I had the pleasure of working with Michel Belden to prepare for my deferred enrollment applications to business school during my senior year of college. I would strongly recommend working with Michel - she helped me discover and drive my application narrative from the first draft of my essay all the way through to the post-interview reflections many months later. With her guidance, I was accepted to 3 M7s, including HBS.

Michel reviewed my essay drafts all the way through "V10" with sharp insights in each edit. We brought my many-page monstrosity to a tightly-executed narrative that succinctly encapsulated my application narrative. She responded quickly to the many questions I had and has a fast but thorough turnaround to her reviews. With the comprehensive school package, she was instrumental in preparing for my interviews and planning the answers to my post-interview assignments. She and Judith Hodara cheered me on through the entire process and made it thoroughly enjoyable.

All in all, I would definitely recommend Michel to anyone looking to enhance their business school application!

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I would highly recommend Michel for anyone who is seeking advice on the MBA application. Michel is very kind, patient and responsible. I started my MBA journey less than three weeks before the deadline without any preps. However, Michel helped me plan out the whole process and ensured me stick with the deadline. She is truly a life saver for me. She quickly digested my situation and background, and provided me a plan the day after I provide her my information. I eventually got into my dream school, the school I don't even have the courage to apply before I met Michel!

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I was a round 2 applicant and started the application process pretty late. I only applied to HSW because my current career path doesn't require me to have an MBA and I would only want to get into the top ones that worth the investment.

I had a "touchy personal story" for my essays but needed someone to help on grammar and make it more eloquent. A friend of mine referred me to Fortuna and Judith matched me with Michel. I sent Michel my already-edited v8 of the essay draft reviewed by multiple family and friends. I didn't much more content changes from Michel but I was very surprised to find out that Michel basically had edits on every single sentence and wanted me to elaborate more on the connection between my personal story and how I could contribute to MBA classrooms.

Also, even if you have already started to work with other consultants on your application process, I would still highly recommend to work with Fortuna for TBD mock interview from Wharton if you get an invite. I actually had two mock interviews with two organizations, but it was very obvious that the mock conducted by Judith was way better. Had I known this beforehand, I probably would only mock with Fortuna, but I'm just a super timid person and I needed that double security...

I have a below-average GMAT (and I'm an Asian - I know, very unforgivable...) and didn't really have much entrepreneurial background, so it wasn't surprise me that I didn't end up getting into HBS and GSB, but I got into Wharton with a significant amount of scholarship. I probably couldn't achieve this without Fortuna's help.

I know a lot of people out there already have perfect GPA and perfect GMAT score, but having a consultant really helps you position yourself and differentiate you from other perfect candidates. It is critical to have someone like Michel or Judith who have worked in Admissions to guide "HOW" you do that. If you are super confident in yourself, at least hire them for some hourly help!

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I would highly recommended Michel for anyone who is seeking advice on MBA application. Michel has proven experience with the MBA process and insights from her work in the industry, which uniquely positioned her to advise her client effectively. She was incredibly thoughtful and gracious throughout the process. She is willing to go above and beyond to help her client. She is super accessible even during early morning her time. I can’t thank her enough and highly recommend you consider working with her. She is truly a resourceful, insightful, accessible consultant who can help you navigate the complex process of MBA application.

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If you are on the fence about using a consultant, Michel was worth the cost and incredibly beneficial throughout the process. The entire Fortuna experience was great and helped take my application from good to great.

When considering a consultant, I was looking for someone who had admissions experience and would be able to candidly evaluate my application. Michel provided a unique perspective when reviewing my essays and overall application. Michel was genuine, responsive and encouraging during the crazy application season. She was a great resource from idea generation to making a final decision. I can't thank her enough for helping me get into my dream school!

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I knew going into the application process that I definitely wanted to work with a consultant, since I did not know anything about the business school process. Luckily, my friend recently worked with Michel and strongly recommended her, and I didn't hesitate to move forward with her after our initial consultation! My work with Michel and Judith, as well as the broader resources of Fortuna's platform, has been extremely valuable and key to my acceptances to three top business schools (2 M7s).

Working with Michel was incredibly easy. I found Michel to be very quick to respond, thoughtful, and honest. She would always find time for us to chat, even if she was out of town herself. I especially found Michel very skillful and patient with helping me prepare mock interviews. Interviewing is something that has always scared me, but after even our first mock interview I felt so much more prepared and knowledgeable about how to convey certain stories and how to speak confidently.

Generally I would say Michel took a lot of the stress out of the business school application process that I would otherwise have. From helping me brainstorm essay topics to pumping me up for interviews, and finally debriefing after interviews, I have so much appreciation for the care Michel took into being my advocate and supporter, and I know she will continue to put in the same time and effort with her future clients.

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Right from the start, she truly made an effort to understand my backstory, my work experience, extracurriculars as well as my intention to attend business school and my future goals. Afterwards, she would constantly provide me with specific suggestions, given my profile, on how to best prepare for my applications, particularly on my essays.
I worked with Michel for about a year because the first time I applied to business schools I didn’t get into the schools I was aiming, but after a very successful reapplication I was able to get into my dream school (an M7 school).
There are three things I really appreciate about working with Michel: 1) she’s quick, 2) she always knows what to do and 3) she’s genuinely on your corner. I highly appreciate from Michel that she was always quick on getting back to me with concrete answers and great suggestions on how to further improve my applications.

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I came in to the process with a decent idea of how to tell my story and what my prospects were, but I wanted guidance on the essay and some more experienced eyes to go over my resume.
Michel was responsive and easy to work with (even over the holidays) and was able to meet tight turnarounds when needed.
She definitely helped me get my essays in better shape. She was particularly helpful in getting me to connect stories I used to the overall message I was trying to convey, probing me on why I chose to use certain stories or how I could tie them back to key points I had made earlier. Occasionally she helped with word choice, but overall she helped me get my essays to sound like the example essays you read on these forums.

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Michel and the whole Fortuna team were thorough, thoughtful and very helpful. Michel provided valuable guidance and insight throughout the process from data forms to essays to waitlist strategy. Her deep experience helped me create a holistic application and “story” that would resonate with each of the schools I applied to. She also helped me navigate some of the more uncertain aspects of the waitlist process with great insider knowledge. In the end, I decided on Columbia Business School, and couldn’t be more excited! I would definitely recommend working with Michel and the Fortuna team, to have a team of experienced advisors on your side throughout a competitive and often stressful process.

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I was initially referred to Michel by a friend of mine who told me that they owed their seat at business school to her. I must admit though, at first, I was skeptical. I wasn’t sure if the services Fortuna offered were necessary- surely I could do it on my own… how wrong I was!

It was during my very first call with Fortuna that I quickly realized that I lacked the knowledge of what business school adcom look for, how to answer the essay questions and how to stand out from the sea of other applicants. I was promptly put in touch with Michel who, from the outset, demonstrated an incredible level of application knowledge that you would only expect from someone that had spent years as Wharton’s MBA gatekeeper.

Michel was a terrific choice for me. She was responsive to questions I had, possessed a great sense of what each of the schools look for and had an exceptional eye for detail. In one instance, I even remember Michel pointing out a grammatical mistake I had made in a 31 page application. Michel considers each of her clients’ applications as hers, treating them with a personalized touch.

Thank you, Michel, for getting me into the business school of my dreams! I know it would not have been possible without your support, encouragement and knowledge.

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