Fortuna Admissions | MBA Admissions Consultants

I started working with Judith later in my MBA process when starting the interview process, and I was blown away by her dedication towards getting up to speed with my materials and being as thorough as possible in preparing me for the Wharton TBD. I felt from day one that she was truly invested in my success and became someone that I came to rely on for any and every question I had. She went above and beyond.

Two things stuck out most when working with Brittany. One, she understands the approach you prefer to take. I was confident in the story I wanted to craft and knew what I needed to say in them so I drove the drafts. I also worked by my own timelines since I had to juggle various conflicting activities timeline-wise to meet deadlines.
Second, when she reviews your drafts, she makes meaningful contributions to improve and flesh out your essay. I’ve seen other consultants prescribe you a story for you to write instead of helping you facilitate the message that you are trying to convey. The former will not get you into school whereas the latter will distinguish you from the crowd and that’s exactly what Brittany did for me. She helped me convey my thoughts more clearly and concretely by rearticulating some of my examples in ways that better explained a story or desire while considering word count. My essays distinguished me from the rest, and I’ve heard that time and time again on the acceptance calls I had with M7 and T10 schools this year.

I first learned about Emma through the Fortuna Admissions YouTube channel. After watching many videos and researching many similar companies, I decided to reach out to Fortuna by submitting a request for a free consultation. Following that 1 hour conversation I had, I decided to seek Emma’s guidance as to how I should approach my b-school applications, and I can safely say that I made the right choice 100%, and if anything, I should have reached out earlier. Through Emma’s help, I managed to get accepted into some of the world’s leading b-schools. It goes without saying that she played a crucial role in helping me find the best way to approach the challenge of applying to highly selective programmes. Having worked with Emma for a little over half a year, I would define her as an extremely professional and warm person. Here are some of my key takeaways of the whole experience and of Emma in general:

Very professional and kind, yet clear and honest (Very responsive to whatever kind of enquiries I have had [many], Always managed to find time and worked diligently around my schedule, Quick replies). She’s also genuinely invested in the whole process as she will always look out for your best interest and, in turn, make the process feel a lot easier.

As mentioned above – honest. Emma has always been ‘straight up’, especially with one of the schools that I was re-applying to. This is definitely a valuable trait as it reassures you that you know what you’re paying for and that everything is as transparent as it can get.

Very knowledgeable of different programmes across the US, Europe and more. On that note, if you are thinking of applying to LBS there isn’t anyone that can do a better job, in my opinion, at helping you understand the intricacies of the school and manoeuvre through the process.

In terms of the service itself, I would say that I got my money’s worth and would definitely recommend exploring which of the options best fit your need. On an end note, I would also like to say – thank you, Emma. With your help, I managed to learn a lot about myself, and I ended up receiving admission to the school that I wanted. I’m very grateful.

Working with Julie was such a pleasure. She made the application process infinitely easier and kept me to a schedule despite us having to navigate an 8 hour time difference. Julie always provided very candid feedback and was supportive throughout each component of the application process – from thinking through recommenders to reviewing essays and helping with interview preparation. Overall I would highly recommend working with Julie!

Sharon truly goes above and beyond for her clients. I worked with Sharon throughout the Round 1 application cycle (2022 start class) and could not have picked a coach more in tune with my needs. I purchased the 3-school package from Fortuna (includes resume review, essay crafting, and interview preparation). I knew early on in my journey that I wanted to hire a coach to help me to navigate the process, brainstorm essay ideas, and stay on top of my deadlines. However, I had no idea how much introspection the essay portion would require. This is where Sharon’s services became invaluable. She has such a knack for extracting and uncovering nuggets from her clients’ lives to build a strong foundation for their essays then crafting those hidden gems into a unique, highly personal, and compelling narrative to share with admissions committees. Sharon establishes an honest and candid repertoire and trusting relationship with her clients early on in the process, so her clients can be comfortable digging deeper into their experiences through the essay crafting process.

