Silpa Sarma

Silpa was great to work with through every step of the application process. She was very helpful in ideating and shaping both my essays and my recommendations from early on. She worked with my ideas while also giving clear and constructive feedback. As we moved along, I appreciated Silpa’s strategic eye in making sure that the totality of my application captured all of the details I wanted to get across, and maximized every character allotted. Above all, Silpa’s availability to chat live and discuss ideas, changes, and concerns was most valuable to me. I am grateful for her guidance to get through this process!

Working with Silpa has been one of the most pivotal and empowering decisions I made in my MBA application journey. From the very beginning, she brought a level of empathy, strategic insight, and relentless commitment that made this intense process feel not just achievable, but deeply personal and meaningful.

Silpa didn’t just help me craft strong applications — she helped me discover and own my story. She pushed me to dig deeper, question assumptions, and articulate my journey in ways I hadn’t before. Whether it was late-night essay drafts, mock interview prep, or helping me reframe setbacks into strengths, she was always present with sharp feedback and encouraging words.

What set Silpa apart was her ability to balance warmth with tough love. She knew when to be direct, when to challenge me, and when I just needed someone to believe in me. She brought structure to chaos, helped me navigate moments of self-doubt, and celebrated every small win with genuine joy.

I went through some emotionally heavy narratives during this process, and Silpa never treated them as “content” — she held space for my experiences with care and respect, while guiding me on how to present them powerfully. Her intuition, editing skills, and school-specific knowledge were second to none.

Thanks to her support, I not only received admits from top MBA programs including Wharton with a merit scholarship — I also walked away from this process more self-aware, confident, and excited for the next chapter.

Silpa, thank you for being more than a consultant — thank you for being a coach, a sounding board, and a champion. I couldn’t have done this without you.

I worked with Silpa on my Stanford GSB application, and I truly could not have asked for a better partner in the process. The impact she had during the time we worked together was incredible. She helped me shape and articulate my story in a way I did not think was possible, and it made all the difference in helping my application stand out.

She is focused, efficient, and makes every hour count. I always felt like she was in my corner, willing to dive into the big picture while also being patient enough to walk me through even the smallest or seemingly silliest questions. She has a deep understanding of the MBA admissions landscape, and her instincts are spot on.

I highly recommend her without hesitation. If you are looking for someone who will help you present your most authentic and compelling self, she is the one.

I spent time with Silpa working on my top four schools. Long story short, I did not only get into the school I wanted, but with a hefty scholarship that made my decision so easy. My investment in Silpa has paid for itself many times over and I am very grateful. Silpa was gracious but candid with her feedback, and turned things around quickly as deadlines approached. She digs deep to understand your story, and makes sure the gold nuggets in your narrative are polished and visible in your essays, resume, and recommendation letters. I did not know as much about the process as I thought I did, and Silpa filled those gaps perfectly. Thank you, Silpa!

I worked with Silpa on my Round 1 applications and she helped me get into HBS and the Wharton/Lauder program! When I initially met with MBA advisers, Silpa stood out to me as incredibly professional, grounded, and thoughtful. When working with her, I found that she is an exceptional thought partner and coach.

I was initially daunted by the workload and competitiveness of the process but Silpa helped me break it down into manageable steps. She made working together on the applications genuinely fun, pushing me to dream big about what I could use my MBA to pursue post-grad and giving me the confidence that the career milestones I had achieved already were enough to give me a shot at the business schools I was applying to.

Silpa is not only kind and inspires you to think boldly, but is also fiercely capable. She leverages her years of experience in admissions to help you weave together different aspects of your identity and history. She makes you feel truly seen, remembering details you’ve told her in the past to highlight in your essays, or even just personal life updates you told her about months ago.

Finally, I’ll note that she is incredibly thoughtful in her coaching style. When we practiced for the HBS interview together, she offered me feedback in between questions where I could sharpen my answers, rather than saving all of her feedback for the end. She noted that she found it more helpful to give the feedback in the moment to keep the information fresh. After our preparation, I felt more confident going into my HBS interview and was able to treat it more like a conversation about my interests rather than an interview.

Working on the MBA application takes over much of your life for a year. If you want to land a spot at a top program while also having fun in the process, I highly recommend working with Silpa!

I worked with Silpa on my Round 1 MBA applications and couldn’t be happier with the results: I received acceptances to Kellogg, Ross, Fuqua, and Anderson, along with over $300K in scholarship offers across these schools.

