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Melissa previously worked on behalf of global brands such as Sony, InBev and Xerox, and for a prominent Canadian women’s organization, the Women’s Executive Network, where she was part of the selection committee for the ‘Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Awards’. Melissa has an undergraduate business degree from Dalhousie University in Canada and she completed the Management Accelerated Program (MAP) at INSEAD.
Product Fortuna Admissions Hourly Consulting Services
Consultant Melissa Jones
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.
Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Melissa Jones
I thoroughly enjoyed working with Fortuna team. Right from the first call with Matt to, the kick-off with Caroline to preparing my application with Melissa. The team was extremely professional and informative; they know their field.
They spent a lot of time with me understanding about my journey in life and guided me to pick up the right stories. Melissa has a great attention to detail and was able to pick up the insights which even I didn't know about me. I found the whole process to be very reflective.
I got accepted for MIT Sloan and I don't think I could have made it without Fortuna.
Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Melissa Jones
From the initial consultation through to writing essays and preparing for interviews, the Fortuna coaches are extremely knowledgeable given their experience at admissions departments across a wide range of top US and European business schools.
Their bespoke approach (multi-step timeline for comprehensive school package) resulted in them gaining a deep understanding of my background and experiences to date and the coach that I was paired with was efficient and responsive, regularly following up and responding to emails. Indeed, one of the coaches also went above and beyond by putting me in touch with someone with a similar background to mine for additional insights and advice.
Overall the process went smoothly and the coaches exceeded my expectations.
Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Melissa Jones
Life has not been the same since being accepted at INSEAD, and I don't want to imagine what it would have been like if I hadn't been accepted.
Prior to applying, my goal to get accepted to INSEAD was clear and I did not intend on taking any chances in this process, so I went with Fortuna.
The full package is a little bit on the pricier side, however keep in mind that the consulting team that you will be working with have in depth insider knowledge regarding the application process and will safely guide you past many easy traps along the way. The package also includes one on one preparation for interviews with your consultant, a full resume review, and a lot of cheering from the sidelines! I am eternally grateful to the dream team. Thank you Melissa, Matt and Caroline!
Product Fortuna Admissions Hourly Consulting Services
Consultant Melissa Jones
Working with Melissa at Fortuna Admissions was a hugely useful and cost effective component to my admission into INSEAD. I had my application largely prepared and was looking for an experienced consultant to review and provide valuable insights about how my application would be received by the AdCom. I wasn't sure I needed to pay for the full application package. Fortuna's hourly consultation was just the solution that I needed. Melissa is hugely knowledgeable about the INSEAD application process (I can't speak for other schools, but expect her to be similarly tuned in). She provided very useful insight into the AdCom thought process and highlighted the areas of my application that were relatively stronger and weaker. With only a few hours of consultation, I noticed a material refining of my application which was very useful. Melissa's consultation comes with my highest recommendation. Good luck!
Product Fortuna Admissions Hourly Consulting Services
Consultant Melissa Jones
I contacted Fortuna with a tight timescale to apply for R4, less than three weeks before the deadline. I talked first to Matt and it clicked quite well. He explained everything about the process and took way more time than the allotted 30 min free consultation (as opposed to other consultancies where I felt rushed), including acknowledging the shortcomings of my application and addressing my concerns with it. After our first conversation he proposed a custom hourly service plan which seemed very sensible to me, so I went ahead with it and started working with Melissa.
Melissa took the time to go through all the data I provided and created a picture of me. During our phone and mail interactions we shaped that picture, with my draft essays and CV as starting point, to create a killer application. We chose on what to focus and dug in the areas that needed some more work. It was really easy to work with Melissa: she's a very open individual, response times were really fast (despite a 6h time difference) and the recommendations were spot-on. We even had one hour left by the time I submitted the application, so we used that for my interview preparation, which was also really useful and efficient.
All in all, A+ for Fortuna and specially Melissa!
Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Melissa Jones
After speaking to several admissions consultants and not being able to differentiate between them, I became weary of spending so much money for what seemed to be merely essay reviews.
