she is still closely connected with many people (incluing admission team) at the school. When she received my full application for the 'Director's Evaluation', she was quick to recognize all the details about the programme I put in (even though some of the things were new this year), and provided more insights and details so that my application and essays looked like someone within the LBS community had written (in my opinion). I was also able to demonstrate my "fit" with LBS in interviews with additional inside knowledge Emma provided.
2) Also, as an applicant, I was always curious about what happens behind the scene with admission team when they are making a decision, and I could not really find the "answer" because most people can only "guess" (although some people/consultants are arrogant enough to say they "know" when they have never sat at the table). Because Emma has made the admission decision with the team before, she exactly knows what's happening behind the scene and what admission team is looking for. This was helpful in many ways: editing irrelevant information in my application that would only bother admission officer to read, changing perspectives in telling my story so that I can showcase my qualities that admission team is looking for, knowing my weakness and addressing it properly, even helping my mind to be at peace as I know what will happen when I hit the submit button, etc.
3) Lastly, her passion for applicants wanting to attend LBS is tremendous! She tries to help me in any way possible and is willing to communicate ASAP. For past 2 months, we've had more than 100 emails going back and forth. She got back to me by the next day (and this is at the latest! she sometimes just emails me back in a real-time). Her comments and actual edits are so detailed and insightful as well. For example, I think my CV initially had all the good contents, but only with her edit, the reader could actually see and easily recognize those great contents. (I believe this is so important for CV!) Also, just working with someone who is so willing and passionate about my admission definitely helps when I am so tired working on applications. And, I can actually build a trust toward her so that we can truly become a team!
All in all, I believe I wouldn't have received my admission if I have not worked with Emma. With Emma's input, my initial work has improved (more like evolved) to shine! If anyone is interested in LBS, I am 100% confident that Emma is the best consultant in the planet!
Product Fortuna Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Taniel Chan
Taniel Chan went above and beyond in helping me prepare for the Harvard Business School 2+2 application. He gave me very high quality, timely, and definitive feedback on everything from my resume to internship opportunities that I was considering. He is very experienced with this process and made me feel very comfortable following his advice every step of the way.
I could always count on Taniel to listen to and understand my story, and give me personalized advice that you could never find in a business school admissions book. While being very definitive in his answers and helping me prepare the best application possible, Taniel was supportive and encouraging every step of the way. With his help, Harvard Business School's 11% acceptance rate seemed much less daunting. I would recommend his services to anyone who is seriously considering business school -- it is such a competitive process, you want to make sure that you are in the right hands.
Product Fortuna Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Karen Ponte
I started looking at MBA applications last year, after a few years of considering an MBA an decided to go with Fortuna for some assistance during the process. After filling out the strategy form, Karen and I worked on application essays extensively. Based on my prior experiences, I filled out the essays and Karen assisted me in refining these essays, with comments sent to me normally within a few hours. The whole application process is generally stressful anyways but Karen assisted me in focusing on important aspects of the application. Karen was extremely helpful during the interview process as well and the mock interviews helped in calming the nerves. I would definitely recommend Karen as she was immensely helpful during the whole process, especially at times when you get a mind blank or a mini writer's block. The final essays were then reviewed by Caroline Diarte, with important additional input on what should be highlighted. I enjoyed the whole process as there were important topics discussed, highlighted which I wouldn't have thought about to state in the essays.
Product Fortuna Hourly Consulting Services
Consultant Nicola Sandford
As someone without any connection to MBA students or alumni, I had a difficulty in compiling my essays and the overall application process. After contacting several admission consulting services and comparing their service, responses towards my questions, explanations, and overall feeling to the consultant, I decided to choose the service from Fortuna Admission. For me, to be comfortable to the consultant is essential as basically they will be your mentor who will guide you through self-reflection and question your motivations pursuing MBA, which could lead to many personal sides of life!
Nicola Sandford was really an amazing mentor. I felt like she genuinely want to know about my motivation and background, pointed out several of my strengths and weaknesses, then showed me how to make my profile stood out as a unique individual. The feedback from her were really accurate and fast! She will not stop until she know the essays and the overall application are ready to be submitted. She sometimes also discuss with Caroline in supporting me and happily answering my (many) questions.
