Nonie Mackie

After my experience working with Nonie and the rest of the Fortuna team, I have nothing but praises for her and the team!

Fortuna’s advising process first started with calls to understand my background and set up the “backbone” of my application to INSEAD. The advice and feedback provided to me in these initial calls showcased Nonie’s keen understanding of INSEAD and the strengths sought after by INSEAD.

Throughout the entire application process, she has shown professionalism and dedication. She has been extremely generous with her time and experience, be it during the crafting of my essays or the time spent conducting mock interview video sessions with me.

Further, Nonie was also kind enough to put me in contact with several specialists within the Fortuna team in relation to my resume building and further strengthening my case for INSEAD with Caroline.

All in all, I have nothing but praises for Nonie and the rest of the team for all the hard work they’ve put in to share their knowledge, experience, and perspectives. I was admitted with a partial scholarship in R2 of INSEAD’s 23D class.

I started the consultation with Nonie about 9 months before I intended to apply to INSEAD. She was able to give me some actionable advice immediately so I could craft my profile, which paid off during the application. She was very helpful and professional with her advice while writing essays and working with recommenders, and was very knowledgeable about what INSEAD looks for in applicants. This was also evident during our preparation for interviews. Overall, she was very easy to communicate with and the experience exceeded my expectations. I would definitely recommend her if you are looking to get into INSEAD, and I am sure she would be able to assist if you are applying to other schools as well.

Working with Fortuna was a crucial factor in my success. I connected with them (spoke to Matt) as soon as I had the idea of applying to b-school, and boy am I glad to have brought Fortuna onboard from the early stages, nearly one year before my submission. My coach Nonie’s help was of immense value in many areas, most notably her experience in admissions and career expertise, and her motivational spirit. Fortune’s team of ex-adcom was my number one reason for hiring them.

Working with her helped me better formulate my story; I found myself presenting my qualities in a more confident and articulate way professionally as well as personally. She helped shed light on my areas of weakness and shared with me interesting videos and articles that were crucial in my self-development. I found the input from the more senior coach (ex-director of admissions) vital in some areas of my CV and story.

The turnaround time was excellent and I received feedback within only a few hours. My coach Nonie was an admission officer herself which meant her detailed knowledge of the processes and a deep insight into the school I was applying to. That knowledge was priceless as it saved me hours of research and second-guessing. If you are looking to bring your A-game to the table, you need a great team around you, and Fortuna is the best in their field – definitely worth the money.

I was referred to Nonie Mackie from Fortuna Admissions through a friend. My first experience with the Fortuna team was via free consultation with Matt Symonds. I was very impressed by the amount of information and the insights he had about me, which showed that the team puts effort into getting to know a candidate and their candidature for MBA programs before even signing up for a package. I was thoroughly convinced during the call and signed up for the ‘Comprehensive School Package’ with Nonie Mackie as my admissions consultant.

The process of Fortuna is very well structured. After signing up, a candidate is taken through a journey of deep introspection by working on a ‘Strategy Questionnaire’. The questionnaire along with the strategy calls becomes the blueprint for the journey ahead. Writing essays for INSEAD seemed very daunting for me at first, but it was the questionnaire and my calls with Nonie that lighted the way while I was working on my first drafts of the essays.

Nonie is a fantastic coach, very warm and empathetic yet direct and honest when needed. Nonie was always forthcoming and asked if I needed to jump on a call to brainstorm or power through any mental blocks while writing the essays. She also kept track of our timeline and helped manage our deliverables by nudging me if we were losing pace. Regardless of the time pressure, she was extremely focused on making sure that each aspect of the application, from essays, the online application form to all other materials were of the highest standard. I will say that Nonie has through and through understanding of what exactly a b-school is looking for. She always encouraged me to explore my story, and with each new facet, she would refine my overall narrative to become more holistic and balanced. Her constructive feedbacks transformed all my materials into a winning application.

Her inputs along with reviews from Caroline Edwards Diarte, a former admissions director at INSEAD were absolutely key to putting the best application forward. I was applying only for INSEAD, and both Nonie and Caroline were the best experts to coach me, they have consistently been my biggest cheerleaders through this journey. After working with them through multiple iterations and getting the go-ahead from Caroline, who herself shaped the INSEAD application as we see it today, I was confident that my application cannot get any better and could only get so much better because of them.

