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Nonie Mackie Reviews

Company: Fortuna Admissions

Nonie joined Fortuna after a successful career as Assistant Director with the Careers Services Team at the INSEAD Singapore Campus, where she was responsible for coaching MBA and EMBA students on how to best achieve their career aspirations, build their professional networks and source job opportunities at their target companies. With deep expertise in Corporate Partnership Development Nonie has worked closely with numerous companies sourcing MBAs to fulfill their talent acquisition needs. Prior to joining INSEAD, Nonie worked as an International Recruitment Consultant and recruited senior level executives for a variety of Fortune 500 companies. Nonie has coached candidates who have gained admission to a range of top business schools including INSEAD, London Business School, Oxford, Cambridge, and Melbourne Business School. Nonie has lived and worked in the UK, Japan, and Singapore. She holds an MA (Hons.) in Geography from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland.

5.0 /5 Average Rating
Based on 22 reviews
December 28, 2019
88UP

Joined: Dec 27, 2019

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Verified GMAT Classic score:
740 Q50 V40

A wise decision to get Fortuna Admission on board

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I purchased an 8 hour package service package with Fortuna Admission before the round 3 deadline of INSEAD. Before deciding to apply for INSEAD, I have successfully applied for a few American business school myself, so I was fairly familiar with the application process. However, INSEAD is such prestigious school that I think I will have a chance to be accepted by not a great chance. So I decided to get some help from the professionals to maximise my chance of being accepted in the coming intake of INSEAD.

I did some research online and found about Fortuna Admission, they appear to have extensive experience of helping applicants getting into INSEAD, and from my experience working with them, they proved that they are excellent at what they do, and getting help from them turned out to be a wise decision.

I worked with Nonie, who was an absolute pleasure to work with. She helped me tailor my application materials to better present myself by making sure that the points in my essays have come through to meet the selecting criteria of INSEAD. She pointed out things I never thought of and helped me identify the aspects that needs to be emphasised and the ones to be avoided. Many of my essays were finalised close to the deadline, and thanks to Nonie, who always found a way to respond to my last minute requests, my application was successfully submitted on time.

I found my mock interview with Nonie was very helpful as well. I was initially intimidated by the idea of video interviews as I have done it poorly in the past, but working with Nonie who guided me through the themes of the INSEAD video interview, I felt so much more confident afterwards and improved my video interview performance in a short time.

My final application result was successful, and I don’t think it would be this smooth without the help from Fortuna Admission and especially Nonie. I would highly recommend them!

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September 18, 2019
vc2020

Joined: Jun 07, 2017

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Verified GMAT Classic score:
620 Q41 V35

Excellent Coach

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Obtaining the Comprehensive School Package from Fortuna was one of the best decisions I made when I was applying for my MBA. Their approach to the application is organized and communication between the coach and the applicant is efficient.

Nonie went above and beyond my expectations of her role as my coach. She was very thorough and diligent in giving feedback on all aspects of my application. What I appreciate most about Nonie was that she was very patient and sincere. She regularly checked up on me as to how I was doing with my application (essays, recommendation letters) and even my GMAT.

I highly recommend Nonie and Fortuna for their MBA application services.

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March 09, 2019
stevencg1188

Joined: Nov 23, 2015

Posts: 3

Kudos: 6

Verified GMAT Classic score:
700 Q43 V42

Unlock Your Potential

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Having gone through the introductory consultation with one other admissions consulting firm, I knew from the start that I wanted to engage with Fortuna. Their strategy session and questionnaire was very introspective, helping me to better understand my own motivations and setting up the stage for my work with a consultant.
I thoroughly enjoyed working with Nonie. To unlock your potential and put forth the best application possible she really gets to know you and your story, guiding you through the process and helping you understand how an admissions team looks at applicants. Turnaround time with edits and review was also incredibly fast, usually on the same day.
As an applicant with a comparatively low GPA, I knew I had to stand out in other areas of my application to be competitive. Nonie's previous experience with Insead was invaluable in helping me frame my application in such a way that I could show that I am indeed ready for the academic rigours of a world class MBA program.

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December 01, 2018
mjmat

Joined: Aug 11, 2017

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Self-reported Score:
750 Q50 V41

Excellent coaching

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I enrolled with Fortuna admissions to help with my applications to MBA at INSEAD and LBS. I found their consulting service very professional and organized. Nonie Mackie was assigned as my coach and she worked with me on my applications over a period of 3 months. Nonie was especially approachable and is a very passionate individual. She made it very easy for me to work with her, allowing flexible timings for our meetings and usually with a quick response time. She was very persistent in getting the best efforts out of me in terms of the right stories and in organizing and structuring the content for essays to suit the admission criteria of the school. Nonie gave very honest feedback on the application and was in full control of all the aspects from resume to interview prep. Yet another positive aspect about Nonie is that she goes an extra mile to pull out information and reference materials that helps with the application. Overall I am very pleased with the coaching Nonie provided me and with the services of Fortuna Consulting.