After initial consultations with multiple consultants from other companies, Silpa stood out immediately with her personable, approachable, and incredibly knowledgeable nature. I was initially concerned about my GRE score being average for most schools, but Silpa put my worries to rest right away by helping me focus on the unique strengths of my profile.

From the moment we started working together, Silpa provided unparalleled support and guidance. She helped me craft a compelling, cohesive story that clearly articulated my vision and set me apart. Her feedback on my essays and applications was detailed, thoughtful, and always delivered well ahead of deadlines, giving me ample time to refine my work.

Silpa’s support extended beyond just the applications. Our mock interview sessions were invaluable—she offered constructive feedback that sharpened my responses and boosted my confidence. She even reviewed my recommenders’ drafts to ensure their letters aligned with the broader narrative of my application.

The MBA application process can feel overwhelming, but Silpa and her team made it feel organized and manageable every step of the way. Her professionalism, expertise, and genuine investment in my success were game-changers. I highly recommend working with her if you’re aiming for top-tier results!

I first heard about Silpa through my cousin, who had a wonderful experience working with her. I can confidently say that all I had heard was true – Silpa is the best consultant that you can choose to work with.

Coming in, the hardest part of the MBA application for me was understanding how to tell my story — how do I choose what experiences to highlight, find common themes, and articulate my goals in a realistic, yet compelling manner?

Immediately, Silpa’s ability to do all of the above was extremely clear. Her diligence to understand (and remember) my story, at such a granular level of detail is what allowed her to effortlessly pull themes and convincing narratives that I could have never seen myself. With a balance of kindness + candor, she provided extremely detailed feedback for each resume, LOR, and essay, pushing me to not settle for anything less than the gold standard through multiple rounds of edits (under tight timelines.) Silpa’s ability to call out parts of my experience that I myself forgot at times truly highlighted her investment in helping me put my best foot forward and make sure the entire story was told.

I was ultimately able to gain admission to my top choices (Wharton, MIT Sloan, and Haas), and can confidently say that this would not be possibly without her detailed revisions, knack for storytelling, and words of encouragement.

Throughout the process, I felt that my experience was only half the puzzle. Being able to tell the story is the other half, and Silpa has an unmatched ability to piece that together! Would whole heartedly recommend working with her during your MBA application process.

Choosing Silpa was one of the best decisions, and I cannot imagine navigating the MBA application process without her. She truly went above and beyond for me

1. She’s clearly an expert. She’s candid and understands the subtle differences between top programs. Her advice is thoughtful as she considers your unique situation against different program circumstances.
2. She won’t settle. She will push you to continue to refine and iterate on your essays until they’re excellent. Even when you think you’re finished with your essays and they’re as good as they could be, Silpa will challenge and motivate you to do even better. She has a way of pulling out personal details and insights to make your essays that much more impactful.
3. She’s able to tie together life events and help you see a path that you didn’t even realize yourself. She knows where you’re coming from and where you’re doing, so her essay feedback is especially meaningful and productive
4. She diligent and responsive. I was a Round 2 applicant and the deadlines snuck up on me quicker than I anticipated. Given it was the holiday season, I expected a natural delay in feedback but Silpa, realizing the urgency, was active and present.
5. She’s calming and reassuring. To be honest, I was discouraged many times throughout my the application process with self-doubts as I’m an average candidate in a competitive year. However, Silpa continued to be a positive reinforcing presence to get me through the finish line.

I tried many consultants across MBAMission, Fortuna, and other boutique firms (including the P&Q favorite — Sandy aka HBS Guru). Silpa was by far the most compassionate, competent, patient and thoughtful person I worked with throughout my MBA application process. I ultimately made her my primary consultant and worked closely with her across R1 and R2.

Silpa always made time, always remembered where we left off, and always knew my applications inside-out (sometimes even better than I knew my own application). Because of Silpa’s help, I landed interviews at Harvard, Wharton, MIT and Columbia as an Indian male in a very competitive year (2024), and will eventually be going to one of these schools.

I could go on about what makes Silpa great, but I’ll focus on two qualities:

1. Silpa really helps bring out your sincerity and original perspective. If you come from an over-represented field, she can help identify something inspiring in your story, because she is a careful listener. I rarely feel proud of something I’ve written, but every time I look back at my HBS / GSB essays, I feel confident and inspired. Silpa played a part in that. She helped transform my story from something generic / preachy to something intellectually curious, inspiring and authentic.

