Julie Ferguson

Julie played a pivotal role in my successful admission to 5 M7 MBA programs and I wholeheartedly recommend her to anyone seeking not only a consultant but a mentor and a guiding force throughout the challenging MBA application journey!

What truly sets Julie apart is her unwavering commitment, profound insights and candid guidance. She led me from a muddled set of ideas to a clear, focused career vision. Julie masterfully helped me define my narrative, weaving the diverse threads of my life into compelling essays tailored for each program. Julie’s relentless support covered everything from crafting my applications, engaging recommenders, preparing for interviews, and even navigating waitlist strategies. Her honesty, encouragement, and expert insights were invaluable, while her optimistic and supportive personality made the process a true joy.

With Julie’s assistance, I gained admission to Booth, Kellogg (both with full-ride scholarships), Wharton, Columbia and LBS. Despite my strong candidacy, I firmly believe I wouldn’t have achieved this result without Julie’s guidance. If you have the opportunity to work with her, do not hesitate – it’s a decision that undoubtedly shaped my future.

I wholeheartedly recommend Julie for her mentorship and the Fortuna team for their outstanding support in my MBA application process. I am immensely grateful for their role in my journey to success!

Julie did an amazing job helping me perfect all my applications. I got accepted to my dream school, and I have Julie to thank for it. She guided me throughout the entire process. She helped show me the way forward, from brainstorming my initial thoughts to interview prep. She helped me refine my essays and focus each of my applications on what would work best at each school. Her deep knowledge of each program, and the depth of expertise at Fortuna as a whole, allowed me to expertly tailor each of my applications in ways I never could have by myself. I cannot recommend Julie and the whole Fortuna team enough.

I came to Julie without a clear understanding of the application process and a jumble of ideas and thoughts on what I wanted to say in my essays and do in my career. She helped organize my thoughts, which not only helped my application but also helped me look inwards and recognize what my goals / capabilities are in my career. She has a great personality (eternal optimist) and makes you feel accepted and supported throughout the process. I felt like she was in the trenches with me as I was going through my application.
It was a great working with her. Her contributions added a lot of value, and I think the value of the service was well-worth the cost. I was admitted into Booth and Wharton EMBA programs.

Julie was excellent to work with. She is clearly extremely knowledgeable about the MBA application process overall and individual schools. My biggest callout is that Julie provides some calmness in an otherwise stressful application process – I never had to stress about whether I was getting things done fast enough, if my work quality was good, etc. Julie also does a great job of outlining the process overall, setting clear timelines, and ensuring all pieces of the application fit together well. Despite a good GPA, GMAT, and background, I would not have gotten into my MBA program without Julie.

If you are able, I highly recommend working with Julie.

Julie is incredibly knowledgeable, smart, and caring. She helped me through the entire application process, which led to an acceptance at my top school. I would highly recommend her to anyone considering an admissions consultant.

I found Julie at a super difficult and disappointing time in my application process where I thought there was no way I could make decent applications this year. I am not exaggerating when I say she saved my life. She worked with me relentlessly on all elements of my applications, was very candid about the different aspects of my profile, and blew me away with the incredible insights she gave to help me tell my story. From articulating my career vision, to writing my essays, to reaching out to recommenders, to preparing for interviews, waitlist strategies, and even interacting in school events, she has been my rock at every step of this grueling journey, and now that I am headed to one of the best MBA programs in the world, the greatest of credits goes to her. This period was some of the most challenging in my personal life as well, including health emergencies which really pushed me for time, but she held my hand and got me through to the other side in one piece. I understand that one engages a consultant hoping for success in one’s applications, but irrespective of whether your dream school makes an offer, I promise you that Julie will help you submit the absolute best most compelling application that you could have. She neither holds back on encouragement, nor criticism, and you can rest assured that she will be honest with you. I could not recommend her more!

I chose to work with Julie based on her reputation as an essay guru, and I was not disappointed!

I have a non-traditional career background as well as some more unique extracurriculars, so I knew that the essay was a crucial aspect of my application and where my background could really shine. Julie helped me define my “story,” find the different threads throughout my background and weave them together into a compelling essay. She helped guide me in the right direction and make sure that my essays were tailored to each program, and her deep knowledge about Chicago Booth allowed me to submit my strongest essay for my top program. If you’re looking for a consultant to really help take your essays to the next level, I highly recommend working with Julie.

