Karen Ponte

I was first introduced to Karen by Jenifer Raver from the Fortuna Admissions team given my preferences of applying to LBS & IESE and in the first 5 minutes of the call, I knew I wanted to work with Karen. I could tell that she was genuinely interested in my story, my career ambitions, and my long-term goals and believed in my potential to make it all come true. (I had spoken to multiple coaches before from other companies; hence I was sure). We kicked off the process and through every conversation involving self-reflection, CV preparation, and essay drafts – Karen unlocked aspects of my personality I never knew existed. I declared on Day 1 that I work better with clear timelines and defined expectations, and she let me set my own deadlines (which had to be acceptable of course). Karen was always super prompt in reviewing any material I sent across, and her feedback – was very organized, relevant, and thoughtful. She makes you want to ask yourself “Why is this relevant?” “How did you impact the lives of others with this action?” and so on….and that’s precisely what business schools want – to understand who you truly are!
Sadly, I didn’t get through the first time I applied in 2021, it was a very competitive cycle and I’m sure I probably didn’t make the cut by a very small margin. But I was set on going to LBS and I promised myself that I would reapply. Even though she was not contractually obligated to, Karen offered to help out with my reapplication strategy. She helped me reflect on what went wrong, introspect about what needs to change, structure how I could improve my profile over the next year, and also review my submission material again the next year. I came back much stronger, clearer, and way more confident than last time, and I got through!
Karen has never missed my calls (When I got the admit email, she was out on a run and she answered!). We cried together in the ding debrief last year. We laughed and celebrated together on the admit this time (and cried some more, happy tears this time). We connected emotionally – and that’s rare. All my friends and family know her by ‘Karen Didi’ because that’s what I refer to her as (Didi = moniker for ‘Big Sister’ in Hindi – someone you have profound respect for).
It was a long hard journey toward achieving my dream of going to LBS, but working with Karen has been such a pleasure. I was stupid to think I could reapply to LBS the very next year, but her confidence in my capabilities helped shape my resilience. Whatever miracle of a career I build from the LBS MBA, I owe it to her. Thank you very very much, Karen!

I have worked with Karen from June 2021 until the admissions outcome in April 2022. During this period, Karen constantly provided her insights, reviewed the application materials, and overall, has been instrumental in my successful applications to LBS and Oxford Said MBA. I come from an overly overrepresented pool of candidates, yet Karen has helped me to develop outstanding and successful applications. She was always available to provide help and advice at every step, and I believe that I would not be able to achieve such results without her help. Thank you, Karen!

Working with Karen allowed me to produce the best version of myself and get accepted to two of Europe’s best business schools!

With a GMAT score that was well below the average for my top target school, I was nervous that I had not done enough to get accepted to my dream school. Karen coached me in a way that ensured I was able to communicate my key strengths and value add throughout the application. Each part of the application became an opportunity to sell my story. This approach was refreshing and is what I believe ultimately got me accepted to my dream school.

Karen was always super responsive, regardless of the time of day. Karen was also extremely flexible which allowed me to fit my application work around my demanding job and family life. This shouldn’t be taken for granted as to produce the best possible application, you need to carve out time that you didn’t realize existed before working on an MBA application!

From start to finish, the whole Journey with Karen was a pleasure. Karen genuinely cares for her clients and always gives you 110%. I could not ask for more from an admissions consultant.

For anyone looking to get accepted to the world’s best MBA programs, look no further than Karen and the team at Fortuna.

I worked with Karen on my MBA applications last year. I find her advice is super helpful especially for perfecting essays and preparing for interviews. Karen is also very knowledgeable about business schools outside of the USA.

During the application process, I had to postpone/adjust the application timeline a few times due to personal reasons, and Karen was always okay to work with my new dates.

