Melissa Jones Reviews

At first I was reluctant to work with consultant to help me with my applications as I wasn’t sure of their effectiveness, so I did a lot of research before deciding to work with Fortuna. The key factor in my decision was a Skype call I had with Matt Symonds, where we went through my resume, profile and goals with complete honesty. After this call I was able to see strengths and weaknesses in my profile I hadn’t seen before. This gave me a lot of material to boost my self-confidence and to work with in my applications. The whole process of preparing the material for each application is very smooth and well designed in order to optimize your time and show the admission officers who you really are. Working with consultants who until recently made the final decision on whether admit someone into the program is definitely an advantage, as they know exactly what the school is looking for and how to tackle each essay. I worked with Melissa Jones and I truly believe she’s the best consultant I could’ve worked with; she was extremely dedicated and she gave me awesome insight on ideas to highlight and also complete support and guidance through the whole process, even after having submitted the applications. I applied to both INSEAD and Cambridge Judge and was admitted to both. I’ll be starting next January in INSEAD with a 20,000 EUR scholarship!!

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I decided to apply to INSEAD with just over 4 weeks remaining before the next deadline. So I reached out to a few firms for initial consults and Fortuna stood out from the beginning as being most knowledgeable on INSEAD.

Matt gave me great insight on the admissions process during the first meeting and was very genuine in setting expectations. He put together an action plan very quickly and connected me with my coach - Melissa.

Melissa is an amazing coach and she previously worked for INSEAD admissions which was very re-assuring to begin with. I ended up taking her help on INSEAD as well as HEC (was admitted to both). She really took the time to understand my background and helped me identify the best talking points and come up with a strategy. She was very encouraging throughout the process and was always quick to provide feedback on essay drafts and to respond to questions. At the end Caroline gave my essays a second review and knowing that a previous director of admissions at INSEAD blessed my application was very comforting when I finally hit ‘Submit’.
Working with the team at Fortuna was the best decision in my application process and expect to take my learnings from the experience well beyond the applications. I recommend them to anyone exploring the journey of MBA applications.

Thank you for all your support and guidance!

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I decided to go with Fortuna after another consultant suggested that I set my goals lower than INSEAD. I wasn't going to pay someone a whack of money if she didn't have the same vision as me. My initial discussions with Melissa, Matt, and Caroline at Fortuna made me realize that I did have a great story – we just needed to frame it in the right way. I want to thank Fortuna for believing in me – because with Melissa's help, I was able to assemble a winning application package for INSEAD in less than 6 weeks. She took the time to get to know me, then highlighted the aspects of my profile that would be most attractive to the admissions committee. She leaves no stone unturned when reviewing essays, putting herself in the shoes of the admissions committee. However, the most important part is that she invests herself in her client's dreams: my goal of attending INSEAD became her goal as well. The entire experience with Melissa, Caroline, and Matt at Fortuna was first class.

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It has been a pleasure to work with my coach Melissa Jones. Thanks to her and her encouragements, I was able to transform my essays into a winning application. No stone is left unturned from the school selection, CV review, data application form, the countless essay reviews, the interview preparation and the final decision. Melissa (and Caroline my senior coach) were always readily available for a chat, it was especially useful when I had doubts regarding which schools I should apply to.

The interview preparation is one of the best feature : it takes the edge of the actual interview and helps you improve your weaknesses. I did very well on the interview I prepared with Fortuna and could feel the difference with the interview for another school I prepared on my own.

The access to Fortuna’s network of former admission directors and officers is invaluable when you have questions regarding other schools. This is a special strength of the Fortuna Admissions network. If you are applying to European business school, they may have a strong advantage over American admission companies, which are more US-focused.

I very enthusiastically recommend Melissa and Fortuna to any MBA applicant. I would not have made it without their support.

Don't hesitate to PM me if you have any question.

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