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June 11, 2018
INSEADAdmit2019

Joined: Jun 11, 2018

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Extremely helpful and thoughtful advice!

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Nonie did a terrific job supporting me throughout the entire application process and really took the time to dive into my story.

First and foremost, she was a real pleasure to work with. Her input is thoughtful and honest. She wont hesitate to help you brainstorm if you get stuck and has great experience with the application process. Nonie was also flexible to schedule meetings during times that suited me, which unfortunately was often on Saturday & Sunday evenings.

Moreover, the online platform that Fortuna use is intuitive and helpful to structure your thinking around the application process.

I had a fantastic experience with Nonie and would certainly recommend her, as well as the wider Fortuna Admissions service, on to friends.

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December 20, 2017
AcidXXX

Joined: Sep 07, 2016

Posts: 25

Kudos: 2

Verified GMAT Classic score:
710 Q48 V39

Par Excellence

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I mostly worked with Nonie on my INSEAD application. I also briefly worked with Caroline, who helped me polish my final drafts.

Nonie has been the real superstar in my successful journey to INSEAD. Everything about her is Gold! Her honesty and open-mindedness are the biggest hallmarks of her coaching attributes. She has been pleasantly honest about her opinions and feedback throughout the application process, even if that meant more re-work, drafts and revisions. She has a tremendous eye for detail and helped me rectify things that are sometimes easy to overlook. Nonie is also extremely open-minded, flexible and accommodating. She never restricted my chain of thoughts; she always encouraged me to write different narratives and her insightful critique eventually helped me select the narratives that best showcased my winning attributes and presented me in the best light possible. Although, I started working on my application quite late into Round 1, and hence was always racing against time to submit my application by the Round 1 Deadline, Nonie never allowed me to settle for less or compromise on the quality of any aspect of my application for the sake of meeting deadlines. In fact, Nonie powered me throughout the journey, especially at times when I felt that I might not meet the Round 1 deadline. Despite the zonal time difference between UAE and Singapore, Nonie was very flexible, responsive and her turnaround time was exceptional. Her feedbacks were succinct, crystal clear, and extremely constructive. Nonie leveraged her tremendous knowledge of INSEAD to help me create a bullet proof strategy for my INSEAD application.

However it was not all tough love from Nonie all the time. She displayed abundant sensibility when I shared a few of my personal stories with her. She helped me allay my anxieties and overcome my inhibitions. The mock interviews with Nonie were a lot of fun. I feel, this is where the student-coach relationship really came to life and started thriving on an entirely different level of comfort and camaraderie. Nonie's care and coaching was extremely personal. I could feel that she was really invested, almost like a stakeholder, in my INSEAD dream, and when time came, she seamlessly switched gears from being my essay critic to becoming my biggest supporter. She championed me and positively reinforced my thoughts right until the decision day. Her confidence in my candidacy eventually became the cornerstone of my own belief, faith and confidence. With, Nonie beside me, I never felt alone in the journey - She not only kept me in the race all the time, but also helped me get over the line. I am absolutely indebted to her.

While Nonie was the Superstar of my INSEAD application journey, I would like to remember Caroline as the real Rockstar of my application. Having been the MBA gatekeeper at INSEAD admissions for several years, and having shaped the application procedure herself, Caroline sprinkled the much desired magic dust on my application that quite literally transformed my solid application to a sparkling one. Caroline stressed on brevity, simplified complexities and helped me make my application a breezy read. Her comment's were razor sharp and succinct. Caroline's initial assessment and feedback about my goal was also a massive help as it genuinely made me rethink about my career goals, propelled me towards a more realistic goal and definitely helped me avoid any potential red flags in the minds of the AdCom regarding my post MBA employability. In the end when Caroline, who herself made the final decision for more than 34000 applicants during her time at INSEAD, told me "I enjoyed reading your essays", I did feel a lot more positive and optimistic about clicking that "SUBMIT" button, than I would have felt if I did not have Caroline's blessings.

Succeeding in my INSEAD application, while being a part of the most overly represented demographic (Indian Male Engineer), on the wrong end of the 20's, with a modest GMAT score, a young family, a very demanding work schedule, and no plan B (INSEAD was the only school I applied to) could not have been possible had it not been for Nonie and Caroline, and Matt (who posited a reservoir of optimism, faith, belief and encouragement in me right at the beginning, in the initial free consultation). As Gordon Gekko said “The most valuable commodity I know of is information”, leveraging the collective insider knowledge of INSEAD was my biggest advantage of working with the Fortuna Dream Team. The recipe for success at Fortuna pivots on a fine balance between the various stakeholders at play - the coach, the mentor and the applicant - In my honest opinion the balance, as it is, is perfect.