Karen was super helpful with preparing the essays. She always gave me candid feedback. If the direction I was going in does not seem to demonstrate my biggest advantages, she would tell me straight away. She also reviewed my essays a few rounds in order to perfect the details, which definitely improved the quality of my essays significantly.
In terms of interview preparation, it was easier than essays in my experience. We did some mock interview questions together, and she gave me a lot of helpful tips. Karen also answered my questions on the style of delivery and reassured me my style of delivery was good.

Overall I had a wonderful experience with Karen. Her advice is spot on. As a consultant, she’s easy to work with, and her responses are super fast. In the end, I obtained multiple offers from different business schools, some with scholarships. I don’t think I could have managed to have the same results without the help from Karen. I highly recommend her to other MBA applicants.

Karen has been incredibly helpful during my application process for business schools. We spent multiple months working together on my essays which allowed me to submit a strong and personal application. Karen always knew which details to add to make a difference and what the admission committee was looking for in an answer. She also prepared me for the interview process with a mock interview. Overall I was able to be admitted to my top 3 schools thanks to her great and personalized support. In addition, Karen was always available to answer my questions, she is very kind and understanding. I strongly recommend her as a support when applying to business schools!

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

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

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

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

Karen has been extremely helpful during all stages of the application process. She has put a great deal of work to ensure that my post-MBA career narrative is compelling and achievable, and also guided me through the way of self-reflection all the way through the past to come up with a fascinating personal story.
Her deep understanding of the application process from the view of adcoms, as well as time and effort spent on knowing applicant’s strengths and weaknesses is the major reason why I can finally get into my preferred dream school.

Karen has been really helpful and proactive all the way. She helped me with the application in the middle of the COVID crisis. She has been flexible, when I needed additional support following my redundancy, she has been a listening ear.
I am sure I owe her more than my place at LBS, I also got a diversity award scholarship. I am so thankful all together and cannot recommend her enough.

Karen is truly an expert at what she does. Her expertise in admissions consulting helped me to find my voice and create my own narrative. Equally, she provided a lot of guidance on how to restrategize my applications. This allowed me to highlight the strength of my profile and put forward a strong application, which would have otherwise been impossible without her help. Karen also went the extra mile by being readily available to respond to any questions that I had, and she provided constant support through the entire application process. Her guidance for the interview massively improved my confidence and I walked into the interview with a peace of mind and aced the interview. Without her support, I would not have been able to land an offer at my dream school (LBS) at such a late stage in the application cycle. Place your bets on Karen because she is definitely the real deal.

I recently had the opportunity to work with Karen on my MBA applications. The results speak for themselves. I made three applications, scored three interviews, and have already received two offers (one with a scholarship). Karen is insightful, supportive, and turns work around rapidly. I cannot recommend Karen highly enough – her ongoing support has been invaluable.

I had the pleasure of working with Karen for my master’s in finance application. She is very knowledgeable about the application process and provided me with invaluable insight. I would strongly recommend her to anyone in the future

I was lucky enough to work with Karen during my MBA applications. I’m happy to say I was admitted to both programs, in great part thanks to Karen’s support and excellent advice. Her thorough knowledge of the application process helped me define how best to showcase my story, without losing the authenticity and genuineness of what I was trying to convey. Equally, she was a constant support during the entire process, always available for any questions that arose when I was writing my essays and ready to give me profound feedback – even more remarkable considering our time differences! Her guidance and tips when practicing for interviews were also crucial in helping me ace that part of the application process. I have nothing but praise for her and I highly recommend her to anyone looking to put forward a stellar application.

Karen was a joy to work with. From the first day, she both made me comfortable with the work ahead of us and the way in which she and Fortuna would do their job to help me reach my goals. Her insight with essays and application questions were instrumental to me getting admitted, and her organization and help with the interview definitely got me over the line. She kept me on task and on time, as well as being very responsive and available whenever I needed her. Her support even gave me the confidence to submit early and secure a spot!

I enjoyed working with Karen and would recommend her to all, especially those looking at LBS as a choice of MBA.

