Fortuna Admissions | MBA Admissions Consultants

I was referred to Nonie Mackie from Fortuna Admissions through a friend. My first experience with the Fortuna team was via free consultation with Matt Symonds. I was very impressed by the amount of information and the insights he had about me, which showed that the team puts effort into getting to know a candidate and their candidature for MBA programs before even signing up for a package. I was thoroughly convinced during the call and signed up for the ‘Comprehensive School Package’ with Nonie Mackie as my admissions consultant.

The process of Fortuna is very well structured. After signing up, a candidate is taken through a journey of deep introspection by working on a ‘Strategy Questionnaire’. The questionnaire along with the strategy calls becomes the blueprint for the journey ahead. Writing essays for INSEAD seemed very daunting for me at first, but it was the questionnaire and my calls with Nonie that lighted the way while I was working on my first drafts of the essays.

Nonie is a fantastic coach, very warm and empathetic yet direct and honest when needed. Nonie was always forthcoming and asked if I needed to jump on a call to brainstorm or power through any mental blocks while writing the essays. She also kept track of our timeline and helped manage our deliverables by nudging me if we were losing pace. Regardless of the time pressure, she was extremely focused on making sure that each aspect of the application, from essays, the online application form to all other materials were of the highest standard. I will say that Nonie has through and through understanding of what exactly a b-school is looking for. She always encouraged me to explore my story, and with each new facet, she would refine my overall narrative to become more holistic and balanced. Her constructive feedbacks transformed all my materials into a winning application.

Her inputs along with reviews from Caroline Edwards Diarte, a former admissions director at INSEAD were absolutely key to putting the best application forward. I was applying only for INSEAD, and both Nonie and Caroline were the best experts to coach me, they have consistently been my biggest cheerleaders through this journey. After working with them through multiple iterations and getting the go-ahead from Caroline, who herself shaped the INSEAD application as we see it today, I was confident that my application cannot get any better and could only get so much better because of them.

Once I was invited for alumni interviews, I was very anxious. The mock interviews with Nonie were my sole source of confidence and prepped me to have the right state of mind during the interviews. My experience with the actual interviews was exactly the same as my mocks, so I was very comfortable in the actual interviews. What I valued the most in my mocks with Nonie was her focus on polishing the rough edges while making sure that my authenticity shines through.

Regardless of the school you are applying to, my recommendation would be to have faith in Fortuna Admissions and trust their expertise. Their team has former admissions gatekeepers from all the top schools, and they know exactly how to deliver your best application. Once you are signed up, my only suggestion would be to trust each of their inputs and diligently follow their process.

If you’re applying to get your MBA, you absolutely must work with Brittany. For context, I worked with her on an hourly basis on my story drafting, applications and interview prep. From the start, it was clear that Brittany would be a thoughtful, efficient, experienced and dedicated consultant who was fun and easy to work with and would help me get to the finish line. She helped me craft my MBA story, express my goals eloquently in my essays, pick key parts of my background to highlight in my applications and stay on target in terms of timelines and next steps. Logistically, Brittany replied shockingly quickly to any questions I had and helped me move my essays and applications along very effectively. Moreover, she ran a mock interview with me that prepared me extremely well for that process. With all of the information sessions I had attended on business school and specific MBA programs before meeting Brittany, I still learned vastly more directly from her and am certain I couldn’t have done it without her. Brittany helped me get accepted into 4 out of 5 of the schools I applied to (including 2 M7 schools) and get full scholarships at 3 out of 4. She is truly an expert in her field, and I can’t wait to recommend her to anyone I know looking to pursue an MBA!

Loved working with Heidi. She goes above and beyond for her clients!

I honestly could not have navigated the business school process without Heidi and the Fortuna team. I started the process for applying to b-schools pretty late in the game and was working 2 demanding jobs at the time and still had yet to take my GMAT when I found Heidi. I vetted over 6 different firms and felt the most comfortable with Heidi.

While I do not recommend waiting as I did, Heidi was phenomenal in keeping me on track, focused, and helping me focus on what would move the needle in the process. I was coming from a background in startups and venture capital and a complicated story of what I wanted to do and why. She took the time to understand what I did, why I did, and ultimately who I was. She was very responsive and honestly fun to work with. I wrapped up the process feeling good about my body of work and who I was and it’s tough to say that about a grueling application process. She helped bolster my confidence and challenged me in the right areas such that I put my best foot forward. All in all, I ended up applying to 3 schools (HBS, Wharton, and GSB) and ended up getting an interview with HBS and Wharton and getting an acceptance from Wharton. One of the things that really stood out to me was the mock interview for Wharton — it’s a team-based interview and challenging to practice on your own and Fortuna’s mock interview and Heidi’s analysis and feedback after was crucial in my positive outcome. Heidi is still helping me post-acceptance to understand my options and prepare for what’s next. You can’t go wrong with Heidi, my only recommendation is that you start early and really take your time with her seriously because it’s a really valuable learning experience.

Overall, as many others have said below, with Heidi you get a coach, advisor, and mentor and it’s truly an unparalleled experience.

Brittany was an excellent consultant from day one. She matched my enthusiasm and continued to nudge me in the right direction at every step of the process. Her feedback was direct and expedient, allowing me to move as fast as I wanted, especially when I would frequently get sidetracked by work responsibilities and need to play catch-up. I particularly appreciated her ability to help me create my own unique narrative, by leveraging her own story-telling skills in conjunction with the myriad of Fortuna Tools. Brittany also was instrumental in preparing for the virtual interview process, helping reduce my anxiety through practice and review sessions. I would highly recommend her.

Emma is an exceptional consultant.

