After an unpleasantly protracted experience with a New York based admissions consultant, finding Fortuna and, more importantly, teaming up with expert Fortuna coach, Sharon Joyce, was the ultimate windfall. Sharon helped me navigate the application process every step of the way with her unparalleled expertise and insight. She is a gifted editor who turns essays around with expedience. Whether by phone, email, or text, Sharon always makes herself available. Working with Sharon was a very refreshing experience; her witty sense of humor and encouraging coaching style are game changers. Sharon was the defining factor in my acceptance to the school of my choice. Without her unmitigated help and attention, I would have struggled to meet deadlines and achieve success in applying to top MBA programs. In every regard, Sharon has the winning formula!

Read More

After conversing with Matt and Melissa, it was clear to me that Fortuna would meet me where I was (schools selected and story roughly drawn out) and take my ideas to the next level. I thoroughly enjoyed working with Melissa who is efficient and proactive and provides thoughtful guidance relevant to the programs. She demonstrated knowledge of the difference between programs and connected me to resources that eventually would help me make my decision. After working hard on the applications and interviews I was able to secure a spot at my top choice MBA program in Europe. Massive thanks to Matt and Melissa for being there throughout the process!

Even if you have a strong sense of story and have zeroed onto your top choices, I highly recommend Fortuna and Melissa to hone your message and put your best possible case on the table. It makes all the difference.

Read More

I worked with Amy on my application for two schools – LBS and Kellogg and I am more than thrilled by the outcome from both schools. I couldn’t stress enough that this wouldn’t have been possible without her guidance.
One of the advantages of working with a Fortuna coach is access to well-structured resources. I was short on time when I started my applications and Amy really helped me bring my timelines back on track. The guideline documents provided by her really helped me expedite the process and put together a strong first draft.
Amy not only helps you in identifying your strengths and bringing them to life, but also in addressing your weakness head-on in your applications. When she reviewed my first draft of essays she said, “we need to make every single word in your application count” and she stuck by it till the end. Her attention to detail is impeccable and she really helps you put forward the best version of your story in a well-articulated succinct manner. She questions every aspect of your story making sure you have left no loopholes. There was a time when I felt the essays were in a really good shape but she still thought we could make them better. Amy is also very collaborative and we reached out to Emma (Director) for a fresh perspective once we had a strong story in place, which proved to be extremely helpful.
Having been on the admission committee herself, Amy has immense knowledge of the process and the school which becomes a huge asset and a confidence booster. I took her help to prepare for my interviews too and I couldn’t have been better prepared. No part of the interview came to me as a surprise and there were no questions that I hadn’t prepared for or thought about.
Choosing her for my application process was one of the best decisions I made. Amy is so warm and helpful that she makes it look so easy. She is now more of a guide I look up to than an admission consultant. To any applicant seeking expert help especially for LBS, I highly recommend Amy!

Read More

I’ve spent the duration of my professional career (over 5 years in total) working to separate myself from my lackluster undergraduate performance. So, when I decided to apply to institution ranked in the top 10 globally, I researched extensively how I could overcome my >2.9 GPA as a social science major. After unsuccessful attempts (both on my own and with a well-known MBA consultant), I opted to take a chance with Fortuna based on overwhelmingly positive feedback on this site.

After an initial consultation, I was paired with Emma Bond which turned out to be match made in heaven. I came to Emma with a high-level understanding of “my story” and how a MBA could help me achieve my career goals. However, Emma strategically poked holes in my story where required and skillfully helped to fill in any crucial details. Additionally, Emma provided a depth of information across all programs that was a result of her and her colleagues direct experience. Her expertise on how each program evaluates candidate could not be replicated by other means. Her insider knowledge allowed me to put forth the most compelling body of work to each program.

Throughout our engagement, Emma was incredibly pleasurable to work with. She was willing to accommodate my rather demanding work schedule and turned around drafts very promptly. But, I could also rely on Emma to politely push me when necessary to stay in sync with our aggressive timeline. It became apparent that Emma was genuinely invested in my success. Emma set a high standard for work because she knew that’s what it took. I found myself digging deeper to turn around stronger drafts so I wouldn’t disappoint Emma. When I put forth work that she didn’t think was up to par, she didn’t hesitate to roll up her sleeves and masterfully guide me on how the work could be improved. Most notably, Emma helped me interject my personality into the essays and short answers in a professional and charismatic way. Emma’s involvement helped to cultivate applications much stronger than I believed were possible. As a result, I was invited to interview at multiple schools that I was repeatedly told were “out of my league” from other consultants.

When it came time to prep for interviews, Emma was well-prepared to make the mock interview best replicate the actual experience. She asked refreshingly challenging questions and spent extra time ensuring that my answers were as sound as possible. With her preparation, I marched confidently into my interviews and nailed it.

Ultimately, I gained admission to my dream school and punched well above my weight. If you want to maximize your odds at gaining entry to a top MBA program, especially London Business School, you need to work with Emma. She cares about her clients on a whole different level and has the experience to push you above & beyond your capabilities. I’d best sum up our time together as transformational.

