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Heidi Hillis graduated from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1998, where she was the student chair of the Global Management Program (GMP) and helped craft the first Global Management Immersion Experience (GMIX) to China in 1997. For several years she served as an alumni interviewer for the Stanford GSB.
Heidi’s 24-year career in business has taken her across the globe, helping her to develop a truly international perspective on the value of a business education. She has worked as a director of micro-finance for a nonprofit in Russia, a amanagement consultant for McKinsey & Co. in London, a senior product manager for a European e-commerce company, and a finance director for a major South American telecom. Most recently she helped launch an industrial minerals company in southern Chile.
In the course of her career Heidi has created several business internship programs and has interviewed hundreds of job applicants. In addition to the MBA she holds an MA (1991) and BA (1990) from Stanford University.
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Product Fortuna Admissions Hourly Consulting Services
Consultant Heidi Hillis
I can honestly say......if you are wanting to get into Stanford GSB, Heidi is worth every penny!!!!!!! TLDR: admitted to GSB with a lower GMAT/GRE score and starting my application late. Can honestly say Heidi was integral in that result.
I was someone who came into the process deeply sceptical about the value of admissions consultants following a less-than-impressive experience with another company on an application where they added little value to my essays other than grammatical/word choice corrections and seemed to be actively trying to chew up my purchased time. Heidi was the COMPLETE opposite. Right off the bat, she completely changed the direction and style I had in mind for my essays for Stanford compared to those I had prepared for other schools. Each review of a draft, she would mark up detailed comments with clear, actionable comments on how I could strengthen this particular paragraph or needed a new story - extremely helpful. Not only that but she was very efficient and would actively try to conserve our remaining time by pointing out when an 10 min review and email back was sufficient vs when a 30 min call was needed for a more complex draft critique. I actually ended up purchasing additional hours with Heidi willingly because I was getting so much value out of our time - she really has an innate sense of what Stanford GSB is looking for. Yes, Fortuna is expensive compared to other consultants but I actually do think the price reflects the value in this case. If you are serious about getting into the GSB, invest in Heidi.
Product Fortuna Admissions Hourly Consulting Services
Consultant Heidi Hillis
I worked with Heidi for HSW applications this past autumn, getting into H and W. I got the 8 hour package for ~$3.5K and thought it was fantastic value for money.
Heidi was a big value add in being a first sounding board for my ideas. Her experience in the field lets her give instant feedback about what's actually unique and what's in fact rather generic. In particular, we did a lot of work articulating a post-MBA career vision, which was a weak spot of mine coming in.
The mock HBS interview that she did was also super helpful in prepping me for the real thing.
Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Heidi Hillis
I cannot emphasize enough how lucky I feel to have worked with Heidi. My story was unique and tricky to tell. We re-wrote my first essay several times, and then one day Heidi sent me a message after waking up in the middle of the night with an idea of how to write my story! Her solution was perfect! Even before this event I knew that Heidi truly cared about my success and that I could trust her. She helped me craft a beautiful authentic story that I am beyond proud of.
I recommend her to any and all of my friends going through this process. She was always accessible, and responded/ turned around edits quickly. I loved our calls and I already miss them.
She was amazing during interview prep as well. I felt extremely prepared in all 4 of my interviews. After my first two interviews she recommended that we get a different perspective for my third and we had another coach do my practice interview. Heidi wanted me to succeed and knew when to pull in someone else so we could make sure I was always putting my best foot forward.
I could not have asked for a better coach/ advisor/ resource during this process. I cannot wait to attend my dream school this fall!! Thank you Heidi!!!!!!!!!!!
Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Heidi Hillis
I have known and worked with Heidi for a little less than two years. Throughout that time, she has been the best MBA application coach and partner that I could have asked for. Starting with results, I applied to four of the M7s, and I got into three of them – one of them my dream school which I will be attending this fall! I certainly put in the blood, sweat, and tears to make this happen, but Heidi was there for everything.
When I decided to pivot my application year due to COVID, she was incredibly supportive and helped me think through the decision and what it would mean. When I struggled through the GMAT, she identified prep programs that could help me improve my score.
She helped me think about my application holistically, and really helped me tell my story in a very compelling and authentic way. She was patient, supportive, and extremely accessible when I iterated again and again on my essays and application wording. Heidi was willing to meet with me however often I needed, and customized her approach to how I liked to review and receive feedback. She was willing to work on my schedule, and helped keep me on track.
