Nicola Sandford

Nicola was such a fantastic resource to help with my application to get into INSEAD. She helped me put together a program for my application and studies, and through her guidance, I was able to present my best self to the admissions committee.

I am really glad that I engaged Nicola’s help with my INSEAD MBA application. At first, I had many doubts about getting any help from an admissions consultant, but I had no choice because I was juggling between work, GMAT and the application within a very short timeline until the INSEAD application deadline.

To cut short, I would recommend Nicola to anyone who is preparing for an MBA application. First of all, Fortuna Admissions has a very systematic approach to evaluating my past experiences, self-reflection, and putting them together in an MBA application, so following through with the prep documents before I even had the first call with Nicola, I felt quite confident about the application process.

However, not everything came together all at once, and this is where the work with Nicola was the most helpful. I had so many contents written down and brainstormed, and Nicola guided me through picking the most important pieces of my past experiences for the MBA application. After 5 draft revisions of my essays, I was finally done with the whole application, and I really appreciate that Nicola encouraged me throughout this whole process.

The 8 hours I signed up initially were spent very efficiently throughout the whole process, Nicola kept track of the time very efficiently and I got to spend the time on everything I needed the help with, within the 8 hours.

Even after the hours were all used up, Nicola regularly checked in with me to see if I had any other questions and how my application process is going until I received the final admission! She even shared some tips on alumni interviews through email, which was also quite helpful.

Overall, I really could not have made the deadline with such quality of application within such a short timeline without Nicola’s help. She was the best supporter of my MBA story, yet at times pushed me for the better, which really enabled me to put my best foot forward on the MBA application process. I highly recommend anyone working with Nicola for any MBA admissions!

Nicola was my consultant on an hourly basis, with services for the review of my draft essays, and review of my application in addition to interview prep.

Nicola is responsive and comprehensive throughout the process and I thoroughly recommend her for your MBA application. We were on a short timeline but she managed to provide immense value during the short time we worked together. In addition to essay review, she helped me to probe deeper into my motivations for business school and helped to flesh it out in the essays.

I came into my MBA application prep with a skeptical mindset about using an admissions consultant given the costs and reviews online. I am glad to be proven wrong, beginning with the initial call with Matt Symonds, who gave a very compelling value proposition. Nicola then exceeded my expectations on the value of an admissions consultant.

I would give Nicola and the Fortuna team two thumbs-up for the services rendered.

I am from a non-traditional MBA background and believed a coach is necessary to help me navigate the highly competitive and complex process of MBA application. Thanks to Nicola, Matt and Caroline, the journey was instead really enjoyable. I chose Fortuna because of the recommendation from a good friend and the fact that, as ex staff from INSEAD, some of the coaches have deep insights about my dream school. Nicola and I are in nearby time zones across the Tasman Sea (AU and NZ, allowing the communications to be very timely and convenient. As I said, the entire process was very well planned with a clear timeline. I was able to focus on tasks in hand and knew everything was under control. There are specific tools and guidance for each step along the way. For example, the initial comprehensive questionnaire was extremely valuable as a tool for self-reflection and gathering material for essays. For the whole time, Nicola was extremely helpful. She had enlightened me to discover the meaningful stories of my life. In terms of the application, the essays and forms were carefully reviewed by Nicola and Caroline dozens of times. Nicola also helped me with interviews and the scholarship application. In summary, Nicola is a great coach and I highly recommend anyone choose her and Fortuna Admissions. Without their help, I probably wouldn’t have survived the admission competition and eventually receive an offer from INSEAD. A big thank you to the team. Lastly, I have to mention the Youtube channel and the website of Fortuna Admissions, which are great resources for MBA applications.

As someone without any connection to MBA students or alumni, I had a difficulty in compiling my essays and the overall application process. After contacting several admission consulting services and comparing their service, responses towards my questions, explanations, and overall feeling to the consultant, I decided to choose the service from Fortuna Admission. For me, to be comfortable to the consultant is essential as basically they will be your mentor who will guide you through self-reflection and question your motivations pursuing MBA, which could lead to many personal sides of life! Nicola Sandford was really an amazing mentor. I felt like she genuinely want to know about my motivation and background, pointed out several of my strengths and weaknesses, then showed me how to make my profile stood out as a unique individual. The feedback from her were really accurate and fast! She will not stop until she know the essays and the overall application are ready to be submitted. She sometimes also discuss with Caroline in supporting me and happily answering my (many) questions. As a result, I am successfully admitted to INSEAD and HEC Paris, with a significant amount of scholarship! I am sure the result will go different way if I didn’t have the support from Fortuna Admission. Many thanks to Nicola, Caroline, and Fortuna team for supporting me to achieve my MBA dream!

I was overwhelmed by the thought of facing the MBA application process. Especially for INSEAD, which continues to add more requirements each year and has one of the longest applications of any MBA program. Fortuna, and especially Nicola, really helped me get organized from day one, making sure I took adequate time to reflect on my background/motivations and develop a cohesive story, and then guiding me through each hurdle of the process. Nicola helped me gain the confidence that I was submitting an application that not only displayed my story in the best possible light, but was also directly targeted INSEAD. Because Fortuna has years of experience on both sides of the admissions process (both as admissions consultants and admissions gatekeepers), they really know how to get the best out of you. For example, while I did not have a ton of international experience prior to applying, Nicola helped me successfully emphasize the things that were most relevant to the INSEAD admissions team. Nicola and the Fortuna team know INSEAD better than anyone, and I am forever thankful for their guidance over the past year.