Fortuna was first recommended to me by a friend, I didn’t think i would need them. It was the best thing i ever did signing with them and having them help me through the whole application process. They where superb, i had the best Emma Bond helping me along with the rest of the team. It’s money well spent , they helped me shape a strong application and their experience really helped, 12 out of 10 . Emma really put a lot of time and effort from CV prep, Essays , mock interviews and overall prep, it was a very good experience, thanks to everyone at Fortuna Admissions and Emma in specific.

Read More

During my application, Jessica helped me define my career goals more clearly, which was essential to better decide on the schools I wanted to apply to. Jessica is extremely detailed and is always available for any questions. In addition, the support of Julia Brady in reviewing my essays was key to polishing them and giving them greater consistency.
I highlight their patience and unconditional support to guide me to show my best in the essays and interview. Without their support, I would not have managed to enter a top mba in the USA after being invited to several interviews. I totally recommend them!

Read More

Happy to say Melissa helped me get into my dream school - INSEAD! I was looking for admissions consultants to give me peace of mind throughout the typically stressful application process. Fortuna was a clear winner due to their INSEAD expertise and network. Melissa gave me confidence throughout and even went the extra mile in connecting me with alumni.

Fortuna is very structured in their counseling which worked great for me. The majority of our communication was over email or Podio software, with 3 calls. This worked for me due to my busy schedule, however if you are looking for someone to take several 1:1 calls then it may not be the best fit for you.

Read More

Why did I seek admissions advising?
Early in my business school application journey I spoke with MBA colleagues and friends to understand what lessons could be learned from those who had already walked the path. The resounding advice: do not underestimate or neglect the non-GMAT components of the application. I would be remiss not to reinforce that same message for anyone embarking on their admissions journey.
My success and acceptance to a top program can be attributed to taking that advice to heart and putting it into action by Partnering with Sharon Joyce and Fortuna. If you are serious about your application and you want the best in the business, this is it.

Why Fortuna?
• Scalable offerings – Fortuna offers both hourly billing and comprehensive packages. My coach Sharon kindly indicated that hourly should be enough for me to achieve my goals, but I opted to go with the comprehensive one school package anyway because I felt I needed every edge I could get. This was important for me because it established a sense of trust early on. Sharon was not trying to talk me into anything I didn’t need and placed my best interest at the forefront early on.
• Top Talent – I had the please of meeting many of the coaches and directors throughout the process. Fortuna without a doubt has some of the most talented and well-connected staff in the game. Each coach has different strengths related to the application process, specific programs and geographies, so do your diligence upfront. You will also benefit from the cross-pollination of coaches e.g., I decided later in the process that I may toss an application at a European program and that week Sharon had me on the phone with the ex-admissions director for INSEAD.

Why Sharon?
If you have read Sharon’s Fortuna profile or other reviews, you know by now that she has an innate and unmatched ability to extract, polish, frame and re-frame individuality - the single most important element that your application should aim to embody: YOU. I will keep this short as other reviews have touched on this point – but if you value this trait, there is not another human being that can match her talent in this space. Period.
The reason I prefer to draw your attention to Sharon’s other attributes is that in my own coach selection, my only apprehension was in answering the question: is she too specialized in this individualization thing? What else will I get? Allow me to enlighten you:
• An exceptionally brilliant, charismatic human being: If you need as much help as I did, you are going to be spending a considerable amount of time with your coach. You want someone who you are not only comfortable with, but enjoy spending time with. Sharon is an absolute delight - her passion for her work and genuine interest in you make the long hours and difficult moments not only endurable, but enjoyable.
• A strategic thought partner: I had very little direction when Sharon agreed to work with me. I was not even able to articulate why I wanted an MBA or why I chose the schools I did. I don’t recommend anyone come in at ground zero as I did, but the point is: Sharon met me there with grace and asked the right questions to give me the direction I desperately needed.
• An insider’s perspective: Sharon has years of experience in academia, and specifically as an admissions director for a top ten program. Her ability to channel the perspective on the receiving end of the application and apply it to how your application will be perceived is invaluable.
• A source of energy and accountability: I was already working 60+ hours a week and I knew I needed someone to push me. I was upfront about this with Sharon, giving her the permission to push me hard when it was needed. She heard me and took on the role that I needed - pushing when it was time and counseling with clear eyes when I was overwhelmed and disoriented.
• Clear direction; direct and honest feedback: My favorite thing about Sharon – she is not afraid to be direct and honest. In retrospect, she saved me from some very bad essay, video, and resume ideas, and did so very quickly backing her position with strong reason and real-life examples. She is not abrasive, but she is very direct. If she senses you heading down the wrong path, she does not give you a long cryptic fable to take away chew on. Instead she gives you direct, honest, and logical feedback. When time is of the essence, this is a highly valuable trait.
• Value beyond the contract: Beyond providing the services outlined in the Fortuna contract, Sharon is willing (within reason) to operate outside of scope. This was never anything I asked for or expected. For example: I shared that I was working with my organization to further develop our Inclusion and Diversity framework and principles. Later that night I had three perfectly relevant research papers in my inbox as well as an offer to connect me to the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for a top five MBA program.

