Silpa Sarma Reviews

Choosing Silpa was one of the best decisions I made and I cannot imagine navigating the MBA application process without her. She truly went above and beyond for me and below are just a few of the many reasons of why she's amazing...

1. She's the expert for MBA applications. She's clearly experienced and knows even the most subtle differences between top M7 programs. Her advice is thoughtful and she deeply considers your unique situation against different program circumstances.
2. She won't settle. She will push you to continue to refine and iterate on your essays until they're excellent. Even when you think you're finished and it's as good as it could be, Silpa will challenge and motivate you to do even better. She has a way of pulling out personal details and insights to make your essays that much more impactful.
3. She's able to tie together life events and help you see a path that you didn't even realize yourself. This was especially helpful for essay writing because her tips are personal. She knows where you're coming from and where you're going, so the feedback is very meaningful and productive.
4. She diligent and responsive. Since I was a Round 2 applicant, our deadlines overlapped with the holiday season. I expected a natural delay in feedback but Silpa, realizing the urgency, was ever active and present.
5. She's calming and reassuring. To be honest, I was discouraged many times throughout my the application process with self-doubts as I'm an average candidate in a competitive year. However, Silpa continued to be a positive reinforcing presence to get me through the finish line.

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Silpa is unequivocally the finest consultant you will ever collaborate with. Choosing to work with her will undoubtedly be one of the best decisions you make. Despite facing tight deadlines, she tirelessly commits herself to ensuring every task is completed impeccably. I engaged her expertise for five applications within a month's span, and she delivered flawlessly. Silpa invests 100% of her energy into every aspect of your application, guaranteeing the highest quality outcome. She provides candid feedback when necessary and attentively listens to your input. With her assistance, I secured admission to three out of five top 10 schools I applied to—results that exceeded my expectations. Silpa ensures your voice resonates distinctly in your application while refining it to a polished standard. Trust me, the experience of working with her is unparalleled, and I have already enthusiastically recommended her to my friends.

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I am an Indian male with a tech background, and I’m a dual admit to Stanford and Harvard. To start off, I am 100% confident that this feat would not have been even remotely possible had it not been for Silpa. If there’s one takeaway before you read further, let it be this: ‘Silpa is the best coach, mentor, advisor in this world, and you’ll be lucky to have her. ’ I say this as someone who’s met with multiple counselors and advisors both in India and the US in the past. Silpa is ideal.

Silpa is the most passionate, proactive, and highly-proficient mentor and advisor. She loves what she does, and is truly, truly dedicated to bringing out the best in you. And that’s what truly matters. I’ve had umpteen phone calls with Silpa, be it 5-minute ones, 10-minute ones, or 30-minute ones, or 60-minute ones. In every call, I have come back with a new perspective and fresh thinking, thanks to Silpa.

Next, Silpa is the most-rigorous counselor (read ‘person’) I have met. I say this because I’ve been embarrassed, at times, by how much better she knows my application and anecdotes than I do. Know that once you have submitted these “raw material” Fortuna documents (which are great too!), Silpa will process them, mull over them, and apply her accurate filter to them. (One piece of advice: Don’t second-guess what she says!)

Silpa was very kind to have had another set of calls with me, going into the deep end of each anecdote. She collaborated with me and together, we narrowed down the 25+ anecdotes to the top 5 or 6. This is hard! Finding the signal from the noise is akin to finding a needle in the haystack. Dare I say, you can still find the signal; you won’t be able to find the needle. Unless, of course, you have Silpa with you.

I’m so grateful that Silpa took so much interest in my story, helped me bring out the best, and then channeled it into the appropriate way possible, for this incredible outcome. I won’t talk about my GMAT scores or GPA here, but suffice to say that the LOR’s, essays, and the interview made it for me. In other words, Silpa’s presence made it for me. And coupled with Fortuna’s supportive ecosystem, Matt Symonds and Judith’s advice, Silpa’s initiative-taking nature, and her magic, one was able to accomplish this, as an Indian male.

