Jessica Burlingame
5.0
(55)
3x P&Q Top Consultant | 500+ M7 Admits | Story + Leadership Coaching
4,220 min coached
36 followers
Studied at Columbia Business School
Works at jessica.mba
Successful clients at
Available Monday at 1:00 PM UTC
Questions? Start chatting with this coach before you get started.
Jessica's Coaching Offerings
Custom hourly · $329/hr
Get help with Application Strategy, Cover Letters, and .
Jessica also coaches for Executive Coaching and Leadership Coaching. View all.
Jessica’s free events
Live interactive sessions you can join for free.
HELP -- I'm Non-Traditional! AMA with Jessica B
Jun 8 at 11:00 PM UTC
4 people going
Developing Your MBA Story
Jun 24 at 10:00 PM UTC
11 people going
Jessica’s Leland+ Resources
Access expert resources from Jessica and hundreds of other coaches on Leland+
Jessica’s MBA Qualifications
Coaches professionally
100+ people coached for MBA
Jessica has helped clients get into these schools:
I've been coaching MBA and EMBA applicants since 2006 — which means I've worked through more admissions cycles, essay prompts, and school pivots than I can count. Poets & Quants has recognized me as a Top Consultant three times. Clients have called the work "transformative" and "the best help I never knew I needed." What I actually do: I help people find their story. Not the version they think they're supposed to tell, but the one that's true and specific and stops an admissions reader cold. That's harder than it sounds, and it's where most applications fall apart. My background is unusual for this field. I'm a Columbia MBA and a Columbia English major — and a former magazine editor. I'm also an ICF-certified leadership coach. That combination means I bring genuine writing craft and genuine coaching depth to every engagement, not just admissions strategy. My clients have come from consulting, banking, medicine, the military, entrepreneurship, filmmaking, and family business. They've gone on to HBS, Stanford, Wharton, Columbia, and programs across Europe and Asia. I work in English and Italian.
Jessica can help with:
Application Strategy
Cover Letters
Ding Analysis
Editing
Essays
Financial Aid & Scholarships
General Exploration
Interviews
Networking Strategy
Recommendations
Resume
School Selection
Secondary Review
Supplementary Materials
Testing & Assessments
Waitlist Strategy
Jessica also coaches for Executive Coaching and Leadership Coaching. View all.
About Jessica
I’m a three-time Poets & Quants Top Consultant and a Columbia MBA, and an ICF-certified leadership coach, working with MBA and EMBA applicants worldwide since 2006. As a former English major and magazine editor, I have a sharp eye and ear for the compelling story every client holds—even if you haven’t found yours yet! My client-focused, empathetic style helps you craft a standout narrative and confidently conquer the competitive admissions process. Services offered in English and Italian. We’ll do great work together if you’re ready to be bold, authentic, and WIN the admissions game.
Why do I coach?
Since business school, I’ve been all in on leadership development—because there’s nothing more powerful than partnering with people to tackle what matters most to them, and celebrating those breakthrough wins. Coaching MBA and EMBA clients was a natural next step, letting me fuel ambitious leaders as they own their stories and shape their futures. To me, coaching is about sparking clarity, igniting confidence, and driving real transformation. I’m passionate about turning uncertainty into unstoppable momentum—and that’s why I show up, every time.
Work Experience
Principal Consultant
jessica.mba
March 2020 - Present
Individualized coaching and consulting for global MBA and EMBA applicants. 20+ years experience in the MBA coaching space. 3x Poets & Quants Top Consultant.
Founder and Principal
Jessica Burlingame Coaching
2017 - Present
• Through jessica.mba, advise domestic and global MBA and EMBA candidates on program admissions, coaching them on strategy, networking, positioning, essay writing, career narrative, working with recommenders, interview skills, and decision support • Coach elite performers, including emerging leaders, through high-stakes transitions, helping them develop the awareness and agility required to succeed in complex organizational environments. Work with professionals in management consulting, private equity, investment banking, manufacturing, media, and other industries across the US, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia • Focus on the intersection of individual capability and organizational dynamics leveraging a methodology that integrates three elements: status intelligence (reading relational dynamics in real time), systems fluency (understanding how organizations work beyond formal structures), and role agility (adapting your approach to what the moment needs, not what your title prescribes) • Deliver weekly workshops via Leland platform (stress management, communication, leadership) to 50-115 participants • Tapped to serve as guest presenter at Columbia University and Mount Holyoke College delivering MBA admissions seminars to 30+ participants • Maintained referral partnership with Menlo Coaching (2024-2025) • Provide 1:1 coaching and talent development services, rooted in techniques from theater and complementary somatic and contemplative practices.
Principal Consultant
The MBA Exchange
2006 - March 2020
Awarded 3-time top global consultant by Poets & Quants.
Senior Consultant
ECG Management Consultants
2006 - 2008
Associate Director, Leadership Development
The Advisory Board Company
2003 - 2005
Education
Columbia Business School
MBA, Finance & Management
Activities and societies: William J. Heffernan scholar. Intern, The Citigroup Private Bank. Founder, Scuba Diving Club. Cast member, Follies.
Columbia University
BA, English & Comparative Literature
Activities and societies: Graduated cum laude. J. Henry Esser Scholar.
University of Bologna
Exchange student, Literature & Philosophy
55 Reviews
Overall Rating
5.0
Jessica has helped clients get into these schools: