Fortuna Admissions Admissions Consulting Reviews

After working with Malvina and Judith over several months, I can definitely say that Fortuna shines in the following two regards:

1) Approachability – In order to get the best essays out of you, you have to feel comfortable bouncing ideas back and forth with your counselors. I had a million questions regarding my applications, essays and interviews, and never had any qualms about emailing or setting up a skype call with Malvina and Judith. They were prompt and gave me useful, direct advice based on their years of experience.

2) Interview prep – Fortuna not only gave me access to dozens of school-specific interview questions but also connected me with alumni and a prior admissions officer to schedule multiple practice interviews. As someone with little to no connection to any of my target schools, this access was invaluable.

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Judith and Michel at Fortuna were astutely knowledgable about the ins and outs of the application process for each of my applications. Their feedback on my personal profile and each essay draft were invaluable to my acceptance into one of my dream MBA programs. It felt like they were on the journey through the application process with me, alleviating a lot of stress along the way. They took the time to get to know my personality and story so well beforehand that they were able to make specific, nuanced comments that heightened my essays to best make my case from their perspective as former adcom members. One of the most important aspects of the consulting experience for me was to commit to a timeline for deliverables. Judith and Michel kept me on track with each of three applications, gently nudging me when I was behind but never aggressively. Each interaction was a pleasure and I would recommend Fortuna to anyone interested in getting into their business school of choice.

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I worked with Fortuna Admissions for a comprehensive 3 school package during 2015 R1 process. My experience was excellent across the board beginning with my initial consultation with Judith in May 2015 all the way through my final wait-list notification nearly a year later. I set my sights high on 3 top schools and with the help of Fortuna, gained admission to Wharton, where I'm now an incoming member of the class of 2018.

Brittany and Judith were both heavily involved in my process and they each provided valuable guidance. As my day-day contact, Brittany was responsive, constructive and really easy to talk to. I'd like to particularly emphasize the responsive piece as a huge value add because during a stressful admissions process the last thing I would've wanted was another obstacle to completing applications. Whether it was a quick question regarding recommendations, a draft of an essay, or a random musing, Brittany provided a thoughtful, timely response. Judith was also incredibly valuable to my process from the initial phone calls all the way through. Her feedback helped me organize the key points on my essays and applications overall.

I was also particularly impressed with Fortuna's Wharton interview prep process. Wharton is unique in its group/case interview format so I thought it would be unrealistic to do a true 'mock' interview. I was mistaken, however, as Fortuna organized a conference call of my peers (fellow Fortuna clients at the Wharton interview stage) to mimic the experience. The mock interview put me at ease going in. What could've been a daunting process was a breeze with the prep.

Finally, I was floored by the continued dedication by Fortuna to my success in the process. Wharton is a great result that I'm proud of, but I was waitlisted at another top school that I slightly preferred. From December to May, both Brittany and Judith continued their responsiveness to my various needs and questions on my waitlist process. Waitlists are a long shot/crap shoot and and it didn't ultimately work out. However, I feel with the continued help of Fortuna, I put my best foot forward. They easily could've stepped back once I'd gained admission to Wharton, but they never wavered in their support.

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I worked with Michel and Judith from August to November, 2015.

I come from an industry with few college grads (even fewer MBAs), and had no existing network of b-school grads to tap for information. After taking the GMAT in May 2015 and conducting initial research, I decided I should reach out to admissions consultants to verify that I was taking myself in the right direction.

I went through 8 consultations, and Fortuna stood out immediately. I spoke with Judith Hodara (former Wharton admissions director) and told her my story. She listened and spoke about my candidacy with confidence and enthusiasm I didn’t get from other firms. I told her the schools I was interested in, and she very honestly gave me “her list” of schools that I should consider. Rather than just allowing me to say, “Hi, help me get in to ‘X’ b-school,” Fortuna focused on developing an MBA path I could thrive on, while maximizing opportunities to achieve my goals.

Judith and my admissions coach, Michel Belden (former Bain recruiter), lead me through a rigorous self-discovery process and provided advice rooted in their experience from the other side of the table – not speculation based on other clients’ outcomes. We put together a list of 7 awesome b-schools (five I had not previously considered) and identified three that we would work on for Round 1. These schools were not on my radar at all before I hired Fortuna. It was through their process, that I discovered my top choices for business school.

In preparing the applications, Michel kept me on schedule and provided excellent feedback that helped me develop and convey “my story” to the adcoms. Michel was extremely accessible. Fortuna is not an essay-editing service. Instead, I received feedback from the perspectives of an admissions director and management consulting recruiter. They simply helped identify the good, the bad, the unconvincing, the unnecessary, and the incomplete areas of my application. This advice was invaluable. Michel was there to coach me through networking events and interviews, and provided advice at every touch point of the application process – even if I just needed help calming my nerves.

Ultimately, I was admitted to my top choice business school. A top-10 program I had not even considered before working with Judith and Michel. Their expertise, process, and guidance is second to none. Regardless of my outcome, I would recommend Fortuna and Michel to future applicants. What you will learn working with Michel is completely transferable to any MBA application. Fortuna Admissions totally exceeded my expectations.

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I had the pleasure of working with Catherine Tuttle and Judith Hodara, and could not have been happier with their services.

I went through initial consultations at many of the top ranked admissions consulting agencies, and I always got the feeling that I was just another name on a piece of paper, with a series of boxes beneath that name the consultant wanted to check off. "I'm going to have you meet with your recommenders, brainstorm essay ideas, submit drafts, meet with schools.." etc. etc. I never felt a personal connection, and was nervous to work with someone who had a full-time job in a different industry, where priorities could become a problem.

