Judith Silverman Hodara

I’m extremely happy that I chose Judith and the Fortuna team to work with me on my b-school applications. I had low standards for myself going into the process, and with Judith/Fortuna’s support, I was able to get into my top choice school (HSW).

I worked primarily with Karen on my applications, but Judith provided valuable support throughout the entire process. When Karen was out of office at times, Judith did not hesitate to step in and provide her undivided attention. She was amazing from the start, coaching me on my recommender briefs through a short-notice phone call over a holiday weekend, to final checking my essays multiple times for each school. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Judith and would highly recommend her for anyone looking for an experienced advisor to boost your chances of gaining admission to the top business schools.

I approached Judith and Fortuna Admissions wanting to work with the best consultants and resources to maximize my chances to attend a top business school. From our first meeting to the last, Judith engaged me and my story on a personal level. She pushed me to understand my own story and challenged me in a positive way at every stage of the process. Through collaborating on multiple iterations of essays, we worked through creating intellectually and personally-rewarding statements. The team that I worked with at Fortuna exceeded my expectations. Every meeting was helpful, every question was answered thoughtfully with an underpinning of experience, and, most importantly, every interaction was a joy. I would recommend Judith and Fortuna to all.

I really enjoyed my time working with Judith. She coached me through three round-two applications and I was admitted to two schools – UNC and Emory which included a scholarship for half of my tuition. I’m from an over-represented applicant pool with a 700 GMAT and less than a 3.0 GPA from an unknown undergrad. I truly believe Judith made a huge impact, and I highly recommend her to any potential MBA applicant.

The first thing I did was complete a very thorough worksheet that spelled out my background, my career accomplishments, career path, extra-curricular, recommenders, and my general strengths and weaknesses. Then we had a long phone-call so I could explain anything she still had questions about. I really thought this was a tremendous way for us to get to know each other.

In addition to helping me pick my mix of target schools, Judith gave me tips and tricks to help me network better with students and alumni. I immediately reached out to students at all three schools and scheduled visits. Without her direction, I would’ve skipped this crucial step.

Judith’s help with my essays was by far the most helpful aspect of this whole process. I had struggled round one, unsure which themes to focus on or what aspects of my background I should highlight. Judith helped me not only select which topics/essays I should write, but also helped me condense them down into the tight word limits. I can’t stress enough how helpful this was. I was losing sleep over the essays I’d done on my own and probably re-wrote them 10-12 times. That totally changed working with Judith.

She also kept me on target for my deadlines. Everything was reviewed closely by her in advance of the deadline. None of my applications were fire drills. This made the process considerably less stressful.

Finally, when I signed up with Fortuna, I had already received an interview invitation from Georgetown. Judith was kind enough to offer a complimentary interview prep session even though we hadn’t worked on the school together which gave me a ton of confidence going into the interview.

I can’t recommend Judith enough. She really made the MBA application process easy and enjoyable. My only regret is that I didn’t start sooner!

I first started my business school process without a consultant. I applied to 8 different schools and got denied by all 8 without 1 interview invitation. I realized that I needed to do something different and did some research online about MBA consultants. I chose the top 3 consultants based on reviews and had a preliminary call with all 3. Fortuna was far and beyond the most impressive, not just in terms of knowledge, but in terms of optimism and energy. I knew it was the right fit. I was given Judith Hodara for Wharton. I cannot say how grateful I am for the work she did on my application. I have probably spoken to her on the phone for 50 hours at this point! I would even joke that she was my therapist. Judith takes the time to really get to know her clients so she can shape each application in a unique way. The relentlessness Judith demonstrated in the pursuit to get me into a school was nothing short of astonishing. She went above and beyond what I asked of her and next fall I am headed to Wharton. If you are considering any top tier business school I implore you to give Fortuna a shot, you will not be disappointed.

This was my second time applying to business school. Judith and her team helped me reflect on what went wrong the first time, hone my story, and think deeply about my goals for business school and post-graduation. Her feedback was exact and encouraging throughout the entire process. Thank you, Judith!

I was always very clear that I wanted to get into Wharton. I did my preliminary research on consulting firms and consultants who had strong connections to Wharton. After I read about Judith, I was very keen on working with Fortuna. I reached out to them and finally spoke to Matt. After that, I had no doubt in my mind that they were the team I wanted to work with. Judith oversaw my essays, recommendations, and even the interview prep. She is extremely supportive and encouraging, which is something you need over and above the application work. It was a delight to work with her and I do credit the team for my success. The team at Fortuna is exceptional and highly recommended. I wish them all the luck.

This was my second go-at-it. And I came to Fortuna needing help to figure out where I went wrong the first time around. Speaking with Judith and Matt, I was able to drill down to what parts of my story were lacking and how to communicate the salient parts of my personal and professional trajectory in a way that would resonate with an audience. Judith was very helpful in helping me find my story and tell it. She helped in editing my drafts and made recommendations that I would not have been capable of conjuring on my own. Thanks to her and Fortuna’s help, I got accepted at an M7 school with > 50% tuition scholarship and waitlisted at another M7 school.

Judith is easily the best consultant I have worked with so far. I applied to Wharton in 2017 and Judith guided me throughout the process. She helped me tremendously in preparing for the Team-Based Discussion and the Healthcare Management Interview. She did these practice interviews numerous times to ensure that I was very well prepared and I was. I was very impressed with her level of insight into the application process and her patience with me on getting grips on the interview and application process.

Not only did she help me during the interview process, but she also helped me in drafting a “Killer” essay to impress the admissions team ultimately getting me an interview at Wharton, which I initially thought was impossible, but Judith made it very much possible.

Besides the skill and expertise that Judith brings to the table, she was also a Head of MBA Admissions at Wharton, setting her apart from her peers. That is a position that most consultants do not have and this was one of the reasons I decided to work with her.

For me, Judith and the Fortuna Admissions Team are simply the most qualified for MBA applications. They provide an excellent service that is nonpareil compared to their peers.

I worked with Judith on the Wharton group interview and off the bat, I knew she was invested in my success and extremely knowledgeable about the process, what they were looking for, and how to prepare. I especially appreciated her patience and honesty in helping me hone my pitch. I was getting frustrated at what needed to be changed and she rallied through with follow-up calls to made sure I understood and got there. Couldn’t have gotten in without her!

I was super confused when looking for an MBA admissions consultant – I wasn’t entirely sure about shelling out a ton of money on top of the ridiculous amount that I spent already. I decided to do a handful of the “free consultations” with various companies before finding Fortuna and talking with Matt. He was super clear, transparent and genuine in how he viewed my profile in the 30-minute call – he didn’t try to sell me on the full package (even though it was the MUCH more expensive route). He was transparent that he thought I didn’t need the full-school package but rather could reach out to him/Fortuna later for a more “ad hoc” engagement. I really appreciated what didn’t seem at all like a sales pitch and rather a genuine conversation.
Onwards to me doing my applications myself…after I completed the vast majority of the applications and decided to reach out to Fortuna for a “last minute check” on the school I considered my top choice. I was connected with Judith at Fortuna and send her my entire application. She thoroughly reviewed all 4 of the essays and other “qualitative comments” sections of my application and provided very useful improvements, one of which was to entirely re-write one of the short response essays. All communication with Judith was via email and a phone call. The final application review process with her was very efficient and really did provide the outside expert view on how to make the essays really “pop”. The end result was me getting accepted to this school (my top choice) with a substantial merit scholarship. Would highly recommend Fortuna, especially with my positive experiences with Matt & Judith.