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Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Heidi Hillis
Heidi was integral to my MBA application success! I didn't even have a good idea of what schools I wanted to pursue when I initially approached Heidi. She pushed me to get more tactical in understanding my MBA goals and selecting the schools that would allow me to achieve those goals.
I purchased a 3-school comprehensive package with her and one school on an hourly basis, and she carefully thought through what application to start with to make sure I had a good template essay for the remainder of my schools (even the one I didn't get the comprehensive package for). I really appreciated her candid and responsive feedback throughout the entire process. She made sure that I was happy with the personal narrative I wanted to tell these schools and even when I was waitlisted at one of my schools, she helped me through the process, and I was eventually admitted!
If I had to do this process all over again, I would 100% choose Heidi! I was so insecure about my GMAT score, but she made sure other areas of my profile shined and never made me feel that I was a lost cause because of my score.
Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Emma Bond
I worked with Emma on a 2-school package offered by Fortuna Admissions. First, I had a fit call with her wherein we discussed my past experiences (both personal and professional), goals, MBA programmes I am interested in, and preferences. She came across as an empathetic, honest, friendly, and highly knowledgeable professional; working with her through the admission process I can guarantee you she is all this and much more!
1. After the fit call, Emma and I had a comprehensive discussion to shortlist the programmes I am interested in. She not only discussed the timelines for each application, but also made me aware of her working style and was interested to learn about my style as well to make sure we were on the same page. I also filled an exhaustive questionnaire to help Emma understand my experiences and achievements.
2. I was in parallel preparing for my GMAT when we started work on my first application. Emma was highly thoughtful in deciding the to-do tasks as I balanced my job, GMAT prep, and application work.
Coming to the essays, Emma really understood my story and knew exactly the things we need to highlight (this varies from school to school as we had a brainstorming session for each school before starting work on its application). I always had an issue with going over the word limit, but with Emma’s magic each essay of mine was concise, conveyed the story, and made an impact. When you work with Emma, each word in the essay is there for a reason and she always pushes you in the right direction to extract the so-what aspect of the story and keeps a check on how it aligns with your overall application. She doesn’t shy away from multiple reads and edits of the same essay (resume and LoRs as well) until it is in the best shape. You will never waste time in the process since Emma is super responsive and her turnaround time is commendable.
3. Emma made sure to leverage multiple avenues to portray the various positives in my story. With 16+ years of experience and front-end knowledge, she has unique insights into the admission process and is aware of what the schools are seeking. She judiciously placed content in my essays, resume and LoRs – each of these reflected different attributes of mine but provided a holistic picture of me and my story. Special shoutout to Jody Keating from the Fortuna Admissions team for all the resume help!
4. Once I received an interview invite, Emma prepped me for both the video and main interview. For both the interviews, she first conducted a mock with me to assess my responses and then provided actionable constructive feedback to refine my responses. Leveraging her experience, she also helped me with smart tricks to enhance the answers and make them relevant to the school. Her guidance isn’t limited to just the content of the answers, but also includes tips on body language, camera setting, pace of speaking, etc. Needless to say, many of the questions which Emma discussed with me were part of the interviews.
5. I applied to LBS along with one of the top 3 European schools and a T15 US school (I took an hourly support from Emma for the 3rd school). I received an admit with scholarship from both LBS and the European school but have been waitlisted at the US school. I worked with Emma to appeal for scholarships as well and she totally understood my financial situation and did her best here too. In my opinion, there is no one better than Emma to help you for LBS and the European schools; but the main advantage of working with Fortuna Admissions is the wealth of the knowledge they have of every top B-school. When I was applying to the US school as well, Emma reached out to her colleagues who are well-aware of the school and got my application reviewed so that we are not missing out on anything.
I consider myself luckiest to have worked with Emma for my MBA admissions. She is much more than a professional consultant and the best thing about her is how real and humane she is. I have been extremely comfortable discussing sensitive personal experiences with her and love the fact that she understands the place I am coming from and doesn’t judge. Through this journey there have been multiple phases of anxiety (be it work travel or hardware issues during my interview), but Emma has ALWAYS been a message away and never made me feel guilty of my mistakes – rather she comes with a practical solution to counter the challenge. She is a thorough professional and makes sure your applications are top priority even when she is taking a well-deserved break to meet her family after 3 years. She has done much more than just applications for me, including checking the emails I write to the schools, giving me contacts to connect with, or clearing my countless silly doubts. Don’t think twice and just go ahead with Emma – you’ll gain a coach, a mentor, and a friend!