I am very grateful to have had Julie as a consultant throughout the MBA application process, from start to finish. She was incredibly helpful in reviewing my essays, preparing me for interviews, and helping me select a list of schools to apply to with confidence. Ultimately, with her help, I was admitted to my top choice program! I recommend Julie wholeheartedly.

Going into the MBA Application experience I would compare to drinking out of a fire hose. Information is everywhere, and it’s mostly conflicting and from unknown sources.

Julie was able to first and foremost distill the “so-what” of that information and apply it directly to what I wanted out of my experience.

It’s not always easy to stick out, but with Julie’s guidance, I was able to put together essays and a profile of who I am, and what I want that I was proud of. I can’t thank her enough for her honesty, support, and cheerleading throughout the experience.

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!

Working with Julie was the best decision I made through the application process.

Even with my unpredictable, full-time consulting schedule, Julie always made the most of the time we had together and provided a quick turnaround of edits/feedback on my essays. Her knowledge of how to use the essays to complete the full picture of your application, while fine-tuning it for the program, is invaluable.

Excited to be attending Booth in the fall and couldn’t have done it without her!

I worked with Julie on my Wharton application, which I then used for 5 other schools. I received an invitation at all schools, and admitted to Ross ($$), Tuck, and Wharton. Julie was a tremendous help throughout the entire process, even with a relatively aggressive round 1 timeline.

Julie worked with me on my only application to Booth part-time MBA program. She was awesome in every sense. Apart from the fact that she helped me clearly articulate my strengths, weaknesses and the reason for doing MBA, she was always available to help me with my application. The points she had about my interview notes really helped me nail the interview. I highly recommend working with Julie for a sure-shot admit to a top-tier school.

Julie made the MBA application process simple and manageable from start to finish. She is very thorough with her work, yet makes the essay writing process fun and introspective. Most importantly, she does not hesitate to offer suggestions that can ultimately make an average application that much more competitive. I really appreciated her willingness to talk through any and all parts of the application process. Excited to have been admitted to Kellogg and couldn’t have done it without Julie!

Julie was exceptional. As candidate from a small firm and a tier two liberal arts college, Julie worked diligently to help me stand out in wholly unexpected ways. She showed me how a weekend hobby wasn’t just a hobby, but a way to make my candidacy standout.

Where Julie shines is the essay. About five times, per essay I’d find myself stuck, but each time Julie was there with some wild idea that was just enough to get me going. She diligently edited the barrage of drafts I threw at her. The essays we produced were the cornerstone of my application. Admissions officers from three separate programs highlighted my essays as the key strength of my application.

Like working with any great coach, if you put in the work, you will see outstanding results.

Throughout my application process, Julie was supportive and provided excellent guidance. She helped me refine my “story” and weave it throughout each of my applications in a way that would appeal to each school. She is very knowledgeable, dedicated, and keeps things fun! I strongly recommend Julie to anyone looking to apply to top-tier schools.

Thank you, Julie, for all of your help!

I am so excited to write a review for Julie, who diligently worked towards strengthening my applications and preparing me for interviews. I particularly appreciated her candid approach to helping me understand the strengths and weaknesses of my profile, from the perspective of the admissions committee. Through multiple reviews and feedback, she encouraged me to go deep within myself and come up with the most impactful work/life experiences I have had, thus making my application stand out. Her mock interviews and subsequent feedback, ensured that I took my best and authentic self to the actual interviews and converted both my interview calls into admits – Kellogg and Cornell. I highly recommend Julie and Fortuna Admissions to serious aspirants for top Business schools.

Julie assisted me in preparing my applications to the Booth and Wharton – Lauder MBA programs. During the process, Julie provided me with candid feedback on my strengths and weaknesses as an applicant and clear strategies to tailor my applications to the schools, gave me specific suggestions on how to draft cohesive storylines, and always pushed me to sharpen my messages. Thanks to Julie’s assistance, and some luck of course, I have been admitted into both programs.