Fortuna Admissions Admissions Consulting Reviews

I worked with Sharon Joyce to apply for seven schools. When shopping around for consultants, I knew I wanted one with admissions committee experience. Sharon was a great consultant! She offered great insight into the admissions process and worked with me to highlight key parts of my professional and personal qualities while preserving authenticity. She didn't have a set number of edits/times to meet which I appreciate because accessibility was extremely important to me. She also provided interview coaching and resume reviews as well during this journey. Sharon helped me get into my dream school, and I am so grateful for it. If you are thinking of going with Fortuna, please go with Sharon!

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TL;DR: Emma is absolutely amazing at what she does. About me: Stanford GSB Class of 2026 Admit from Private Equity (re-applicant). About her:
(i) Amazing at forming a compelling, cohesive story (while fully retaining my voice and story)
(ii) Incredibly responsive (even by private equity standards)
(iii) Perfect balance of empathetic and blunt (a rare find)

Full Review: Emma was absolutely incredible to work with. As mentioned above, I was a re-applicant to Stanford GSB (waitlisted previously, admitted this year with Emma's support), and can confidently say Emma's a best-in-class advisor. I reached out to her with less than 2 months to go before the app deadline, and in that time, she helped me put together the absolute best package I possibly could. She has this incredible ability to retain every story I told her (even from our first call prior to our engagement). Without changing my voice, she guided me towards a cohesive story and application I couldn't be happier with. The whole time, she balanced being unbelievably supportive with challenging me productively (did I really need that extra detail in my story? Of course not...). All of the back and forth drove a concise, compelling, and cohesive package - something I missed last time. As crunch time approached, she always had my back. I believe in the peak sprint, we worked through over 4 revisions of each essay and impact story in parallel in just 1-2 weeks - she never missed a beat. Overall, just an incredible experience - if I had to do it again, I'd pick Emma every time.

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Heidi lent her guidance, support, feedback, direction, and redirection throughout what ended up being a 2.5-year-long application process. She supported me on my applications to HBS, the Stanford GSB, and Harvard Kennedy School. While I was not admitted to these programs (I am 34 and had below-average test scores and grades), I can enthusiastically affirm that Heidi helped me put my best foot forward in my applications.

Heidi provided specific feedback that drove the repeated rewriting of my essays and kept me on track from a timing standpoint, helping to minimize stress. She was consistently kind, thoughtful, and encouraging.

While Heidi did not partner with me on preparing my application to MIT Sloan, she did support me during the interview process, delivering crucial input on my interview essays and providing feedback that I believe helped secure my admission to MIT Sloan.

Given her dedication and compassion, I wholeheartedly recommend you choose to work with Heidi as your admissions coach. She is an invaluable partner in the often-daunting marathon that is applying to graduate school.

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I could not recommend Karen more to prospective clients. I was committed to applying but was not sure where to start with my story. While I needed to reflect myself, Karen asked very thoughtful and pointed questions and was able to draw a story out of me, highlighting unique experiences and pulling them together into a cohesive message. Beyond working on application materials, I found Karen's knowledge of the admissions process and behind the scenes insights incredibly helpful in navigating the admissions process over the long run. Karen is invested in her clients and I don't want to think about what my outcomes would have looked like without her partnership.

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I had the pleasure of working with Heidi Hills as my MBA application coach, and I cannot recommend her services highly enough. With her guidance, I successfully gained admission to prestigious business schools such as Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, Saïd Business School at Oxford, and Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management.

Heidi's approach is meticulously tailored and highly effective. She not only assisted me in finding the right GRE coaching—which significantly improved my scores—but also played a crucial role in refining my application essays and CV. Her insights into storytelling transformed my applications, allowing me to present a compelling narrative that truly stood out. she is very responsive and even during her leave time.

Thanks to Heidi's dedication and expertise, I felt prepared and confident throughout the application process. Her deep understanding of the intricacies of business school admissions and her commitment to her clients' success are truly unparalleled. If you are looking for a coach who will invest in your success and guide you to achieving your goals, Heidi Hills is the best choice.

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I reached out to Heidi Hillis for HBS, Stanford, and MIT applications, which I knew was a tall ask coming for an overrepresented candidate like me. My experience with Heidi over the last 6months was nothing short of excellent. Her expertise in understanding my profile and listing out strengths to highlight and weaknesses to address set the ball rolling. Particularly, her ability to take everything from my long journey and help me build an effective narrative was astounding. Her guidance helped me focus my energy on things that matter and cut through the clutter of information available online.