Given her background, I was always keen to work with Emma, as London Business School was my top choice. I worked with Emma and Karen across LBS and USA MBA applications, and the experience was fantastic, ending with me securing an R1 admit from LBS.

Emma inspires tremendous self-belief, an underrated but essential attribute in a consultant during the stressful application process. It felt like I had someone in my corner through and through. She was deeply invested in understanding my story and motivations to ensure I presented the very best version of myself to schools.

Emma always seemed available – from minor procedural questions to turning around material – the response time was always quick and the quality of the response was always excellent! She is also an editor par excellence.

Emma also holds herself to a very high bar and encouraged me to do the same – working on materials/tasks multiple times to ensure high-quality output.

Emma has been instrumental in my journey to an MBA. If you are researching consultants, your search is over, Emma should be your pick!

Jenifer came highly recommended to me by a friend, and in turn, I can fully endorse her services to any future applicants. She helped me in the application process by thoroughly reviewing and providing feedback on my resume, essays and short answer responses through at least a dozen iterations. We also did a mock interview that was incredibly helpful in building my confidence for the real thing. Beyond that, Jenifer genuinely put in the effort to get to know and mentor me through the application process. The value of her time and advice is readily apparent in my application (especially if you compare my first essays to the final ones), and I will happily recommend her services to anyone going through the application process!

Cassandra is the best admission consultant if you are interested in getting into the London Business School FT MBA programme. I come from a very non-typical country as an MBA applicant and had my fair share of weaknesses in my application. Cassandra was extremely empathetic and showed tremendous understanding as to how I can highlight my strengths and unique experiences that would overpower the relatively weaker areas of my application.

Cassandra also has a great understanding as to what LBS actually seeks in applicants. That said, she also kept the perfect balance of keeping my application authentic by at the same time framing my authenticity and my profile in a way to be my best presentable self for LBS adcoms.

In the end, with her help, I got into one of my dream schools.

Heidi was absolutely incredible. She helped me present the best image of myself. Heidi helped me get into Wharton MBA despite my non-traditional background and low GRE.
Heidi was a true team player and always available, so I was able to meet all the submission deadlines.
I couldn’t recommend her enough.

I worked with Sharon during Round 1 applications for the current cycle (2022 start). I bought the 3-school package from Fortuna which meant that I had support all the way from refining my resume to essay editing and interview prep. I targeted 2 M7 schools and 1 T10 school and got into 2 of them, including my top choice (1 with a significant scholarship; waiting for the scholarship decision from the other).

Based on my experience, Sharon was amazing to work with and one of the main reasons I got in!

I was paired with Sharon on the recommendation of my contact at Fortuna and never actually spoke to her before we started working together. From the get-go, her working style resonated with me and I knew I made the right decision. Sharon took the time to get to know me and understand my reasons for pursuing an MBA. She was organized, detail-oriented and had a clear plan for helping me refine my application and have everything ready to submit based on our internal deadlines. Through Sharon’s previous experience working in admissions offices, she was able to provide unique insights into what schools were looking for and helped me refine my story to help me stand out.

I had spoken to one other MBA admissions consultant and felt that they were distant, unapproachable, and pessimistic about my odds of getting into a T10 school. Sharon and the whole Fortuna team were the total opposite. Sharon truly understands the MBA admissions process thoroughly and was able to provide honest feedback regarding my chances of getting into my target schools. As someone from a non-traditional background, there were many moments when I was unsure whether I made the right decision. Sharon’s optimism and empathy helped me during these tough situations and helped me get through the draining MBA admissions process.

Overall, I highly recommend working with Sharon!

Simply put, Emma is outstanding.

She has a real insider’s view of LBS and provided constructive, informative and tailored advice through the application process. Emma made the application process, which could otherwise seem daunting, seamless and went above and beyond my expectations (notwithstanding having read the rave reviews beforehand!).

I was amazed at how quickly Emma provided feedback on the various parts of the application, from the written aspects to the interview stage (both video prep and mock interviews). I was admitted in Round 1 to LBS and couldn’t recommend her enough!

Where can I start? The experience working with Karla speaks for itself: I got an acceptance from two schools I applied to – GSB and HBS (MS/MBA program that’s even more selective).

When I first started looking, I did my thorough research and spoke with a number of other consultants (mbaMission, gatehouse admissions, etc). Those were great companies, but not right for me for various reasons. Some, for example, have very strict rules and policies. They don’t schedule weekly meetings, they won’t review any PDFs — totally inappropriate to what I was looking for.

Karla was fabulous from the beginning. She immediately understood why I was applying only to two top schools, she wasn’t pushing or suggesting I even apply to other programs. In fact, I had more doubts in me than she ever did. That was extremely important because applying to schools (taking GMAT, paying consulting fees, not sleeping over nightmares and self-doubts) are all high opportunity cost, so it was essential that I go through this journey with someone who is there to help and support.

What did I like the most about working with Karla?
1. She knows, she knows the schools, the processes, people behind admissions so well.
2. She is very flexible – PDF? Sure! Google Docs? Why not!
I appreciate it so much!
3. Karla had so many examples of other successful applicants – it was incredible to see who ultimately got accepted.
4. We had weekly meetings – I can’t imagine how Karla fits that into her schedule but those were the times when I appreciated Karla even more.
5. We did multiple interview practice sessions and I truly understood what was important for HBS adcom.
… I can go on and on!

In all, I am absolutely thankful to Karla for working with me & making my dreams come true!