What’s even more fascinating about Silpa is that she would understand you, as a human, and not merely as an applicant. Early on, after our initial call, Silpa understood me as someone who’s a “high-touch applicant”, and she was 100% right. Not only did I want more attention, I actually needed it. Add to that a mix of brainstorming e-meets, strategy sessions, “quick calls” (which were quite long), and more. You now have a recipe which would consume the entire bandwidth – physical, emotional, and temporal – of your counselor. But that’s not what happened for Silpa. Along with me, she had many other applicant-mentees, and yet, she managed the turnarounds (and more), so seamlessly. But here’s the thing: She needn’t have delivered the “high-touch”, and she needn’t have gone above and beyond.

But she did.

And that’s what’s the next thing about Silpa. She pays major attention to minor details, to the point that you may get exhausted; she won’t. She is always so specific, precise, and enthusiastic. And that’s an important quality throughout this journey. You need a guide, a friend, a mentor. For me, Silpa was this trifecta. I was able to build such an incredible rapport, foster this deep trust, and forge a meaningful relationship, thanks to her. ‘Silpa is a pleasure to work with’ would be an understatement.

Silpa also loves perfection. Ultimately, the draft is ready to go if her gut tells her it is. And this is great for you, because that gives you the opportunity to see Silpa’s magic unfold. Before your eyes. For instance, in my case, Silpa said that some essays were not ready and wanted to take “another look” at them (which often involved many comments and many edits). All of this helped because it brought out the best of the best.

Silpa’s interview prep, her insights from the interview about you, and her advice in general are unparalleled. They are all so wise. I’m grateful I got to prepare for one interview with Silpa (and another with Heidi from Fortuna). I learned so much about how best to answer questions, how best to manage subtle situations, and more, thanks to Silpa’s astute observations and incisive feedback.

At the ultimate stage, Fortuna is the best career and MBA coach there is. And Silpa is the best career advisor, MBA mentor, creative brainstormer, rigorous individual, and most-dedicated coach there is. If there is one person who was the Rock of Gibraltar during this process for me, it was Silpa.

Overall, it’s Silpa because of whom I was able to put forth the best application there is, despite all odds. Truly, truly grateful to Silpa.

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Working with Silpa was worth every $$ and then some more. I screened 5 different consultants and chose Silpa for a couple of reasons - (a) she was direct and supportive but to the point, without any sugarcoating - which is very suited to folks from Asian descent, (b) prior experience as a GSB reader and (c) recommended by a past GSB admit who worked with her.

The results speak for themselves - I was admitted to all 4 schools I worked with Silpa on - GSB(!!), Wharton, MIT and Kellogg. Also tweaked the same materials to apply to Columbia on my own and got in too!

Silpa was immensely accomodative with tight deadlines, especially during the two weeks before the deadlines. She took the time to understand my unique strengths, aspirations, and challenges, crafting a strategy that highlighted the best version of myself on paper, especially as a reapplicant to 3 of the 4 schools.

Her attention to detail and commitment to perfection ensured that every aspect of my application reflected my authentic self - making sure it were my words on the paper (so dont expect spoonfeeding!) but was an excellent editor and guide.

To anyone embarking on the challenging path of pursuing an MBA, I wholeheartedly recommend Silpa 100%.

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Silpa was an amazing consultant for me. She helped me get into some top programs and was willing to go above and beyond in helping me. I really appreciated all her help and would definitely recommend her to others! If it wasn't for her help and strategy, I probably wouldn't have gotten some of the MBA offers that I received. She was very kind and supportive along the way. Initially I was skeptical of whether or not I should spend money on this service but it was well worth it. Navigating business school apps is tricky and it always helps to have a consultant.

