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Taniel Chan Reviews

Company: Fortuna Admissions

Taniel was a member of both the HBS Admissions and Financial Aid Advisory Boards and served as an Admissions Representative. Taniel has a strong passion for coaching and storytelling and has guided many first-generation candidates, those interested in the social sector, those who identify as LGBTQ+, along with clients from more traditional finance and consulting backgrounds. As an HBS 2+2 admit himself, Taniel also enjoys working with ambitious undergrads and early career candidates. At Harvard, Taniel assisted with the development of the Forward Fellowship, a scholarship providing generous financial support to students from lower-income backgrounds to acknowledge not only where admitted HBS students are now, but also how far they may have needed to come. Taniel’s career has straddled both the private and public sectors. He has worked at Goldman Sachs, the City of New York, the White House, and at Bain & Company. In addition to receiving his MBA from Harvard Business School, Taniel has an MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and a BS from the State University of New York at Binghamton.

5.0 /5 Average Rating
Based on 25 reviews
February 20, 2024
michifun21

Joined: Nov 05, 2022

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Phenomenal

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Taniel was a pleasure to work with – I was applying to five M7 schools in the first round. From the beginning of the summer, Taniel helped me not only create a sustainable workplan to get my applications in, but strategically sequenced essays to allow for earlier introspection and future opportunities to reuse (where applicable.)

Throughout the editing process, Taniel was never too prescriptive, and in fact was quite collaborative. He probed me to articulate my “why” and understand the chain of events in my life that has led me to become who I am, and that has led me to have the aspirations I have. Throughout the interview prep process, Taniel was quite encouraging yet not shy of giving actionable feedback that was tailored to specific schools.

Ultimately, I was able to interview with 5/5 schools and landed three acceptances (one full ride, and two HSW.) I really do not think this would have been possible without Taniel’s help and encouragement along the way. Highly recommend!

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January 23, 2024
tungtung

Joined: Jun 17, 2023

Posts: 0

Kudos: 5

Verified GMAT Classic score:
720 Q49 V38

I have a job with long working hour and occasional travelling, and was short on time to figure out what to highlight in my applications to different schools. I went to Fortuna/Taniel for they have plenty of HBS admission experience.

In our first meeting, Taniel assessed my profile and told me if HBS is realistic for me and what other schools he recommends for my ambition of developing an investment career in Asia. It gives me the motivation I needed to continue on, for me, the year-long application process.

The whole coaching process has been incredibly efficient. Taniel always turn around with his comments within 2 days without fail, even when it's weekend/holiday seasons.

After years of polishing my own CV, Taniel can still give me so much feedback that it becomes much more effective at the end. I was initially very lost on what to focus on in the HBS essay. It gave me much peace of mind knowing that I have the privilege to leverage on Taniel's vast experience. He has also been very detail-oriented to catch all sorts of errors I make in the application.

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August 03, 2023
LyrebirdEgg

Joined: Jul 31, 2020

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Self-reported Score:
770 Q48 V51

Taniel was incredibly helpful!

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I had a great experience with Taniel, who helped me get admitted to my #1 target school!

Taniel provided highly valuable support throughout the entire MBA application process.

In the beginning, he invested his time upfront to make sure he understood my background and personal history. This enabled him to help me unpack my story, and craft the narrative around my MBA essay.

As part of the process, he provided strategic advice around recommender selection, and the key 'selling points' he thought I needed to highlight as part of my application.

He was also incredibly helpful in terms of helping me prepare for my interview. I walked away from our mock interview session with much more clarity on what and how I should try to communicate in response to potential interview questions.

Overall Taniel's help went a long way in making me feel supported throughout the application process. I'd highly recommend his services.

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June 11, 2023
mayank0609

Joined: Feb 15, 2023

Posts: 1

Kudos: 1

Verified GMAT Classic score:
760 Q51 V41

I am thrilled to express my deepest gratitude for Taniel who played a pivotal role in my admission to Wharton.

From our very first interaction, it was evident that my consultant possessed a remarkable understanding of the intricacies of the MBA admissions process. He took out time to understand me, my strengths and what I bring to the table and instilled in me a newfound confidence throughout the entire process.

What truly sets Taniel apart was his unwavering commitment to my success. I reached out to him very late for the application - but he was always available and very prompt in going through numerous drafts of my application during the Christmas holidays. He had a meticulous eye for detail and he truly helped me bring out my voice in the best possible way

He also helped me through the interview process for Wharton and his feedback on the mock TBDs was extremely useful on the final day and helped me put in my best effort forward.

Thank you Taniel for all your help! Eternally grateful - really couldnt have done it without you!

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April 25, 2023
gcreview

Joined: Dec 18, 2020

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Amazing experience with Taniel!

