My experience with Sharon was excellent! I struggled with confidence regarding my MBA profile; although I have a strong GMAT and high GPA, going into the process, I had very poor work experience (0 promotions, long layoff periods, no brand name companies, and low salaries), non-existent extra curriculars, and I am a male ORM. I viewed myself as pretty unremarkable, with nothing unique to write about and that showed in my essays. During R1, I got 0 interviews from any of the 6 T15 schools where I applied.

Working with Sharon, I was able to use her suggestions to pinpoint what my essays were lacking. Through her guidance, I discovered that things in my past, that I viewed as unremarkable, could be leveraged into storytelling that would appeal to admissions committees. I incorporated these experiences into my Round 2 essays, texting and emailing Sharon practically everyday as deadlines neared to quell my insecurities - she kept me in a positive mindset and kept me on the right track. I ended up with interview invitations to all 5 T15 schools that I applied to in Round 2, resulting in 2 Waitlists, and 1 acceptance with a generous scholarship. I attribute some of this success to also doing comprehensive interview preparation with Sharon - she helped me focus on what would be important to convey and what would be important to emphasize at the programs where I interviewed.

Aside from the noticeable improvements in my applications, I think the best thing about working with Sharon was the mental support she provided me. When I was looking for a consultant, I actually had a company tell me that I had no shot at any of the schools I was targeting, stating my work experience as the biggest downfall. Sharon was very supportive of my aspirations, reassuring me that my profile was solid and my story will be strong enough to gain admissions to a competitive and selective b-school.

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I am so grateful to have found Jessica during my application process.
From our very first conversation, I felt comfortable and immediately trusted her expertise and knowledge. I didn't know where to start, and really only knew what schools I wanted to apply to. She helped me figure out what to prioritize, challenged me to think beyond my goals, and provided super applicable feedback from start to finish. She brings significant experience to the table, and was incredibly valuable when I had UCLA and USC specific questions. The insight and support that she provided, specifically with my resume, essays, and admissions decisions, allowed me to stay confident throughout the entire process. With her help I was able to get into UCLA and USC! I highly recommend Jessica for all admissions/application services!

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Incredibly helpful working with Heidi Hillis of Fortuna. Very empathetic and encouraging with her advice. Extremely responsive, sometimes within the matter of just a few hours. Very rigorous with her edits.

Fortuna met my expectations. I would highly recommend them.
The application process can feel like engaging a black box, and Heidi and Judith offered insights on how to engage that box, how to understand it. I felt at the end of the journey I was better able to understand, most of all, my own self, my trajectory, and how I can contribute the most to an MBA class, and how I can most succeed in my industry and function(s) of interest.

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I had an incredible experience working with Sharon and cannot recommend her highly enough as an admissions consultant. I targeted three M7s and one T10 and was admitted to two of the M7s and the T10 with scholarship offers at two of the three.

Like many, I spent a month or so taking advantage of the many free consultations that exist to learn more about the admissions consulting process, gauge the strength of my application, and determine whether partnering with an admissions consultant could be the right fit for me. I knew going in that if I did decide to leverage a consultant that I wanted to have someone who I could trust to be a confidant and to support me throughout the process.

After going through a handful of calls, I wasn’t optimistic – I hadn’t found the right person with a working style that resonated with me. However, after speaking with Sharon, I knew that she was the right fit immediately. In that initial call, she showed a genuine interest in my story and her warmth and empathy shone through (which, if you’re lucky enough to work with her, you’ll find out quickly!).

The application process is grueling and stressful. Working with Sharon was a dream. She was incredibly supportive, insightful, detail-oriented, efficient (especially important if you use an hourly package like I did!) and unafraid to push you to do more or dig deeper when you need it most. Perhaps most importantly, Sharon can do all of this well because of her extraordinary empathy. With Sharon, you will always feel like you have someone who is in your corner and who understands your unique story. If you partner with Sharon, you will not regret it.

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I can’t recommend Sharon enough. I was able to secure admission to the Haas EWMBA program, which was my top choice, thanks in large part to Sharon and Fortuna admissions.

