GMAT Club

Silpa Sarma Reviews

Company: Fortuna Admissions

As a former member of Stanford GSB’s admissions team, Silpa was responsible for evaluating and selecting a dynamic and diverse class of MBA students from hundreds of applicants each year. Having assessed candidates across a multitude of industries, geographies, and career stages, she takes great satisfaction in leveraging her expertise to help applicants strengthen their candidacy and achieve their professional goals.

5.0 /5 Average Rating
Based on 18 reviews
May 02, 2023
g1m1a1t

Joined: Jun 08, 2017

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Self-reported Score:
760 Q49 V45

Couldn't recommend working with Silpa more

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I worked with Silpa on my Stanford GSB application, and I really appreciated her thoughtful, detailed feedback throughout the process.

Among many other things, she
-Spent a significant amount of time getting to know me. Throughout the process, I could tell she was paying attention to every detail - she would bring up details that even I had forgotten about as potential topics for portions of my essay or short answers.
-Worked with my busy work schedule to make sure I received feedback promptly and I was on track to meet application deadlines.
-Brought a lot of school-specific knowledge to our conversations. Not only did this make my application better, but I felt like I understood the differences between schools (and what would be the best fit for me) better as a result of our conversations

I felt confident by the end of the process that I had put my best foot forward with Silpa's help. I was ultimately accepted to Stanford GSB, and I cannot recommend working with her more (she is also a very kind person who is delightful to work with)!

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April 22, 2023
funkyfresh123

Joined: Apr 22, 2023

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Verified GMAT Classic score:
750 Q49 V44

Amazing support from Silpa at Fortuna!

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I worked with Silpa for a few months on a comprehensive three-school package during the 2022 application cycle, so she was there to guide me through school selection, CV, essays, letters of recommendations and eventually interviews. From our first exploratory call, I immediately felt comfortable with her, and she was great at reassuring me on timeline and laying things out of how the preparation phase for the application would be split up in the time leading up to application deadlines.

Personally, coming from a finance background and lacking recent experience in writing, I was the most worried about the essay part of the applications and getting them concise (to be within word limit) while representing my story as well as my hopes of getting an MBA. Silpa was very patient with my essay drafts and went into a lot of detail into refining structure as well as content. It was clear that she knew a lot about each school and what each school was 'looking' for. She also has great relationships with the rest of the consulting team at Fortuna who were instrumental to helping me with finalizing essays and eventually practice interviews. I'm really glad to say that with the help of Silpa, I gained admission to Columbia Business School with a full scholarship!

Silpa is a great balance of being friendly and casual while staying professional and straightforward, which I definitely appreciated given how tricky it was already to balance work and applications. She was also always super quick with turning around anything I gave her to review. I would highly recommend Silpa as a partner and advisor for anyone's MBA journey!

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February 25, 2023
khushbuanand10

Joined: Feb 29, 2020

Posts: 44

Kudos: 10

Verified GMAT Classic score:
680 Q48 V34 (Online)

Fortunate that I chose Fortuna

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Prepare to be blown away by the exceptional interview preparation services provided by Silpa! With a meticulous approach, Silpa helped me craft customized answers to a plethora of challenging questions and calmed my nerves before the interview. In record time, Silpa provided me with quick and efficient feedback, ensuring that I remained on track and focused on the most important topics. She even went above and beyond to help me craft a stellar thank-you note for my interviewer.

Silpa's guidance throughout the process was truly invaluable, and I am thrilled to report that I was able to secure admission to the top US schools for which I enrolled her services. If you're looking for an effective coaching session that will help you reach your academic goals, Silpa is a clear choice.

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February 23, 2023
anon392984

Joined: Feb 23, 2023

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Verified GMAT Classic score:
720 Q46 V42

Incredible Advocate for Non-Traditional Applicant

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I began working with Silpa late in 2022, when I began the MBA application process and was immediately overwhelmed. As an applicant coming from a non-business background, I felt thoroughly unprepared to navigate the process alone, but during the Fortuna "sales pitch" call, Silpa immediately stood out to me as someone who would be deeply knowledgeable and highly supportive.