2. Secondly, no other consultant went as granular with edits, feedback and homework / diligence as Silpa. She was efficient, always returning edits faster than I expected, and in more detail than I expected. Sometimes I would be in awe of her work! The other consultants I worked with either took more time or worse, would forget details about my application.

Silpa stayed in touch beyond the application process because she cared about my decisions, growth, etc. Ultimately, she became more than a mere MBA consultant. Silpa was a career coach, a motivational speaker, a voice of reason and even a therapist during the most anxious months of my career!!!

Silpa is unequivocally the finest consultant you will ever collaborate with. Choosing to work with her will undoubtedly be one of the best decisions you make. Despite facing tight deadlines, she tirelessly commits herself to ensuring every task is completed impeccably. I engaged her expertise for five applications within a month’s span, and she delivered flawlessly. Silpa invests 100% of her energy into every aspect of your application, guaranteeing the highest quality outcome. She provides candid feedback when necessary and attentively listens to your input. With her assistance, I secured admission to three out of five top 10 schools I applied to—results that exceeded my expectations. Silpa ensures your voice resonates distinctly in your application while refining it to a polished standard. Trust me, the experience of working with her is unparalleled, and I have already enthusiastically recommended her to my friends.

I am an Indian male with a tech background, and I’m a dual admit to Stanford and Harvard. To start off, I am 100% confident that this feat would not have been even remotely possible had it not been for Silpa. If there’s one takeaway before you read further, let it be this: ‘Silpa is the best coach, mentor, advisor in this world, and you’ll be lucky to have her. ’ I say this as someone who’s met with multiple counselors and advisors both in India and the US in the past. Silpa is ideal.

Silpa is the most passionate, proactive, and highly-proficient mentor and advisor. She loves what she does, and is truly, truly dedicated to bringing out the best in you. And that’s what truly matters. I’ve had umpteen phone calls with Silpa, be it 5-minute ones, 10-minute ones, or 30-minute ones, or 60-minute ones. In every call, I have come back with a new perspective and fresh thinking, thanks to Silpa.

Next, Silpa is the most-rigorous counselor (read ‘person’) I have met. I say this because I’ve been embarrassed, at times, by how much better she knows my application and anecdotes than I do. Know that once you have submitted these “raw material” Fortuna documents (which are great too!), Silpa will process them, mull over them, and apply her accurate filter to them. (One piece of advice: Don’t second-guess what she says!)

Silpa was very kind to have had another set of calls with me, going into the deep end of each anecdote. She collaborated with me and together, we narrowed down the 25+ anecdotes to the top 5 or 6. This is hard! Finding the signal from the noise is akin to finding a needle in the haystack. Dare I say, you can still find the signal; you won’t be able to find the needle. Unless, of course, you have Silpa with you.

I’m so grateful that Silpa took so much interest in my story, helped me bring out the best, and then channeled it into the appropriate way possible, for this incredible outcome. I won’t talk about my GMAT scores or GPA here, but suffice to say that the LOR’s, essays, and the interview made it for me. In other words, Silpa’s presence made it for me. And coupled with Fortuna’s supportive ecosystem, Matt Symonds and Judith’s advice, Silpa’s initiative-taking nature, and her magic, one was able to accomplish this, as an Indian male.

What’s even more fascinating about Silpa is that she would understand you, as a human, and not merely as an applicant. Early on, after our initial call, Silpa understood me as someone who’s a “high-touch applicant”, and she was 100% right. Not only did I want more attention, I actually needed it. Add to that a mix of brainstorming e-meets, strategy sessions, “quick calls” (which were quite long), and more. You now have a recipe which would consume the entire bandwidth – physical, emotional, and temporal – of your counselor. But that’s not what happened for Silpa. Along with me, she had many other applicant-mentees, and yet, she managed the turnarounds (and more), so seamlessly. But here’s the thing: She needn’t have delivered the “high-touch”, and she needn’t have gone above and beyond.

But she did.

And that’s what’s the next thing about Silpa. She pays major attention to minor details, to the point that you may get exhausted; she won’t. She is always so specific, precise, and enthusiastic. And that’s an important quality throughout this journey. You need a guide, a friend, a mentor. For me, Silpa was this trifecta. I was able to build such an incredible rapport, foster this deep trust, and forge a meaningful relationship, thanks to her. ‘Silpa is a pleasure to work with’ would be an understatement.