Read More

I worked with Heidi on my MBA essays and resume, and I highly recommend her! She was very responsive and insightful. She helped me establish a good foundation of ideas for my essay before I put pen to paper, so I found that the essays were easier and faster to write, with fewer iterations. Given the tight-timelines with applications, I especially appreciated Heidi's responsiveness. In addition, she's really personable and easy to talk to. Heidi has both undergrad and MBA degrees from Stanford, but I found her helpful to work with on non-Stanford applications, as well. I really enjoyed working with Heidi and highly recommend her!

Read More

I'll keep it short and sweet... Judith is an outstanding admissions consultant. She is at once a coach, advisor, therapist, and best friend. She can course-correct you with just a few sentences. She knows the top programs inside and out. She helped me craft essays that not only got me into my dream schools, they made me proud and fully represented me. I sincerely hope I get to work with Judith again soon.

Gmat Club is requiring me to write more words on this review. But seriously just hire her. She is awesome. Seven more words required. Thank you Judith!!!!

Read More

Contacting Fortuna Admissions is easily one of the best decisions I have made in my business school journey. I had been skeptical of the value from consultants in the past. However, after facing four rejections, I decided to contact several consultants as a means of revamping my strategy and tactics.

Caroline differentiated Fortuna Admissions by being an active listener, empathetic, and neutral in offering comprehensive advice from the beginning, which set a tone of trust and comfort that continued throughout the entirety of my engagement. She was genuinely vested in my success and accessible in all stages, from pre-application school consideration, profile fit, to admissions committee communication and negotiations.

On a working-level, Karen (expert coach) proved candid, clear, and exacting on the areas that needed my attention. We discussed my profile at length during our first session, wherein she took detailed notes to help translate my objectives, strengths, and weaknesses in a coherent and concise manner for my applications. She offered strong insights into the thinking of admissions officers and how to present a unified front as an applicant. We jointly addressed problems and revised my essays to paint a focused and aligned picture that articulated my vision, reasons for an MBA, and specific rationale for individual schools in a compelling fashion. We were able to jointly leverage content matter and tailor sections unique to each university, which altogether amounted to an enormous amount of value and impact in a relatively short amount of time. Karen demanded excellence (i.e. dozens of interactions and iterations for each school) and grasped both the granular details and holistic big picture to help me deliver my best in final drafts and interview preparation.

The duality of Caroline and Karen was potent indeed. Together they not only drastically enhanced my applications, but also instructed me on how to leverage offers to maximize my position and secure scholarships. And the results speak for themselves: I was offered two scholarships and a waitlist from top-ranked European schools, a turnaround from four rejections! Fortuna was invaluable in my process and I would wholly endorse their services to others to radically improve their chances of success!

Read More

After extensively looking for a consulting firm with the necessary experience to help me apply to the Top Canadian MBA programs, I finally decided to work with Fortuna Admissions.

I worked with Melissa Jones, a consultant with solid experience helping students apply to the top business schools in Canada, and who demonstrated the necessary professionalism and attention to detail to submit the best possible applications.

She used her expertise to guide me throughout the application process, from developing a compelling story that truly showcased my strengths, to helping me prepare for Skype interviews, asking relevant questions and providing feedback. Her responses were always very timely, which is a must-have in my opinion, especially when trying to meet school deadlines.

There are many consultants that claim having experience with Canadian schools, but in reallity not many do. I am fully satisfied with Fortuna's services, and I would highly recommend them.

Read More

As someone without any connection to MBA students or alumni, I had a difficulty in compiling my essays and the overall application process. After contacting several admission consulting services and comparing their service, responses towards my questions, explanations, and overall feeling to the consultant, I decided to choose the service from Fortuna Admission. For me, to be comfortable to the consultant is essential as basically they will be your mentor who will guide you through self-reflection and question your motivations pursuing MBA, which could lead to many personal sides of life!

Nicola Sandford was really an amazing mentor. I felt like she genuinely want to know about my motivation and background, pointed out several of my strengths and weaknesses, then showed me how to make my profile stood out as a unique individual. The feedback from her were really accurate and fast! She will not stop until she know the essays and the overall application are ready to be submitted. She sometimes also discuss with Caroline in supporting me and happily answering my (many) questions.

As a result, I am successfully admitted to INSEAD and HEC Paris, with a significant amount of scholarship! I am sure the result will go different way if I didn't have the support from Fortuna Admission. Many thanks to Nicola, Caroline, and Fortuna team for supporting me to achieve my MBA dream!

Read More

My experience working with Judith was great. I was initially drawn to Fortuna after speaking with both Judith and Matt, her business partner. I had spoken with multiple consulting firms, and Fortuna really impressed me with their attention to detail on my background and what I was hoping to accomplish.

Judith gave a lot of great insight into the admissions process at the various schools, drawing on both her own experience in admissions as well as that of her colleagues. I wasn't sure how much detail was needed for each of the essays. During my first pass at an essay, she came back to me and said that I really needed to go deeper and provided a handful of helpful questions and comments that forced me to get super specific with that school. Throughout the process, she was willing to look over essays and answer last minute questions, and overall was an incredibly useful and calming presence throughout the process. Additionally, she held interview prep sessions for both 1-1 and group interviews, all of which were invaluable.

Read More