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I chose to work with Taniel after speaking to several admissions consulting firms, and Taniel / Fortuna stood out as the best fit. It was important to me to present an authentic narrative while highlighting the strongest, most unique parts of my professional and personal experiences. From the get go, Taniel was able to provide valuation insights and advice on how to manage the long and potentially overwhelming application process. At the beginning, I was having trouble putting together my short- and long-term professional goals, but Taniel quickly helped me hone my “story” and articulate them in a clear and cogent manner. In addition, from essay brainstorming, to managing the recommendation process, to preparing for interviews, Taniel proved to be a valuable advisor throughout and helped me put across a more polished and compelling application. There were also many nuances to the application that I would not have been able to execute on my own, such as how to present my resume in a more ‘MBA-friendly’ format, and how to highlight my extracurriculars.

With Taniel’s help, I received interviews at three M7 schools and ended up being accepted at all three. I am attending one of them on a significant merit scholarship, and could not be happier with the results. I highly recommend Taniel if you are looking for a consultant with a holistic approach, focusing on the entire application rather than just the essay portion, and who can help you put your best foot forward during the entire process.

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April 21, 2023
pokemonmba

Joined: Apr 21, 2023

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Great fit with a consultant who cares!

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Taniel was an awesome consultant to work with! I loved how he was able to get to know me as a person and help me craft a unique story that really stood out. His background assisting minority communities with the application process enabled him to help me probe deep into my experiences and uncover my motivations for pursuing business school. Other than providing meaningful feedback on my writing, Taniel was super helpful with interview preparation. I learned a great deal about how to be a more eloquent communicator during interviews and what aspects of my experiences to highlight to make my responses more memorable. As a fellow Deferred Admit, Taniel was also extremely knowledgeable about the nuances of applying from college. I highly recommend his services!

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April 17, 2023
andre.luk

Joined: Apr 17, 2023

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Enrolled at HBS!

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Coming from an industry in which an MBA is not an absolute necessity, I was very selective in where I applied and only ended up submitting a few applications. In order to stand out from an overrepresented pool, I knew my story and essays needed to stand out and that’s where Taniel was instrumental in my process. Not only did he understand my upbringing and background, but he was extremely helpful in bringing everything together to delivery a comprehensive and compelling story as to how and why a top MBA made sense for me. Rather than using a standard playbook, he carefully helped curate how I could stand out from others with a similar background. Additionally, he was dependable and responsive at every step of the process, from figuring out what schools to apply to, to recommendation letters to the final step of interviewing. I was constantly messaging him at all hours of the day and on all types of questions, but he remained collected and constructive. He broke the entire process to make it more manageable and less stressful and I wouldn’t have received multiple acceptances, including my top choice, without his help!

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April 11, 2023
TEJackson18

Joined: Jan 20, 2021

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Verified GMAT Classic score:
640 Q42 V36

Taniel Believed in Me

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My experience with Fortuna can be summarized in four words – They understand the assignment!

Taniel was the catalyst who helped me get into my dream school. As a first-generation Black male with an untraditional professional background and an underprivileged upbringing, I was apprehensive about seeking help from a prestigious MBA admissions team, as I did not fit the typical candidate profile. However, Judith and Taniel went above and beyond to ensure that my story was clear, and that my application was competitive.

After explaining to Judith my background, shortcomings, and goals – she promised that I would be in the best hands with Taniel. Taniel did not disappoint. He was candid with his feedback, on-time with his delivery, and stopped at nothing to give me the best of his skills. He brought out the key pieces in my story while making sure I can speak the language of my target school. Not even holiday travel could stop Taniel from giving me his best. He was invested into my success on a personal level, as evident in the passion he used while coaching me to success.

With a sub 700 GMAT score and less than three weeks of work I was admitted to Wharton, Columbia, Kellogg, and Booth – with scholarship money. I am now on a path to change the trajectory of my lineage, and I have Taniel and the team at Fortuna to thank. To anyone in my shoes (or from my background) who may be apprehensive to work with a consulting team – you can bet on Fortuna. Judith and Taniel are empathetic admissions experts, and they get us.

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June 04, 2020
AKRHead

Joined: Jun 04, 2020

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Fantastic Experience with Deferred MBA

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The decision to work with Taniel was a wonderful one. From the get-go, Taniel took the time to understand my unique experiences and how they would impact my business school application. He was able to identify my strengths and weaknesses, including many smaller details that I had not considered, and provided actionable advice based on his analysis. We worked together to develop a game plan that allowed me to put my best foot forward. In addition, Taniel provided details on each of the schools I was considering applying to that would not be found in a typical Google search and which were extremely valuable when it came time to decide which schools to apply to. I have had an excellent experience with Taniel and regardless of the outcome of my application, I am very satisfied with the service he has provided.

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May 31, 2020
gmatprep98

Joined: May 31, 2020

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Verified GMAT Classic score:
750 Q48 V45

Thank you so much!!

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I highly recommend Taniel. He was very responsive and efficient throughout the process. He was always able to give me very helpful and insightful feedback for working on each draft of my essay. Since he attended HBS recently, I felt he could give me advice that other consultants could not. When I initially contacted him, I was very stressed, and had a lot of work to do on my essays. However, with every draft, it got much better, with Taniel's detailed comments for editing and continued support. My essay came a long way with his help, and couldn't have imagined applying without him.

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