Silpa also loves perfection. Ultimately, the draft is ready to go if her gut tells her it is. And this is great for you, because that gives you the opportunity to see Silpa’s magic unfold. Before your eyes. For instance, in my case, Silpa said that some essays were not ready and wanted to take “another look” at them (which often involved many comments and many edits). All of this helped because it brought out the best of the best.

Silpa’s interview prep, her insights from the interview about you, and her advice in general are unparalleled. They are all so wise. I’m grateful I got to prepare for one interview with Silpa (and another with Heidi from Fortuna). I learned so much about how best to answer questions, how best to manage subtle situations, and more, thanks to Silpa’s astute observations and incisive feedback.

At the ultimate stage, Fortuna is the best career and MBA coach there is. And Silpa is the best career advisor, MBA mentor, creative brainstormer, rigorous individual, and most-dedicated coach there is. If there is one person who was the Rock of Gibraltar during this process for me, it was Silpa.

Overall, it’s Silpa because of whom I was able to put forth the best application there is, despite all odds. Truly, truly grateful to Silpa.

Silpa is a phenomenal MBA consultant. I worked with another well rated MBA team the year prior, and Silpa is leaps & bounds better than her competition. I applied into only two schools & got into HBS with Silpa’s help. I cannot recommend her highly enough for anyone looking to attend a top MBA program.
Among her top skills are:
– Strategic thought partner: She gets to know you, your unique strengths, and your ambitions very well. She then tailors her recommendations and approach to keep the authentic you front and center. She will challenge opinions when need and push on applicants in a growthful ways. She always is pleasant and respectful, but is also a true heavy hitter when it comes to your MBA strategy.
– True expert: Silpa demonstrated detailed understanding of admissions processes (having been in the room), strategic effectiveness in discussing strategies, and comes with a myriad of helpful and relevant examples.
– Efficient collaborator: Silpa does not believe in v35’ing documents. She is a strategic in her iterations, retains your voice/authenticity, is prompt, and is also very succinct, direct, and kind in feedback. She was a pleasure to work with.

Overall, Silpa was a wonderful consultant who helped me get into HBS! I cannot recommend her highly enough & would gladly work with her again. She is strategic, kind, and has demonstrated expertise.

Silpa helped me throughout the applications process for 3 schools (ending in an admit to my top choice), and was very generous in supporting me beyond the immediate scope of our project. I can’t stress how important it is to work with someone who knows what adcom are looking for at top programs. Silpa consistently provided that insight, and effectively leveraged the expertise of the broader Fortuna team when required. Maybe most importantly, Silpa is kind and patient, which can’t be overvalued in the long and painstaking journey of your MBA applications.

Working with Silpa was worth every $$ and then some more. I screened 5 different consultants and chose Silpa for a couple of reasons – (a) she was direct and supportive but to the point, without any sugarcoating – which is very suited to folks from Asian descent, (b) prior experience as a GSB reader and (c) recommended by a past GSB admit who worked with her.

The results speak for themselves – I was admitted to all 4 schools I worked with Silpa on – GSB(!!), Wharton, MIT and Kellogg. Also tweaked the same materials to apply to Columbia on my own and got in too! Silpa was immensely accommodative with tight deadlines, especially during the two weeks before the deadlines. She took the time to understand my unique strengths, aspirations, and challenges, crafting a strategy that highlighted the best version of myself on paper, especially as a reapplicant to 3 of the 4 schools.
Her attention to detail and commitment to perfection ensured that every aspect of my application reflected my authentic self – making sure it were my words on the paper (so don’t expect spoon-feeding!) but was an excellent editor and guide. To anyone embarking on the challenging path of pursuing an MBA, I wholeheartedly recommend Silpa 100%.

Silpa was an incredible and steady resource during my MA/MBA dual degree application process. Her advice and guidance helped me succeed in my application. Throughout the entire process, Silpa was always responsive, professional, and encouraging. She provided concrete tasks and actionable feedback, ensuring I stayed on track with deadlines and helped me make my application the absolute best it can be. Silpa truly cares about your success, and she will offer you support at every step. I am profoundly grateful to her for changing the trajectory of my career with my successful application and acceptance into my dream program! If you are seeking an MBA consultant, I wholeheartedly recommend Silpa—she is an invaluable asset in the admissions process.

