I had applied for MBA previously and was rejected. I am 32 so on the higher side for FT MBA, have already been in a leadership role at a big automotive firm for a few years and was transitioning into running my own startup fulltime. However, I just had this itch for wanting a FT MBA and decided a month or two before the deadlines last year that I wanted to give it a shot again. MBA has been a lifelong dream for me and I just had to pursue an MBA.
Before I go down the memory lane, thanks to Melissa and her hard work I have received admit at a top B school with scholarship in a year that has been incredibly difficult for applicants especially international applicants given the deferrals from previous year.
I had talked to Mandira at Fortuna a while ago and had gotten a good feeling about Fortuna (positive first impression). After reaching out to Mandira again, she asked me to work with Melissa and Judith (director).
Melissa was very friendly and was always available. She really understood what really mattered to me and what made my story different and unique. Every now and then she would bring up points to use from my story which I was overlooking or feeling weren’t important. She is so much more than just an admissions consultant. She is one of those few people you would want to stay connected with forever.
Melissa and Judith worked great as a tag team. They helped me formulate my strategy for applications, narrow down on schools, write essay and applications and prep for interviews, and all the other gazillion things that go along with the process.
Because I was so late in the game, I was often worried about finishing my applications by the deadline but Melissa always pleasantly surprised me by her wealth of knowledge and by pulling us out of tight spots. As I was behind on my school research Melissa helped narrow down the resources for me at the particular schools. Even though we were in a time crunch, Melissa never skimped on the quality of work. We wrote and re-wrote until the essays and answers felt perfect.
Another aspect that I would like to mention about Fortuna is that they work great as a team in how they distribute the tasks and manage the applications as a project management task.
I would highly recommend Melissa to anyone applying for MBA. She made the journey from beginning to end (an offer) really enjoyable.

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I needed to cram all my application creation into 2 weeks because otherwise work would always get in the way. Willie was my savior, confidant and at times even my shrink.
I was able to produce 4 excellent applications that resulted in 4 acceptance letters.

I am not going to lie, it was tough and I wanted to quit multiple times, but Willie helped pace myself and see the light at the end of the tunnel. He is the kind of guy you want in your corner, especially when you are fighting for your dream to go to a top tiered Bschool.

Willie was not only patient, we was also insightful and proactive, letting me know what articles to read to better my essays and letting me know that I have a certain addiction for adding semicolons everywhere (hopefully I have gotten better at it; I'll let you be the judge).

While it might be an expensive service I can say without any shadow of a doubt that one of the most important factors for having received 4/4 acceptance letters.

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Trisha played an instrumental role in not only helping me develop the stories for my essays but also helped me really think about the reasons behind why I wanted an MBA. I feel as if this translated into stronger final essays and helped with admissions.

She was also very timely at returning edits to me and helpful at managing deadlines when I would fall behind a bit from being busy with work. Some of my essays easily went through 10 iterations (2 even had complete rewrites) and she was always quick to review and provide thoughtful feedback.

Finally she was almost always available to set up time to meet. I found this particularly helpful for brainstorming essays and getting some ideas down. She was easy to brainstorm with and great at helping pull together different topics I was considering or dive into a certain story I had to make it work.

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I worked with Jenifer for 6 months applying to 5 different schools. With her help and guidance, I was invited to interview with four of them. All schools are very competitive top MBA programs.

Jenifer is an amazing person and coach. She goes above and beyond in getting to know her clients in order to cater the best story about them. We built an amazing relationship that I am sure will last for good. She is very genuine in her feedback and guidance which what candidates need the most in preparing their applications.

I consider myself very lucky to having worked with her. You are great Jenny!

TYK!

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I had an excellent experience working with Malvina. As a reapplicant, I can tell her feedback on my applications really made a difference. Her insights about the schools helped me submit authentic, high-quality applications and thanks to her detailed feedback on our mock interview, I felt very well prepared for the real one. In addition to being very professional, Malvina was also a pleasure to work with, always delivering feedback in a very kind and supportive way, and providing guidance throughout the entire process. In the end, I secured an offer from my top choice school. I very much recommend working with her!

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As an applicant I was initially hesitant to hire a consultant due to the cost, and I can confidently say the experience with Michel was nothing short of amazing. I would say what differentiates Michel is i) her strategic perspective on my profile (ii) her extensive experience and guidance, and (iii) finally, her humor and dedication throughout the application journey. Initially I had a view of how I wanted to craft my story and application, coming from more of a common background in finance. Michel provided specific viewpoints and honest feedback as to how I could differentiate myself which allowed my voice to come through in the essays by highlighting parts of my background that I did not think of synthesizing. Furthermore, Michel's guidance was invaluable throughout the process - whether that is reviewing the essays, to the recommender deck, or preparations for the interviews. She ensured that I always brought out the best part of my candidacy in each step and prepared for any hurdles. Lastly, Michel is frankly a pleasure to work with - she is always ready to hop on a call to bounce ideas, is open and honest, has a great sense of humor, and is truly an advocate for me. I cannot thank her enough for her wisdom in the process, and I was able to secure a place at my dream school (HSW) and another M7 school because of her efforts. I highly recommend partnering with Michel if you are serious about your MBA application process!