Working with Silpa was a pleasure! From day one she was nothing but helpful, giving clear guidance and support throughout the entire process. I used her for 4 MBA applications, with the GSB as my top choice. As a GSB expert, she was able to help me hone my career vision, whilst ensuring that it was genuine and true to my values. Her experience working in admissions allowed her to give me clear insights and direction when it came to refining my application and ensuring that it would stand out. She was always available, timely, reliable and organized. Silpa not only helped me get through the entire process end-to-end on time, but also she helped me enjoy the process. She has a great personality and is super easy to connect with!

Rachel is an absolutely fantastic coach!!! I spoke to several admissions consultants and Rachel stood out from the start – she offered a well-measured review of my candidacy and I felt confident she could add real value to my applications. Right away, Rachel invested many hours in truly understanding my professional experience, extracurriculars, and goals. I believe this upfront investment enabled her to support me in effectively creating a cohesive and compelling narrative.

When it came to writing and pulling together my applications, Rachel’s support allowed my story to shine. She went through 30+ iterations of my core essays, providing often very quick and thorough reviews (much beyond what I had expected). She would always quickly understand what wasn’t working and was able to offer a very strategic perspective on how we could refine or alter my strategy to something that worked better. Her publishing skills were also extremely handy in trimming unnecessary word count etc. once my story was down. In short, I felt very confident that when I hit submit, that I had put my best foot forward in my applications. Rachel was incredibly supportive throughout the whole (and what can be a very demanding) process, always being on hand to provide guidance or help with even the tiniest question. With Rachel’s help, I have now been admitted into my dream school and I am looking forward to keeping in touch and sharing updates during and after my MBA program. I can wholeheartedly recommend her to any future applicants considering the very top schools.

Rachel was incredibly thoughtful throughout the entire process and pushed my thinking, my anecdotes, and the overall quality of my application. She was extremely diligent about every single draft of my essays and applications (30+ drafts), up until the last moments before submission. Even when I was getting exhausted, she kept me going and helped me submit the very best version of myself. In the early months, she dug deep into the stories I had and helped me identify core values/parts of me I didn’t even understand about myself. All this soul searching Rachel facilitated was a critical part of my journey and I’m so happy it led to an admission to a school I can’t wait to attend. The business school application process is tough but having Rachel on my team made it 1000% better!

First and foremost, Rachel was absolutely instrumental in helping me get into my dream school, Stanford. When I first started the process at the beginning of the year, Fortuna’s director suggested that I had a 12-15% chance of getting into the GSB, an estimate that I felt was fair. Stanford was a reach given my background.
I was fortunate to be able to start the process early, about eight months before the deadline. In the beginning, Rachel took the time to really understand my story, my motives, my strengths and weaknesses, and helped me strategize which attributes I needed to highlight, and through which stories I could best share my strengths. Rachel was one part MBA coach, one part therapist, as she dug deep into my motivations and helped me find meaningful answers to questions about purpose. Rachel is an incredibly kind and caring person, and I really enjoyed the opportunity to develop a strong relationship with her.

Rachel worked with me on the Stanford essay for 26 drafts, continually sending feedback paragraph by paragraph, then sentence by sentence, then finally word by word. By draft 20, I was ready to throw in the towel and hit submit, but Rachel insisted we could make the ending stronger, really pushing me to the next level. In the end, I had a much better final product than I expected, and I felt at peace because I knew I put in my best possible work. I am so appreciative of the amount of effort Rachel put into my application. She sent me ideas and revisions way past normal bedtime, and always had a quick turnaround time on any new material.
When it came to the interview stage, Rachel helped me tremendously by teaching me how to frame my stories to highlight the attributes Stanford was looking for. She drew upon her decades of experience interviewing candidates, and it made the interview seem much less scary and opaque.

This whole process has made me a much more confident person, as I now understand myself much better. It’s also helped me define and refine my vision and what I want to do in the next decade. I felt that even if I hadn’t gotten into any MBA programs, I still would have found this experience to be valuable for these internal gains. It was so valuable in fact, that I would still want to repeat this process in ten or twenty years (even without applying to schools), when I’m at the next fork in my career because it gave me so much clarity in my life.

I honestly don’t think I would have gotten in without Rachel’s help, and for that, I will be grateful for a lifetime.

My story is a very interesting one.
I was working with a different consultant from a different company before I got to work with Karla. Here’s how the story unfolded; I was invited to interview with HBS, unfortunately, my consultant was not responding for some reason.

It’s a good thing my friend had worked with Karla, she introduced me to Karla. Lucky for me, Karla was able to help me with my HBS interview prep and the post-interview reflection.

YES, I got into HBS. Karla was one of the reasons I got into HBS (literally). She’s very experienced, and she gives personalized and tailored advice based on your application.

Silpa Sarma is a master of her craft.

I’ve had the extraordinary pleasure of working with Silpa on my MBA applications for round one in the 2021-2022 admissions cycle and can’t recommend her highly enough! Coming from a non-traditional background, I didn’t know much about MBAs or my prospects for admission to a top school. I am also on the light end of work experience (less than 2 years at the time of application) so I knew I needed to craft a really outstanding application.

After consulting with Silpa on my options, I decided I really wanted to focus my energy, and my admissions consulting package, on just Stanford and Harvard. From the outset, Silpa was incredibly encouraging of my strategy and is a really warm, delightful person to engage with on what is ultimately a very stressful process.

We began by working on briefs for my recommenders, which is something I would never have thought too much about had she not highlighted the importance. Silpa helped me highlight different aspects of my accomplishments that my recommenders could elaborate on, and I have no doubt that my LORs were much more compelling because of her help.

On my Resume, Silpa helped me transform it. It went from being rather bland and abstract to being precise, easy to follow, quantified, and personalized. I could tell that Silpa has seen many resumes and knows how to convey impact really well.