Silpa was an amazing consultant for me. She helped me get into some top programs and was willing to go above and beyond in helping me. I really appreciated all her help and would definitely recommend her to others! If it wasn’t for her help and strategy, I probably wouldn’t have gotten some of the MBA offers that I received. She was very kind and supportive along the way.

I worked with Silpa to apply last-minute to part-time MBA programs. I only selected programs that were ranked within the top 5 and had less than one month to complete my application from start to finish for each school. Silpa was absolutely wonderful in taking me through the process. She challenged me to think about my goals, my experiences, and my strengths, and took the lead on putting together a strong application that granted me acceptances to both of my top choices. She was very responsive and very quick / diligent in her reviews. Every material that passed through Silpa’s hands was made better. I felt that she really understood my experiences and my goals and was able to support me in putting together an application that aligned with my vision and with who I am as a working professional. Most importantly, Silpa has been both realistic and supportive through this entire process. She has always given me candid, real advice that has given me clarity when I am struggling to make a decision. She also had the utmost faith that I would get into my programs, which gave me the confidence to present myself in the best possible light. I have always struggled to “sell myself” and with Silpa’s help, I felt that I was able to show these schools that I am a strong candidate. If you’re unsure about whether to get an MBA coach, I would strongly recommend that you do it because it’s an investment that you won’t regret!

When I began the MBA application process, I spoke with 8 different advisors. Ultimately, I felt Silpa was the best choice for my consultant & I am happy I chose her. She has the full package – an impressive background, is articulate and goal-oriented, and has a calming, encouraging personality. I’m fortunate to have worked with her for almost a year between Round 1 & 2.

She took an overwhelming process with many parts (career vision, LOR, essays, etc.) and made it easy for me to go step-by-step until I finished 3 applications. She kept me on schedule and provided meaningful advice on how to showcase myself in the best possible light. Because of her help, I’ll be starting at Wharton this summer! I would definitely recommend her as a consultant.

I can’t recommend Silpa enough! I worked with Silpa as a Round 2 applicant for the Class of 2025. I decided to work with a consultant to help me stay organized while balancing applications with work and other personal commitments. Silpa was especially encouraging, responsive, and supportive throughout the entire process. At first, I felt as if I didn’t have an obvious story or life-changing moment that could differentiate my application from hundreds of others; however, Silpa guided me to think about my story and my goals in a completely different way and helped translate that narrative into a compelling application. With her guidance, the application process was minimally stressful, as she helped break each step (essays, LORs, resume, app date, short answers, interviews) into more digestible chunks. I applied to H/S/W and was accepted to 2 out of the 3 and waitlisted at 1.

I worked with Silpa for a few months on a comprehensive three-school package during the 2022 application cycle, so she was there to guide me through school selection, CV, essays, letters of recommendation, and eventually interviews. From our first exploratory call, I immediately felt comfortable with her, and she was great at reassuring me of the timeline and laying things out of how the preparation phase for the application would be split up in the time leading up to application deadlines.

Personally, coming from a finance background and lacking recent experience in writing, I was the most worried about the essay part of the applications and getting them concise (to be within the word limit) while representing my story as well as my hopes of getting an MBA. Silpa was very patient with my essay drafts and went into a lot of detail in refining the structure as well as the content. It was clear that she knew a lot about each school and what each school was ‘looking’ for. She also has great relationships with the rest of the consulting team at Fortuna who were instrumental in helping me with finalizing essays and eventually practice interviews. I’m really glad to say that with the help of Silpa, I gained admission to Columbia Business School with a full scholarship!

Silpa is a great balance of being friendly and casual while staying professional and straightforward, which I definitely appreciated given how tricky it was already to balance work and applications. She was also always super quick with turning around anything I gave her to review. I would highly recommend Silpa as a partner and advisor for anyone’s MBA journey!

I could not recommend working with Silpa more. I worked with her on my GSB application, and I believe that her help and feedback were a critical part of being accepted. She brought out the best version of my story, in several ways: she had great insight into what different schools were looking for / how they differed (which was also helpful in making my decision between schools), she spent time getting to know me and my goals well, and she always made herself available for questions (no matter how small). I felt I had put my best foot forward by the end of the process thanks to Silpa’s thoughtful and personalized feedback and deep knowledge of the process. She is also a very kind and friendly person who makes a daunting task (deciding on and writing eloquently about your life goals) feel relatively painless!

