I had an incredible experience working with Sharon and cannot recommend her highly enough as an admissions consultant. I targeted three M7s and one T10 and was admitted to two of the M7s and the T10 with scholarship offers at two of the three.

Like many, I spent a month or so taking advantage of the many free consultations that exist to learn more about the admissions consulting process, gauge the strength of my application, and determine whether partnering with an admissions consultant could be the right fit for me. I knew going in that if I did decide to leverage a consultant that I wanted to have someone who I could trust to be a confidant and to support me throughout the process.

After going through a handful of calls, I wasn’t optimistic – I hadn’t found the right person with a working style that resonated with me. However, after speaking with Sharon, I knew that she was the right fit immediately. In that initial call, she showed a genuine interest in my story and her warmth and empathy shone through (which, if you’re lucky enough to work with her, you’ll find out quickly!).

The application process is grueling and stressful. Working with Sharon was a dream. She was incredibly supportive, insightful, detail-oriented, efficient (especially important if you use an hourly package like I did!) and unafraid to push you to do more or dig deeper when you need it most. Perhaps most importantly, Sharon can do all of this well because of her extraordinary empathy. With Sharon, you will always feel like you have someone who is in your corner and who understands your unique story. If you partner with Sharon, you will not regret it.

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I can’t recommend Sharon enough. I was able to secure admission to the Haas EWMBA program, which was my top choice, thanks in large part to Sharon and Fortuna admissions.

I chose the hourly sessions from her. She tracked all our work in a spreadsheet: minute by minute, so I was always aware of exactly what she was working on. I was initially skeptical about working with a consultant due to the cost involved, but if you are having similar thoughts, I highly suggest you evaluate the cost of consultation vs opportunity cost due to missed admit, or the fees of a top-tier MBA program, and suddenly this cost seems like a drop in the bucket. Sharon was very well organized and highly responsive during the entire process. I was in a time crunch and had just 2 weeks’ time before the R3 deadline when I approached her, but she made sure that I was able to get the best version of my application submitted on time. She made me introspect what truly matters to me and that helped me immensely while crafting my main essay for Haas. If not for her counselling, I would have submitted an essay which I thought was compelling at that moment, but rather a subpar one in hindsight. Being from an overrepresented male Indian engineer category, I wanted to distinguish myself from the pool of similar applicants and Sharon’s guidance helped me do just that. This is where her rich experience of working in admissions for over 25 years and as an Associate Director of Admissions at Berkeley Haas shines. She also did a thorough review of my final application and helped me cross all t’s to ensure that I don’t have any gaps. She recognized the strengths and weaknesses in my profile and gave me pinpoint advice on how to highlight or mitigate these respectively. She even introduced me to other Haas admits, so that we can network prior to school, which speaks volumes about how determined she is in helping her clients succeed.

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First off, Fortuna knows its chops and is truly the best in the business. Karla is amazing.
I was a re-applicant who had worked with someone else previously and not even sure whether business school would still make sense for me. Whereas other consultants told me that I likely didn’t have a shot at some of the places I had earlier applied to, Karla had a completely different and refreshing take. She believed in me from our first introductory call. She is so insightful and knowledgeable about what top schools are looking for, something that was instantly evident to me while talking to her, and helped me present my story in the most compelling way. She worked tirelessly with me on all aspects of my candidacy from the essays to the interviews, beyond what I could imagine from any other consultant! She was my biggest cheerleader, advisor, and trusted friend through the whole process, encouraging me whenever I had any doubts and helping rein in my little worries :)
She also brought in Judith specifically to help review my materials including for Wharton and Judith was similarly a delight to work with, going above and beyond!
With their help, I got accepted to 4 top schools (M7) and even received scholarships. I am so very grateful to Karla for her support and believe that her guidance made THE difference this time around. I honestly can’t recommend her enough!!!

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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.

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Trisha Nussbaum was instrumental in helping me get admitted into several of my top schools, including my dream school. She helped me identify what made my story compelling and effectively communicate it through my essays. Her feedback was always thoughtful and helpful. She was readily available and was always quick to provide feedback on all of my work. She was also critical in helping me prepare for my interviews. Because of Trisha, I was much more confident throughout the entire application and interview process. I could not have done it without her, and she was a joy to work with. I cannot recommend Trisha enough.

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As a non-traditional candidate coming from one of the over-represented background, I have the average work experience and went to the average school. I applied for the class of 2022 on my own and was rejected by all schools without interview. After deciding to reapply with the help of admission consultant, I did several 30min free consultations with different firms. Everyone, except for Fortuna, told me to forget about HBS/GSB. Then I started to work with Tatiana, who helped me getting the interview, then waitlist at Stanford, as well as the acceptances from Kellogg and INSEAD.