I had the pleasure of working with Karen for my Masters in Finance program application. Karen was very helpful throughout the entire process. She was extremely professional and always made herself available to answer any questions I had. I received my acceptance to the program and Karen’s guidance and knowledge definitely played a major role in this experience. I highly recommend her services to anyone seeking to dramatically increase their odds of success.

After four rejections from top-ranked business schools, I decided that I needed to adjust my approach towards applications. After contacting Fortuna Admissions, I was impressed by the level of transparency, direct knowledge, objective advice, and depth of interest in my candidacy (especially in light of other consultants). From the onset with Karen, she proved candid, clear, and exacting on the areas that needed my attention. We discussed my profile at length during our first session, wherein she took detailed notes to help translate my objectives, strengths, and weaknesses in a coherent and concise manner for my applications. She offered strong insights into the thinking of admissions officers and how to present a unified front as an applicant. We jointly addressed problems and revised my essays to paint a focused and aligned picture that articulated my vision, reasons for an MBA, and specific rationale for individual schools in a compelling manner. We were able to jointly leverage content matter and tailor sections unique to each university, which altogether amounted to an enormous amount of value and impact in a relatively short amount of time. Karen demanded excellence (i.e. dozens of interactions and iterations for each school) and grasped both the granular details and holistic big picture to help me deliver my best in final drafts and interview preparation. And the results speak for themselves — I was offered two scholarships and a waitlist, a turnaround from four rejections! Karen was invaluable in my process and I would emphatically endorse her to others to drastically improve their odds of success!

I started looking at MBA applications last year, after a few years of considering an MBA an decided to go with Fortuna for some assistance during the process. After filling out the strategy form, Karen and I worked on application essays extensively. Based on my prior experiences, I filled out the essays and Karen assisted me in refining these essays, with comments sent to me normally within a few hours. The whole application process is generally stressful anyways but Karen assisted me in focusing on important aspects of the application. Karen was extremely helpful during the interview process as well and the mock interviews helped in calming the nerves. I would definitely recommend Karen as she was immensely helpful during the whole process, especially at times when you get a mind blank or a mini writer’s block. The final essays were then reviewed by Caroline Diarte, with important additional input on what should be highlighted. I enjoyed the whole process as there were important topics discussed, highlighted which I wouldn’t have thought about to state in the essays.

My initial conversation with Matt Symonds was the most informative of the many consultancies I reached out to. He was very knowledgeable despite my non-traditional background, and ultimately was the reason I chose Fortuna over others. I used the CSP for the major business school in the UK, and was accepted. However, the reason I am recommending Fortuna is because of my experience with Karen as a consultant. She was extremely professional, always available to answer any questions and of course her insights were very valuable on essays, mock interview and video interview. Emma Bond was also involved in the later stages of the application, and provided excellent high-level feedback looking at the application as a whole. Fortuna also used a project management software which was very intuitive and really helped the overall process (vs. traditional email). I am grateful to Karen, Emma and Fortuna for their help, and would thoroughly recommend them especially to anyone who may have a less traditional background for an MBA.

I started my free consultation with Matt, the founder of Fortuna. He is very knowledgeable about B-schools, and I think their edge is that all the consultants have working experience in top business schools. Then he recommended Karen to me, who are from the admission team of my dreaming school. First we worked out a very detailed and feasible plan for the applications. She is always prompt to reply my emails and very patient in giving advice to my essays, personal statement and video pitch. Karen also helped a lot in mock interviews, she managed to arrange two mock interviews and provided valuable feedback. I applied to two schools and got offer from one of them. With Karen’s consultation, the whole process went much more smooth.

Karen was amazing with me throughout the process of applying for MBAs. She started off by helping me shape the overall strategy for my applications including helping me to identify areas of weakness and how we could address them. She was then invaluable in terms of shaping the applications and essays to ensure they created the best impression possible. This includes returning draft essays with amendments that I had sent on Sunday evening at 10pm by Monday 9am. When it came time to prepare for interviews, she helped to tutor me on what to expect and how best to present myself. Overall, Karen has been invaluable to my MBA applications and has helped me to win a place to study at INSEAD.