I was initially apprehensive to spend money for something that wasn't guaranteed - admission into the school of my choice. But without an undergraduate degree, I knew I needed help if I wanted to secure a position into a top 10 EMBA program. I interviewed a couple consultants but I felt Patty Keegan had the background I needed.
She was patient, encouraging and extremely knowledgeable about what EMBA programs require. There tare very fine points that I would have missed on my own or by researching. You really need a pro who understands how to fine tune a resume or essay.
My dream could have only been realized with the help of Fourtuna and Patty.

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Melissa Jones, a former INSEAD admissions officer turned MBA consultant, brings unparalleled expertise to her consulting practice. Leveraging her insider insights and the collective wisdom of the Fortuna team, Melissa provided tailored guidance for my application. Her unwavering support and diligence were evident as she consistently delivered useful and timely edits, even accommodating early mornings due to time zone differences. Melissa's proficiency in all things related to INSEAD makes her the go-to expert. If INSEAD is your dream school, choosing Melissa is a strategic decision that ensures personalized support and a pathway to success. Thank you very much Melissa!

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Getting into GSB wouldn't have been possible without the amazing support and guidance of Rachel! She has been an absolute rockstar throughout this entire journey. From our very first conversation, I knew I was in good hands. She's been there for me every step of the way, offering invaluable advice, encouragement, and unwavering support. I am so grateful for her dedication and genuine interest to get my application and letters to the best shape possible. Rachel, you are an absolute superstar, and I cannot thank you enough for believing in me and helping me achieve my dreams. If you're considering applying to GSB, or any MBA program for that matter, do yourself a favor and reach out to Rachel—you won't regret it! Thank you, Rachel, from the bottom of my heart!

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Working with Rachel was wonderful! We worked together on a hourly-consulting basis. From the start, she was incredibly responsive and generous with her time, always willing to offer guidance whenever needed. Her feedback was consistently detailed and incisive, helping me fine-tune multiple aspects of my application. Rachel was particularly helpful as I prepared for interviews. She conducted an awesome mock interview that not only simulated the real experience but also boosted my confidence. She provided great feedback and tips to help me present myself in the best possible light.

An aspect of Rachel’s approach that stood out was her focus on helping me take ownership of my achievements - a part of the admissions process I struggled with. Her wisdom, edits, and encouragement improved my candidacy and helped me grow personally. Rachel has been a fantastic sounding board as I work through different visions for my career. Her probing questions and thoughts have challenged me to think deeply about my aspirations.

I fully recommend Rachel to anyone seeking external support as they navigate MBA admissions. Put simply, I believe her influence is a major reason why I got into my first choice school! Thank you again Rachel.

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Patty Keegan was absolutely amazing to work with. I am 1000% confident that it was largely because of Patty's guidance that I was admitted to both Stanford GSB and Wharton, the only two programs I applied to.

I cannot stress this enough - if Patty is available, request her. If she isn't, refuse to work with anyone until she becomes so. Not only was Patty uniquely generous with her time, she was insightful, encouraging, responsive, and just thoroughly helpful in every way throughout the process. Not only was she a wonderful sounding board when I was thinking through new ideas to try, her thoughtful advice was invaluable in helping me think through strategic decisions throughout the application process. She really leverages the full weight of her career's worth of experience.

Once in a generation, someone comes along who is destined to be a giant in their field - that might be Patty. I've tried working with several other consultants before and they've all paled in comparison. I am not exaggerating (it's not possible to accurately describe how great she is). Seriously, if you get the opportunity to work with Patty, take it. The experience itself may have been more transformational than business school!

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TL;DR: Emma is absolutely amazing at what she does. About me: Stanford GSB Class of 2026 Admit from Private Equity (re-applicant). About her:
(i) Amazing at forming a compelling, cohesive story (while fully retaining my voice and story)
(ii) Incredibly responsive (even by private equity standards)
(iii) Perfect balance of empathetic and blunt (a rare find)

Full Review: Emma was absolutely incredible to work with. As mentioned above, I was a re-applicant to Stanford GSB (waitlisted previously, admitted this year with Emma's support), and can confidently say Emma's a best-in-class advisor. I reached out to her with less than 2 months to go before the app deadline, and in that time, she helped me put together the absolute best package I possibly could. She has this incredible ability to retain every story I told her (even from our first call prior to our engagement). Without changing my voice, she guided me towards a cohesive story and application I couldn't be happier with. The whole time, she balanced being unbelievably supportive with challenging me productively (did I really need that extra detail in my story? Of course not...). All of the back and forth drove a concise, compelling, and cohesive package - something I missed last time. As crunch time approached, she always had my back. I believe in the peak sprint, we worked through over 4 revisions of each essay and impact story in parallel in just 1-2 weeks - she never missed a beat. Overall, just an incredible experience - if I had to do it again, I'd pick Emma every time.

