Sharon Joyce Reviews

Who am I? I am a military pilot with a good GPA from a state school and an average GRE score for my target programs.

My success: 2019-2020 application cycle, applying R2, I had done zero work on my applications or essays and had roughly 45 days until the R2 deadlines. Sharon was instrumental in my ability to complete applications to 7 Top 10 MBA programs within 45 days— I was working full time. I received 6 admits, 1 waitlist, and ultimately accepted an offer to attend Wharton w/$.

How she helped:
1) Identifying the characteristics, each school was looking for and the underlying questions each essay was asking.
2) Selecting my best story to tackle each question.
3) She changed my writing style from procedural to creative writing, AKA good storytelling. Also, she corrected grammar mistakes and improved my word choice.
4) Helped me avoid applications landmines, that would have otherwise suck my applications.
5) Supporting and kept me on task, on schedule (accountability).

I worked with Sharon on an hourly basis, which was the most cost-effective route given my situation. She was very generous with her time. I felt as if she was there anytime I need help, and that my money was well spent.

I contribute much of my success to Sharon, my name is Eric, if you contact her, she can pass you my contact information, and I would gladly chat 1:1.

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I have worked with Sharon from start to finish on a number of applications and I can safely say that it was the best decision I made. I was admitted to Yale SOM, UCLA Anderson, NYU Stern, USC Marshall and other schools on my list and I could not have done it without her excellent guidance and help during the admissions process. She knows the business school application process and different programs really well and thoroughly cares about her clients. She dedicated an incredible amount of time to getting to know me (including discussing my strengths after a CliftonStrengths assessment) brainstorming my professional goals, gave detailed feedback on my resume, all my essays (including many drafts) and all parts of the written application and worked extensively on interview prep with me which I believe made all the difference in my applications. Despite our time difference, she was very flexible and responsive over phone, Skype and Google Docs and was available at very short notice close to the deadlines. Even at most stressful times during the application process, she kept me on track with her support, positivity and mentorship. I 110% recommend her to anyone looking to apply to the top MBA programs because you will not find a better teammate than Sharon in this process, she is a rockstar!

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I bought the 3 school package with Sharon Joyce and it was the best investment I made in preparation for the business school admission process! I strongly recommend working with Sharon as an admissions consultant.

In June/July 2019, I interviewed multiple admissions consultancies and I'm telling you right now, stop what you're doing, stop talking to anyone else, pick up the phone and call Sharon!! By the end of our first call together I already knew Sharon was different and that I was in incredible hands. She had this remarkably wide, expansive view of the world and my place in it, yet also picked up on little (most would think innocuous) details in my stories that would go on to play major roles in our future brainstorming sessions/my essays. She has this incredible empathic ability to understand you, make you feel understood, and then bring out the best in you and your work all the while making you feel calm and relaxed during one of the most stressful times of your life. 

From resume building to formulating clear career goals, from writing and editing essays to interview preparation, she was instrumental in helping me reach the most optimal and consistent presentation of myself. Her perspective and strategic guidance were invaluable, as were her 'second-to-none' organization skills and methodical preparation. She was available, flexible, undoubtedly one of the most sincere people I have ever met. In the fall, I will be attending my first choice and dream MBA/MPH program (Berkeley Haas). There is no doubt that her expertise was essential to helping me accomplish my goal. 

I will forever be grateful to Sharon for her hard work, dedication, and ceaseless belief in me.

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I was on the fence about whether to work with a consultant for my MBA applications and finally made a decision to go for it just 3 weeks before my Round 1 deadlines. Working with Sharon was a such a great experience and I am so glad I made the decision to do it. I was thrilled to hear that got into MIT Sloan which was one of my top choices!!

Sharon is incredibly perceptive and did a great job at getting up to speed on what I was thinking. I had already done quite a bit of the prep work at getting applications ready so really appreciated her honest take on how many hours would be helpful and what type of support might be the most useful to get me over the finish line. It was great to have her as a sounding board to get answers to my random questions and think through the final details.

I got interviews at both schools I applied to in Round 1 and went back to Sharon for a few more hours of interview prep. She gave really insightful feedback on how to position myself for a few questions I had been struggling with in my independent prep and notes on personal presentation that were great to keep in mind during the interviews.