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I worked with Julie on my Wharton application, which I used for 5 other schools. Admitted to Wharton (matriculating), Ross, and Tuck for the class of 2023.

Julie helped to provide the needed structure for my Wharton application. She walked through each step of the way and set it up so I could apply to my other applications as well.

When I was first researching consultants, I was impressed by Fortuna's straight forward model and demonstrated results. Fortuna provided data to show their admittance and interview rates for each school, and were genuine about payment plans and pricing options during the interviewing phase. Overall positive experience.

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I had the pleasure and privilege to work with Heidi for my applications to 6 top MBA programs in the US, and ultimately got accepted by 4 schools. As an applicant of South Asian origin working in finance, my two biggest concerns were presenting a differentiated enough story amongst what tends to be one of the most competitive pools in the application process + being able to put my best foot forward given the demanding nature of each application and the limited time I had with my job to focus on the application process.

Heidi made the process incredibly seamless. I found her to be a great listener, where she gave me the freedom to craft my own story, while constantly challenging me on bits that needed more work / clarification. Once we developed the general narrative, Heidi had specific, pointed feedback on how to modify the story for each school, thereby allowing me to put my best foot forward and obviously typifying her differentiated understanding on what different schools are looking for. The application process is ultimately a game of margins, and I felt that Heidi's knowledge and expertise brought an additional element of specificity to my applications which I could have never achieved on my own.

Heidi was also extremely methodical in her approach and we did a lot of legwork around putting different aspects of my personality, interests, past experiences etc. into tangible narratives, prior to starting the essay writing process. The impact of all of this work was that by the time I had finished writing my applications, not only had I internalized my "business school story" fully, but also fully internalized the dozens of other things that then came handy when the interviews started rolling in a few months. I cannot stress enough how easy it made the interview process, where I did not feel the need to do dozens of mocks or anything, because the fundamentals of my story were so clearly laid out owing to the work I did with Heidi. This is a testament to Heidi's experience and vision as a coach, where the path from application inception to interview is fully clear in her mind, and the work she makes you put in the beginning goes a long way in the application cycle.

The other standout quality for me was Heidi's incredible work ethic and how available she made herself to make the process easier for me. Turnaround time for every single draft was almost always less than 24 hours, and if for some reason there was a conflict on her side, the communication around it was super clear and significantly well in advance. Furthermore, Heidi's calendar was always open to schedule a call to discuss literally anything, brainstorm ideas etc. There were never any limitations on phone/video calls - she was always there. Going into the application process this was the type of unbarred access and support I had hoped to receive, and Heidi simply over-delivered on this aspect.

Five stars all the way for Heidi. The business school application process is an incredible commitment on so many fronts, and Heidi could not have been a better mentor and coach to not only make the process seamless but incredibly rewarding in itself.

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I honestly cannot recommend Fortuna enough! I interviewed with 3 different consulting companies prior to deciding on Fortuna. They don't pressure you into working with someone but instead are extremely active in helping you set up coach interviews and finding your best match. They don't give you any advice until they've fully understood your background, whereas I've encountered judgmental consultants at other firms. The team at Fortuna was extremely helpful and would leverage each other's expertise to help me craft the best application. Each of my applications/essays/school choices received attention from ~3 directors/consultants.

Cassandra was amazing since our very first call! I reached out to her in mid-July with zero progress on my applications, and we submitted all my applications by October. From the very beginning, she was very honest in providing feedback and the realistic programs to apply to. From there, she recognized my strengths and made sure my applications really highlighted them. I most valued her ability to help me craft a compelling story and her WRITING SKILLS (!), something that I knew I needed help with. I received offers from HEC Paris (with scholarship!) and Cambridge Judge.

The entire process was surprisingly enjoyable, all thanks to Cassandra!

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When I started my MBA process, I had already worked in admissions consulting myself for 4+ years, albeit at the undergrad level. Even though I was very familiar with personal essay-writing, interview prep, etc., Heidi *still* added tremendous value to my MBA applications.

First, I was applying from a “non-traditional” business background, and Heidi was instrumental in helping me capture and articulate my experiences in a clear, concise way that would make sense to an admissions reader. Also, with thought-provoking questions and comments, Heidi guided me to develop a coherent and compelling application “narrative” that connected my past experiences with concrete post-MBA goals. At first, I signed on with Fortuna to do a one-school package. But I quickly realized how helpful Heidi was and began adding on more hours, more interview prep, etc. Ultimately, I was very proud of the applications I submitted, and I can’t imagine having achieved such high-quality without Heidi’s advice and expertise.

In terms of working style, Heidi is reliable and attentive. She checked in on my progress regularly, responded to my questions in a timely manner, and always turned around essay edits within a day or two (even faster, as we got close to deadlines). On several occasions, she sent me articles/online events that she thought I might be interested in given my career goals. In such a fundamentally stressful process, working with someone as reliable and thoughtful as Heidi went a long way in helping me (mostly) preserve my sanity!

So, my best advice to you: work with Heidi, and get a multi-school package from the get-go. If you’re anything like me, you’ll find yourself wanting Heidi’s sage input on as many application materials as possible.

(Lastly, including this info because I know some people look for it as they read reviews: I was admitted to several top 10 programs, including Wharton and Kellogg.)

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