Fortuna separated themselves immediately by taking a step back and really trying to understand who I was before we jumped into applications - they took the time to chat with me and had me fill out a self-survey to learn what I was about. In this way, the whole process became customized, rather than the assembly line I felt the other agencies offered. It was their nuanced understanding of my personality and my goals that enabled them to give me honest and constructive feedback every step of the way throughout our working relationship, while creating honest and authentic applications. Catherine and Judith went above and beyond in establishing a trusting relationship, and made sure to push me to make sure I stayed on track.

Overall, Fortuna's team was professional, clear subject matter experts, relentless, responsive, and caring. Could not be happier with my decision to work with them, and happily on my way to CBS in fall of 2016.

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I would highly recommend Fortuna Admissions and specifically Emma Bond for anyone looking to apply to the LBS MBA program. Emma previously worked in LBS' admissions team and knows the process requirements and what the Admissions Committee looks for inside out! She is also extremely helpful in highlighting information about the school that you may not otherwise know of that would be relevant to your goals / areas of interest. I chose an hourly strategy session with Emma to plan my essays and discuss my goals. During this session she helped point out specifics about the school I should me mentioning in my essays, and how to structure my thoughts. I then signed up for the Director's review package which involves a couple of revisions of my essays and a quick review of my references and applications. What I loved about Emma was that she did not stop until she felt my essays were as strong as they could be and reviewed each one 3 times. She also truly pushed me to highlight my strengths, helped me rephrase thoughts and ideas to make them as concise and sharp as possible, and all in all expertly guided me towards submitting the strongest application possible, which ended up in admission to the MBA Programme! She was also extremely helpful with the interview preparation. Emma's experience with and knowledge of LBS makes her the very best consultant to work with when applying to the school!!! She is also genuinely caring and a lovely person to work with. You won't regret working with her!

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I decided to go with Fortuna after another consultant suggested that I set my goals lower than INSEAD. I wasn't going to pay someone a whack of money if she didn't have the same vision as me. My initial discussions with Melissa, Matt, and Caroline at Fortuna made me realize that I did have a great story – we just needed to frame it in the right way. I want to thank Fortuna for believing in me – because with Melissa's help, I was able to assemble a winning application package for INSEAD in less than 6 weeks. She took the time to get to know me, then highlighted the aspects of my profile that would be most attractive to the admissions committee. She leaves no stone unturned when reviewing essays, putting herself in the shoes of the admissions committee. However, the most important part is that she invests herself in her client's dreams: my goal of attending INSEAD became her goal as well. The entire experience with Melissa, Caroline, and Matt at Fortuna was first class.

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It has been a pleasure to work with my coach Melissa Jones. Thanks to her and her encouragements, I was able to transform my essays into a winning application. No stone is left unturned from the school selection, CV review, data application form, the countless essay reviews, the interview preparation and the final decision. Melissa (and Caroline my senior coach) were always readily available for a chat, it was especially useful when I had doubts regarding which schools I should apply to.

The interview preparation is one of the best feature : it takes the edge of the actual interview and helps you improve your weaknesses. I did very well on the interview I prepared with Fortuna and could feel the difference with the interview for another school I prepared on my own.

The access to Fortuna’s network of former admission directors and officers is invaluable when you have questions regarding other schools. This is a special strength of the Fortuna Admissions network. If you are applying to European business school, they may have a strong advantage over American admission companies, which are more US-focused.

I very enthusiastically recommend Melissa and Fortuna to any MBA applicant. I would not have made it without their support.

Don't hesitate to PM me if you have any question.

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It was excellent having an opportunity to work with Fortuna. The process was very structured and exceeded my expectations. For me at least, I found the constant contact and scheduling of meetings incredibly useful as I was so busy and Nonie was able to take some stress away.

Their greatest strength was their years of experience. I'm sure they've seen it all and having the ability to access that experience was extremely valuable and reassuring. I felt I was in safe hands.

They are truly experts in their fields and the interview prep I was provided was nearly identical to the real interview process I experienced. I would highly recommend to anyone thinking of applying to a business school.

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I was thoroughly impressed by Fortuna Admissions. I would recommend Fortuna to anyone who is seeking admission to a competitive business school and wants to submit a strong, polished profile.

Two things really struck me in working with Fortuna:

1) They really get to know you before you dig deep into the application process. Judith became familiar with my background, to the extent that she pointed out that there was a cohesiveness to my education, professional background, and strengths that I wasn’t aware of. Not only did this significantly improve my application, but I can communicate in a more compelling way about my background.

2) They are extremely intuitive and detail-oriented. The feedback they gave me on my essays was extremely helpful. I wasn’t going into nearly enough detail in my essays—I mean, I thought I was!—but Judith pushed me to really get into the “why,” why I was passionate about my professional goals.

Finally, the other perk of working with Fortuna is that they know this business inside-and-out. There were things I learned about the application process and making the most of my application materials that I didn’t get from reading “MBA Admissions Strategy” by Avi Gordon or listening to dozens of MBA Podcaster podcasts or picking my MBA cousin’s brain.

Also, this sounds miniscule, but the one other thing that I really liked about working with Fortuna is that 80% of my anxiety about applying to business school went away. I knew that I was working with professionals, they were aware of my deadlines, and it was my job to stay organized and just focus my energy on writing great essays.

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