Fortuna Admissions Admissions Consulting Reviews

My experience with Veritas and Taniel as my consultant was nothing short of excellent.

I am the kind of person that likes to push things to their limit, so here I was 4 months before Round 3 deadline, having to take a GMAT and write my application. My work philosophy has always been to surround myself with smarter people, and that's exactly what I got from Veritas.

Taniel was reliable, fast to respond to any questions or concerns, proactive and well organised. He has drafted a comprehensive timeline of events, and offered all the help and feedback needed along the way to really share my story in a compelling and engaging way.

What I appreciate most about him is his ability to listen and truly understand my background, goals, and dreams, and help me turn dull facts into a story-like narrative. Instead of rushing through a checklist, his patience and systematic approach has lead to an application I was proud to submit.

With Taniel I never felt rushed by a timer, no matter if it was a Sunday morning, or he was going through a flu, he went above and beyond to make sure I'm successful. For his hard work, passion for helping others, and openness, he deserves my highest recommendation.

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I believe this is a service people should sign up for even if they aren't even applying to school at all. In particular, my consultant (Heidi) did a great job of probing my mind and helping me figure out what matters most to me. The entire package doubled as a fantastic "life coaching" experience that I will cherish for the rest of my career. And to top it all off, I was given services to put together a very comprehensive and compelling application package that allowed me to stand out (even as "Just another engineer").

I now know what my overarching goals are for both my pre and post-MBA timeline. I believe this is more important than even the MBA itself. I've learned that the MBA and "training" is only a means to an end....the "will" and "passion" is literally everything.

I would 100% do it again and recommend it to everyone I know.

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INSEAD was on my radar for over 2 years and I had referred to all available free online resources and colleagues who were INSEAD alumni while crafting my application.

However, at the end of it, about a month before the application deadline, I felt that my application lacks a certain polish, that final touch that would convince me that I had put my best foot forward.

I reached out to Matt & Caroline for the Admissions Director's Evaluation as I felt that since I had already built my application, what I needed was the final touch.

Caroline, the expert that she is and with the tremendous history that she brings to the table, was the perfect addition. She was able to quickly and efficiently point out some of the holes in my application with suggestions on how to fill them.

Caroline always responded quickly and I felt I was getting her full attention. I often asked her opinion to break ties among the different options I had to put into my essays while sticking to the recommended word limit. Her vast experience as an Admissions Officer at INSEAD shone through and she was able to guide me to craft my application and bring more clarity to the essays.

I would definitely recommend Caroline's help if you're building out your INSEAD application to give it that final touch.

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The MBA application process seemed daunting, but I can honestly say that a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders once I signed up with Fortuna. After my initial discussion with the founder, Matt Symonds, I was confident that I was in good hands. Matt is an absolute delight to speak with and was a motivating guide even prior to me selecting my school package. I was pretty cynical, but reflecting back on all of my conversations with Matt, Judith Hodara, and Brittany Maschal, their honest advice and input on my candidacy was pretty spot on. Fortuna has a very well-thought out process for guiding applicants through the admissions process.

Brittany Maschal was an extremely efficient and responsive coach. It was evident throughout each stage that she understood the perspective of an admissions officer and I felt confident with my applications because I trusted her expertise. I can't thank Brittany enough for her help every step of the way. Brittany alleviated a huge amount of the stress around the entire application process, from brainstorming essays all the way to deciding between schools.

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I have decided to work with Veritas as, with my aspirations to apply to the best business schools in the world, I wanted to the best help there is.
I have gone for a school package to combine GMAT tutoring and Admissions Consulting. Tutoring was very good! Although Veritas is based in San Francisco and I am based in London they put me together with a great tutor close to me.
The Admissions Consulting part was great as well. I was fairly short on time, so many of the exceptional offerings of Veritas in their Admissions Consultancy packages have been skipped. I commend them for their great flexibility and availability to still get three great applications out!

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I shopped thoroughly for consulting services before deciding on Fortuna to help finalize my INSEAD essays. You really can't get a better dream team than this group with Matt Symonds (who's built his career around the MBA industry and knows it inside-out) and Caroline Diarte Edwards (former Director of Admissions at INSEAD).

The screening process was professional and exceeded my expectations. My conversation with Matt was very encouraging. I also appreciated the peace of mind during this stressful period knowing the track record that Fortuna had established with successful INSEAD candidates.

I thought I was already in a pretty good place with my written essays, but Caroline really made a difference by providing detailed feedback and teasing out the qualities that made me stand out as an applicant. She was tireless with the iterations up till the day before the R1 deadline. It was truly exceptional to have such a dedicated advisor.

I was eventually admitted into INSEAD and even received a generous scholarship. Can't be more thankful for a smooth process and successful result.