I chose the hourly sessions from her. She tracked all our work in a spreadsheet: minute by minute, so I was always aware of exactly what she was working on. I was initially skeptical about working with a consultant due to the cost involved, but if you are having similar thoughts, I highly suggest you evaluate the cost of consultation vs opportunity cost due to missed admit, or the fees of a top-tier MBA program, and suddenly this cost seems like a drop in the bucket. Sharon was very well organized and highly responsive during the entire process. I was in a time crunch and had just 2 weeks’ time before the R3 deadline when I approached her, but she made sure that I was able to get the best version of my application submitted on time. She made me introspect what truly matters to me and that helped me immensely while crafting my main essay for Haas. If not for her counselling, I would have submitted an essay which I thought was compelling at that moment, but rather a subpar one in hindsight. Being from an overrepresented male Indian engineer category, I wanted to distinguish myself from the pool of similar applicants and Sharon’s guidance helped me do just that. This is where her rich experience of working in admissions for over 25 years and as an Associate Director of Admissions at Berkeley Haas shines. She also did a thorough review of my final application and helped me cross all t’s to ensure that I don’t have any gaps. She recognized the strengths and weaknesses in my profile and gave me pinpoint advice on how to highlight or mitigate these respectively. She even introduced me to other Haas admits, so that we can network prior to school, which speaks volumes about how determined she is in helping her clients succeed.

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Trisha Nussbaum was instrumental in helping me get admitted into several of my top schools, including my dream school. She helped me identify what made my story compelling and effectively communicate it through my essays. Her feedback was always thoughtful and helpful. She was readily available and was always quick to provide feedback on all of my work. She was also critical in helping me prepare for my interviews. Because of Trisha, I was much more confident throughout the entire application and interview process. I could not have done it without her, and she was a joy to work with. I cannot recommend Trisha enough.

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I worked with Jenifer on two UK-based schools. I had a fantastic experience working with her and I firmly believe that having her on your team can significantly improve your chances of success primarily because:

(a) Attention to detail: One of Jenifer's hallmarks is the attention she pays to each line in each material one prepares. For instance, when I gave her my resume (which had already been edited by consultants I had worked with in the past) she took time out to understand the real work I had done and then restructured the resume to make it more relevant and succinct.

(b) Responsiveness: I reached out to Jenifer with just over a month to go before the deadline. Jenifer not only agreed to help but also went the extra mile in giving me a sub-24 hour turnaround.

(c) Empathy: Another of Jenifer's traits which makes her an ideal consultant is that she keep empathy at the core of her work. I had several instances where her comments in effect meant that I had to re-write the whole document but Jenifer would be quick to follow her comments up with words of encouragement and even sometimes a mini-pep talk during our calls.

All in all, I believe that having Jenifer on my team made me stand out and I would heartily recommend her to anyone who is serious about getting in.

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Cassandra is an all star. She's a great listener, extraordinarily thoughtful in how to best showcase yourself in essays, and her experience with CBS was invaluable. I truly couldn't have done it without her.

From when we first met, I could tell I wasn't just another client to Cassandra. She spent our first 30min call asking questions about what inspires me, what goals I wish to accomplish with an MBA, and how I'd like to use it to make a positive impact for others. It was incredibly refreshing. And when we dove into the application, Cassandra was able to keep a perfect birds' eye view of the narrative and weak points to address.

Surpassed my expectations, highly recommend her, and couldn't have enjoyed working with her more. THANK YOU!

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I came to Fortuna Admissions for help on the last few weeks of my application process. They were extremely effective and pinpointed key components I should improve in order to increase my chances. Caroline Diarte Edwards was my consultant. She went above and beyond to help me achieve my dream of getting into the INSEAD MBA program. She was extremely kind and generous with her time, knowledge, experience and resources. I highly recommend any potential MBA student to reach out to Fortuna Admissions (and to Caroline, especially) to increase your chances of being admitted to the business school of your dreams.

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Sharon was the absolute BEST to work with as an admissions consultant! She was able to help me achieve my goals of getting interview invites from 3 of the 3 top-25 schools that I applied to (and acceptance letters from 2 of 3) in Round 2 of the 2020-2021 admissions cycle, arguably the most competitive cycle ever. All of this while under a serious time-constraint and with my relatively low test scores/GPA! She was quick, efficient, fair with timing, and gave helpful advice throughout the process. It was always a pleasure to speak with her, as she had the ideal personality of someone you spend hours working with! I would recommend Sharon to anybody looking for an admissions consultant.

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