Once I was invited for alumni interviews, I was very anxious. The mock interviews with Nonie were my sole source of confidence and prepped me to have the right state of mind during the interviews. My experience with the actual interviews was exactly the same as my mocks, so I was very comfortable in the actual interviews. What I valued the most in my mocks with Nonie was her focus on polishing the rough edges while making sure that my authenticity shines through.

Regardless of the school you are applying to, my recommendation would be to have faith in Fortuna Admissions and trust their expertise. Their team has former admissions gatekeepers from all the top schools, and they know exactly how to deliver your best application. Once you are signed up, my only suggestion would be to trust each of their inputs and diligently follow their process.

I was targeting INSEAD and had HEC Paris as a backup plan. Since I wasn’t sure how to best highlight the strength of my profile, I decided to work with Fortuna admission and Nonie in particular. Looking back this was a great decision.

I was lucky to work with Nonie to refine my application strategy. Though being very positive overall, she gave substantial pieces of advice which made me modify significantly both my essays and CV.

Another crucial aspect was timing. We had two weeks before the INSEAD round 2 application deadline and still achieved to apply on time thanks to her reactivity (though looking back I would not advise anyone to rush in a similar fashion!).

In the end, I was waitlisted (and later accepted) by INSEAD and accepted with a 10K€ scholarship by HEC, and I have chosen to go to INSEAD.

Thanks again, Nonie!

I decided to work with an admissions consultant due to the demands of my job and a short application window. I had little time to manage the process alone and wanted to work with someone to keep me focused and make more efficient use of my time. I decided to work with Fortuna Admissions after receiving a free consultation with Matt Symonds as well as a few other companies. I was impressed with Matt’s knowledge of the one-year programs I was interested in, as well as Fortuna’s deep bench of former admissions officers at my target schools.

After signing with Fortuna, I was fortunate to be placed with Nonie Mackie. I can confidently say that Nonie was an essential factor in my successful admission into a global top MBA program.

I applied to a small number of one-year MBA programs (think INSEAD, Oxbridge), and Nonie was very knowledgeable about what each school was looking for and how to craft my story and strategy. Nonie helped me draft and perfect my CV, my essays, my recommender strategy, and even the application forms for each school. Nonie also provided critical support with interview preparation, and our mock interviews helped me feel confident and focused for the real deal.

As a struggled with some GMAT setbacks and a full plate of work, Nonie was also able to keep me organized and focused on preparing what I needed to prepare in the time given, and took out a lot of guesswork throughout the whole application process.

If you are interested in applying to the same schools that I did, or really any school, ask to work with Nonie at Fortuna. You will be glad you did when you get into your dream MBA program.

I bought the comprehensive package for one school – INSEAD, and I chose Nonie Mackie as my consultant. Finally, it turned out that this is the best decision I’ve ever made during the application journey.

Just from the first Skype call with Nonie (the free version consultation), I realized that she’s the person who can help me, not just because that, as the Former Assitant Director in the INSEAD MBA Program, she is very knowledgeable about INSEAD culture and taste of admission committee.

Before the call, I researched several other admissions consulting firms and scheduled virtual meetings with their consultants. I’ve had no feeling that there is one consultant like Nonie who cares about YOU, not the business. It proved in the 2nd conversation with her. She read carefully about my Strategic Questionnaire and knew me better than myself. She could identify my strengths where I didn’t see but where the admissions officers may want. The most important thing is that Nonie followed what inside a person and she wanted to know me and dig up unique experiences and hidden values from myself.

Nonie is very patient and humble, with much experience in INSEAD and with her previous clients. I am not a native English speaker, and I always shared my concerns and left the most difficult decisions with her. She would be very patient to ask each question timely. She even replied to me sometimes during the holiday because I started preparing in a tight timeline (please prepare in advance and give you enough time). Throughout the whole journey, Nonie guided me step by step.