Overall, I highly recommend working with Sharon - she is super organized, offers quick and thoughtful responses, and could not have been easier to coordinate with even though I was in Kenya. It was a really great experience and helped so much with making the stressful process of applying to schools much more manageable!

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First thing I'll say is that I only worked with Sharon for 2 hours, so the fact that I'm writing a review is a testament to how amazing I found Sharon to be and how valuable I found her services.

I purchased the 2-hour hourly service package through Fortuna 3 days before the deadline for one of my schools (top 10). Given the tight timeline, Matt (the founder) immediately connected me with Sharon, and we got the ball rolling right away.

I originally only wanted an admissions consultant to review one of my three essays that I felt the most uncertain about - expecting maybe a couple of recommendations on content and a few word choice edits. However, Sharon went above and beyond. She reviewed all of my essays and helped me improve each one. She really understood the essence of each question and what the school was trying to get at. She not only highlighted aspects of my essays that she liked, which was very reassuring & a great confidence boost, but also gave me incisive feedback on places where I wasn't hitting the mark. We went though a few iterations until both of us felt like my essays was submission-ready.

Overall, Sharon was so pleasant to work with. She's funny, positive, and laid-back. She's quick to turn around comments and really flexible with her timing. I would 100% recommend Sharon to anyone looking to bolster their application.

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Simply put, Sharon is awesome and she really knows how to navigate MBA application process successfully and with the least amount of stress (trust me, this part is so important)! Her continuous guidance and support played a decisive role in my acceptance to Haas, Kellogg and Fuqua FT MBA programs and I am so grateful to Sharon for helping me realise my dream.

I approached Fortuna admissions about 6 weeks before my first deadline and I was immediately paired with Sharon. I was worried that we may not have enough time to complete all of my applications, but Sharon instantly put me at ease by clearly outlining our timeline and strategy for each individual application. At this point, it is worth mentioning that I worked with other consultants before and their “tick-the-box” approach really damaged my previous applications. But from my very first call with Sharon, I knew that this experience will be nothing like before and can only yield success.

In the beginning, Sharon spent time to really learn as much as possible about myself. I’m a bit of an introvert, but Sharon’s genuine goodness and desire to help put my best foot forward really helped me open up, making the process of pinning down my narrative effortless and enjoyable. This task was also helped by CliftonStrengths assessment; I never actually thought what my strengths were before taking this test and it was great having Sharon walk me through my results. Learning my strengths and weaknesses really helped me stay on track and keep a single theme throughout my application process. It also proved to be beneficial during my interview as I effortlessly answered strengths/weakness questions.

Sharon’s ability to deliver the message fully, yet concisely is second to none and I have absolutely no doubt that without her guidance on my essays, I wouldn’t be moving to California this coming August! She was always honest and constructive with her feedback and I really appreciated her flexibility with scheduling our calls (we had 7-hour difference between us). Sharon had no problem with scheduling multiple calls during the week, which made an entire process very efficient and allowed us to create multiple essay drafts throughout the week. This really boosted my applications and I was able to finish all of my essays few days before their respective deadlines, which definitely reduced my level of stress.

Sharon has an in-depth knowledge of b-school application process, which made interview preparations very efficient. She knew specifics of each individual school, questions they may ask and theme I should focus on to really stand out during my assessment.

Every single aspect of Sharon’s service was amazing, whether it was helping me with my essays, or preparing me for the interviews, or even helping me successfully navigate a gruesome waitlist process, she was always outstanding. But one thing that really made my experience of working with Sharon stand out is the fact that she truly cared about me and, more than anything, wanted to see me succeed. Trust me, very, very few people would pause their vacation in Europe just to check how your Fuqua interview went. Sharon also gave me personal recommendations about things to do in pretty much every city I interviewed in, so I could really explore the place where I may spend my next few years of life. This genuine care about her clients, as well as her willingness to go above and beyond, are the qualities that make Sharon stand out among all other talented MBA consultants. I can wholeheartedly recommend Sharon and I will be referring Sharon to my friends who are seeking to do MBA in the future.

Thank you, Sharon!!