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Speaking to Emma in our initial call I felt right away she was the perfect match.

And that turned out to be just the case! I was a fairly late Round 2 applicant, just meeting the deadline, and I can say I couldn’t have done it without her! Emma improved my application beyond measure. I cannot stress enough the positive impact she had on my overall application – the quality of my application was levels higher as a result of her help and super expertise, and I gained an offer from my number 1 and only school choice (LBS).

Giving real steer and direction to the narrative of my background/application, piecing together the essays (I was in awe of her skill in advising on essay structure), advising on those small (but stress inducing) questions that come up during the application process, and giving me the perfect candid advice on my interview skills were just some of the numerous highlights.

Emma was also incredibly generous, supportive, responsive, and reassuring. She is really personable and you absolutely feel understood working with her. Overall, she made the whole process 100x less stressful. She was also flexible and catered to my circumstances which changed unexpectedly, which I really appreciated.

I honestly cannot recommend Emma enough - I consider myself super lucky to have had her help. She was simply a dream to work with!

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After chatting with ~5 admin consultants, I decided to go with Tatiana after a pleasant call with Judith - who believed in my success from the get-go. My experience with other admin consultants such as SBC and Menlo (which tend to downplay your achievements and encourage you to aim lower) was not good - Menlo wouldn't even honor their complementary consultation unless I pledged to apply to less competitive schools - but Fortuna seemed to understand and believe in my potential story, which was exactly what I was looking for.

For context: I'm at consultant at a T2 consulting firm and applied to 5 M7s.

Tatiana did a fantastic job - I was confident in my writing skills and had a good sense of which stories to use, so I signed up for the 8 hr program mostly for essay revision and support. Tatiana was straightforward from the start and helped estimated how much time we would need to meet my goal of writing essays for my top 3 schools.

Tatiana's support was instrumental in understanding what each school is looking for in an applicant and I can confidently say that the essays after multiple rounds of revision with Tatiana were indeed night and day. I also really appreciated how she did not press me for time. I heard other consultants would track closely and remind you x time was remaining - which would be an added stress as apps are due. However, Tatiana never did anything remotely of the sort. Further, I was able to utilize the lessons I learned from looking at her feedback to write essays for 2 more M7 schools.

At the end of the application stage, I was satisfied with our work together and even remarked even if I didn't get any interviews - I was happy I was able to put my best foot forward. At the time of writing, I interviewed with 3 of the M7 schools I applied to, and am waiting for results.

Huge thanks to Tatiana, who was incredibly knowledge and truly pushed me to write to the best of my ability and was with me at every step of the journey (even though I signed up for hourly)! I'm grateful for the experience and would definitely recommend her to anyone!

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My first experience with admissions consultants was not a good one. When I first considered MBA plans I spoke to a number of consultants early on, one of which told me that it was very unlikely with my background that I would get into LBS or INSEAD. "It's just not going to happen", were the words used.

Then along came Melissa. After researching several admissions consultancies, Fortuna stood out as adopting a more personalised approach, taking the time to delve into a candidate’s background to properly understand their story and strengths for the different MBA programs. Working with Melissa was less about the applications initially, and more an exercise in deep and considered self-reflection. Who am I. What experiences shaped me. What do I want in life. And why.

It wasn’t until I started working with Melissa that I developed any confidence in my ability to attend a top MBA program. Melissa was instrumental in drawing that out. She was clear, concise, realistic and, facing tight-deadlines, firm. She kept me honest and focussed throughout the whole process, gave clear instructions as to what was expected, and, importantly, ensured the responsibility for delivering rested with me.

Melissa genuinely believes in the candidates she works with and wants them to succeed. Even when Melissa had to travel between the US and France for family emergencies, she remained online and connected through every step of the way – late night calls to match time-zones, email exchanges from airports ahead of deadlines – Melissa was unstoppable.

I hadn’t even planned to apply for INSEAD – I had already ruled myself out. After working with Melissa to understand my strengths as a candidate we were able to rule INSEAD back in.

I am truly grateful for my time working with Melissa. She was critical in helping me put my best foot forward and receiving offers that I never thought were possible. Thank you so much!

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I enjoyed working with Bill, and he was nothing short of fantastic. He showed genuine interest from the beginning and took the time to get to know me. He was able to help me craft my story and succinctly tell it because he understood who I was and how I worked.

I've met with other consultants, and I won't say they were terrible, but I will say they didn't take the time to understand who I was, which made me feel like they were guessing when they made suggestions for my essays and interview practice. I never felt like that with Bill, and he helped me pinpoint areas I could improve on and areas that I should focus on.

I highly recommend Bill to anyone, especially if communicating your story is complicated. He'll take the time to help you understand your why and how to express yourself effectively.

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