Aside from the essays, Sharon contributed to my application success through:
– Ensuring that my application told a cohesive, but a not redundant story. There are a lot of moving pieces to the MBA application (GMAT/GRE score, essay, recommendations, etc.). Sharon carefully strategized what each component would highlight about me personally and professionally to convey my multi-faceted strengths.
– Developing a clear and personalized timeline and strategy that was stringent enough to hold me accountable, but flexible enough to pivot when I encountered some bumps in the road (i.e., I had a recommender fall through at the last minute and Sharon was so quick to help me select a replacement)
– Her consistent and unwavering positivity. This is a stressful process and having her optimistic, yet realistic perspective kept me on track and focused
– Being proactive in engaging the expertise of other coaches. She helps her client to take full advantage of the breadth of the Fortuna coaches’ professional experiences. She does not hesitate to reach out to other coaches who potentially had more insight into a school based on their professional backgrounds/experiences when I had a school-specific application question or concern.

Overall, it was an immense pleasure working with Sharon and I highly recommend her services to anyone looking to engage an MBA application coach. This journey was an extremely personal one with numerous unknowns and stressful moments but having Sharon in my corner to guide me through it, put my mind at ease and made the process as seamless as possible.

Karla is amazing. I worked with Karla on two of my M7 interviews (one of which was for my dream school, HBS), and just absolutely loved her. I felt so embraced and like she really wanted to do anything she could to help me succeed in my interviews and follow-ups.

She spent several hours prepping me (even going beyond the agreed upon session time), debriefed with me after my interviews, and helped me write my thank you notes.

Karla is so knowledgeable about the MBA programs – not only the programs themselves, but also the interviewers, processes, and common formats. Anytime I didn’t feel fully satisfied with an answer, she patiently helped me dig deeper and explore alternatives until we found one I was comfortable with. Through that, she helped me fine tune my story, incorporating more confidence into my answers.

After my interviews, she was one of my first calls – we debriefed over my answers and analyzed if there was any recovery I had to do. After that, she would help me iterate on my thank you emails/reflections as much as I needed. Again, in anything we did together, she went so above and beyond. She was genuinely invested in my success and her support and belief meant the world to me. She would even connect me to other applicants/admits who were in my industry and who would be interesting for me to speak with given our common backgrounds and interests.

I got into my dream school, and Karla was certainly a big component of that! I couldn’t recommend her highly enough!

I have known and worked with Heidi for a little less than two years. Throughout that time, she has been the best MBA application coach and partner that I could have asked for. Starting with results, I applied to four of the M7s, and I got into three of them – one of them my dream school which I will be attending this fall! I certainly put in the blood, sweat, and tears to make this happen, but Heidi was there for everything.

When I decided to pivot my application year due to COVID, she was incredibly supportive and helped me think through the decision and what it would mean. When I struggled through the GMAT, she identified prep programs that could help me improve my score.

She helped me think about my application holistically and really helped me tell my story in a very compelling and authentic way. She was patient, supportive, and extremely accessible when I iterated again and again on my essays and application wording. Heidi was willing to meet with me however often I needed and customized her approach to how I liked to review and receive feedback. She was willing to work on my schedule and helped keep me on track.

I really couldn’t recommend Heidi enough! She is an amazing coach, storyteller, and partner in this incredibly stressful process.

After I was waitlisted for INSEAD, I got in touch with Caroline to work on the next steps in getting off the waitlist. Caroline thoroughly reviewed my application and was quick to point out the areas for improvement. Thereafter, Caroline patiently guided me through each step, giving me crucial inputs to improve. Eventually, I was admitted into INSEAD from the waitlist! Thank you Caroline and Fortuna for your instrumental help in getting me to my dream school!

I highly recommend Caroline and Fortuna to those who wish to improve on their applications!

I am so glad to have found Julia Brady and Judith Silverman from Fortuna Admissions. I have contacted 3-4 different companies, and Fortuna was the only place that willingly connected me with one of its former clients. She really connected with my life story and helped me see the best approach to tackling the application process. Thanks to her efforts, I was accepted to both Wharton and Haas.

Brittany is the ideal MBA application consultant. I worked with her to hone my essays. She won’t give feedback just for the sake of it; instead, she makes sure all critiques address key deficiencies in your work. If an essay is ready to go, she moves on quickly to the next, thereby saving you time in the process. Plus, she is incredibly responsive. Countless times I would email her late at night and then wake up the next morning to a response in my inbox. I found my essays to be much sharper after working with her.
The results speak for themselves. I was admitted to three M7 schools including Wharton where her expertise with the TBD was invaluable. She made me feel totally prepared and at ease, giving me the confidence to perform when it counted. Don’t hesitate to work with Brittany.