I had a low GMAT score, therefore, to me, essays would be kind of game-changers. When Nonie and I worked on my essay edits, I believe that she spent a lot of time thinking strategically and thoroughly. As you know, there are many questions in the INSEAD MBA application. But, for each question, after several times fourth-and-back tweaks and edits, Nonie turned my essays into something! Because Nonie followed my experience and strengths, all the essays are shining and enjoyable to read for me. I worked full-time and had long working hours. By choosing Nonie and Fortuna, I saved time to finally achieve my goal. For example, for other various deliverables, such as resume, online application, recommenders, Nonie also consistently supported me.

About my interview preparation, Nonie’s assistance during the video interview and alumni interview process were very helpful. Such high-quality mock interviews gave me confidence for the actual interviews.

Overall, I very much appreciate Nonie’s endless help and support during my MBA application process. I got admitted to INSEAD MBA and would highly recommend Nonie for candidates chasing their dreams.

I applied to INSEAD and was waitlisted. After reading up reviews for Fortuna online, I decided to take on their waitlist strategy package. The Fortuna coordinator was able to connect me with a senior (Director level) member of Fortuna that deals with admissions specifically with INSEAD. She was able to give me some really good advice on my essays and most importantly, was able to provide me the email for INSEAD’s director of admissions. I reached out to the director and they advised me to reapply to INSEAD for next year. I did just that! This time I took another 2-hour session with Fortuna and I was connected to an ‘Expert Coach’ (Nonie Mackie). Nonie thoroughly went through my complete INSEAD application and advised me on what I needed to change very specifically. I carefully followed the instructions I was provided, including advice on my correspondence with the school, and reapplied. I’m happy to say that I was accepted into INSEAD and this would not have been possible without the guidance from Nonie.

Nonie was an excellent coach for me. I would not have succeeded with my admissions essays without her careful attention to detail and well thought out nature. She helped me truly understand what the questions were trying to reveal and how best to showcase my story. I highly recommend her services. You won’t be disappointed!

I started to work with Nonie in January 2020 (with a 1 school package) in order to prepare my MBA application for INSEAD. She managed to turn my story into gold and I eventually got admitted to INSEAD regardless my average GRE score. She also gave me some great advice for my LBS application and I eventually got admitted to LBS as well!
Nonie is a great coach, she is patient and honest. She knows exactly what schools are looking so it’s definitely a great investment if you want to join an MBA program.

It was an amazing experience working with Nonie on my application. She is extremely committed and if you are ready to put in the hard work, Nonie’s guidance can turn your application into gold. She was extremely flexible and accommodating. Her encouraging words helped me stay motivated throughout the process and she helped me prioritize the many activities on my profile. Nonie’s turnaround was always quick and her detailed comments were instrumental in helping me structure my experiences most effectively. She has an eye for detail and her INSEAD background helped me understand the school and my fit much better. The mock interviews prepared me for all sorts of questions. Nonie was available and supportive during the entire journey and her enthusiasm about my candidature always filled me with positivity. Working with her was effortless and fun and it was an absolute pleasure to have her as my coach.

I bought a one-school package with Nonie and that was the best investment I have made in my MBA journey.

Before signing up with her, I have read many reviews and contacted many admission coaches only to have most of them tell me that the chance of getting into a top 10 business school MBA program is slim due to my lower than average GMAT score. The first impression I got from Nonie is that she can quickly identify the strengths and weaknesses of a candidate and come up with a very bespoke admission strategy, on the other hand, she also made me believe that I can achieve the goal.

Working with Nonie is also a pleasure, she is candid, honest and methodical, we have set many small deadlines for files and Nonie would constantly check in on the progress if my essays or other aspects of the application. On many occasions, she and I have worked out of office hours to deliver quality files before the deadline. The end result is, I submitted both my LBS and INSEAD applications a few days before the deadlines.

I also found my mock interview with Nonie was very helpful as well. I was initially intimidated by the idea of video interviews as I had no experience in the past, but working with Nonie who guided me through the themes of the and LBSand INSEAD video interview, I felt I was more confident and relaxed in my video interviews.