Stanford and Harvard have very abstract admission essay prompts, making it hard to know where to start. After a strategy call and questionnaire document, Silpa helped me brainstorm different ideas of parts of my life to highlight in my essays. It’s my story, but Silpa helped me strategically highlight parts of it that would make me stand out, which is key for a non-traditional applicant like myself, and I’m sure even more so for more common paths. Silpa meticulously commented on and suggested edits to roughly 10 essay drafts for each essay and school until they were perfect. I never expected someone to spend so much time combing over the details of these essays, but Silpa was extremely thorough, exacting, and responsive. She would typically turn around comments in 1 business day (which is really outstanding), key because this process takes a long time and I only had 3 months by the time I started.

Silpa also leaves nothing out, going so far as to quality check the smaller parts of the applications like work experience, extracurriculars, post-MBA goals, and all the little stuff that can be overlooked.

Ultimately, I was accepted to 1 out of 2 of H/S. I really want to emphasize that even if I didn’t get accepted, my comments on Silpa’s work would be the same. I truly don’t think I could have crafted a better application, and a lot of that has to do with Silpa’s guidance. Ultimately, MBA applications are very personal and it’s up to the applicant to have the right mix of GPA, test score, work history, and personal story, and essay writing ability. However, packaging all of this and fine-tuning it to make it difficult for an admissions committee to deny you is really difficult, and Silpa was instrumental in that process. I’m very grateful to her and would tell any prospective MBA applicant to at least consider her services.

On Fortuna’s end, I found the rest of the staff I encountered to be really supportive as well. They also worked with me to accommodate my limited financial resources, which made a huge difference for me. Silpa definitely went above and beyond the package I purchased to make sure my application was in tip-top shape. I could tell she gets really invested in her clients and takes personal satisfaction in helping them succeed.

Emma was a coach, mentor and cheerleader throughout the process. Aside from Emma’s experience, she really helped me focus on the narrative of my application, and challenged me (positively) as to why did I want to do an MBA.

As a coach, Emma trained me to think like an MBA candidate, not just through the language I used, but also in my decorum for interviews.

As a mentor, Emma’s experience was invaluable. She guided me through the application process by getting me to focus on examples of my work experience, which truly reflected who I am as a professional and a person. Emma asked probing questions to really get to the root of specifically what my role was within certain projects, what was the output and how did it develop personal traits.

Finally, as a cheerleader, Emma genuinely wants to see you succeed on a personal level, and although being admitted I know that Emma would have been there in the same way as if I had been rejected.

I have known Heidi since this April. I am truly grateful to meet her and have her accompany me on this journey!
The MBA application is filled with ups and downs–moments when I doubt whether I can make it or whether these efforts are worthwhile. Heidi is a true listener when I felt lost and a mentor who will give me the most useful advice when I got hesitated.
I have a very nontraditional background, which makes the application very difficult. Heidi and I have had a weekly call during the entire process: we discussed the details of my essays, the resume, the rec letter, and she always gives me the most honest feedback. Calls with Heidi are these memorable bits during this period.
What I value the most is that she makes me realize how AWESOME I am. She always encourages me to believe in myself and be more confident.
Each MBA applicant has his or her story and challenges. But working with Heidi will be one of the most right choices you ever make!

My experience with Malvina was amazing! I can confidently say that choosing her as my consultant was one of the best decisions I made during the application process. With her assistance, I was admitted into 5 M7 schools, including HBS and Wharton.

I spoke with three other companies before I spoke with Fortuna. In my fit call with Malvina, I found that she was both encouraging and realistic. Her calm demeanor really put me at ease. In working with her for over 8 months, I found a lot of value in her coaching on how to explore my short-term and long-term career goals. Malvina was very organized and very responsive throughout the whole process. Despite our time difference, all my materials were turned around very quickly and I never had to follow up or wonder if she would get back to me. Malvina also provided feedback to my recommenders as I come from a background where writing MBA recommendations is not common. The extended Fortuna team also provided great interview prep which helped me feel less anxious for the actual interviews.

Malvina had incredible insight into what the admissions committees would find interesting or valuable, and where things could be edited out or framed better. I feel that she really helped me deliver the best version of myself in my applications, without taking away my own voice and personality in the process.

Like many of you are doing right now, I spent a lot of time deciding whether or not to pay for an MBA consultant. It’s certainly not a cheap endeavor. If you are able to afford it, I would highly recommend working with Malvina. I am very grateful for her support throughout this application process.

The services of Fortuna really stood out from the very beginning. The team set up meetings with three consultants until I was sure I had found a good match. I worked with Emma and chose the comprehensive school package with added on hours for 2 more schools.
Emma exceeded all my expectations throughout the process! She was able to draw out points in my story that I had wrongfully deemed unimportant for an MBA application and really helped me round out my profile. She is an excellent editor and helps get your story across with the greatest impact without burying your authentic voice.
I was really surprised by how quickly she reviewed my work. She usually turned things around in 24 hours (sometimes just a couple of hours!), did as many reviews as required (even during weekends towards the application deadline) and was personally invested in my success. As someone who was extremely stressed about the application process, I really appreciated how easy Emma made things for me.
I do not think I would have succeeded in my interviews without Emma’s help. She helped me see that I was having trouble being my best self over virtual platforms and did multiple mocks with me until I improved significantly.
I now have admits with scholarships and fellowships to all the three colleges I applied to. Even though I was really sceptical about paying for an MBA admissions consultant, I can now honestly say that I would not have made it without Emma in my corner 🙂

When I was searching for an admissions consultant, I looked for two criteria

1) The admissions consultant should be incredibly knowledgeable about LBS
2) The admissions consultant should have a personal interest in my success and that I shouldn’t just be another number in a sea of clients.