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When I began the MBA application process, I spoke with 8 different advisors. Ultimately, I felt Silpa was the best choice for my consultant & I am happy I chose her. She has the full package – an impressive background, is articulate and goal-oriented, and has a calming, encouraging personality. I’m fortunate to have worked with her for almost a year between Round 1 & 2.

She took an overwhelming process with many parts (career vision, LOR, essays, etc.) and made it easy for me to go step-by-step until I finished 3 applications. She kept me on schedule and provided meaningful advice on how to showcase myself in the best possible light. Because of her help, I’ll be starting at Wharton this summer! I would definitely recommend her as a consultant.

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I worked with Silpa for 4 months and used her services for Round 2 MBA applications to Stanford GSB and Chicago Booth; her advice, guidance, and knowledge were fundamental to my admittance to both schools. I encourage anyone, particularly applicants with average test scores and/or a non-traditional MBA applicant profile, to employ her expertise early and enthusiastically!

Silpa’s superpower is her ability to help clients maximize the impact of their stories whilst ensuring those clients remain true to their experiences and values. Furthermore, her deep knowledge of the application process is incredibly reassuring and ensures applicants produce quality essays and short answers that demonstrate the attributes and virtues that top business schools are looking for.

In addition to her professional proficiency, Silpa’s kind and supportive demeanor make her not only a pleasure to work with but also a welcome ally during the arduous MBA application process.

Thanks, Silpa!

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I worked with Silpa on my Stanford GSB application, and I really appreciated her thoughtful, detailed feedback throughout the process.

Among many other things, she
-Spent a significant amount of time getting to know me. Throughout the process, I could tell she was paying attention to every detail - she would bring up details that even I had forgotten about as potential topics for portions of my essay or short answers.
-Worked with my busy work schedule to make sure I received feedback promptly and I was on track to meet application deadlines.
-Brought a lot of school-specific knowledge to our conversations. Not only did this make my application better, but I felt like I understood the differences between schools (and what would be the best fit for me) better as a result of our conversations

I felt confident by the end of the process that I had put my best foot forward with Silpa's help. I was ultimately accepted to Stanford GSB, and I cannot recommend working with her more (she is also a very kind person who is delightful to work with)!

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I worked with Silpa for a few months on a comprehensive three-school package during the 2022 application cycle, so she was there to guide me through school selection, CV, essays, letters of recommendations and eventually interviews. From our first exploratory call, I immediately felt comfortable with her, and she was great at reassuring me on timeline and laying things out of how the preparation phase for the application would be split up in the time leading up to application deadlines.

Personally, coming from a finance background and lacking recent experience in writing, I was the most worried about the essay part of the applications and getting them concise (to be within word limit) while representing my story as well as my hopes of getting an MBA. Silpa was very patient with my essay drafts and went into a lot of detail into refining structure as well as content. It was clear that she knew a lot about each school and what each school was 'looking' for. She also has great relationships with the rest of the consulting team at Fortuna who were instrumental to helping me with finalizing essays and eventually practice interviews. I'm really glad to say that with the help of Silpa, I gained admission to Columbia Business School with a full scholarship!

Silpa is a great balance of being friendly and casual while staying professional and straightforward, which I definitely appreciated given how tricky it was already to balance work and applications. She was also always super quick with turning around anything I gave her to review. I would highly recommend Silpa as a partner and advisor for anyone's MBA journey!

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Prepare to be blown away by the exceptional interview preparation services provided by Silpa! With a meticulous approach, Silpa helped me craft customized answers to a plethora of challenging questions and calmed my nerves before the interview. In record time, Silpa provided me with quick and efficient feedback, ensuring that I remained on track and focused on the most important topics. She even went above and beyond to help me craft a stellar thank-you note for my interviewer.

Silpa's guidance throughout the process was truly invaluable, and I am thrilled to report that I was able to secure admission to the top US schools for which I enrolled her services. If you're looking for an effective coaching session that will help you reach your academic goals, Silpa is a clear choice.

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