Judith Silverman Hodara

I interviewed a dozen consultants – all the top names on P&Q – and even worked on an hourly basis with another well-known competitor, but Judith is head and shoulders above her peers.

Her years of experience as an adcom really shows: she cuts through what is important and what is not, is very flexible around your goals and needs, and leverages experts from the rest of the Fortuna network to fine-tune applications for each specific school on your list.

Working with Judith was also seamless. She was very responsive all times of the week and answered all of my questions (I probably had too many).

From clarifying career goals to structuring approach to essays and interviews, Judith was there to support me every step of the way, and definitely made suggestions that helped contributed to my success.

Coming from an over-represented demographic, I was admitted to 4 out of the 6 M7 schools I applied to.

Don’t hesitate. Work with Judith. She’s amazing.

I worked with Judith Silverman Hodara and Tatiana Nemo during the 2020-2021 MBA admissions cycle. I wholeheartedly recommend working with Judith and Fortuna Admissions if you’re considering hiring an MBA admissions consultant. Judith was instrumental to the ultimate success of my candidacy. From the first consultation, she took the time to get to know me and provide candid feedback, something I greatly appreciated. Whether it was reviewing a last minute edit of my essays before I pressed the “submit” button on my application, sharing expert knowledge on my target schools, or making herself available for an early morning strategy phone call, Judith was there to encourage and support me every step along the application journey. There is no better example of this than when my Round 1 applications didn’t make the cut in one of the most competitive admissions cycles in MBA history. Judith lifted my spirits, didn’t give up on me, and continued to work with me on another school’s application. It was clear that she was genuinely invested in my story and my success; she equipped me with the skills and focus needed for me to confidently put my best foot forward in the subsequent admissions round. I’m ecstatic to share that, thanks to Judith and Tatiana’s coaching, I will be heading to an M7 school in the fall. Thank you Judith!

I would 100% recommend Judith as a consultant. Judith is very kind and patient, which is super important in what can be a rather sensitive journey. I was a returning applicant and she really helped me find a unique story to tell in my reapplicant essay. I am so glad I went with her because I would have probably gone in a generic direction that wouldn’t make me stand out. Her service is a worthy investment in your future.

I had a fantastic experience working with Judith; I am delighted to offer my strongest recommendation. Judith has an unparalleled ability to meaningfully connect the dots between seemingly disjointed experiences in a candidate’s profile. Judith’s analytical shrewdness allows her to craft a personally tailored approach that combines big-picture thinking (such as identifying the most compelling narrative given a candidate’s background) with micro-level execution strategy (such as determining the proper sequence in which examples ought to appear in an essay). Her written feedback on essay drafts was invariably thought-provoking, reflecting a keen eye for detail. Judith demonstrated great flexibility throughout my engagement. She was always extremely quick to reply to my email queries and would take calls on very short notice. It was abundantly clear that Judith was wholeheartedly invested in my success. I look forward to starting my MBA at Stanford GSB this fall!

Judith is definitely the best of the best! I decided to work with Judith after speaking with a number of MBA consultants because I was very impressed with her experiences in this industry, and more importantly, felt related to her after our 1st call. On the first call (free consultation) she showed interest in my experiences and asked why I chose my current career path and how I became who I am. Judith helped me get into Booth for R1, and I applied for a few other M7 schools for r2 and will see how it goes!

Judith is great to work with. She is super responsive whenever I have a question and always has the right answers. During the whole process, I strongly felt that Judith cared about me not just as a consultant but also as a mentor, and thus I felt really comfortable having her on my side with more confidence in my application.

She knows all the M7 programs very well and can provide very personalized advice on selecting a school. She was able to help me clarify my approach for my schools of interest and more specifically knew the schools well enough to point me to the right resource for a specific program and why I was a good fit for the school with my background.

More importantly, Judith has such a great network with former gatekeepers of a lot of the programs, i.e. when I got an interview invitation from Booth, she immediately prepared me with one former Admission Director from Booth for a mock interview. She even provided a 2nd mock interview (on the house!!) just because she wanted me to be more prepared. Later on, I got an offer from Booth. I am from Asia (a very competitive application pool) and everyone knows that 2020 is a tough year. Thank you, Judith!

Judith was so helpful throughout the admissions process. I had previously applied to CBS, HBS, and GSB, and decided last minute to submit round 3 applications to CBS / LBS. Judith had excellent thoughts on both my essays and my application as a whole and really helped me highlight the areas in which I improved since my last application. She was also very quick to respond to questions and concerns, which was important given my tight timeline. Fortuna’s process is top-notch and they are very familiar with the unique application processes at each school. I cannot recommend Fortuna and Judith enough!