As a result, I am successfully admitted to INSEAD and HEC Paris, with a significant amount of scholarship! I am sure the result will go different way if I didn't have the support from Fortuna Admission. Many thanks to Nicola, Caroline, and Fortuna team for supporting me to achieve my MBA dream!
Product Fortuna Hourly Consulting Services
Consultant Judith Silverman Hodara
My experience working with Judith was great. I was initially drawn to Fortuna after speaking with both Judith and Matt, her business partner. I had spoken with multiple consulting firms, and Fortuna really impressed me with their attention to detail on my background and what I was hoping to accomplish.
Judith gave a lot of great insight into the admissions process at the various schools, drawing on both her own experience in admissions as well as that of her colleagues. I wasn't sure how much detail was needed for each of the essays. During my first pass at an essay, she came back to me and said that I really needed to go deeper and provided a handful of helpful questions and comments that forced me to get super specific with that school. Throughout the process, she was willing to look over essays and answer last minute questions, and overall was an incredibly useful and calming presence throughout the process. Additionally, she held interview prep sessions for both 1-1 and group interviews, all of which were invaluable.
Product Fortuna Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Malvina Miller Complainville
Malvina was absolutely brilliant to work with and I would highly recommend her to anyone applying to top business schools. She was always available to offer in-depth guidance (even at very short notice and just before imminent deadlines) and provide reassurance. She has a deep knowledge of the inner workings of top schools and I have no doubt that I wouldn't have been anywhere near as successful with my applications had it not been for her. I would highly recommend her to anybody considering applying to business school, especially international students for whom the whole process can be quite unfamiliar.
Product Fortuna Hourly Consulting Services
Consultant Caroline Diarte Edwards
I decided to use admissions consulting service at a pretty late stage for my application. After reviewing several companies and talking to some of them, I instantly decided to work with Fortuna. The first person I talk to, Matt, knows everything about the biz school dynamics and gave me so much encouragement. I worked with Caroline, whom I believe is the best fit coach if you want to apply INSEAD. I also have a short email contact with Emma, former Head of Admissions at LBS. She is also very professional and highly efficient. I finally got admitted by INSEAD and Judge. Thanks, Caroline!
Product Fortuna Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Susanne Peltz
It was a pleasure working with Susanne (and the Fortuna team) on my application, a genuinely good experience. She helped me look back at everything I had done to this point and helped me convey that to the admissions committee in a comprehensive and coherent manner. Susanne excelled at finding the balance between being a professional and someone whom you can connect with - she was critical of my work when it needed improvement and instilled confidence in me when I needed the boost. I trusted her with my application and was not disappointed. I was happy even before I got the news from the MBA programs I had applied to because I learned a lot about myself through the process with Susanne. I would definitely recommend working with Susanne and the Fortuna team to anyone considering doing an MBA.
Product Fortuna Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Caroline Diarte Edwards
I come from an overrepresented pool of applicants: Indian, Male, IT Engineer = 3 strikes right off the bat.
Given my handicaps, I realized to succeed in admissions I needed to work with the best consultants.
Seeing as Fortuna has a strong record I set up a call with Matt Symonds. Matt was so welcoming and helpful I decided to pursue working with Fortuna further.
Next, I got paired up with Natasha De Masi and Caroline Edwards. They setup a call to understand me and my profile better. Right from the get-go it was evident that they understood the challenges I had to overcome in my profile and how to bring out my advantages. Also they were really helpful in shaping my essays to make me stand out amongst the crowd.
I was incredibly impressed by their dedication to help me succeed. Natasha kept me honest and motivated to get things done. She has an incredible eye for detail and is a magician with words. At times I felt she was more invested in my application and success than I was!!
When I clicked submit for my application I felt that regardless of the outcome I had done my best and that working with Fortuna was the correct decision.
Ultimately I got admitted to INSEAD and given the odds in my profile this was nothing short of a miracle. However, this wouldnt have been possible without working with Natasha, Caroline and the rest of the Fortuna team!! Thanks Fortuna!!