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Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Heidi Hillis
Heidi was a true pleasure to work with! She helped me diligently through every part of the application process, from brainstorming how I wanted to pitch my Career Vision through providing very detailed and thoughtful feedback to my essay drafts. Heidi is an incredible writer / editor, which really helped me transform my essays into convincing and interesting pieces of writing. I also particularly appreciated how her feedback was very candid - enabling me to focus my rewrites / edits in the places where they were most crucial. Heidi also provided really useful perspectives on how to approach recommenders, and how I may want my strategy to differ by different schools. I was admitted to one of my two top schools, and am really thrilled with the outcome. I can't recommend Heidi highly enough!
Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Michel Belden
I used Michel for a comprehensive five school package for my MBA process. She is incredible to work with, and she makes the process as simple as possible. She was able to help me better understand and articulate my MBA story, and then understand how to communicate that to each school in its own, personalized way. Michel gives great feedback, is flexible and easy to work with, and was great at calming my nerves and helping me visualize and lay out the process into manageable steps. I got into my dream school, and I am so glad I worked with Michel as the end result and the work I put forth were better for it!
Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Jessica Chung
I worked with Jessica and (Michael) to apply for 5 schools and thankfully was admitted into Ross and UCLA!
Working with Jessica was invaluable for my MBA application process. Jessica is really experienced and created a sense of structure for me to follow throughout the long and arduous application.
I especially appreciated her patience over the multiple iterations on the various essays to craft a coherent story for what my career goals were and why I needed an MBA.
Her guidance during the mock interview was also key for me to speak confidently and concisely during the actual interviews, helping me impress the interviewers.
Overall, I'm happy that I had the opportunity to work with Jessica and would recommend her to anyone looking to apply for an MBA.
Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Nonie Mackie
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 in 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 become 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 asking 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 put 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.
Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Sharon Joyce
I worked with Sharon during Round 1 applications for the current cycle (2022 start). I bought the 3-school package from Fortuna which meant that I had support all the way from refining my resume to essay editing and interview prep. I targeted 2 M7 schools and 1 T10 school and got into 2 of them, including my top choice (1 with a significant scholarship; waiting for the scholarship decision from the other).
Based on my experience, Sharon was amazing to work with and one of the main reasons I got in!
I was paired with Sharon on the recommendation of my contact at Fortuna and never actually spoke to her before we started working together. From the get-go, her working style resonated with me and I knew I made the right decision. Sharon took the time to get to know me and understand my reasons for pursuing an MBA. She was organized, detail-oriented and had a clear plan for helping me refine my application and have everything ready to submit based on our internal deadlines. Through Sharon’s previous experience working in admissions offices, she was able to provide unique insights into what schools were looking for and helped me refine my story to help me stand out.
I had spoken to one other MBA admissions consultant and felt that they were distant, unapproachable, and pessimistic about my odds of getting into a T10 school. Sharon and the whole Fortuna team were the total opposite. Sharon truly understands the MBA admissions process thoroughly and was able to provide honest feedback regarding my chances of getting into my target schools. As someone from a non-traditional background, there were many moments when I was unsure whether I made the right decision. Sharon’s optimism and empathy helped me during these tough situations and helped me get through the draining MBA admissions process.
Overall, I highly recommend working with Sharon!
Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Rachel Erickson Hee
Rachel is an absolutely fantastic coach!!! I spoke to several admissions consultants and Rachel stood out from the start – she offered a well measured review of my candidacy and I felt confident she could add real value to my applications. Right away, Rachel invested many hours in truly understanding my professional experience, extracurriculars and goals. I believe this upfront investment enabled her to support me in effectively creating a cohesive and compelling narrative.
When it came to writing and pulling together my applications, Rachel’s support allowed my story to shine. She went through 30+ iterations of my core essays, providing often very quick and thorough reviews (much beyond what I had expected). She would always quickly understand what wasn’t working and was able to offer a very strategic perspective on how we could refine or alter my strategy to something that worked better. Her publishing skills were also extremely handy in trimming unnecessary wordcount etc. once my story was down. In short, I felt very confident that when I hit submit, that I had put my best foot forward in my applications. Rachel was incredibly supportive throughout the whole (and what can be a very demanding) process, always being on hand to provide guidance or help with even the tiniest question. With Rachel’s help, I have now been admitted into HBS and I am looking forward to keeping in touch and sharing updates during and after my MBA program. I can wholeheartedly recommend her to any future applicants considering the very top schools.
Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Rachel Erickson Hee
I could not be happier after working with Rachel. She was extremely thoughtful and diligent through the 5-6 months we worked together. From the start, she asked deep questions to help me unpack prior experiences and some of my core values, which would go on to drive my application. As I worked on my 30+ drafts worth of essays, Rachel carefully reviewed them and came up with new thoughts/comments every single time. She constantly questioned whether the product was strong enough and even when I was exhausted, she continued to push me to keep going so I could submit the very best version of myself. She was incredibly helpful every step of the way, and I'm happy to report she helped me gain admission to a top school I'm excited to attend. The business school application process is tedious, but having Rachel on my side made my process 1000% better.
Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Rachel Erickson Hee
First and foremost, Rachel was absolutely instrumental in helping me get into my dream school, Stanford. When I first started the process at the beginning of the year, Fortuna’s director suggested that I had a 12-15% chance of getting into the GSB, an estimate that I felt was fair. Stanford was a reach given my background.
I was fortunate to be able to start the process early, about eight months before the deadline. At the beginning, Rachel took the time to really understand my story, my motives, my strengths and weaknesses, and helped me strategize which attributes I needed to highlight, and through which stories I could best share my strengths. Rachel was one part MBA coach, one part therapist, as she dug deep into my motivations and helped me find meaningful answers to questions about purpose. Rachel is an incredibly kind and caring person, and I really enjoyed the opportunity to develop a strong relationship with her.
Rachel worked with me on the Stanford essay for 26 drafts, continually sending feedback paragraph by paragraph, then sentence by sentence, then finally word by word. By draft 20, I was ready to throw in the towel and hit submit, but Rachel insisted we could make the ending stronger, really pushing me to the next level. In the end, I had a much better final product than I expected, and I felt at peace because I knew I put in my best possible work. I am so appreciative of the amount of effort Rachel put into my application. She sent me ideas and edits way past a normal bedtime, and always had a quick turnaround time on any new material.
When it came to the interview stage, Rachel helped me tremendously by teaching me how to frame my stories to highlight the attributes Stanford was looking for. She drew upon her decades of experience interviewing candidates, and it made the interview seem much less scary and opaque.
This whole process has made me a much more confident person, as I now understand myself much better. It’s also helped me define and refine my vision and what I want to do in the next decade. I felt that even if I hadn’t gotten into any MBA programs, I still would have found this experience to be valuable for these internal gains. It was so valuable in fact, that I would still want to repeat this process in ten or twenty years (even without applying to schools), when I’m at the next fork in my career, because it gave me so much clarity in my life.
I honestly don’t think I would have gotten in without Rachel’s help, and for that I will be grateful for a lifetime.
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Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Heidi Hillis
I’m incredibly grateful to have worked with Heidi from start to finish during my MBA application process, and I’m excited to attend Kellogg thanks to her guidance! It was clear from my introductory call through calls even after submitting my applications that she cared so much about me. She consistently pushed me to dive deep into my experiences to make my story as unique and strong as possible in such a thoughtful way. I was amazed how she’d share feedback within 24 hours consistently that was always so detailed and mindful of the other parts of my application.
When deciding on a consultant, I thought about individual consultants versus larger groups like Fortuna. I’m so happy I chose Fortuna as a group because I got 100% individual and dedicated attention from Heidi (she was always available to provide advice via messaging or zoom) AND guidance from a director at Fortuna, in addition to leveraging the learnings and experiences from Fortuna’s entire network of clients.
Without hesitation, I’d recommend Heidi. Almost a year after my first call with her, I can say that I have a far better grasp on my goals and values thanks to her guidance and even if I hadn’t gotten into business school, my time with her and Fortuna’s support were incredibly worthwhile.
Product Fortuna Admissions Comprehensive School Package
Consultant Malvina Miller Complainville
My experience with Malvina was amazing! I can confidently say that choosing her as my consultant was one of the best decisions I made during the application process. With her assistance, I was admitted into all 5 M7 schools I applied to, including HBS and Wharton.
I spoke with three other companies before I spoke with Fortuna. In my fit call with Malvina, I found that she was both encouraging and realistic. Her calm demeanor really put me at ease. In working with her over 8 months, I found a lot of value in her coaching on how to explore my short-term and long-term career goals. Malvina was very organized and very responsive throughout the whole process. Despite our time difference, all my materials were turned around very quickly and I never had to follow up or wonder if she would get back to me. Malvina also provided feedback to my recommenders as I come from a background where writing MBA recommendations is not common. The extended Fortuna team also provided great interview prep which helped me feel less anxious for the actual interviews.
Malvina had incredible insight into what the admissions committees would find interesting or valuable, and where things could be edited out or framed better. I feel that she really helped me deliver the best version of myself in my applications, without taking away my own voice and personality in the process.
Like many of you are doing right now, I spent a lot of time deciding whether or not to pay for an MBA consultant. It’s certainly not a cheap endeavor. If you are able to afford it, I would highly recommend working with Malvina. I am very grateful for her support throughout this application process.