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Product Fortuna Admissions The Admissions Director’s Evaluation
Consultant Emma Bond
I have worked with Emma for 'Director's Evaluation' service as well as 'Hourly Consulting Service' after I was invited for the interview. I enjoyed working with her because of her 1) expertise and knowledge about LBS, 2) insights in admission process (behind the scene), 3) responsive and enthusiastic attitude toward my application (and me).
1) If consultants can provide information that I can find from the web (or even worse, not knowing about the information I find), I think there is no value. In that matter, Emma, from her time at the school, knows every bit of the school that outsiders cannot really find out. Also, even though she left the school some time ago, she is up to date with all the history and changes to the programme (curriculum, events, culture, etc.) because she is still closely connected with many people (incluing admission team) at the school. When she received my full application for the 'Director's Evaluation', she was quick to recognize all the details about the programme I put in (even though some of the things were new this year), and provided more insights and details so that my application and essays looked like someone within the LBS community had written (in my opinion). I was also able to demonstrate my "fit" with LBS in interviews with additional inside knowledge Emma provided.
2) Also, as an applicant, I was always curious about what happens behind the scene with admission team when they are making a decision, and I could not really find the "answer" because most people can only "guess" (although some people/consultants are arrogant enough to say they "know" when they have never sat at the table). Because Emma has made the admission decision with the team before, she exactly knows what's happening behind the scene and what admission team is looking for. This was helpful in many ways: editing irrelevant information in my application that would only bother admission officer to read, changing perspectives in telling my story so that I can showcase my qualities that admission team is looking for, knowing my weakness and addressing it properly, even helping my mind to be at peace as I know what will happen when I hit the submit button, etc.
3) Lastly, her passion for applicants wanting to attend LBS is tremendous! She tries to help me in any way possible and is willing to communicate ASAP. For past 2 months, we've had more than 100 emails going back and forth. She got back to me by the next day (and this is at the latest! she sometimes just emails me back in a real-time). Her comments and actual edits are so detailed and insightful as well. For example, I think my CV initially had all the good contents, but only with her edit, the reader could actually see and easily recognize those great contents. (I believe this is so important for CV!) Also, just working with someone who is so willing and passionate about my admission definitely helps when I am so tired working on applications. And, I can actually build a trust toward her so that we can truly become a team!
All in all, I believe I wouldn't have received my admission if I have not worked with Emma. With Emma's input, my initial work has improved (more like evolved) to shine! If anyone is interested in LBS, I am 100% confident that Emma is the best consultant in the planet!
Product Fortuna Admissions The Admissions Director’s Evaluation
Consultant Caroline Diarte Edwards
I was actually recommended by a former INSEAD-er who was helped by Caroline. Before deciding on Fortuna Admission, I actually shopped around for some other consultants but figured I would get the best help from the previous admission director of INSEAD (and I only applied for one school - so the stake was quite high).
The initial call with Matt was of great help! I got a lot of useful advice on how I should improve and work on my CV before starting to talk to Caroline.
In terms of essays, my friend who was admitted to Kellogg helped me in reviewing and fine-tuning a lot of them but Caroline definitely took them to another level. For example, I had questions on how much I should elaborate on the essay ' What would you do if you were to stay in the same company and same department' and she made sure I had the right level of details but not too much.
As she didnt make any major changes on my essays, she offered to give me a 45min mock interview session on my video interviews for free and sent me materials to prepare. (very very nice of her!) It boosted my confidence before actually going through those intense 45second preparation and 60second reply sessions.
Product Fortuna Admissions The Admissions Director’s Evaluation
Consultant Caroline Diarte Edwards
INSEAD was on my radar for over 2 years and I had referred to all available free online resources and colleagues who were INSEAD alumni while crafting my application.
However, at the end of it, about a month before the application deadline, I felt that my application lacks a certain polish, that final touch that would convince me that I had put my best foot forward.
I reached out to Matt & Caroline for the Admissions Director's Evaluation as I felt that since I had already built my application, what I needed was the final touch.
Caroline, the expert that she is and with the tremendous history that she brings to the table, was the perfect addition. She was able to quickly and efficiently point out some of the holes in my application with suggestions on how to fill them.
Caroline always responded quickly and I felt I was getting her full attention. I often asked her opinion to break ties among the different options I had to put into my essays while sticking to the recommended word limit. Her vast experience as an Admissions Officer at INSEAD shone through and she was able to guide me to craft my application and bring more clarity to the essays.
I would definitely recommend Caroline's help if you're building out your INSEAD application to give it that final touch.
Product Fortuna Admissions The Admissions Director’s Evaluation
Consultant Caroline Diarte Edwards
I shopped thoroughly for consulting services before deciding on Fortuna to help finalize my INSEAD essays. You really can't get a better dream team than this group with Matt Symonds (who's built his career around the MBA industry and knows it inside-out) and Caroline Diarte Edwards (former Director of Admissions at INSEAD).
The screening process was professional and exceeded my expectations. My conversation with Matt was very encouraging. I also appreciated the peace of mind during this stressful period knowing the track record that Fortuna had established with successful INSEAD candidates.
I thought I was already in a pretty good place with my written essays, but Caroline really made a difference by providing detailed feedback and teasing out the qualities that made me stand out as an applicant. She was tireless with the iterations up till the day before the R1 deadline. It was truly exceptional to have such a dedicated advisor.
I was eventually admitted into INSEAD and even received a generous scholarship. Can't be more thankful for a smooth process and successful result.
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Product Fortuna Admissions The Admissions Director’s Evaluation
Consultant Emma Bond
I would highly recommend Fortuna Admissions and specifically Emma Bond for anyone looking to apply to the LBS MBA program. Emma previously worked in LBS' admissions team and knows the process requirements and what the Admissions Committee looks for inside out! She is also extremely helpful in highlighting information about the school that you may not otherwise know of that would be relevant to your goals / areas of interest. I chose an hourly strategy session with Emma to plan my essays and discuss my goals. During this session she helped point out specifics about the school I should me mentioning in my essays, and how to structure my thoughts. I then signed up for the Director's review package which involves a couple of revisions of my essays and a quick review of my references and applications. What I loved about Emma was that she did not stop until she felt my essays were as strong as they could be and reviewed each one 3 times. She also truly pushed me to highlight my strengths, helped me rephrase thoughts and ideas to make them as concise and sharp as possible, and all in all expertly guided me towards submitting the strongest application possible, which ended up in admission to the MBA Programme! She was also extremely helpful with the interview preparation. Emma's experience with and knowledge of LBS makes her the very best consultant to work with when applying to the school!!! She is also genuinely caring and a lovely person to work with. You won't regret working with her!