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Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Karen Hamou
I was referred to Karen by a friend who is currently at CBS. I am the first in my family to go to business school. While I had many friends go through the application process, I didn't have one person who I could look to as a trusted guide throughout the process. Karen was so incredible in helping me navigate the school selection process, the application process throughout the unprecedented times of the COVID-19 pandemic and pushed me to attain a GRE score I could have never imagined attaining. She also was so fundamental in crafting an application that clearly put forward my story/ vision. With Karen's help I've been admitted to CBS.
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Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Karen Hamou
My journey is slightly different as it took over a year for me from the first day I contacted Fortuna. It was late into the admission process in 2019 (Round 2 deadline was approaching) and I had not taken my GMAT at the time. I reached out to Fortuna anyway and Matt scheduled an initial introductory call to learn about my background. I decided to go with Fortuna and was then paired with Karen as one of my choices was CBS. Nevertheless I did not get the GMAT score I wanted (it was December) and decided to delay my application until June this year (2020).
Right from day one Karen has been fantastic and very friendly. Karen was incredibly timely in her response and the whole process was very structured. First we had a call and Karen mapped out an action plan for me going forward; she suggested which aspect I should focus on first and the timeline for each aspect (brief for recommenders, resume editing, essays – and that I should focus on one school at a time). Karen helped fine tune my resume and tighten the story without changing my narrative. Her feedback and questions helped me organize the key points in my essays. She was very encouraging throughout the process and was always ready to answer any questions that I may have had. One thing I really like about Fortuna is that they have mid-point review: once my essays were in good shape, they were passed to one of the directors, in my case Judith, who gave the essays another review. It was comforting to know that a former adcom reviewed and approved my essays. Once I was invited to interview Karen had a mock interview session with me beforehand. She acted as an interviewer and gave me constructive feedback at the end of the session that boosted my confidence for the real interview.
Even though I am still waiting to hear results from one other school, I am extremely happy to have been admitted to CBS and I cannot thank Karen enough! Throughout the months of our interaction Karen was my pillar of support, who alleviated a lot of stress from this daunting process. Overall I really enjoyed working with Karen and I wholeheartedly recommend Karen to MBA aspirants!!!
Product Fortuna Admissions MBA Interview Preparation
Consultant Karen Hamou
My highest recommendation goes to Karen Hamou! To put it simply, her incomparable support and enormous help made it possible for me to gain admission to the most selective MBA program in the world!
As an international student, I was very stressed by the interview process, especially that English was not my native language. Though I have done many interviews in the past, I was not sure how to address the MBA interview and how to communicate effectively. Adding more stress to the matter, I had only three weeks to prepare, while I was working 16 hours a day, since the moment I was invited for the interview.
Luckily, I had my secret weapon - Karen. Karen did not waste any time, and Immediately we started working on my interview skills. We did some tough mock interviews. Karen did not go easy on me, not in the interview and nor in the feedback. She dug very deep and peeled almost every layer that I had. She explained carefully what was right, what was wrong, and how I can improve, always with a smile and a great attitude. She was so engaged in the process, that sometimes it felt that she wanted it more than I did.
Having those sessions with Karen made me very confident. There is no doubt that my work with her was critical for my success. I got accepted to all 3 schools that I applied to, and eventually, I choose to go with Stanford GSB.
Thank you so much, Karen!!!
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Product Fortuna Admissions MBA Interview Preparation
Consultant Karen Hamou
I worked with Karen to help me prep for my Wharton and Columbia interviews.
Wharton - Karen put together a group of other applicants and me to run through a mock TBD. This was extremely helpful because it provided a dry run and helped ease a lot of my nerves I had. Karen also watched the mock session and during my debrief she gave me actionable feedback which I was able to employ during my actual interview. Beyond the TBD, Karen also worked with me on the Wharton 1x1 where I was able to work with her to refine my "Why Wharton" and "Why MBA" answer.
Columbia - I also worked with Karen on my Columbia interview. We talked quickly at the beginning of the interview structure and then she acted as the interviewer and we ran through a mock interview. This was also extremely helpful as after the mock was over Karen was able to give me really pointed and helpful feedback. Given that Karen is a Columbia Business School graduate, she was able to give me a lot of background on the school and the different initiatives at Columbia. She also was able to fact check me on my answers to make sure I wasn't saying anything incorrect about the school (This was super helpful because I had the name of a high level administrator wrong). Beyond the interview prep Karen also helped me while I was on the wait list, not hesitating to answer any questions I had.
Overall, I highly recommend working with Karen. She was attentive and very responsive. She was also very supportive throughout the whole process and gave me a lot of confidence when I approached my interviews!
Product Fortuna Admissions MBA Interview Preparation
Consultant Karen Hamou
I worked with Karen to prep for both my Wharton and CBS interviews and found her to be both extremely knowledgeable about the admissions process and incredibly easy to work with. Karen especially played a key role helping me to prepare for the TBD exercise that Wharton requires. Under Karen's guidance I was admitted to both Wharton and CBS and I believe that she played an integral role in making that happen.