Given Emma’s experience of working as part of the LBS AdCom, it became clear after our first introduction that she knew LBS inside-out. What surprised me was how personally invested she was in the whole process and made me feel like I had someone in my corner on whom I could rely on.

Emma is insanely dedicated. She turns around material within 24 hours so I never felt like I had to hurry. Before many school admission deadlines, she even worked over the weekends to make sure that I was putting my best application in. No matter the number of revisions, she keeps working with you to make sure that your application is the very best it can be.

Where I was really blown away was Emma’s guidance on essays. She helped me develop a strong essay strategy that would bring out the strengths in my application. She even connected me with an alum from LBS who had a similar profile to me so that I could gain additional perspective for my essays. I can confidently say that without Emma’s help, there is no chance that my essays would have ended up as powerful and impactful as they did.

Emma is an incredibly kind person but she is also very candid about your profile and where you need to improve. She does not waste time beating around the bush and I really appreciated this honest approach. I found that having those candid conversations allowed us to create a strategy to accentuate my strengths and diminish my weaknesses.

I got admitted to London Business School and I couldn’t have done it without Emma’s support and encouragement. If LBS is your #1 choice, I strongly recommend working with Emma to make studying at Regent’s Park a reality!

Working with Karla is the best decision I’ve made this year, if not in my life. If you want to get into top MBAs, then you want Karla. Work with her, Trust her acumen, Follow her guidance, and You Will Shine.

Karla has the unique combination that I couldn’t find in any others after a thorough due diligence and numerous intro calls with other consultants/agencies: Karla 1) is personally invested into your MBA applications AND your future; 2) has incredibly insightful and critical insider tips and knowledge about M7’s applications; and 3) can offer comprehensive advice THROUGHOUT the process (from paper application to interviews).

I truly believe Karla is the deal maker. Karla WANTS to know you, identifies what sets you apart and helps articulate such in your own authentic way, all of which are so important for top MBA applications. She will be your “mirror” and will help you find yourself through deep self-reflection. I learned so much about myself by working with her, a huge bonus for me besides amazing admission results (GSB and other M7’s)

What’s more, I’m not only blown away by her expertise, but also impressed by her personality: she is my life coach and I consider her a member of my extended family. Now, looking back, working with Karla is the easiest decision one can make if one is serious about MBA applications, so do this before others!

I was first introduced to Emma Bond by my sister, who relied on Emma in the course of her own MBA journey years ago. Working with Emma has been a joy, as throughout the application process, she has been extremely professional, responding as quickly as one could reasonably do so, providing in-depth insights into the admission process by virtue of her experience, and was able to provide helpful feedback and tips in areas where she thought I could better express and demonstrate my strengths. In conjunction with her and one of her colleagues’ joint (and tireless!) efforts, I have managed to secure admissions to all the programs that I applied to. I am extremely grateful to Emma and the Fortuna team for their professionalism and their outstanding performance. I would gladly recommend Emma and the Fortuna team to prospective MBA applicants!

I had several exploratory calls with 5-star reviewed consultants from multiple top-tier admissions firms. Nobody came close to Karla’s level. She has an incredible ability to connect with people and build trust. Her unique approach made it possible for me to open up and be my authentic self with her. All of which are essential components of a great application to a top business school. She told me that we will create a portrait of myself through the application, and that each component of the application is going to be part of that portrait until the adcom can see the full picture. And boy did she mean it!

It wasn’t only that she enabled me to tell my authentic story to the school, but more importantly, she enabled me, for the first time in my life, to articulate my story for myself. A precious milestone regardless of the outcome of the application.

I was a reapplicant to Stanford GSB, and this clearly shows the value that Karla brought to my application. She made my dream come true! Karla is the absolute best admissions consultant and a fabulous human being. I am grateful for having met her.

I worked with Fortuna and Emma was the supervisor for my application with Karen Ponte. I was thoroughly impressed by the service from Fortuna and was able to achieve an admit to my dream school LBS. Emma was thorough in checking my application package and offered some great insights to help me refine my story – it was great to be able to leverage her in-depth knowledge of what B-schools are looking for – thank you, Emma!

When I first started working with Karen I had concerns over my chances of applying for LBS due to my non-traditional background. Karen immediately alleviated these concerns, helping me to craft a strong story around my strengths. She was responsive throughout the process and patient in helping me iterate on all parts of the application process. She also has a thorough knowledge of the LBS application process which gave me a lot of confidence in my application and interview prep. In the end, I got an admit to my dream school LBS – something which at one point felt like an impossible dream – thanks Karen for all the support!

I’m incredibly grateful to have worked with Heidi from start to finish during my MBA application process, and I’m excited to attend Kellogg thanks to her guidance! It was clear from my introductory call-through calls even after submitting my applications that she cared so much about me. She consistently pushed me to dive deep into my experiences to make my story as unique and strong as possible in such a thoughtful way. I was amazed how she’d share feedback within 24 hours consistently that was always so detailed and mindful of the other parts of my application.

When deciding on a consultant, I thought about individual consultants versus larger groups like Fortuna. I’m so happy I chose Fortuna as a group because I got 100% individual and dedicated attention from Heidi (she was always available to provide advice via messaging or zoom) AND guidance from a director at Fortuna, in addition to leveraging the learnings and experiences from Fortuna’s entire network of clients.

Without hesitation, I’d recommend Heidi. Almost a year after my first call with her, I can say that I have a far better grasp on my goals and values thanks to her guidance and even if I hadn’t gotten into business school, my time with her and Fortuna’s support were incredibly worthwhile.