On top of all things, her deep insights into all the schools especially GSB and HBS, and their values proved to be very valuable in working through the long and challenging application where every single word makes a lot of difference. On a personal level, she was very flexible and always available to help me out when I was stuck at any point by getting on a call and over email.

Finally, on the decision date, got admits from HBS and GSB, and I cannot even begin to express my gratitude towards Heidi and Fortuna for helping this dream become a reality.

Thank you, Heidi, again for your guidance and partnership this past year!

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Best in the world? Let's get the obvious out of the way, with Heidi's unparalleled knowledge of the MBA application process and her ability to draw out your full story, you'll undoubtedly get into the school(s) of your dreams (from a Wharton & CBS admit).

With Heidi as your coach, what you're really getting is a life coach who will guide you through perhaps one of the toughest years of your life. Through your journey applying, there will be unexpected things that creep up, making you doubt your candidacy and if it's worth applying to business school, especially if you're juggling 10 other priorities. However, Heidi always made sure I kept true to my goals and dreams. It was with her nudges that helped me endure taking the GMAT until I reached my goal score. As somewhat of a perfectionist, she probably saved me 100s of hours pouring over every detail in my essays by giving me the confidence that I was putting my best foot forward. I will also be carrying her wisdom forward as I'll be enacting the career vision she helped clarify. This is why I'm convinced that while automated MBA application platforms may demystify the process a bit, that's not where the true value of having a world-class coach comes from.

The best athletes in the world are usually trained by the best coaches in the world. If you're lucky enough to work with Heidi, she's your MBA equivalent.

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Speaking to Emma in our initial call I felt right away she was the perfect match.

And that turned out to be just the case! I was a fairly late Round 2 applicant, just meeting the deadline, and I can say I couldn’t have done it without her! Emma improved my application beyond measure. I cannot stress enough the positive impact she had on my overall application – the quality of my application was levels higher as a result of her help and super expertise, and I gained an offer from my number 1 and only school choice (LBS).

Giving real steer and direction to the narrative of my background/application, piecing together the essays (I was in awe of her skill in advising on essay structure), advising on those small (but stress inducing) questions that come up during the application process, and giving me the perfect candid advice on my interview skills were just some of the numerous highlights.

Emma was also incredibly generous, supportive, responsive, and reassuring. She is really personable and you absolutely feel understood working with her. Overall, she made the whole process 100x less stressful. She was also flexible and catered to my circumstances which changed unexpectedly, which I really appreciated.

I honestly cannot recommend Emma enough - I consider myself super lucky to have had her help. She was simply a dream to work with!

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Choosing Silpa was one of the best decisions I made and I cannot imagine navigating the MBA application process without her. She truly went above and beyond for me and below are just a few of the many reasons of why she's amazing...

1. She's the expert for MBA applications. She's clearly experienced and knows even the most subtle differences between top M7 programs. Her advice is thoughtful and she deeply considers your unique situation against different program circumstances.
2. She won't settle. She will push you to continue to refine and iterate on your essays until they're excellent. Even when you think you're finished and it's as good as it could be, Silpa will challenge and motivate you to do even better. She has a way of pulling out personal details and insights to make your essays that much more impactful.
3. She's able to tie together life events and help you see a path that you didn't even realize yourself. This was especially helpful for essay writing because her tips are personal. She knows where you're coming from and where you're going, so the feedback is very meaningful and productive.
4. She diligent and responsive. Since I was a Round 2 applicant, our deadlines overlapped with the holiday season. I expected a natural delay in feedback but Silpa, realizing the urgency, was ever active and present.
5. She's calming and reassuring. To be honest, I was discouraged many times throughout my the application process with self-doubts as I'm an average candidate in a competitive year. However, Silpa continued to be a positive reinforcing presence to get me through the finish line.

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Silpa is unequivocally the finest consultant you will ever collaborate with. Choosing to work with her will undoubtedly be one of the best decisions you make. Despite facing tight deadlines, she tirelessly commits herself to ensuring every task is completed impeccably. I engaged her expertise for five applications within a month's span, and she delivered flawlessly. Silpa invests 100% of her energy into every aspect of your application, guaranteeing the highest quality outcome. She provides candid feedback when necessary and attentively listens to your input. With her assistance, I secured admission to three out of five top 10 schools I applied to—results that exceeded my expectations. Silpa ensures your voice resonates distinctly in your application while refining it to a polished standard. Trust me, the experience of working with her is unparalleled, and I have already enthusiastically recommended her to my friends.

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