LBS Admit: Review for Emma Bond

I worked with Emma on a 2-school package offered by Fortuna Admissions. First, I had a fit call with her wherein we discussed my past experiences (both personal and professional), goals, MBA programmes I am interested in, and preferences. She came across as an empathetic, honest, friendly, and highly knowledgeable professional; working with her through the admission process I can guarantee you she is all this and much more!

1. After the fit call, Emma and I had a comprehensive discussion to shortlist the programmes I am interested in. She not only discussed the timelines for each application, but also made me aware of her working style and was interested to learn about my style as well to make sure we were on the same page. I also filled an exhaustive questionnaire to help Emma understand my experiences and achievements.

2. I was in parallel preparing for my GMAT when we started work on my first application. Emma was highly thoughtful in deciding the to-do tasks as I balanced my job, GMAT prep, and application work.

Coming to the essays, Emma really understood my story and knew exactly the things we need to highlight (this varies from school to school as we had a brainstorming session for each school before starting work on its application). I always had an issue with going over the word limit, but with Emma’s magic each essay of mine was concise, conveyed the story, and made an impact. When you work with Emma, each word in the essay is there for a reason and she always pushes you in the right direction to extract the so-what aspect of the story and keeps a check on how it aligns with your overall application. She doesn’t shy away from multiple reads and edits of the same essay (resume and LoRs as well) until it is in the best shape. You will never waste time in the process since Emma is super responsive and her turnaround time is commendable.

3. Emma made sure to leverage multiple avenues to portray the various positives in my story. With 16+ years of experience and front-end knowledge, she has unique insights into the admission process and is aware of what the schools are seeking. She judiciously placed content in my essays, resume and LoRs – each of these reflected different attributes of mine but provided a holistic picture of me and my story. Special shoutout to Jody Keating from the Fortuna Admissions team for all the resume help!

4. Once I received an interview invite, Emma prepped me for both the video and main interview. For both the interviews, she first conducted a mock with me to assess my responses and then provided actionable constructive feedback to refine my responses. Leveraging her experience, she also helped me with smart tricks to enhance the answers and make them relevant to the school. Her guidance isn’t limited to just the content of the answers, but also includes tips on body language, camera setting, pace of speaking, etc. Needless to say, many of the questions which Emma discussed with me were part of the interviews.

5. I applied to LBS along with one of the top 3 European schools and a T15 US school (I took an hourly support from Emma for the 3rd school). I received an admit with scholarship from both LBS and the European school but have been waitlisted at the US school. I worked with Emma to appeal for scholarships as well and she totally understood my financial situation and did her best here too. In my opinion, there is no one better than Emma to help you for LBS and the European schools; but the main advantage of working with Fortuna Admissions is the wealth of the knowledge they have of every top B-school. When I was applying to the US school as well, Emma reached out to her colleagues who are well-aware of the school and got my application reviewed so that we are not missing out on anything.

I consider myself luckiest to have worked with Emma for my MBA admissions. She is much more than a professional consultant and the best thing about her is how real and humane she is. I have been extremely comfortable discussing sensitive personal experiences with her and love the fact that she understands the place I am coming from and doesn’t judge. Through this journey there have been multiple phases of anxiety (be it work travel or hardware issues during my interview), but Emma has ALWAYS been a message away and never made me feel guilty of my mistakes – rather she comes with a practical solution to counter the challenge. She is a thorough professional and makes sure your applications are top priority even when she is taking a well-deserved break to meet her family after 3 years. She has done much more than just applications for me, including checking the emails I write to the schools, giving me contacts to connect with, or clearing my countless silly doubts. Don’t think twice and just go ahead with Emma – you’ll gain a coach, a mentor, and a friend!

I couldn’t have achieved this with you, so THANK YOU Emma. Forever grateful to you and the Fortuna Admissions team!