Trisha was truly the best consultant I could have asked for. She was instrumental in helping me achieve my goal! Initially, I was very hesitant about investing in a consultant, but when Trisha and I had our initial call, I felt that she was very approachable, candid, experienced, and knowledgeable. It was the best investment I have ever made. I am beyond glad I had her as a resource through this whole process because it would not have been as smooth as it was if I had tackled applying to business school by myself. I only applied to one school and opted for the one school package through Fortuna. I appreciated how organized Trisha was in setting up timelines and weekly meetings. She was always very responsive and her answers to my questions were extremely thoughtful and detailed. Throughout the experience, she took the time to get to know me and I felt she really cared for me and my story. I am so grateful that she broke down different parts of the application for me and clearly helped me understand how I should approach each part of the process (Letters of Recommendation, Essay prompts, Application questions, Interviewing). I’m not sure if I would have achieved my dream of getting accepted into NYU Stern without her guidance. If you are thinking about getting a consultant who truly cares and is very smart, she is the one for you!

I reached out to Fortuna in early 2021 with the aim of applying to the top school in the UK and Spain. From the moment I was paired with Karen, she couldn’t have been more helpful. From my initial call whereby we talked through different parts of my profile that would be great to include and elaborate on in my applications to receiving interviews from both schools I applied to with Karen, she went above and beyond for me. Her tips on how to tackle the essays, prompt responses and mark-ups on essays, and mock interview sessions were incredibly helpful. I couldn’t have gotten admitted to both schools without Karen’s help. Thank you, Karen!

I worked with Jenifer to build out my Wharton application. She was very helpful in helping me craft my narrative, encouraging me to think creatively about my options, and was incredibly good at helping me create a differentiated profile for myself. Jenifer went the extra mile for me after I was rejected and helped me build a plan for next year!

Melissa is the best admission consultant you can work with! Working with her has been an incredible experience and far beyond my expectations. She was able to help me achieve my goals of getting accepted to my dream b-school with a low GMAT score and GPA.

Melissa was extremely quick and efficient in giving me invaluable insights and helpful advice to make my profile stand out. She knows exactly what MBA AOs are looking for, and she is an incredibly supportive person to have guide you along the MBA application journey.

I cannot recommend Melissa highly enough; I honestly could not have done it without Melissa’s support!

I worked with Jenifer throughout the entire INSEAD application process. Jenifer was able to provide a wealth of knowledge alongside bespoke advice to help me achieve an R1 offer. Through our detailed initial consultations, Jenifer was genuinely interested in my life and as such, was able to guide me in crafting my own story, showcasing and balancing both my strengths and weaknesses.

I was skeptical to begin after my friend recommended Fortuna, but after speaking with Emma I realized how valuable her experience would be, and what it would bring to the table in helping me apply for my EMBA. To be honest Emma was fantastic, without her knowledge and advice I would not have made it in successfully to my number one school pick. We worked very hard and Emma really had great advice and input all the way through the application process. From CV write-ups to essays and interview prep, she covered everything to the smallest details even my Instagram account! It was the best money spent and I highly recommend Fortuna Admissions in general and Emma Bond in specific. Thank you.

I was targeting INSEAD and had HEC Paris as a backup plan. Since I wasn’t sure how to best highlight the strength of my profile, I decided to work with Fortuna admission and Nonie in particular. Looking back this was a great decision.

I was lucky to work with Nonie to refine my application strategy. Though being very positive overall, she gave substantial pieces of advice which made me modify significantly both my essays and CV.

Another crucial aspect was timing. We had two weeks before the INSEAD round 2 application deadline and still achieved to apply on time thanks to her reactivity (though looking back I would not advise anyone to rush in a similar fashion!).

In the end, I was waitlisted (and later accepted) by INSEAD and accepted with a 10K€ scholarship by HEC, and I have chosen to go to INSEAD.

Thanks again, Nonie!

Having the support of Jessica during my application was essential. She was very detailed with the preparation of the essays and always sought to show my greatest potential. It was very nice to work with her since, in addition to being very friendly, she was exceptional in advising you on rehearsals and interviews. Without her help, I would not have been able to do it, so I fully recommend Jessica.

Thanks to Karen I got into my dream school. She really helped me develop ideas for my essays by asking the right questions and pushing me to do some comprehensive introspection. Moreover, her feedback times were outstanding! She sent back high-quality reviews of my essays with comprehensive notes 10mins after I sent them. It is just amazing to work with her. Highly recommend working with her!!!

I started working with Cassandra after I applied unsuccessfully three times to a top-5 school. From day one, she took the time to really understand me, and what I could do to (re)position myself in this year’s application. After fine-tuning my resume, drafting briefs for my recommenders, and a lot of deep introspective work with her, it was time to write the essays, and wow – Cassandra is a master editor and wordsmith. She made my words come alive! Then when it came to prep for the interview, Cassandra met with me several times to make 100% sure I was ready. Throughout the entire process, she was available any time I needed to call or chat. My reapplication was successful, and I also received offers to two other top programs. My only regret is not working with her sooner.

I had the pleasure to have worked with Bill on my application, and I just want to say his help was essential in landing myself a dream school offer from CBS. Bill leveraged his expertise in admission to bring my stories alive after spending hours understanding my background and where I am headed to. In particular, because the most critical element in my application was my personal story, and I had a hard time integrating it into my career goal sensibly, Bill dug deep from my background and connected dots for me, which is eyeopening in both drafting essays and making me look at life from a fresh perspective. Thanks to Bill, I am now ready to take the next challenge in a different country.