During the last 6 months, Silpa really honed in on crafting a strong narrative to explain my work and education experiences, and how they could positively impact my future career. Throughout the entire process, Silpa was very responsive, providing thoughtful critiques on essays and meeting regularly to help perfect my each aspect of my application.

I am thrilled to be accepting a seat in Cornell's Class of 2025 with a full merit scholarship; I truly believe I would not have earned this opportunity without Silpa's diligence.

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February 06, 2023
mba9999

Joined: Feb 06, 2023

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Best of the Best

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Silpa was an incredible advisor during the application process. She takes the time to truly know you, your aspirations, and your story. Silpa is very intelligent, professional, and qualified (previous experience in admissions at GSB), putting her in a category by herself. I had full confidence in Silpa throughout the entire process. We had an hourly engagement where I was able to focus our time on what I chose. Silpa was extremely accommodating to busy schedules and was particularly flexible in the week prior to the deadlines, even going above and beyond the normal call of duty. Ultimately, I was admitted to Harvard, Columbia, and MIT. I would highly recommend Silpa for anyone considering applying for an MBA.

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January 17, 2023
npmba89

Joined: Jun 05, 2020

Posts: 4

Kudos: 0

Highly recommend Silpa Sarma!

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It has been such a pleasure to work with Silpa on my full-time MBA applications to Kellogg (A), Tuck (A), and GSB (WL). When I started the admissions process in June of 2022, I didn't think that I had a shot at getting into any business school with my low undergraduate GPA, average test score, and nonlinear personal and professional path. I wanted to work with an admissions coach who would encourage me to shine a light on my story instead of shying away from it. From the very beginning, Silpa was pragmatic about my chances yet invested in my success.

Silpa is super warm, easy to connect with, and an incredible listener. She'd often nudge me to lean into my personal story without losing focus on highlighting my professional strengths and career aspirations. This was instrumental in helping me write essays that were clear, concise, and accurately reflected who I am without diminishing the uniqueness of my journey.

There were times when I was overwhelmed during the application process and really doubted my ability to pull through. But knowing that I had someone like Silpa in my corner, rooting for my success and offering affirmations and guidance, really encouraged me to keep going. I highly, highly recommend her!

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May 31, 2022
fightclubcheetah

Joined: Jan 16, 2022

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Silpa helped prepare in less than a month to gain admission to Yale SOM. Silpa was critical to my admission to the MAM program at Yale, and I can't imagine going through this process without her. Having to work full time, I honestly had no idea how to prepare a compelling, strong application. Silpa genuinely went the extra mile to help me on this journey; she was flexible and always provided brilliant still, fast and actionable feedback from day one. I especially appreciate her candid yet friendly approach to challenging me to go deeper when reflecting on my stories for the application and to write compelling essays by being concise and keeping on track of the key details of my stories as well as aligned to my personal story and goals. Finally, thanks to Silpa's approach, I secured an interview with Adcom (Silpa helped me prepare and feel confident that I would nail it) and gained admission. I highly recommend Silpa and the Fortuna Admissions team to anyone looking for the industry's best admission partners and advisors.

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May 10, 2022
kpickitt

Joined: May 10, 2022

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

A Talented Storyteller with an Eye for Detail

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After unsuccessfully navigating the business school application process once on my own, I decided to use Fortuna for my second attempt. Silpa is truly a gem and was able to help me translate my story and non-traditional background into a scholarship-winning application. I was consistently impressed with how much time she took during each phase of Fortuna's process to ensure that my application was truly reflective of who I am as a person. She has a keen attention to detail and highlighted elements I had initially viewed as unimportant in a way that showed incredible impact. I absolutely would not have been admitted, let alone with significant scholarship, without her!

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