To conclude, the best way I know how to help you understand Sharon, is by referencing an artist at work - as this is what she truly is. She can step back and see your canvas from a far, coming back the next day to add some hatching there, some shadowing there, and sfumato where it’s needed. She will continue to do this, sometimes unnoticeably, until the end when you view the entirety of the application for the first time and realize just how polished and harmonic each component has become.

Read More

I decided to work with an admissions consultant due to the demands of my job and a short application window. I had little time to manage the process alone and wanted to work with someone to keep me focused and make more efficient use of my time. I decided to work with Fortuna Admissions after receiving a free consultation with Matt Symonds as well as a few other companies. I was impressed with Matt’s knowledge of the one year programs I was interested in, as well as Fortuna’s deep bench of former admissions officers at my target schools.

After signing with Fortuna, I was fortunate to be placed with Nonie Mackie. I can confidently say that Nonie was an essential factor in my successful admission into a global top MBA program.

I applied to a small number of one-year MBA programs (think INSEAD, Oxbridge), and Nonie was very knowledgeable about what each school was looking for and how to craft my story and strategy. Nonie helped me draft and perfect my CV, my essays, my recommender strategy, and even the application forms for each school. Nonie also provided critical support with interview preparation, and our mock interviews helped me feel confident and focused for the real deal.

As a struggled with some GMAT setbacks and a full plate of work, Nonie was also able to keep me organized and focused on preparing what I needed to prepare in the time given, and took out a lot of guesswork throughout the whole application process.

If you are interested in applying to the same schools that I did, or really any school, ask to work with Nonie at Fortuna. You will be glad you did when you get into your dream MBA program.

Read More

I was a round 4 LBS applicant and purchased ten hours of coaching with Emma Bond at Fortuna.

Working with Emma was, I am convinced, the deciding factor in my successful admission to LBS.

In the four or so months that we worked together, Emma was faultlessly professional, flexible and, above all, fun to work with. Emma has an astonishing level of insight into the LBS application process and remains extremely close to goings-on within the school.

My time with Emma started with a detailed discussion around my plans to apply for an MBA, in advance of which I'd completed an extensive written questionnaire that Emma had clearly read thoroughly in advance of our discussion. This allowed our conversation to be focussed and highly beneficial in helping to firm up my application strategy and proposed approach to LBS' written application.

As I progressed through the written application, Emma was extremely helpful and responsive in allowing me to put my best foot forward. Emma rightly set very high standards for the application questions and in particular around using the limited space in the essays effectively. Without Emma's guidance and insight at this stage of the process my written materials would have been significantly weaker.

When I was admitted for interview, Emma and I worked together on interview prep (both for the interview itself and the additional pre-recorded video question). Emma was immensely effective in helping to improve my weaknesses and again - rightly - set high and challenging standards while remaining very constructive and fair. Beyond improving areas in which I knew I was weak already, Emma helped me to identify and rectify weaknesses I didn't know I had, and I was able to attend my interview feeling as well-prepared as I possibly could be. One of Emma's real strengths is in the quality of her feedback - clear, constructive and readily-actionable.

I couldn't recommend Emma to prospective LBS applicants highly enough - I immensely enjoyed our time working together and was continually impressed by the strength of her insight and level of support throughout the process.

Read More

I worked with Karen for almost a year for the 2021 intake application cycle. I would absolutely like to recommend her to MBA aspirants as she is great at what she does and is extremely supportive during the entire application process.

I started talking to Karen long before my GRE - she helped me understand what schools should I aim for, what is the score that would help me get there and motivated me constantly throughout the stressful GRE process.

Over our numerous strategy calls, she was very patient and quick in understanding my journey and why I made certain decisions - she was very quick to understand several technicalities and nuances in my journey and would help distill my experiences and achievements into a structure that would be appreciated by the ADCOMs.