I worked with Judith and Jenifer to prepare for my Team-Based Discussion. Since I came from a non-business background (military), the Fortuna Admissions team helped me showcase my strengths while also accentuating my personality. After the mock interview and debrief, I grew more comfortable influencing fellow applicants, whom had widely different personalities and backgrounds that I was used to — a skill to improve upon for any applicant! My performance during game day rounded out my application and ultimately helped me secure a generous merit fellowship. Working with the Fortuna Admissions team will give you invaluable insight into what it could feel like during game day. Take my advice, you won’t regret it.

Working with Karen and Judith was nothing short of exceptional. Both helped to craft my experiences and credentials into 5 compelling applications – each of which illustrated my potential and told my story better than I ever could on my own. I’m incredibly thankful for their support and confidence in me and would recommend their service to anyone. Thank you, Judith!

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.

I worked with Judith Hodora right before my group interview. From my first touch point with Judith, she was compassionate and encouraged me to focus on my strengths which definitely helped me calm my nerves. We also discussed specific ideas I could undertake on the interview day to tackle aspects I had missed. She was definitely invested in my success and even volunteered to go out of her way to give me extra coaching on the Sunday afternoon right before my interview !! This was quite heart warming and really made me feel like I was ready to ace D-day. Her experience having seen numerous candidate profiles really comes through. I would 100% recommend working with her throughout the process. Great mentor to have !

My experience working with Judith was great. I was initially drawn to Fortuna after speaking with both Judith and Matt, her business partner. I had spoken with multiple consulting firms, and Fortuna really impressed me with their attention to detail on my background and what I was hoping to accomplish. Judith gave a lot of great insight into the admissions process at the various schools, drawing on both her own experience in admissions as well as that of her colleagues. I wasn’t sure how much detail was needed for each of the essays. During my first pass at an essay, she came back to me and said that I really needed to go deeper and provided a handful of helpful questions and comments that forced me to get super specific with that school. Throughout the process, she was willing to look over essays and answer last minute questions, and overall was an incredibly useful and calming presence throughout the process. Additionally, she held interview prep sessions for both 1-1 and group interviews, all of which were invaluable.

Judith brings to the table her years of experience as an admissions director, to review applications from the lens of admissions committee. I found her inputs on my applications invaluable and worth every dollar spent at Fortuna. She maintained the perfect balance between projecting my authentic self and making me stand out in the applicants pool. She went out of her way and worked through her weekend along with me for my Yale application at a time when I was approaching the deadline fast and Judith’s hands were already full. She was instrumental in helping me highlight my strengths and convey my intended message in the application, in the most succinct and presentable manner. She ensured optimum utilization of the consulting time I had with her, conducted multiple mock interviews and kept my morale high throughout the process. With Judith’s help and my determination, I got admitted into my top choice school – Yale SOM. I can’t thank her and Fortuna enough for this service.

I worked with Judith at Fortuna and could not be more thankful for her help. My first conversation with Judith was great – she was very calm, knowledgeable, and really took the time to hear my story. She provided constructive feedback and advice even during my initial free phone consultation, which immediately drew me to choosing Fortuna. They were initially going to place me with a specific consultant who had extensive experience with Wharton, but he/she was not available at the time – thus, Judith helped me instead and did not charge me extra even though she goes for the higher director’s rate. Judith was extremely responsive, efficient, and provided very helpful feedback to each iteration of my essays and application. With not much time to complete my application, Judith was never the bottleneck – she was rather a calming presence. I knew my story, but she helped refine it and frame it in a compelling way on paper. When I got to the interview stage, I had no idea what to expect as Wharton’s group/team-based interview is unique – luckily, Fortuna also offered mock team-based interview training, which I found very helpful. I went into the actual interview feeling confident and well prepared because I had gone through it with other candidates and received feedback on my performance from Judith. I felt reassured and confident every step of the way with Judith’s help because I knew she had extensive experience evaluating candidates as an admissions director herself. I will be attending Wharton in the fall and am extremely grateful for Fortuna and Judith’s support. I truly received individualized attention (even as an hourly client), and am extremely happy with the outcome!

Judith and Catherine were both amazing during my unique process. I originally started to work with them back in 2015. When starting the application process, I was hoping to improve my GMAT score. Unfortunately, I did not get my dream GMAT score. Instead of recommending to still apply in 2015, they both advised me to get my GMAT score up and then apply. I really appreciated that candid answer from them because they definitely could’ve led me down a different path. I eventually got the score I needed and worked with them on a fast track to hit R1 deadlines. They pushed me to put forth the best application and showcase my authentic self (instead of just writing what I thought the admissions wanted to hear). I am proud to say I got into my dream school and I could not have done it without them!