I ended up getting interview offers from both LBS and INSEAD and decided to accept the offer from LBS. I would like to thank Nonie for her hard work supporting my admission journey every step of the way and I would like to recommend Nonie to everyone who aspires to get on the same journey.

Nonie possesses ALL the traits of an exceptional coach, she is methodical, organized, punctual, professional, flexible, candid, provides immensely valuable feedback, and ultimately empowers you to put your best application forward. On top of all this, she is also a joy to work with.

We worked together extensively on all aspects of my application, but Nonie’s impact was particularly pronounced in my essays. I compared the initial drafts and final product and was amazed at the positive impact Nonie’s feedback had on me and my essays. Often I found I knew what I wanted to say, but not necessarily how to best present it, and Nonie always provided her support to ensure my point was made. As it relates to interview techniques, I am quite a comfortable interviewer (making this more challenging for Nonie!) but even with a strong base, Nonie picked up on several small details which were difference makers that I had overlooked for ages – I still use them to this day. Lastly, I built a relationship with Nonie over the course of months of sharing stories, garnering her feedback and working together. I’m hoping to have the opportunity to thank her in person for her work! Nonie also draws on her experience with INSEAD, and stays in the know on updates and things to be aware of. While the MBA application process can be intense and stressful, I found myself enjoying it while working with Nonie.

Overall, I cannot recommend Nonie enough. If you are serious about ensuring you put the absolute best application forward, it is a no-brainer to speak with Nonie about how she can help you achieve your goals (and enjoy the process while working towards them).

I purchased an 8 hour package service package with Fortuna Admission and I worked with Nonie, who was an absolute pleasure to work with. She helped me tailor my application materials to better present myself by making sure that the points in my essays have come through to meet the selecting criteria of INSEAD. She pointed out things I never thought of and helped me identify the aspects that needs to be emphasised and the ones to be avoided. Many of my essays were finalised close to the deadline, and thanks to Nonie, who always found a way to respond to my last minute requests, my application was successfully submitted on time.

I found my mock interview with Nonie was very helpful as well. I was initially intimidated by the idea of video interviews as I have done it poorly in the past, but working with Nonie who guided me through the themes of the INSEAD video interview, I felt so much more confident afterwards and improved my video interview performance in a short time.

My final application result was successful, and I don’t think it would be this smooth without the help from Fortuna Admission and especially Nonie. I would highly recommend her!

Obtaining the Comprehensive School Package from Fortuna was one of the best decisions I made when I was applying for my MBA. Their approach to the application was organized and communication with my coach, Nonie, was highly efficient.

Nonie went above and beyond my expectations of her role as my coach. She was very thorough and diligent in giving feedback on all aspects of my application. What I appreciate most about Nonie was that she was very patient and sincere. She regularly checked up on me as to how I was doing with my application (essays, recommendation letters) and even my GMAT.

I highly recommend Nonie and Fortuna for their MBA application services.