Sharon Joyce is the best MBA consultant. Fact Check: TRUE. If you want to win, put Sharon in!! I can’t say enough great things about Sharon Joyce. She is the reason I was accepted to M7 schools among others. She is thorough, available, encouraging and also precise in her coaching. Sharon has an incredible systematic method that got me brainstorming and got my MBA narrative flowing. She also set out a timeline that enabled my resume, essays, LORs, portal, and additional information to be completed well before the application deadline which eased the stress inherent in the application process. With Sharon, you will have your best self placed in front of the Adcom and you’ll also work with one of the most gracious, kind, and genuine persons that I’ve ever met. Sharon is truly one of a kind and while she is the reason I got into M7 schools, I truly enjoyed the months we got to know each other as people.

I was very lucky to have worked with Emma, I couldn’t have had a better experience. Emma is exceptional at what she does. I engaged with her for some hourly consulting to help review my essays and prep for the interview in applying to a top Executive MBA Program. Emma was super responsive, quick to review things and did so incredibly thoughtfully. Her feedback on my essays without a doubt guided me to make them above and beyond, and she really appreciated the message I was trying to deliver when giving feedback. My interview with the school was scheduled pretty unexpectedly, and Emma made time in her evening to ensure I got in a mock interview with her beforehand. I wish the review allowed me to give her more than 5 stars, because she deserves more. Emma’s guidance resulted in a really strong application and acceptance into my target program! Thank you, Emma!

Heidi was a true pleasure to work with! She helped me diligently through every part of the application process, from brainstorming how I wanted to pitch my Career Vision to providing very detailed and thoughtful feedback to my essay drafts. Heidi is an incredible writer/editor, which really helped me transform my essays into convincing and interesting pieces of writing. I also particularly appreciated how her feedback was very candid – enabling me to focus my rewrites/edits in the places they were most crucial. Heidi also provided really useful perspectives on how to approach recommenders, and how I may want my strategy to differ by different schools. I was admitted to one of my two top schools, and am really thrilled with the outcome. I can’t recommend Heidi highly enough!

I would definitely recommend using Brittany as an MBA consultant. She has been super helpful throughout my entire process of putting together my applications for various schools. Whenever I had a question regarding an application element, Brittany’s response time was incredibly fast and to the point! It was clear to me that Brittany has had a lot of experience in this area, and that definitely helped me when applying.

I worked with Sharon Joyce as a re-applicant in the 2022 season applying to three schools within T10! Despite it being my second time applying, she was thoughtful in her approach, provided critical feedback on my applications and essays that took it from a B- to an A+! In addition to her amazing guidance, she also is a wonderful person who cares about you and keeps your stress level low during a physically and mentally draining process. I couldn’t recommend Sharon enough!

Sharon helped me through my application process while I was traveling for work! She was amazing! I got into every school I applied to, including HBS and Sloan!

I would recommend Heidi to anyone applying to business school! She is supportive, patient, and a great source of advice throughout the process. I really appreciated how readily available she makes herself – she is quick to turn around comments and easy to reach for feedback. I am so grateful to have had Heidi’s support throughout my application process!

Initially, Malvina’s optimistic attitude combined with a sense of realism was what led me to select her out of the ~10 admissions consultants I spoke to. Looking back on my experience, going with Malvina was the single best thing I did for my business school application. Malvina was able to draw out key distinctions in my profile (despite coming from an overrepresented background), and worked with me on bringing my essay ideas to fruition (while also providing constructive criticism when necessary). She was available whenever I needed her despite the fact that we were in very different timezones (which was often!), and was as committed as I was to my success. Beyond essays, she guided me through the complex process of soliciting solid recommendations and nailing the interview. In particular, Malvina has deep knowledge of the inner workings of the HBS application process that is difficult to find elsewhere (by talking to current students or otherwise).

With Malvina’s support, I was able to gain admission to both HBS and Wharton. I can confidently say this would not have been possible without Malvina and I highly recommend her services!

I first found Karen through P&Q reviews, and there’s no question that she exceeded the high expectations that were set for her – so I wanted to add yet another positive review. Being a non-traditional candidate, I felt that Karen was critical in helping me position my experience and story. I also don’t have professional mentors who pursued their MBA, so Karen’s advice, expertise, and perspective was invaluable – I would be lost without her! With Karen’s help, I was admitted to Wharton (with merit), Kellogg (with merit), and CBS.