Silpa far exceeded my expectation of a coach, and I cannot recommend her enough! After interviewing many coaches across different companies, I knew Silpa’s rare combination of expertise, strategic mindset, and compassion made her the perfect coach.

What I appreciated most was the objective lens she brought from the point of view of an admissions reader. Her background and previous experience as a reader at the GSB allowed her to identify each weak point and strength in my application and build a strategy from there.

She put thoughtful consideration into each and every detail, from who to pick for my recommenders to whether or not to retake the GMAT. We spent considerable time on my essay and narrative, writing and rewriting ideas, drafts, and stories until we ultimately landed on one that I felt most genuine to myself. Throughout the process, I felt incredibly supported to have someone so invested in my success.

I can’t emphasize how valuable Silpa’s advice was in the process. With the time we had, she helped me prioritize my time and focus and helped me see the big-picture narrative in my application — something I struggled to put together on my own.

I HIGHLY highly recommend Silpa to anyone in the MBA process!

I worked with Silpa for 4 months and used her services for Round 2 MBA applications to Stanford GSB and Chicago Booth; her advice, guidance, and knowledge were fundamental to my admittance to both schools. I encourage anyone, particularly applicants with average test scores and/or a non-traditional MBA applicant profile, to employ her expertise early and enthusiastically!

Silpa’s superpower is her ability to help clients maximize the impact of their stories whilst ensuring those clients remain true to their experiences and values. Furthermore, her deep knowledge of the application process is incredibly reassuring and ensures applicants produce quality essays and short answers that demonstrate the attributes and virtues that top business schools are looking for.

In addition to her professional proficiency, Silpa’s kind and supportive demeanor make her not only a pleasure to work with but also a welcome ally during the arduous MBA application process.

Thanks, Silpa!

I began working with Silpa late in 2022 when I began the MBA application process and was immediately overwhelmed. As an applicant coming from a non-business background, I felt thoroughly unprepared to navigate the process alone, but during the Fortuna “sales pitch” call, Silpa immediately stood out to me as someone who would be deeply knowledgeable and highly supportive.

During the last 6 months, Silpa really honed in on crafting a strong narrative to explain my work and education experiences, and how they could positively impact my future career. Throughout the entire process, Silpa was very responsive, providing thoughtful critiques on essays and meeting regularly to help perfect each aspect of my application.

I am thrilled to be accepting a seat in Cornell’s Class of 2025 with a full-merit scholarship; I truly believe I would not have earned this opportunity without Silpa’s diligence.

Prepare to be blown away by the exceptional interview preparation services provided by Silpa! With a meticulous approach, Silpa helped me craft customized answers to a plethora of challenging questions and calmed my nerves before the interview. In record time, Silpa provided me with quick and efficient feedback, ensuring that I remained on track and focused on the most important topics. She even went above and beyond to help me craft a stellar thank-you note for my interviewer.

Silpa’s guidance throughout the process was truly invaluable, and I am thrilled to report that I was able to secure admission to the top US schools for which I enrolled her services. If you’re looking for an effective coaching session that will help you reach your academic goals, Silpa is a clear choice.

Silpa was an incredible advisor during the application process. She takes the time to truly know you, your aspirations, and your story. Silpa is very intelligent, professional, and qualified (previous experience in admissions at GSB), putting her in a category by herself. I had full confidence in Silpa throughout the entire process. We had an hourly engagement where I was able to focus our time on what I chose. Silpa was extremely accommodating to busy schedules and was particularly flexible in the week prior to the deadlines, even going above and beyond the normal call of duty. Ultimately, I was admitted to Harvard, Columbia, and MIT. I would highly recommend Silpa to anyone considering applying for an MBA.

It has been such a pleasure to work with Silpa on my full-time MBA applications to Kellogg (A), Tuck (A), and GSB (WL). I’m grateful for her advice and guidance throughout the application cycle.

When I started this process in June last year, I didn’t think that I had a shot at getting into any business school with my low undergraduate GPA, nontraditional major, average test score, and nonlinear personal and professional path. I wanted to work with an admissions coach who would believe in me and encourage me to shine a light on my story instead of shying away from it. Right from the beginning, Silpa was pragmatic about my chances yet committed to my success.