I mostly worked with Nonie on my INSEAD application. I also briefly worked with Caroline, who helped me polish my final drafts. Nonie has been a superstar in my successful journey to INSEAD. Everything about her is gold! Her honesty and open-mindedness are the biggest hallmarks of her coaching attributes. She has been pleasantly honest about her opinions and feedback throughout the application process, even if that meant more re-work, drafts and revisions. She has a tremendous eye for detail and helped me rectify things that are sometimes easy to overlook. Nonie is also extremely open-minded, flexible and accommodating. She never restricted my chain of thoughts; she always encouraged me to write different narratives and her insightful critique eventually helped me select the narratives that best showcased my winning attributes and presented me in the best light possible. Although, I started working on my application quite late into Round 1, and hence was always racing against time to submit my application by the Round 1 Deadline, Nonie never allowed me to settle for less or compromise on the quality of any aspect of my application for the sake of meeting deadlines. In fact, Nonie powered me throughout the journey, especially at times when I felt that I might not meet the Round 1 deadline. Despite the zonal time difference between UAE and Singapore, Nonie was very flexible, responsive and her turnaround time was exceptional. Her feedback was succinct, crystal clear, and extremely constructive. Nonie leveraged her tremendous knowledge of INSEAD to help me create a bullet proof strategy for my INSEAD application. However, it was not just tough love from Nonie all the time. She displayed abundant sensibility when I shared a few of my personal stories with her. She helped me allay my anxieties and overcome my inhibitions. The mock interviews with Nonie were a lot of fun. I feel, this is where the student-coach relationship really came to life and started thriving on an entirely different level of comfort and camaraderie. Nonie’s care and coaching was extremely personal. I could feel that she was really invested, almost like a stakeholder, in my INSEAD dream, and when time came, she seamlessly switched gears from being my essay critic to becoming my biggest supporter. She championed me and positively reinforced my thoughts right until the decision day. Her confidence in my candidacy eventually became the cornerstone of my own belief, faith and confidence. With, Nonie beside me, I never felt alone in the journey. She not only kept me in the race all the time, but also helped me get over the line. I am absolutely indebted to her. While Nonie was the superstar of my INSEAD application journey, I would like to remember Caroline as the real rockstar of my application. She had been the MBA gatekeeper at INSEAD admissions for several years, and having shaped the application procedure herself, Caroline sprinkled the much desired magic dust on my application that quite literally transformed it into a sparkling one. Caroline stressed on brevity, simplified complexities and helped me make my application a breezy read. Her comments were razor sharp and succinct. Caroline’s initial assessment and feedback about my goal was also a massive help as it genuinely made me rethink about my career goals, propelled me towards a more realistic goal and definitely helped me avoid any potential red flags in the minds of the AdCom regarding my post MBA employability. In the end when Caroline, who herself made the final decision for more than 34,000 applicants during her time at INSEAD, told me “I enjoyed reading your essays”. I did feel a lot more positive and optimistic about clicking that “SUBMIT” button, than I would have felt if I did not have Caroline’s blessings. Succeeding in my INSEAD application, while being a part of the most overly represented demographic (Indian male engineer), on the wrong end of the 20’s, with a modest GMAT score, a young family, a very demanding work schedule, and no plan B (Yes, INSEAD was the only School I had applied to) could not have been possible had it not been for Nonie and Caroline, and Matt (who posited a reservoir of optimism, faith, belief and encouragement in me right at the beginning, during the initial free consultation). As Gordon Gekko said “The most valuable commodity I know of is information”, leveraging the collective insider knowledge of INSEAD was my biggest advantage of working with the Fortuna Dream Team. The recipe for success at Fortuna pivots on a fine balance between the various stakeholders at play – the coach, the mentor and the applicant – In my honest opinion the balance, as it is, is perfect. Therefore, Fortuna’s Dream Team receives my highest and strongest recommendation.

When I see how much Nonie strengthen my application, I would dare to say that hiring Fortuna Admissions was the best decision I have ever made. With only 2.5 years of working experience and not such an international background, I was clearly an outsider compared with other applicants. Yet among the three MBA programs I applied to – Cambridge, LBS, INSEAD – I have been accepted to both LBS and INSEAD. There is no doubt that Nonie’s coaching has played a decisive role in this success: whether it is on the content or on the form, she truly brought my application to a much higher level than I could have ever hoped. I could clearly appreciate Nonie’s past experience at the INSEAD: she does know what kind of candidates MBA application teams look for – and what profiles they want to avoid. Of course it’s not going to magically happen on its own just because you got a coach: you got to be committed and work hard on both your essays and your interviews, nobody is going to do it for you. But if you are serious about your application then Nonie will know how to make the most of it, her coaching being brilliant and her commitment exemplary; it is pretty likely that without Nonie’s help I wouldn’t have been accepted. Probably just like anyone reading this review, I was initially unsure whether or not hiring a coach was actually worth it; today I am really thankful to my INSEAD acquaintances who recommended Fortuna to me. Of course hiring a coach is an investment, but we are talking about joining programs that cost 100,000 USD: adding a few thousand dollars to significantly increase your chances of getting to your dream MBA program is probably the best investment you could ever make.