I couldn’t have achieved this with you, so THANK YOU Emma. Forever grateful to you and the Fortuna Admissions team!
Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Heidi Hillis
I had such a great time working with Heidi on my applications and eventually get an offer from my dream school, HBS!! Apart from being super supportive and always encouraging me to bring all what I have into the application, Heidi’s insights and details into my essays and overall story were highly valuable. She helped me discover and demonstrate areas of strength that made the difference in a pool of competitive candidates. I highly recommend working with Heidi for those who would like to take their application into the next level and make sure they present the best angle of their profile.
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Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Sharon Joyce
Working with Sharon made applying for B-School an absolute breeze. I knew that this would be a big task to take on, on top of a busy work schedule. I was also applying to a good amount of reach schools - so I knew I wanted to do the process right! Sharon made it so easy - I knew what I needed to complete each week and breaking down the process into these bite-sized pieces made the process much more manageable. Sharon helped me with the monumental task of applying to 5 schools R1. We had a few brainstorming sessions, then jumped into essay drafting and revising. It felt easy to get my ideas down and refine them after we had the brainstorming sessions and I complete Fortuna's assessments. Sharon's use of the Gallup profile is also very helpful in the process. Then she helped me with the form submissions and refining my online presence. After submissions, Sharon helped me prepare for each one of my interviews with a recorded mock which really helped me nail my interviews.
I got admission offers to 4/5 schools, most with a substantial scholarship. (Duke Fuqua w/ scholarship, Michigan Ross w/ scholarship, UCLA Anderson w/ scholarship, Northwestern Kellogg)
The most important is an offer from my DREAM school Kellogg. I truly did not even consider applying to Kellogg until Sharon suggested it, I never thought I would get in and was expecting a waitlist decision at best. I'm thrilled at the outcome of an R1 admit here and would work with Sharon again in a heartbeat! You can't go wrong!
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Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Sharon Joyce
Sharon, and Fortuna, were an absolute joy to work with and I highly recommend Sharon to anyone applying to MBA programs. From day one, it was abundantly clear that Sharon was an expert on the MBA application process and immediately relieved the stress I had about the process. She helped me narrow my list of schools, develop speaking points about my past experience and strengths, craft my essays, prepare for interviews and everything in between! I cannot emphasize enough the level of detail and personal attention that Sharon spends on each of her clients. We reviewed every part of the application in detail as Sharon knows that every word makes a difference. Sharon made the process so easy for me and I would not have achieved my goals without her help. From the outset, my main criteria for my MBA was receiving a scholarship. With Sharon's help, I was able to achieve this goal. Sharon helped me get admitted to Cornell Johnson (with scholarship), UCLA Anderson (with scholarship), and UVA Darden. I truly cannot speak highly enough of Sharon and everything she did for me! If you are looking for an Admissions Coach to get you into your dream school, look no further!
Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Sharon Joyce
Sharon is the best coach that I can ever ask for! I believe that without her guidance, I would not have gotten into the schools that I applied to (Haas/Anderson). It’s been a pleasure working with her. Sharon is thorough, down to earth, and very knowledgeable. She made herself available constantly, answering all my questions and addressing my concerns. She set the timeline and developed a plan so we could have everything done before the application deadline, easing the stress throughout this process. I really appreciate that she took her time to understand my background/stories and helped me incorporate those into my essays. Sharon went above and beyond, helping me to know the real me and highlight the areas that would make me stand out as a candidate. I can’t thank her enough for what she has done for me! Amazing coach!!!!
Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Karen Ponte
I was first introduced to Karen by Jenifer Raver from the Fortuna Admissions team given my preferences of applying to LBS & IESE and in the first 5 minutes of the call, I knew I wanted to work with Karen. I could tell that she was genuinely interested in my story, my career ambitions, my long-term goals and believed in my potential to make it all come true. (I had spoken to multiple coaches before from other companies; hence I was sure). We kicked off the process and through every conversation involving self-reflection, CV preparation, essay drafts - Karen unlocked aspects of my personality I never knew existed. I declared on Day 1 that I work better with clear timelines and defined expectations, and she let me set my own deadlines (which had to be acceptable of course). Karen was always super prompt on reviewing any material I sent across, her feedback – very organized, relevant and thoughtful. She makes you want to ask yourself “Why is this relevant?” “How did you impact the lives of others with this action?” and so on….and that’s precisely what business schools want – to understand who you truly are!