PS: communication with Bill is extremely effective (his turnaround time is unbelievable) and enjoyable – I really looked forward to hearing from him =)

Michel is hands down the best admissions consultant out there. Besides her impressive background (Working at Bain, Director of Admissions at Wharton, and coaching for years at Fortuna), she is extremely caring and gives her clients the time that they need. In all honesty, I was hesitant to work with an admissions consultant at first, but after meeting Michel and booking a session with her, I changed my mind. Thanks to Michel, I got into all 3 schools I applied to (Wharton, MIT, and HBS). Let me save you the time and hassle of looking for a good coach. Michel is the one.

Happy to say Melissa helped me get into my dream school – INSEAD! I was looking for admissions consultants to give me peace of mind throughout the typically stressful application process. Fortuna, and in particular working with Melissa, was a clear choice due to her INSEAD expertise. She gave me confidence throughout, helped bring out the best in me, and even went the extra mile in connecting me with alumni to ask questions.

I will say that Fortuna is very structured in their counseling style, with the majority of communications over email / Podio and three 1:1 calls. I was totally ok with this due to my busy schedule. If this is your style too, I highly recommend Melissa!

Bill helped me get into 2 out of the M7 schools. He was very patient with me and helped me work through a lot of the problems I had. I am very happy with the results.

Why did I seek admissions advising?
Early in my business school application journey, I spoke with MBA colleagues and friends to understand what lessons could be learned from those who had already walked the path. The resounding advice: do not underestimate or neglect the non-GMAT components of the application. I would be remiss not to reinforce that same message for anyone embarking on their admissions journey.
My success and acceptance to a top program can be attributed to taking that advice to heart and putting it into action by Partnering with Sharon Joyce and Fortuna. If you are serious about your application and you want the best in the business, this is it.

Why Fortuna?
• Scalable offerings – Fortuna offers both hourly billing and comprehensive packages. My coach Sharon kindly indicated that hourly should be enough for me to achieve my goals, but I opted to go with the comprehensive one school package anyway because I felt I needed every edge I could get. This was important for me because it established a sense of trust early on. Sharon was not trying to talk me into anything I didn’t need and placed my best interest at the forefront early on.
• Top Talent – I had the please of meeting many of the coaches and directors throughout the process. Fortuna without a doubt has some of the most talented and well-connected staff in the game. Each coach has different strengths related to the application process, specific programs and geographies, so do your diligence upfront. You will also benefit from the cross-pollination of coaches e.g., I decided later in the process that I may toss an application at a European program and that week Sharon had me on the phone with the ex-admissions director for INSEAD.

Why Sharon?
If you have read Sharon’s Fortuna profile or other reviews, you know by now that she has an innate and unmatched ability to extract, polish, frame and re-frame individuality – the single most important element that your application should aim to embody: YOU. I will keep this short as other reviews have touched on this point – but if you value this trait, there is not another human being that can match her talent in this space. Period.
The reason I prefer to draw your attention to Sharon’s other attributes is that in my own coach selection, my only apprehension was in answering the question: is she too specialized in this individualization thing? What else will I get? Allow me to enlighten you:
• An exceptionally brilliant, charismatic human being: If you need as much help as I did, you are going to be spending a considerable amount of time with your coach. You want someone who you are not only comfortable with, but enjoy spending time with. Sharon is an absolute delight – her passion for her work and genuine interest in you make the long hours and difficult moments not only endurable but enjoyable.
• A strategic thought partner: I had very little direction when Sharon agreed to work with me. I was not even able to articulate why I wanted an MBA or why I chose the schools I did. I don’t recommend anyone come in at ground zero as I did, but the point is: Sharon met me there with grace and asked the right questions to give me the direction I desperately needed.
• An insider’s perspective: Sharon has years of experience in academia, and specifically as an admissions director for a top ten program. Her ability to channel the perspective on the receiving end of the application and apply it to how your application will be perceived is invaluable.
• A source of energy and accountability: I was already working 60+ hours a week and I knew I needed someone to push me. I was upfront about this with Sharon, giving her permission to push me hard when it was needed. She heard me and took on the role that I needed – pushing when it was time and counseling with clear eyes when I was overwhelmed and disoriented.
• Clear direction; direct and honest feedback: My favorite thing about Sharon – she is not afraid to be direct and honest. In retrospect, she saved me from some very bad essay, video, and resume ideas, and did so very quickly backing her position with strong reason and real-life examples. She is not abrasive, but she is very direct. If she senses you heading down the wrong path, she does not give you a long cryptic fable to take away chew on. Instead she gives you direct, honest, and logical feedback. When time is of the essence, this is a highly valuable trait.
• Value beyond the contract: Beyond providing the services outlined in the Fortuna contract, Sharon is willing (within reason) to operate outside of scope. This was never anything I asked for or expected. For example: I shared that I was working with my organization to further develop our Inclusion and Diversity framework and principles. Later that night I had three perfectly relevant research papers in my inbox as well as an offer to connect me to the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for a top-five MBA program.

To conclude, the best way I know how to help you understand Sharon, is by referencing an artist at work – as this is what she truly is. She can step back and see your canvas from afar, coming back the next day to add some hatching there, some shadowing there, and sfumato where it’s needed. She will continue to do this, sometimes unnoticeably, until the end when you view the entirety of the application for the first time and realize just how polished and harmonic each component has become.

Karen helped me with my applications for three MBA programs and I got in all of them and was awarded a scholarship in two.
She was very supportive through all the process, giving me tips and insights to make my applications stronger. She was personally involved in the whole process, readily available and very responsive, and didn’t mind reviewing my essays various times.
10/10 strongly recommend!

I decided to work with an admissions consultant due to the demands of my job and a short application window. I had little time to manage the process alone and wanted to work with someone to keep me focused and make more efficient use of my time. I decided to work with Fortuna Admissions after receiving a free consultation with Matt Symonds as well as a few other companies. I was impressed with Matt’s knowledge of the one-year programs I was interested in, as well as Fortuna’s deep bench of former admissions officers at my target schools.