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I made the mistake of not using Fortuna the first time I applied to business school (and believe me, it was a mistake - I did not get any acceptances). If you're applying to business school, don't make this mistake as I did.

When I decided to reapply, I was weary of using another firm given the experience I had. However, Judith proved right away how her and her firm would be extremely valuable. Even before I signed on, Judith spent significant time and effort discussing with me the ins and outs of the application process and my background.

When I signed on with Fortuna my day-to-day work was with Brittany. At first I was concerned because Judith had known my whole background and we worked well together. That fear quickly faded. Not only did Judith continue to work with me, but Brittany seamlessly joined in, providing great insight.

Having now worked with Brittany and another consultant from a competing firm I can say without hesitation that Brittany is the best in the business. She is very easy to work with, extremely responsive, and even more insightful. She's the safe harbor when you feel like you are caught in the middle of the storm with the application deadline approaching. Brittany will help you find your voice and put your best self forward on applications.

Another thing that separates Brittany from the rest: she genuinely cares about her clients. Some firms say they do, but Fortuna and Brittany walk that walk. Case in point: she put me in touch with her own personal connections to discuss the programs I was interested in and the career path I was interested in pursuing.

As a re-applicant, Brittany took a lot of time to review all of my applications and go through where she thought I could improve my second time around. Her analysis was excellent, evidenced by the fact that I am beginning at my dream program this fall (Northwestern JD-MBA).

All I can say is do not hesitate to use Fortuna and, when you call them, tell them you want to work with Judith and Brittany.

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I was accepted to LBS in R1 (i.e. in Nov 2016). What made this even more challenging was that I'm a reapplicant (wait-listed in Feb 2016) from an over-represented group. With such a short gap between applications, Emma's inputs elevated my application by making it more personal and more differentiated, thus creating a more compelling case the second time around.

Firstly, I wasn't confident if I should reapply given the short duration between apps (6 months!), so phase 1 of working I'd with Emma was a re-evaluation of my prior application. Emma's experience from LBS really helped - she brought a critical eye to my earlier application packet. Through the process, my feeling was that of a live ad com evaluation, and an honest assessment of why I was wait-listed and what I'd likely need to do to cross the next hurdle.

I followed this up with an hourly service for essay review and interview prep. Emma's prior consulting & LBS experience meant she was able to relate to my personal/ career progression, and highlight experiences that made me stand out. Our interactions were informal yet candid, which made working with her very easy even through a tight timeline and juggling multiple pieces of the application packet. Her feedback pushed me out of my comfort zone and towards crafting something that spoke less about only what I do, and more about who I am. Similar to the experience nearly everyone has had with Fortuna, Emma's turnaround was both super-quick and super-detailed (I still can't figure out how both go together :) ). From my first draft to the final version, I was able to clearly see the difference in story that Emma's inputs helped craft. Similarly during interview prep, Emma's inputs helped me better project who I am and brought a sense of informality to my story, as opposed to a linear approach that I'd typically have followed.

I definitely feel Emma's inputs helped me in crafting a better, more rounded and personal application second time around, and was the biggest influence in helping me secure a place at LBS within six months of a prior application decision. If you’re applying to LBS, Emma should be your go-to person!

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Hello friends !

My name is Ashish . I am a Mechanical Engineer , currently working in oil sector company Indian Oil Corporation Limited.

I was invited for interview by IE Business School and Indian School of Business . The day i received the invite , I joined Fortuna Admissions for the traditional interview preparation . The reason was the encouraging and cooperative attitude of Matt Symonds Sir during the Fortuna free consultation.

I was fortunate to be mentored by Lisa Ma'am (Former Admissions Director, IE Business School) . She conducted mock interviews , guided me on all aspects of my application , and provided detailed feedbacks for improvement .

Being from an over-represented pool of Indian Engineers and from a non-native English speaking country , initially I was nervous of the intense competition , but Lisa ma'am was very supportive throughout the process .Her greatest strength is that she treats her students as friends and follows a constructive approach when correcting their mistakes. Moreover , the words of wisdom from Lisa ma'am also helped me a lot in my interview of Indian Business School .

I have been admitted to both IE Business School and Indian School of Business. Joining Fortuna admissions was the best decision I made in my MBA journey .I recommend the same to all MBA aspirants !

Thank you Fortuna !

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I thoroughly enjoyed working with Fortuna team. Right from the first call with Matt to, the kick-off with Caroline to preparing my application with Melissa. The team was extremely professional and informative; they know their field.

They spent a lot of time with me understanding about my journey in life and guided me to pick up the right stories. Melissa has a great attention to detail and was able to pick up the insights which even I didn't know about me. I found the whole process to be very reflective.

I got accepted for MIT Sloan and I don't think I could have made it without Fortuna.

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