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I chose to work with Sharon Joyce at Fortuna Admissions because after our initial informational conversation, I could tell right away that she was the perfect combination of kind, sharp, supportive and realistic that I was looking for. She ended up being all of these things and more, and even sprinkled in a great amount of humor and needed sarcasm that brought some joy to the process.

We spoke on the phone at least once a week for several months during the process, and outside of these phone calls Sharon was incredibly responsive over text and email, dedicating a lot of her time to help me prep or edit my work.

I came into the application process with a good idea of "Why an MBA" and "Why Now", but Sharon really helped me craft and refine my story to help me stand out as a unique candidate. Her CliftonStrengths certification particularly helped with this, as it enhanced my ability to communicate my strengths and weaknesses effectively to admissions committees and interviewers.

I always trusted Sharon’s advice and appreciated her thoughtful questions based in her experience and knowledge. I valued her insights about being a female candidate in the MBA world, and her general excitement about getting more women accepted to Top MBA programs. One of the biggest impacts Sharon had on my admissions journey was the guidance she provided when I was finalizing which schools to apply too and focus on. She knew that I really wanted to go this year and not wait another year to be admitted to the “perfect school”, and because of her honesty, expertise and knowledge of the schools we put together a perfect list of target for me and I am ultimately super thrilled with my acceptances.

When working on my interview prep and essays, she never hesitated to connect me to the larger Fortuna network, allowing me to get expert advice and editing from other coaches with knowledge of specific schools very quickly. I particularly appreciated the opportunity to practice for the Wharton Team Based Interview with a group of other Fortuna “coachees" ahead of time led by Judith Silverman Hodara.

By the time I was applying and interviewing I felt confident that I was being guided in the right direction, was well-edited and buttoned up. Sharon helped me be “admissions committee ready” in a way that I could not have done by myself. I could not recommend Sharon more for others looking for help through the MBA process!

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I cannot more highly recommend Sharon - with her help I got into Ross, Anderson, and McCombs, with generous scholarships to each school. Sharon helped me through the R1 process with resume review, essay review, gut checks for all of my communications with adcom, interview prep, and ultimately school decision-making. Sharon gave no-BS advice which made me feel like I could really trust her, and was such a pleasure to work with. She was incredibly flexible and quick to respond, which is VERY helpful when you're pushing up against deadlines. Something I really appreciated was that I never felt like she was wasting my time - she told me if she felt a review/prep could get done in 10 mins even though we had scheduled 30, which is really nice when you're spending $$ by the minute. Sharon is also certified in the Clifton Strengths Assessment tool, which was surprisingly helpful in generating wording and insights for personal strengths - it's hard to talk about yourself! Overall, Sharon is a delight and on top of her game - if you are looking for help at any stage of the application process, she's your gal!

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When I was researching into the application process I came across Fortuna Admissions. Initially I discovered them from online searches, however an old friend of mine was a former client and confirmed they were a great service.

I was paired with Sharon and it was a great fit. We started just before the Summer with a goal of first round applications being completed by start of September. I am very busy with my career so having a strong supporting team to help organize my application efforts was a tremendous help.

I work best with goals and schedules. Sharon quickly adapted to my working preferences and helped me set goals and dates to accomplish various tasks. At the end of every session I would have my "take aways" and a set date I needed to have it done by. At the start of every session we would review the work I completed on my own time in an environment and pace that worked best for me.

When I received my first interview invitation it was almost unexpected. The deadline had been a few days prior, so to hear back so soon was quite shocking (albeit a great one!). That being said, I had a business trip already planned and had to opt for their earliest time slot. This gave me a little over 24 hours to be fully prepared. Sharon was able to accommodate my rushed time frame and I walked into the interview confident.

Overall my experience with Fortuna Admissions was great, and I will be recommending them in the future to my colleagues. Thank you Sharon!

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I enjoyed working with Fortuna from my first interaction with Matt. They provided loads of advice on the first intro call - far more than other consulting firms I spoke with - and sold me quickly. My consultant, Sharon, was personable and helpful throughout the process. It was tougher than usual because we lived in time zones 14 hours apart, but she regularly scheduled calls in her evenings because it was more convenient for me. I appreciated her pushing me to re-work my essays multiple times. Would recommend the services, particularly for school selection and keeping me on a steady schedule to get my applications in on time.

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