Join Fortuna and Poets & Quants for CentreCourt 2020

Fortuna Admissions Co-Founder Matt Symonds, in partnership with John A. Byrne, is hosting the CentreCourt MBA Festival in a virtual format across three action-packed days: April 28, 29 and now on March 5. (The stage has become so full - including the addition of HBS - that we added a third day.) From panel discussions to insightful webinars, CentreCourt is designed to make your personal business school goals a reality. This year’s virtual format will be essential viewing.

CentreCourt Virtual brings together the Admissions Directors, Career Services Directors and Deans from all 25 of the world’s top business schools. We are delighted to include Harvard Business School, Stanford GSB, Wharton, INSEAD, Columbia, LBS, Kellogg, MIT Sloan, Darden, Michigan Ross, IMD, UCLA Anderson, IESE, Berkeley Haas, Imperial, UW Foster, RSM, Carnegie Mellon Tepper, and more.

Matt will be sitting down with these MBA Admissions gatekeepers to solicit their candid insights and advice through a series of Admissions Panel discussions. Interactive content will also include Fireside chats with Deans, Careers Panels, Alumni Interviews and Virtual Meet-and-Greets.

Panel discussions at a glance:

TUESDAY 28 APRIL

2:00pm UK / 9am ET
Admissions Panel
IESE - Paula Amorim, MBA Admissions Director
HEC Paris - Sara Vanos, Director MBA Program
IMD - Anna Farris, Director of Admissions
LBS - David Simpson, Head of MBA Admissions

3:30pm UK / 10:30am ET
Careers Panel
INSEAD - Agnes Cosnier, Global Director Careers
Imperial - Lisa Umenyiora, Exec Director of Careers
ASB - Sean Ferguson, Assoc Dean
RSM - Vasilis Zaravellas, Assistant Director

5:00pm UK / 12pm ET
Admissions Panel
Duke - Michael Bulzan, Regional Director EMEA
UVA Darden - Dawna Clarke, Exec Director of Admissions
Florida Warrington - Naz Erenguc, Assoc Director of Admissions

6:30pm UK / 1:30pm EST
Admissions Panel
Wharton - Blair Mannix, Director of Admissions
MIT Sloan - Rod Garcia, Assistant Dean
Michigan Ross - Soojin Kwon, Admissions Director
UNC Kenan-Flagler

TUESDAY 5 MAY

3pm UK / 10AM ET
Careers Panel
UNC Kenan-Flagler
UT Austin McCombs
EGADE Business School

4.30pm UK / 11.30am ET
Admissions Panel
Harvard Business School - Chad Losee, Managing Director of MBA Admissions
Northwestern Kellogg
UT Austin McCombs
EGADE Business School

6pm UK / 1pm ET
Careers Panel
Columbia Business School
Wisconsin UW Madison
Emory Goizueta
CMU Tepper

7.30pm UK / 2.30pm ET
Admissions Panel
Columbia Business School
Wisconsin UW Madison
Emory Goizueta
CMU Tepper

9pm UK / 4pm ET
Admissions Panel
Cornell Johnson
Georgetown McDonough
Minnesota Carlson

10.30pm UK / 5.30pm ET
Careers Panel
Cornell Johnson
Georgetown McDonough
Minnesota Carlson

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29

2:00pm UK / 9am ET
Careers Panel
IESE - Mike Mascarenhas, Assoc Director
HEC - Tony Somers, Director Employer Engagement
Paris
IMD
LBS - Zoe McLoughlin, Head of Employer Engagement

3:30pm UK / 10:30am ET
Admissions Panel
INSEAD - Virginie Fougea, Director of Admissions
Imperial - Joel McConnell, Exec Director of Admissions
ASB - Emily Preiss, Str Director of Admissions
RSM - Brandon Kirby, Director of MBA Admissions

5:00pm UK / 12pm ET
Careers Panel
Duke - Edward Bernier, Director MBA Career Services
UVA Darden
Florida Warrington - Carly Escue, Director of Grad Career Services
Michigan Ross - Rebecca Shark, Assoc Director of Career Development

6:30pm UK / 1:30pm ET
Admissions Panel
UCLA Anderson - John Lee, Associate Admissions Director
Stanford GSB - Kirsten Moss, Director of Admissions
Berkeley Haas - Pete Johnson, Assistant Dean MBA Admissions
Washington Foster - Amber Jake, Director MBA Admissions

How it works

1

During this process, we do a deep dive into your profile and then work with you to develop the strategic positioning of your candidacy. We’ll work together to develop a clear storyline and personal branding, with a plan for mitigating any weaknesses and a timeline for your plan of attack. In this phase we also brainstorm essay approaches and discuss how to best prepare recommenders to write an impactful letter on your behalf.

Strategically Position Your Candidacy
2

We help you with targeted b-school research and outreach, through extensive alumni networks, clubs and associations, faculty research and career opportunities, to reinforce familiarity and understanding of the institution – its personality, its people and its ‘fit.’ Throughout the process, we’ll ensure your interactions reflect well on your candidacy, from campus visits to adcom correspondence. Every single “touch point” can affect the final decision.

Conduct School Outreach
3

Our in-house MBA resume expert will work with you on your resume to provide a coherent narrative and compelling quantifiable examples of skills and levels of responsibility – results achieved, leadership, team building, analytics, persuasiveness, etc. We also accompany you as you complete the application form, handling any questions about transcripts, resolving ambiguities related to studies and professional experience, and formulating explanations for chronology or absent materials.

Create a Coherent Narrative in CV & Data Forms
4

We’ll work with you to identify your best possible choice of recommenders, and then we’ll develop a strategy with you for mobilizing those individuals effectively. This includes developing briefs for them on characteristics and examples to develop, and a step by step plan to ensure timely submissions. This is a critical step that needs careful planning—from selecting the right champions to preparing them to write a powerful letter of support.

Solicit Recommendations
5

Throughout this multi-part process, we’ll guide you in producing an initial draft of target school essays that reflect multiple examples of leadership and outstanding achievement from professional, academic and community experience, as well as a clear and detailed post-MBA career vision. You’ll receive feedback on content, flow, structure, amendments and style, with clear direction for subsequent rewrites. This iterative process continues until your essays reflect the best possible presentation of your candidacy.

Craft & Polish Essays
6

We review your social media presence for content and strategic insights — from LinkedIn and Facebook to Twitter and other channels — ensuring that everything that reflects on your profile tells a coherent, positive story.

Audit Social Media
7

We will perform a final review of your entire application. This includes any remaining modifications, and fine-tuning of essays, as well as verifying status and input from recommenders. We’ll also field any last-minute questions.

Review the Final Application
8

We will brief you on how the school with which you are interviewing conducts this part of the assessment process, and how they evaluate your performance. We will advise you on how to prepare, and then put you through your paces in a mock interview, providing feedback and coaching to enhance your delivery and messaging. We’ll walk you through what to expect, the finer points of managing your interview time, appropriate follow-up and how to address your understandably sweaty palms. You will be interview ready – not overly rehearsed – and able to speak with confidence, reflect on past experiences and clearly convey your future potential.

Prepare for Interviews
9

Wondering what to do or what not to do? Whether you're choosing between multiple offers or you're a waitlisted candidate, we'll provide smart advice on next steps.

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