I really couldn’t recommend Heidi enough! She is an amazing coach, storyteller, and partner in this incredibly stressful process.
Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Heidi Hillis
I have known Heidi since this April. I am truly grateful to meet her and have her accompany me on this journey!
The MBA application is filled with ups and downs–moments when I doubt whether I can make it or whether these efforts are worthwhile. Heidi is a true listener when I felt lost and a mentor who will give me the most useful advice when I got hesitated.
I have a very nontraditional background, which makes the application very difficult. Heidi and I have had a weekly call during the entire process: we discussed the details of my essays, the resume, the rec letter, and she always gives me the most honest feedback. Calls with Heidi are these memorable bits during this period.
What I value the most is that she makes me realize how AWESOME I am. She always encourages me to believe in myself and be more confident. In the process, I reap meaningful personal growth.
Each MBA applicant has his or her story and challenges. But working with Heidi will be one of the most right choices you ever make!
Joined: Feb 04, 2022
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Verified GMAT Classic score:
720 Q46 V42 (Online)
Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Heidi Hillis
Heidi was a true pleasure to work with! She helped me diligently through every part of the application process, from brainstorming how I wanted to pitch my Career Vision through providing very detailed and thoughtful feedback to my essay drafts. Heidi is an incredible writer / editor, which really helped me transform my essays into convincing and interesting pieces of writing. I also particularly appreciated how her feedback was very candid - enabling me to focus my rewrites / edits in the places where they were most crucial. Heidi also provided really useful perspectives on how to approach recommenders, and how I may want my strategy to differ by different schools. I was admitted to one of my two top schools, and am really thrilled with the outcome. I can't recommend Heidi highly enough!
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Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Heidi Hillis
I’m incredibly grateful to have worked with Heidi from start to finish during my MBA application process, and I’m excited to attend Kellogg thanks to her guidance! It was clear from my introductory call through calls even after submitting my applications that she cared so much about me. She consistently pushed me to dive deep into my experiences to make my story as unique and strong as possible in such a thoughtful way. I was amazed how she’d share feedback within 24 hours consistently that was always so detailed and mindful of the other parts of my application.
When deciding on a consultant, I thought about individual consultants versus larger groups like Fortuna. I’m so happy I chose Fortuna as a group because I got 100% individual and dedicated attention from Heidi (she was always available to provide advice via messaging or zoom) AND guidance from a director at Fortuna, in addition to leveraging the learnings and experiences from Fortuna’s entire network of clients.
Without hesitation, I’d recommend Heidi. Almost a year after my first call with her, I can say that I have a far better grasp on my goals and values thanks to her guidance and even if I hadn’t gotten into business school, my time with her and Fortuna’s support were incredibly worthwhile.
Product Fortuna Admissions Hourly Consulting Services
Consultant Heidi Hillis
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.
Product Fortuna Admissions MBA Interview Preparation
Consultant Heidi Hillis
Heidi really understands the how the Stanford GSB application process works and can offer exceptional insight into the interview and admissions process. She is approachable, candid and insightful. Had it not been for her help I would have never aced the Stanford GSB Interview. She needs to be your go to person to for the interview process. She is friendly, responsive and is highly personable. She is a pleasure to work with and has an incredibly kind way of providing feedback and insight to make you standout, calm nerves to the point of getting to fluency. I highly recommend Heidi and anyone will enjoy working with her.
Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Heidi Hillis
I am grateful to have known Heidi, who has helped me gain acceptance into my dream school (M7). She is a spectacular coach who deeply cares about you, your application, and your persona. When I started my journey with Heidi, I was lost. My background felt normal and bland. Although I had made numerous accomplishments in my career, none of them felt like they stood out. Heidi thought otherwise. She pointed me in the right direction, making me realise my full potential by challenging me on my stories, values, character, career goals, and overall narrative.
What I liked about Heidi is that she did not hesitate to provide honest feedback. This is usually overlooked when selecting a coach. Having your assumptions challenged is an extremely important part of coaching to steer your application in the right direction. Even though at times this feedback contradicted my internal logic, I took it as an indicator of growth and trusted her instincts completely.
What made the experience even more remarkable was her speed of turning around comments (typically less than a day), leaving me with an impression today that Heidi is an immensely reliable person running on a bottomless well of energy. Heidi played an important part not only in shaping my application, but also in making me realise what was important in my life through reflections of my value system. No matter how challenging your situation is, I am most certain working with Heidi will leave you with wonderful memories.