During the peak of the application cycle - she was extremely efficient and time-sensitive! She would provide her review comments and advice very quickly and I could always depend on her for any last minute questions or concerns. Her speed and drive even made me push myself to get a lot more done! I always felt that she was looking after my best interests and even often provided tips and guidance for schools outside my package.

Would 100% recommend to work with her!

Read More

I worked with Melissa on applying to INSEAD, as I considered her (and Fortuna) to be the INSEAD experts during my MBA consultant search. With Melissa’s help, I got into INSEAD despite a relatively low GPA (3.27/4.0) and lower than average GMAT (700 vs 706 INSEAD average). Melissa was very positive and always made time to talk when I needed advice from start to finish. She had great resume edits and pushed me on self-reflection for essay topics. On the essays themselves, she gave honest and direct feedback while still sounding motivating and encouraging. Super responsive as well – I could consistently count on a response well within 24 hours. Melissa also looped in Caroline (former Director of Ad. at INSEAD) from Fortuna to offer additional perspective, which was great.

At the beginning, Melissa gave me a good strategic sense of which schools I should consider and where my application would be viewed favorably. I ended up applying to Wharton as well – Melissa looped in Judith (former Director at Wharton) from Fortuna this time, which was much appreciated. Although I didn’t get in, I feel good that I made the most of my application thanks to Melissa/ Fortuna.

Last thing I’ll add is that my initial consultant hiring process was very smooth, because Fortuna has someone (i.e. salesperson but not pushy) who does an initial screening (vs most “free consultations” that have you speak directly to the consultant who is so busy and less likely to follow-up with helpful info). I appreciated this part of the process b/c having a point of contact from sales helped me find the best-fit coach within Fortuna and then made the onboarding process itself quite smooth. Overall, would definitely recommend Fortuna, especially for INSEAD.

Read More

It was a great pleasure working with Michel and the Fortuna Admissions team on my MBA applications. I had a phenomenal experience with the 5-school package (Harvard, Wharton, Stanford, Sloan, CBS) and would highly recommend it to any prospective applicant.

I applied as a deferred enrollment applicant and I was so uncertain about my chance of getting in any of the schools, because I consider myself lack both working experience and impressive life stories. I was going on a very traditional track to IBD and didn't have something "interesting" to write about at that time. Throughout the application process, Michel took the time to get to know me on a personal and professional level. Although we had a 16-hour time difference, she always responded in a timely manner and consistently found ways to improve my skills to present myself to the admissions. Michel is extremely approachable and patient. We can always find a time to chat, brainstorm, or edit if I need.

Michel was a huge help during every stage of the application process. She helped me with things include what to include in my resume, to whom I should ask for recommendation, countless times of editing essays (she paid huge attention to improve every word) and preparation for interviews.

With Michel and Fortuna's help, I was very fortunate to be admitted by the Wharton Deferred Enrollment program! I can't wait to be there in around 2 years, and I sincerely recommend Michel as a consultant to whoever wants to take on the challenge and discover their potential in the MBA application process!

Read More

Rachel is hands down an AMAZING coach. She was instrumental in my application and my admission to 4 top schools including my dream school: Harvard Business School! 

Early on, she invested the time to get to know me and understand my personal journey and my work experience. Because of her genuine interest in me, Rachel challenged me to dig deeper and to be introspective during the essay writing process. She was able to diligently sift through my stories to uncover recurring themes and help me refine my thoughts. She often challenged my assumptions and provided honest feedback even when it countered my initial thought process.
Looking back, I have so much admiration for the honest and tough feedback that she provided to help me craft a compelling story and find my own voice. 

Her ongoing encouragement was key in helping me surmount the roadblocks encountered in a particularly challenging year (test retake, writer's block, self doubt). She was particularly helpful in our mock interviews by providing direct and actionable feedback that enhanced my interviewing skills.

She was highly responsive and flexible throughout the entire process. Her turnaround time was exceptional. Our sessions were always productive and enriching. She leveraged the Fortuna network and knowledge base to help thoroughly answer my questions about the specificities of the different school programs.

While I had some awareness of the MBA application process, I underestimated the time, effort and commitment that the process would require over a period of time.  She was tactical and helped me stay on track of each step of the process. We worked through numerous essay edits and introspective exercises, even in the wee hours sometimes. Her can-do attitude, her empathy, and her attentiveness are unmatched!

Beyond being an amazing coach and subject matter expert, Rachel is a genuine and caring person who offered me support and advice as a friend would. While working with her, I have also gained an amazing advocate and mentor. I could not recommend her enough! 

Read More