Sadly, I didn’t get through the first time I applied in 2021, it was a very competitive cycle and I’m sure I probably didn’t make the cut by a very small margin. But I was set on going to LBS and I promised myself that I would reapply. Even though she was not contractually obligated to, Karen offered to help out with my reapplication strategy. She helped me reflect on what went wrong, introspect about what needs to change, structure how I could improve my profile over the next year and also review my submission material again the next year. I came back much stronger, clearer and way more confident than last time, and I got through!
Karen has never missed my calls (When I got the admit email, she was out on a run and she answered!). We cried together in the ding debrief last year. We laughed and celebrated together on the admit this time (and cried some more, happy tears this time). We connected emotionally – and that’s rare. All my friends and family know her by ‘Karen Didi’, because that’s what I refer to her as (Didi = moniker for ‘Big Sister’ in Hindi - someone you have profound respect for).
It was a long hard journey towards achieving my dream of going to LBS, but working with Karen has been such a pleasure. I was stupid to think I could reapply to LBS the very next year, but her confidence in my capabilities helped shape my resilience. Whatever miracle of a career I build from the LBS MBA, I owe it to her. Thank you very very much Karen!
Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Emma Bond
I worked with Emma on a 3-school package. Going into the MBA applications process, I was extremely stressed, and sceptical about engaging a consultant. I spoke with 15+ consultants/firms, and made a comprehensive excel of my conversations with them. After my first call with Emma, I knew that she cared! LBS was my top school, and having conversations with Emma during the course helped me narrow down a list of schools I’d apply to. I ended up with an admit offer from LBS and a US Ivy league school! And on the waitlist for two others – but I got into my dream school, and it wouldn’t have been possible without her help and guidance.
She wasn’t just a consultant – she was a coach and a mentor to me, and at many points, helped me think through some important career opportunities that came my way. She didn’t hold back on feedback – even when I thought I had written my best draft, she would encourage me to go deeper and think through the prompt to bring out my best story. Belonging to an over-represented category, I knew it was important to showcase all aspects of my profile in a balanced way, and Emma helped me through all that. She was extremely responsive, super-organized and I ended up taking an hourly pack to get my other applications reviewed too. She was more than happy to get on calls, exchange emails promptly and reach out to her colleagues for insights on schools she knew they were experts on. Her knowledge of LBS is unparalleled, and she was great at the other schools I worked on with her too, from knowing what the question is aimed at, to school-specific insights.
During my interview prep, I knew I wasn’t great, but she encouraged me to be better. A great mix of honest feedback and positive reinforcement, and after a few mocks, I could see the change in the way I approached questions – in a more structured and natural manner.
At the end of the day, I needed someone to coach me through the process and be there as a guide, nudging me in the right direction, and Emma did exactly that. I had a wonderful experience working with her, and believe I gained a mentor for life!
Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Cassandra Pittman
I am extremely thankful to Cassandra for going through the rigorous process of submitting an MBA application and making it a smooth journey. It is extremely stressful and intimidating navigating the application process, trying to condense your entire life in 300words while working full time. Cassandra has been been my rock helping me through each step.She was candid, supportive, and extremely understanding. Her feedback to my essays and video interviews was extremely helpful. I loved how she pushed me to try dig in deeper when I was trying to build my story.
I have been impressed with Fortuna throughout, starting from determining which coach I’d like to work with, to reviewing my resumes, to building my story, to resources provided for the interviews and the application. The detailed and structured questionnaire which Fortuna requires applicants to submit allowed me to introspect about my life - personally and professionally and really helped bring out my authentic self in the application.
I’ll be starting my MBA journey with INSEAD next year and it wouldn’t have been possible without Cassandra and the Fortuna team.
Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Melissa Jones
Working with Fortuna was an absolute pleasure, especially working with Melissa. She really helped to get my application together and her communication was super efficient and effective .
Melissa really took the time to get to know me as an applicant and she was continuously available to support me. Her wise tips were a valuable resource during my application journey and she really gave me a good boost at each stage - from essays to interviews. I was ultimately admitted to my school of choice.
I would recommend Melissa to anyone. She is effective and also comfortable working against the clock operationally and across different time zones.