Cannot recommend her enough to anybody that is thinking about applying to any MBA program as the advice that she gives will undoubtedly help you ace your interviews.
Product Fortuna Admissions MBA Interview Preparation
Consultant Karen Hamou
Karen helped me throughout the admission process and she helped me telling my personal story in a way that I could not have done by myself. Her comments and feedback are professional, right on point and very constructive. She knows the specificities of all the top schools.
Her advices and help were extremely valuable if you wish to attend to a top business schools. Karen took the time to really understand me, my background, and my ideal career trajectory. She was extremely fast to reply to all my requests and many edits.
I got into my dream school thanks to her.
I strongly recommend her. She is the best.
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Product Fortuna Admissions Hourly Consulting Services
Consultant Karen Hamou
I am an international student and I worked with Karen Hamou on an hourly basis for my R3 applications to an M7 school and a few Top 15 schools. I reached out to Fortuna because I had worked with a consultant from another company in R2 and I was disappointed with their service and my results. In contrast, Karen and Fortuna provided a very high quality of service and they were invested in my success.
In addition to helping me navigate the uncertainties associated with Covid-19 and produce high quality applications to my R3 schools, Karen also helped me strategize my waitlist approach for some of my R2 schools (i.e. test retakes, sending updates). Karen helped me structure my essays, coach my recommenders and prepare for my interviews. For my essays, she edited them repeatedly until the stories were strong and compelling. She was extremely efficient and provided high value for the money I spent on the hourly consulting services. Karen was always available whenever I needed her - turnaround time was less than 24 hours on most materials.
There are so many things to do when you are applying to over half a dozen schools and Karen helped me prioritize on the most important tasks so that I was always on top of things. As offers started rolling in, she gave me advice on how to handle them as I waited for my dream school to accept me.
Thanks to Karen's incredible support, I received an offer from Booth and I am excited that I get to attend such a fantastic school! I would not have been able achieve this without her and I enthusiastically recommend Karen and Fortuna admissions for all your MBA application needs!
Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Karen Hamou
My experience with consultant admissions Karen Hamou was incredible. When I first contacted Fortuna Admissions, I was immediately drawn by the professional approach, but also motivation that all team members give you from the very beginning. I first had a coaching call with one of the Directors, who showed that he really believed in me and my strong potential.
Then he recommended me to Karen, and I quickly felt that we were on the same wavelength. She boosted my confidence level and adrenaline in no time, and really dug deep to understand thoroughly my story and key milestones that paved my career path. I would say that Karen was not only my savior and cheerleader during this stressful journey, but she also was such a wise friend to talk to who gave me a powerful advise every step of the way. From the very beginning, she asked me to fill out a long questionnaire with all the details of my life, both on a professional and personal level. Then she helped me craft my resume, and it struck me how fast and efficient she was in responding, with a turnaround time of 24-48 hours at most. Same thing goes for the drafting of the essays, we had many feedback sessions going back and forth in the edits, and she was always available and fully committed, responding in a record time with a high quality output. I learned so much from her, on how to be succinct and straight to the point, focusing on the essence of the story, without losing focus. She also encouraged me a lot by highlighting the strong value of my stories and uniqueness of my personal hobbies (being a filmmaker).
Karen worked with me very closely on the interview process as well, and I was quite impressed by her outstanding way of coaching me in a methodical way on all the scenarios, and we did some mock interviews as well. She was always there when I needed it the most, like a soldier, supporting carefully each step of the way.
Eventually, the result was fantastic: I got into my dream schools for my Executive MBA: Columbia / LBS Global EMBA program, and Chicago Booth. I would highly recommend working with Karen, this was life-changing and she definitely makes the whole experience a lot smoother and easier !
Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Karen Hamou
I contacted a few companies when I started my MBA journey and almost all of them told me my dream schools were not a likely possibility. Fortuna was the only exception; they believed in me from the very start! Karen took the time to really understand me, my background, and my ideal career trajectory.
Since I obtained my ideal GMAT score in late November, she helped me streamline all 5 of my applications to M7 schools in only one month. She worked around the clock nonstop and was always available when I needed her. She ultimately became the mentor and cheerleader I needed during this frustrating process.
Out of 5 applications, I received 4 interviews. She worked with me prior to every single interview, helping me clearly tell my story and why I was a good fit for each school. As a result, I was admitted to three top programs. I am absolutely ecstatic with the results and I cannot recommend Karen enough!!
Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Karen Hamou
I couldn't be more thankful for Karen's (and Judith's!) support throughout the entire MBA process. I knew I was in great hands at every step of the way - from the beginning steps of my application essays, through interviews, through crafting a waitlist strategy. I received effect and timely advice, and felt that Karen helped me tell my story and illustrate my potential better than I ever could by myself. Karen kept me organized, energized, and calm throughout the entire process, and I have already recommended her to multiple people. I wouldn't have been admitted to multiple M7 programs without you -- Thank you, Karen!