Nonie has been with me from day 1 of my application preparation for INSEAD MBA. And this is the best decision I have made! Whether you think your application is already solid or that you have to start from scratch, Nonie will play a key role in building the best possible application with you. Nonie has been available all the time and her turnaround was all always very quick and of top quality. She consistently provided detailed comments, explaining her reasoning and thoroughly helping me to rethink all the details of my application until perfection. She has demonstrated her outstanding knowledge of the application process, of the school profiles and of the best way to put oneself forward. Her commitment and empathy were so high that I sometimes had the impression it was her own application and this gave me even more motivation. A very important difference with other consultant is probably that Nonie call into questions all your arguments and examples to make sure that they are absolutely bullet proof. This forces you to think again and again but also prepares you for the interviews. Finally, Nonie has been a very enjoyable person to work with. It is rare to show such top class professionalism and expertise and to be such a friendly and nice person. When you feel a bit down after weeks of working on your essay or when you are waiting for your results, Nonie is also even here to cheer you up! I extremely happy that I have been admitted to INSEAD MBA, and I owe a big part of it to Nonie. But even if I hadn’t made it through, I would start the application adventure with Nonie again and again, as she no doubt helped me put my best feet forward! Thank you!

Nonie and the team at Fortuna are professional and know exactly what they are doing, they are organized, have different experts for the different stages of an application and make the process smooth and “relatively” easy. What set Nonie apart from the rest is that she continuously went the extra mile and while doing so showed real caring and interest in my application. Even though I was one of many getting support from Nonie, she always had time when I needed her – even when I needed last minute help as a reference wasn’t coming through. She as well showed that she really cared about my success – sending me good luck messages on the day of my GMAT test as well as celebrating with me when I got through the first round and when being admitted to INSEAD. Nonie – thank you very much for all your support!

Fortuna really helped me synthesise my achievements, and choose which to present to best serve my stated goals. As I knew nobody close to me who had already applied to an MBA, working with Fortuna also helped me understand the hidden rules of this universe. Finally, I appreciated the “team spirit”, timeline, feedback and encouragement. The storytelling work that Nonie helped me perform was also useful to me later for job applications.

I am so glad I gave my application the best possible chance of success by consulting Nonie at Fortuna. Thank you Nonie for your invaluable advice- your support not only made the whole application process stress free but also gave me confidence that I had done everything possible to maximise my chances.

I worked with Nonie from Fortuna in preparing my application for the INSEAD MBA. From my initial conversation with Nonie I was confident she will help me in the best way to put through a competitive application. During our first skype call itself she was able to clearly identify my strengths and weaknesses based on the strategy questionnaire I had filled earlier. She was very well aware of the expectations at INSEAD and explained to me how well I am placed for the programme. I have had conversations with other consultants from other companies who were simply trying to sell their products and were mainly only focusing on my weaknesses and how they have different packages to help me. But they did not seem to have specific knowledge on INSEAD. But with Nonie and Fortuna, I felt the whole process was very objective, truthful and she was very knowledgeable. The whole process was very structured and I found it most useful for me. I was pleasantly surprised when Nonie sent me a detailed plan and timeline based on our initial conversation. She had set out clearly what we had discussed in terms of my strengths, weaknesses, the points that I can include my essays, who should be my recommenders etc. She had also set out a clear timeline for me. I was initially overwhelmed by the number of essay questions for INSEAD. However my initial conversations with Nonie helped to bring out points for me to include in my essays. Nonie was constantly ensuring that I sticked to the timeline for the various deliverables (resume, essays, online application, recommenders) which we had agreed initially. This certainly prevented me from procrastinating. Nonie was also readily available to help to review my different drafts of the application, resume, essays etc. Moreover, Nonie was also prompt in her replies when I had queries on her comments with regards to my draft essays and the application. There was also an resume expert who helped to review and fine tune my resume a few times. Not only with the application, Nonie also provided me with tips on maintaining a positive online presence. It gave me additional confidence when she gave a thumbs up after doing a check on the web. Nonie’s assistance during the interview process was also helpful. She helped to go through a mock interview with me and gave me comments on my replies. She also diligently followed up on my first interview to give me tips on how to improve on my second interview. Overall, I am thankful for Nonie’s help in supporting me during the application process. I have been admitted to INSEAD MBA and would strongly recommend Nonie for anyone looking for assistance in preparing their MBA application.