I also really appreciate that Karen is an excellent writer/editor. She provided suggestions for reducing my word count many times and has a great eye for storytelling. This was something I didn’t think about much when selecting an MBA coach, but I now realize how important this quality is. In addition, Karen doesn’t sugarcoat anything which I really appreciated. MBA admissions can feel like a black box sometimes, so having someone tell it like it is can be very refreshing. She is straightforward while also being encouraging. Lastly, Karen is a true coach and friend – she really cares about getting to know you and understanding where you come from and where you’re headed. We had many personal conversations and knowing she was on my team and supporting me made the process much more enjoyable and successful. I highly recommend working with Karen!

Michel is great to work with. She demystified the MBA application process and clearly outlined a simple and easy-to-follow timeline for me to be able to hit multiple deadlines without stress.

Michel is especially strong in assessing essays and your overall application to help you tell your story and your why for each school. I truly felt confident in each of my essays and applications, and she was easy to get feedback from and workshop ideas with.

With Michel’s perspective, I got into my dream school!

I would absolutely recommend Karen to anyone undertaking the MBA admissions process. She was an incredible partner throughout the process from start to finish. She is strategic, sharp, highly organized, and is exceptional at storytelling. She worked tirelessly with me for many months to craft a storyline that protected my own voice. She created an extremely structured and organized timeline to break down the process, making it feel much more manageable and less daunting. Working with her exceeded my expectations in so many ways – if it weren’t for her, I truly do not believe I would have been accepted to my dream school (Tuck).

Thank you, Karen!!

Best decision ever.
Karen genuinely cares about who you are as a person rather than just as an MBA applicant. This is the X factor that makes Karen so great! She guided me through a lot of introspection, which helped me articulate my life story in an authentic way. Also, her positivity and willingness to help you out in any way (even offered to provide feedback on a school that we weren’t working on together) really comes in clutch when you are going through the MBA application process because you feel like you always have someone in your corner.

Also, Karen truly is a professional. She responds to your questions quickly and provides feedback on your work in less than 12 hours. Any feedback that she gives is carefully thought out. She is always available to get on a call or email.

One last thing. While I was going through my MBA coach search, I had a difficult time believing all the reviews because they were all so positive. Now having worked with Karen, I can understand why they all are 5 stars!

I worked with Jessica and (Michael) to apply for 5 schools and thankfully was admitted into Ross and UCLA!

Working with Jessica was invaluable for my MBA application process. Jessica is really experienced and created a sense of structure for me to follow throughout the long and arduous application.

I especially appreciated her patience over the multiple iterations on the various essays to craft a coherent story for what my career goals were and why I needed an MBA.

Her guidance during the mock interview was also key for me to speak confidently and concisely during the actual interviews, helping me impress the interviewers.

I worked with Jenifer on an hourly basis as I had already drafted my essays when I first started working with her.

I was deeply amazed by Jenifer’s work ethic. She used the time very efficiently – she wouldn’t need a lot of time for each draft essay review but she raised lots of good points for me to consider and improve on every time. She also turned around comments promptly. She challenged me to deep dive into the essay prompt and helped me brainstorm powerful personal stories that I could use.

I was very pleased with how much my essays improved after a few revisions. Working with Jenifer has been the best investment for my MBA application. Aside from essay reviews, I also got application and career advice from Jenifer. With her help, I got into LBS (one of my top 3 schools) in round 1.

Melissa is one of the best consultants out there. She has immense knowledge of the process and her guidance is more introspective than anything.
I worked with her right from the beginning and she was happy to hear my ideas, guide me on them, and then let me take my own course of action.
She was always a very calming presence in the whole admissions process

I couldn’t have done this without her support. Trust her and you are home.

I was fortunate enough to find Fortuna and Cassandra after a couple of rejections from other admission consultants. The key difference was obvious from day one – Cassandra is compassionate and cares about who you are as an individual instead of your stats. I have an unusual background and am slightly older than the typical MBA applicant and definitely do not belong to the “right” pedigree. Fortuna and Cassandra did not rule me out. Instead, they listened to my story and wanted to get to know me as a person in order to find my strengths and X factor. Throughout the application journey, Cassandra has been on my side continuing to encourage me and making me believe in myself. She is a magician with words who helped turn my essays into compelling and emotional stories. I was told by one of the admission consultants (quite present online) who refused to work with me that the best shot I have got is Top 40. They could not be more wrong. With the support and guidance from Cassandra, I gained admission to a Top 10 program with a full ride. If you are searching for a consultant who genuinely cares about you, look no further!

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!