Silpa is super warm, easy to connect with, and an incredible listener. She’d often nudge me to lean into my personal story without losing focus on highlighting my professional strengths and career aspirations. This was critical in helping me write essays that were clear, concise, and accurately reflected who I am without diminishing the uniqueness of my candidacy.

There were times when I was overwhelmed during the application process and really doubted my ability to pull through. But knowing that I had someone like Silpa in my corner, rooting for my success and offering affirmations and guidance, really encouraged me to keep going. I highly, highly recommend her!

Silpa helped guide me through what can be a very confusing process at times. Everyone is so familiar with their own story that it can be hard to tell what makes you stand out vs. all the other qualified candidates. Silpa takes the time to get to know her clients and is great at identifying a couple of things that make them unique. I am truly grateful to have gotten to work with her and happy to report that the process resulted in a ticket to Booth.

I had my initial Fortuna “sales pitch” call with Silpa. While she presented me with multiple accomplished coaches to work with, I chose to work directly with her because of her ability to interpret and contextualize nuance, as well as her warm, personable nature. This ended up being an excellent decision for me. The MBA application process is deeply personal, introspective, and at times, vulnerable. It was both a comfort and a pleasure to work with Silpa, who was consistently thoughtful, insightful, and helpful. I had a last-minute change in my application with hours left before the application deadline. At the busiest point in her year, Silpa still managed to provide real-time support and guidance. Ultimately I was accepted at Kellogg, where I was waitlisted during the previous application cycle.

Would 100% recommend Silpa – she worked as a reader at GSB and provided invaluable feedback on my essays. She was also just a great resource throughout the process – encouraging and a great listener

I started working with Silpa only a couple of weeks before my deadline. She helped me look through every aspect of my application in detail, from how to think about filling out the extra-curricular section to fleshing out the right ideas in my essays. She had a keen eye for detail and helped me refine my application in a holistic way. If it weren’t for her, many aspects of my application would have remained neglected. I strongly believe that the finishing touch she brought made all the difference in the success of my application. I would strongly recommend others to work with her on their MBA application journey.

Silpa helped prepare in less than a month to gain admission to Yale SOM. Silpa was critical to my admission to the MAM program at Yale, and I can’t imagine going through this process without her. Having to work full time, I honestly had no idea how to prepare a compelling, strong application. Silpa genuinely went the extra mile to help me on this journey; she was flexible and always provided brilliant still, fast and actionable feedback from day one. I especially appreciate her candid yet friendly approach to challenging me to go deeper when reflecting on my stories for the application and to write compelling essays by being concise and keeping on track of the key details of my stories as well as aligned to my personal story and goals. Finally, thanks to Silpa’s approach, I secured an interview with Adcom (Silpa helped me prepare and feel confident that I would nail it) and gained admission. I highly recommend Silpa and the Fortuna Admissions team to anyone looking for the industry’s best admission partners and advisors.

Silpa was absolutely critical to my b-school application success. As someone with a limited understanding of the application process and who began preparing to apply quite late in the application round, I didn’t really know where to begin. Silpa was great at helping me navigate the application process and getting me to look inward for the kind of deeply personal essays that schools were looking for. Silpa’s help with interview preparation was also excellent, which is supported by the fact that I was admitted to every school that invited me to interview.

Because I was preparing to apply late, when I started working with Silpa I had not finalized my school list. Silpa suggested applying to a top program that I had thought I wouldn’t have time for. However, with her help, I was able to efficiently prepare an application and eventually get admission. Overall with Silpa’s help, I was admitted into two of the best MBA programs in the country (the U.S.).

After unsuccessfully navigating the business school application process once on my own, I decided to use Fortuna for my second attempt. Silpa is truly a gem and was able to help me translate my story and non-traditional background into a scholarship-winning application. I was consistently impressed with how much time she took during each phase of Fortuna’s process to ensure that my application was truly reflective of who I am as a person. She has a keen attention to detail and wove together elements I had initially viewed as unimportant in a way that showed incredible impact. I absolutely would not have been admitted, let alone with significant scholarship, without her!

I worked with Silpa on an hourly package and she helped me gain admission to Stanford GSB and Kellogg. Her key areas of strength were helping me prioritize my efforts in the application process and bringing a real adcom’s perspective when reading my essays. Because Silpa has been in Stanford GSB’s adcom, she knows the relative importance of different parts of the application and understands how they are likely to react.