After signing with Fortuna, I was fortunate to be placed with Nonie Mackie. I can confidently say that Nonie was an essential factor in my successful admission into a global top MBA program.

I applied to a small number of one-year MBA programs (think INSEAD, Oxbridge), and Nonie was very knowledgeable about what each school was looking for and how to craft my story and strategy. Nonie helped me draft and perfect my CV, my essays, my recommender strategy, and even the application forms for each school. Nonie also provided critical support with interview preparation, and our mock interviews helped me feel confident and focused for the real deal.

As a struggled with some GMAT setbacks and a full plate of work, Nonie was also able to keep me organized and focused on preparing what I needed to prepare in the time given, and took out a lot of guesswork throughout the whole application process.

If you are interested in applying to the same schools that I did, or really any school, ask to work with Nonie at Fortuna. You will be glad you did when you get into your dream MBA program.

I was a round 4 LBS applicant and purchased ten hours of coaching with Emma Bond at Fortuna. Working with Emma was, I am convinced, the deciding factor in my successful admission to LBS.

In the four or so months that we worked together, Emma was faultlessly professional, flexible and, above all, fun to work with. Emma has an astonishing level of insight into the LBS application process and remains extremely close to the goings-on within the school.

My time with Emma started with a detailed discussion around my plans to apply for an MBA, in advance of which I’d completed an extensive written questionnaire that Emma had clearly read thoroughly in advance of our discussion. This allowed our conversation to be focussed and highly beneficial in helping to firm up my application strategy and proposed approach to LBS’ written application.

As I progressed through the written application, Emma was extremely helpful and responsive in allowing me to put my best foot forward. Emma rightly set very high standards for the application questions and in particular around using the limited space in the essays effectively. Without Emma’s guidance and insight at this stage of the process my written materials would have been significantly weaker.

When I was admitted for interview, Emma and I worked together on interview prep (both for the interview itself and the additional pre-recorded video question). Emma was immensely effective in helping to improve my weaknesses and again – rightly – set high and challenging standards while remaining very constructive and fair. Beyond improving areas in which I knew I was weak already, Emma helped me to identify and rectify weaknesses I didn’t know I had, and I was able to attend my interview feeling as well-prepared as I possibly could be. One of Emma’s real strengths is in the quality of her feedback – clear, constructive and readily actionable.

I couldn’t recommend Emma to prospective LBS applicants highly enough – I immensely enjoyed our time working together and was continually impressed by the strength of her insight and level of support throughout the process.

If you want a consultant who is meticulous, supportive, knowledgeable about both top US and European schools and who will walk with you through the long haul I highly recommend Emma!! I finally made it into an M7 US Business School and Emma was absolutely instrumental to my success. I first met Emma in 2020. When it was time to apply in 2021 I knew I wanted to work with Emma because of how supportive she is. Emma went above and beyond the services I had paid for. She gave me detailed feedback on my previous application as I was reapplying to an M7 school. Her review of my essays and resume was comprehensive and on time. I was waitlisted and she helped me come up with my waitlist strategy and reviewed all my correspondence to the waitlist manager. Thank you so much, Emma! I am super excited to start my MBA journey at an M7 school next year!

I worked with Karen for almost a year for the 2021 intake application cycle. I would absolutely like to recommend her to MBA aspirants as she is great at what she does and is extremely supportive during the entire application process.

I started talking to Karen long before my GRE – she helped me understand what schools should I aim for, what is the score that would help me get there, and motivated me constantly throughout the stressful GRE process.

Over our numerous strategy calls, she was very patient and quick in understanding my journey and why I made certain decisions – she was very quick to understand several technicalities and nuances in my journey and would help distill my experiences and achievements into a structure that would be appreciated by the ADCOMs.

During the peak of the application cycle – she was extremely efficient and time-sensitive! She would provide her review comments and advice very quickly and I could highly depend on her for any last-minute questions or concerns. Her speed and drive even made me push myself to get a lot more done! I always felt that she was looking after my best interests and even often provided tips and guidance for schools outside my package.

Would 100% recommend working with her!

Although Karen typically works with students exclusively focused on MBA programs, she helped me get admitted to my top choice specialized MS program at Columbia University. Karen listens & works with you to accomplish your goals. She helped me completely revamp my resume, strategically craft my story for interviews and other networking calls, and lastly create an impactful personal statement that got me an admit and the large financial package at another program. She is extremely reliable and has an incredibly quick turnaround time for all of your application materials. Without a doubt I recommend her services & can’t wait to share her services with the rest of my friends and family! If you are looking for an MBA coach, Karen is that person. Thank you, Karen!!

I was fortunate enough to work with Sharon as I navigated the MBA application process. I worked with her during Round 2 of this past cycle (2020 – 2021). From the start, I decided to apply to five of the “Top 10” MBA programs in the US. With her help, I was able to get interviews at three of them getting accepted into my target school!
Sharon’s support and honest feedback allowed me to portray my uniqueness in my essay and through the rest of my application. Additionally, because of my experience in admissions, I was able to tailor my applications to each of the schools I targeted.
Some of the major actions Sharon took for my success were the following:
– She reviewed my profile and helped me come up with a strategy for each of the schools I was targeting.
– She defined a clear timeline for my application deliverables (especially helpful with recommendation letters).
– Her approach and coaching strategy provided accountability for me to stick to my deadlines.
– She went above and beyond providing extensive feedback to the multiple iterations of my essays.
All of the above Sharon did while being positive, supportive and someone who I really enjoyed working with. Again, I couldn’t recommend more working with her. She was organized and clearly on top of things.