Therefore, Fortuna's Dream Team receives my highest and strongest recommendation.

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November 30, 2016
jppogo

Joined: Nov 30, 2016

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Verified GMAT Classic score:
720 Q47 V41

The best way to succeed!

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Nonie has been with me from day 1 of my application preparation for INSEAD MBA. And this is the best decision I have made!

Whether you think your application is already solid or that you have to start from scratch, Nonie will play a key role in building the best possible application with you.

Nonie has been available all the time and her turnaround was all always very quick and of top quality. She consistently provided detailed comments, explaining her reasoning and thoroughly helping me to rethink all the details of my application until perfection. She has demonstrated her outstanding knowledge of the application process, of the school profiles and of the best way to put oneself forward. Her commitment and empathy were so high that I sometimes had the impression it was her own application and this gave me even more motivation.

A very important difference with other consultant is probably that Nonie call into questions all your arguments and examples to make sure that they are absolutely bullet proof. This forces you to think again and again but also prepares you for the interviews.

Finally, Nonie has been a very enjoyable person to work with. It is rare to show such top class professionalism and expertise and to be such a friendly and nice person. When you feel a bit down after weeks of working on your essay or when you are waiting for your results, Nonie is also even here to cheer you up!

I extremely happy that I have been admitted to INSEAD MBA, and I owe a big part of it to Nonie. But even if I hadn’t made it through, I would start the application adventure with Nonie again and again, as she no doubt helped me put my best feet forward! Thank you!

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October 17, 2016
norikoshindo

Joined: Oct 17, 2016

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Efficient and Reliable

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I found out about INSEAD in October, and decided to apply by the following spring. If it had not been for this great team, I think I will still be contemplating whether to go for it or apply a whole year later. I had the pleasure to work with Nonie, who helped me through drafting the essays within an extremely short schedule and I am very grateful for all the attention she gave to the work that had to be done. Although I found out about Fortuna Admissions Team from a search engine, I felt extremely confident from the beginning as all my questions were answered with great speed and sincerity by Matt. From start to finish, I enjoyed working with the team and I thank them all again for the full support I received in my application process.

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October 15, 2016
clemence

Joined: Nov 12, 2014

Posts: 1

Kudos: 0

Very helpful

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Without ever doing the work in my place, Fortuna pushed me to do it at my best. They really helped me synthesise my achievements, and choose which ones to present to best serve my stated goals. As I knew nobody among my friends, relatives or even acquaintances who had already applied to an MBA, working with Fortuna also helped me understand the hidden rules of this universe. It was also great to count on them for proofreading, as a non native English speaker. Finally, I appreciated the "team spirit", timeline, feedback and encouragement.

The storytelling work that Nonie helped me perform was also useful to me later for job applications.

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September 09, 2016
chummas

Joined: Feb 09, 2016

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Verified GMAT Classic score:
700 Q49 V35

Excellent service!

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I worked with Nonie from Fortuna in preparing my application for the INSEAD MBA. From my initial conversation with Nonie I was confident she will help me in the best way to put through a competitive application. During our first skype call itself she was able to clearly identify my strengths and weaknesses based on the strategy questionnaire I had filled earlier. She was very well aware of the expectations at INSEAD and explained to me how well I am placed for the programme. I have had conversations with other consultants from other companies who were simply trying to sell their products and were mainly only focusing on my weaknesses and how they have different packages to help me. But they did not seem to have specific knowledge on INSEAD. But with Nonie and Fortuna, I felt the whole process was very objective, truthful and she was very knowledgeable.

The whole process was very structured and I found it most useful for me. I was pleasantly surprised when Nonie sent me a detailed plan and timeline based on our initial conversation. She had set out clearly what we had discussed in terms of my strengths, weaknesses, the points that I can include my essays, who should be my recommenders etc. She had also set out a clear timeline for me. I was initially overwhelmed by the number of essay questions for INSEAD. However my initial conversations with Nonie helped to bring out points for me to include in my essays.

Nonie was constantly ensuring that I sticked to the timeline for the various deliverables (resume, essays, online application, recommenders) which we had agreed initially. This certainly prevented me from procrastinating. Nonie was also readily available to help to review my different drafts of the application, resume, essays etc. Moreover, Nonie was also prompt in her replies when I had queries on her comments with regards to my draft essays and the application. There was also an resume expert who helped to review and fine tune my resume a few times.

Not only with the application, Nonie also provided me with tips on maintaining a positive online presence. It gave me additional confidence when she gave a thumbs up after doing a check on the web.

Nonie's assistance during the interview process was also helpful. She helped to go through a mock interview with me and gave me comments on my replies. She also diligently followed up on my first interview to give me tips on how to improve on my second interview.

Overall, I am thankful for Nonie's help in supporting me during the application process. I have been admitted to INSEAD MBA and would strongly recommend Nonie for anyone looking for assistance in preparing their MBA application.

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