Silpa thinks critically and helps formulate questions that help tremendously in fine-tuning the essays and the overall application. This is crucial for the selection processes followed by the top institutes in the world- This is what makes or breaks an application. I got through the top 5 universities including Stanford and Wharton. Her comments and suggestions were very helpful. I highly recommend her.

I worked with Silpa for 8-hours to help prepare applications for GSB and HBS – it was worth every penny! Silpa was direct, encouraging, and realistic. She helped me strategize on where to invest my time and our time. Consequently, we focused on my resume, LoR briefs, and short answers. Silpa helped me transform my application from a list of accomplishments to a holistic narrative that was balanced and most importantly, true. While she encouraged me to highlight my best self, she made sure it was rooted in my experiences. Silpa’s attention to detail and help with conveying my stories with limited work/character counts were vital to creating a great application and keeping me sane.

I just accepted a spot at my top choice school for the class of 2024 and Silpa was a huge part of getting me there!

Working with Silpa was a pleasure! From day one she was nothing but helpful, giving clear guidance and support throughout the entire process. I used her for 4 MBA applications, with the GSB as my top choice. As a GSB expert, she was able to help me hone my career vision, whilst ensuring that it was genuine and true to my values. Her experience working in admissions allowed her to give me clear insights and direction when it came to refining my application and ensuring that it would stand out. She was always available, timely, reliable and organized. Silpa not only helped me get through the entire process end-to-end on time, but also she helped me enjoy the process. She has a great personality and is super easy to connect with!

Silpa Sarma is a master of her craft.

I’ve had the extraordinary pleasure of working with Silpa on my MBA applications for round one in the 2021-2022 admissions cycle and can’t recommend her highly enough! Coming from a non-traditional background, I didn’t know much about MBAs or my prospects for admission to a top school. I am also on the light end of work experience (less than 2 years at the time of application) so I knew I needed to craft a really outstanding application.

After consulting with Silpa on my options, I decided I really wanted to focus my energy, and my admissions consulting package, on just Stanford and Harvard. From the outset, Silpa was incredibly encouraging of my strategy and is a really warm, delightful person to engage with on what is ultimately a very stressful process.

We began by working on briefs for my recommenders, which is something I would never have thought too much about had she not highlighted the importance. Silpa helped me highlight different aspects of my accomplishments that my recommenders could elaborate on, and I have no doubt that my LORs were much more compelling because of her help.

On my Resume, Silpa helped me transform it. It went from being rather bland and abstract to being precise, easy to follow, quantified, and personalized. I could tell that Silpa has seen many resumes and knows how to convey impact really well.

Stanford and Harvard have very abstract admission essay prompts, making it hard to know where to start. After a strategy call and questionnaire document, Silpa helped me brainstorm different ideas of parts of my life to highlight in my essays. It’s my story, but Silpa helped me strategically highlight parts of it that would make me stand out, which is key for a non-traditional applicant like myself, and I’m sure even more so for more common paths. Silpa meticulously commented on and suggested edits to roughly 10 essay drafts for each essay and school until they were perfect. I never expected someone to spend so much time combing over the details of these essays, but Silpa was extremely thorough, exacting, and responsive. She would typically turn around comments in 1 business day (which is really outstanding), key because this process takes a long time and I only had 3 months by the time I started.

Silpa also leaves nothing out, going so far as to quality check the smaller parts of the applications like work experience, extracurriculars, post-MBA goals, and all the little stuff that can be overlooked.

Ultimately, I was accepted to 1 out of 2 of H/S. I really want to emphasize that even if I didn’t get accepted, my comments on Silpa’s work would be the same. I truly don’t think I could have crafted a better application, and a lot of that has to do with Silpa’s guidance. Ultimately, MBA applications are very personal and it’s up to the applicant to have the right mix of GPA, test score, work history, and personal story, and essay writing ability. However, packaging all of this and fine-tuning it to make it difficult for an admissions committee to deny you is really difficult, and Silpa was instrumental in that process. I’m very grateful to her and would tell any prospective MBA applicant to at least consider her services.

On Fortuna’s end, I found the rest of the staff I encountered to be really supportive as well. They also worked with me to accommodate my limited financial resources, which made a huge difference for me. Silpa definitely went above and beyond the package I purchased to make sure my application was in tip-top shape. I could tell she gets really invested in her clients and takes personal satisfaction in helping them succeed.