This is what helped me get to this point from where I started:

1. Developing my personal narrative. Tatiana spent several 1-hour sessions on the phone with me going through my life stories since childhood in detail. She was very patient, empathetic, and inquisitive. I became comfortable with her immediately. She has a very deep understanding of human psychology and was able understand my stories/points very quickly. This process by itself was quite therapeutic. She also took notes on everything while we speak and helped me connecting all the dots at the end.
2. Leveraging my non-traditional background. While I tried to fit my work experience into the mold of business, Tatiana helped me identifying elements that are unique and attractive to schools and then amplifying those elements in my application. This really helped me standing out from a crowded applicant pool. She understands what makes an applicant special to the admission committee and her unique perspective added tons of strength to my application.
3. Career coaching. When new career opportunities presented themselves during my application, I was able to discuss everything with Tatiana and get solid advices from her. Her experience of working in very diverse range of sectors/industries helped me identifying and prioritizing opportunities for my own career development and consequently, strengthening my application.

At the end of the process, I gained not only offers of admission, but also confidence and career advices that will help me in the long run. Throughout this journey, Tatiana was tremendously supportive and her expertise made me confident that I have put my best foot forward this time. I would recommend Tatiana with my full heart!

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Heidi really understands the how the Stanford GSB application process works and can offer exceptional insight into the interview and admissions process. She is approachable, candid and insightful. Had it not been for her help I would have never aced the Stanford GSB Interview. She needs to be your go to person to for the interview process. She is friendly, responsive and is highly personable. She is a pleasure to work with and has an incredibly kind way of providing feedback and insight to make you standout, calm nerves to the point of getting to fluency. I highly recommend Heidi and anyone will enjoy working with her.

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I received an offer from LBS in R3 and could not have achieved this result without Emma's help. When I approached Emma I thought my application was in good shape, but she took it to a completely new level and made my strengths stand out and structured my thoughts very well.

The registration process was extremely fast and smooth and Emma and I connected within a day after I reached out to Fortuna. From the first email Emma was pleasant and I could tell she was as enthusiastic as I was about getting my application to its best possible shape. Having worked in the Admission Department at LBS before, Emma knows what the school is after and can provide very valuable insight information about the whole admissions process. This helped me to erase stress as I was much clearer about the process and simply did my best.

After I was invited for an interview, Emma helped me prepare for the interview and gave me honest and encouraging feedback that improved my interview skills significantly.

I enjoyed the whole admissions process thanks to Emma. She is very prompt in responding to messages and schedules calls asap. She is also a very kind, pleasant and interesting person to speak with. Now that the admissions process is over, I genuinely miss working with Emma.

I highly recommend choosing Emma as your consultant if you are applying to LBS for an MBA!

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I worked with Jenifer on two UK-based schools. I had a fantastic experience working with her and I firmly believe that having her on your team can significantly improve your chances of success primarily because:

(a) Attention to detail: One of Jenifer's hallmarks is the attention she pays to each line in each material one prepares. For instance, when I gave her my resume (which had already been edited by consultants I had worked with in the past) she took time out to understand the real work I had done and then restructured the resume to make it more relevant and succinct.

(b) Responsiveness: I reached out to Jenifer with just over a month to go before the deadline. Jenifer not only agreed to help but also went the extra mile in giving me a sub-24 hour turnaround.

(c) Empathy: Another of Jenifer's traits which makes her an ideal consultant is that she keep empathy at the core of her work. I had several instances where her comments in effect meant that I had to re-write the whole document but Jenifer would be quick to follow her comments up with words of encouragement and even sometimes a mini-pep talk during our calls.

All in all, I believe that having Jenifer on my team made me stand out and I would heartily recommend her to anyone who is serious about getting in.

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Cassandra is an all star. She's a great listener, extraordinarily thoughtful in how to best showcase yourself in essays, and her experience with CBS was invaluable. I truly couldn't have done it without her.

From when we first met, I could tell I wasn't just another client to Cassandra. She spent our first 30min call asking questions about what inspires me, what goals I wish to accomplish with an MBA, and how I'd like to use it to make a positive impact for others. It was incredibly refreshing. And when we dove into the application, Cassandra was able to keep a perfect birds' eye view of the narrative and weak points to address.

Surpassed my expectations, highly recommend her, and couldn't have enjoyed working with her more. THANK YOU!

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