But when I had my initial consulting session with Matt, I was blown away by his in-depth understanding of the MBA programmes I wanted to apply for. Unlike other admissions consultants, Fortuna was the only one that proactively suggested I apply for the INSEAD MBA programme earlier (which was very helpful for my employment situation). I instantly knew that I wanted to work with them.
With the deadline less than a month away, I doubted my ability to get an application in on time. However, having one call with Caroline enabled me to draft all my essays with points I knew would appeal to INSEAD adcom. Over the next two weeks, Melissa was a joy to work with - she responds within 24 hours (I was impressed with how responsive she was on weekends). I have a tendency to write too much in my essays, and Melissa always knew exactly what to emphasise on and what to cut out. Even when I felt that my essays, application form and CV were complete, Melissa generously offered more reviews.
If it were not for Fortuna and Melissa, I definitely would not be starting at INSEAD in three months'! Thank you.
Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Melissa Jones
Working with Fortuna Admissions is probably the best decision I made during my MBA admission journey. I have a pretty competitive profile (Consultant / IT / Male / 30) and my GMAT was not stellar (680, well balanced) so I really needed someone to put my story in the best perspective as possible. Thanks to this collaboration I have been admitted to a top MBA! I had several free consultations with other competitors but I have to say that Fortuna made the difference since they took time to study my profile prior to our call and gave me meaningful advice even before we started working together.
I chose the full package (essay + interview + scholarships support) and I was assigned to Melissa. She is really a great coach and gives useful advice. She perfectly knows what to say and not to say, how to say it, which is in a perspective of writing essays, priceless! She was very available (2 days in average for a full review of your essays depending on the quality) and I did not feel any uncomfortable situations, I could ask any questions I had, and she is really honest with you.
The full package includes a full review of your file from Caroline Diarte Edwards, former director of admission at INSEAD, and her feedback was really important to ensure that your story is compelling enough and you did not miss anything important.
Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Melissa Jones
My experience with Fortuna Admissions was absolutely delightful all the way from the initial free consultation call with Matt to the application package editing and interview preparation with Melissa and Caroline. They all are great professionals and wonderful people, who are honest, responsive and serious about their commitment to helping you reveal your best for the school and for yourself. I was admitted to INSEAD, and I am positive that this achievement would not have been possible without Fortuna’s assistance. My case was not easy in any way - besides apparent weaknesses of my profile such as age a few years higher than average for the school, I had 4 days old daughter when I started working with Fortuna, and I had exactly six weeks before the application deadline. Originally I had planned to apply to two schools, and I am so happy that I followed Matt’s advice to focus on just one school, INSEAD, which was better for my future career plans. For me, a technically inclined person, writing seven essays in a foreign language was challenging. Those six weeks were hard at times, but Melissa’s and Caroline’s determination and support gave me confidence to persevere. Their comments to my essays had always been insightful and thorough. I highly recommend Fortuna’s team to any applicants to a top school. This will be an amazing experience!
Product Fortuna Admissions Hourly Consulting Services
Consultant Melissa Jones
At first I was reluctant to work with consultant to help me with my applications as I wasn’t sure of their effectiveness, so I did a lot of research before deciding to work with Fortuna. The key factor in my decision was a Skype call I had with Matt Symonds, where we went through my resume, profile and goals with complete honesty. After this call I was able to see strengths and weaknesses in my profile I hadn’t seen before. This gave me a lot of material to boost my self-confidence and to work with in my applications. The whole process of preparing the material for each application is very smooth and well designed in order to optimize your time and show the admission officers who you really are. Working with consultants who until recently made the final decision on whether admit someone into the program is definitely an advantage, as they know exactly what the school is looking for and how to tackle each essay. I worked with Melissa Jones and I truly believe she’s the best consultant I could’ve worked with; she was extremely dedicated and she gave me awesome insight on ideas to highlight and also complete support and guidance through the whole process, even after having submitted the applications. I applied to both INSEAD and Cambridge Judge and was admitted to both. I’ll be starting next January in INSEAD with a 20,000 EUR scholarship!!