Schedule a call with a Leland team member who can help you explore your options.
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This package is built for ambitious applicants who are more than 12 months away from deadlines and want to proactively position themselves for success in top Master’s programs. Whether you’re still exploring your options or ready to start building your application story, this package helps you lay the groundwork for a standout submission. You’ll partner with a Leland coach to navigate the full landscape of the graduate admissions process—from big-picture strategy to tactical next steps. Together, you’ll focus on early moves that create long-term impact and give you a clear advantage come application season. Common coaching activities in this package include, but are not limited to: - Application Strategy: Craft a compelling narrative that connects your academic, professional, and personal experiences. - Recommender Planning: Identify the right recommenders and build strong relationships that lead to standout letters. - Extracurricular Development: Strategize meaningful activities that reinforce your goals and strengthen your profile. - Timeline Building: Create a month-by-month roadmap to stay organized and reduce stress throughout the process. - Profile Assessment: Conduct a deep dive into your candidacy to highlight strengths and uncover areas to enhance. - Test Prep Planning (if needed): Outline a personalized test strategy for exams like the GRE or GMAT based on your timeline and goals. - School Selection: Curate a mix of programs that align with your academic interests, professional aspirations, and personal values. - Essay & Statement Planning: Brainstorm themes and develop early outlines for essays and personal statements that tell your story with clarity and conviction. Your coach will be by your side every step of the way, helping you make smart, high-leverage decisions early in your journey. This package is your foundation for a confident, well-prepared, and strategic Master’s application process.
A clear application strategy that defines your unique narrative
Two (or more) recommenders selected and actively prepared to support your application
A thoughtful plan for extracurricular involvement (if needed)
A well-organized timeline you can confidently follow to meet deadlines
A clear profile assessment with insights on areas to improve or strengthen your candidacy
A well-defined list of schools that align with your goals and aspirations
A narrative you are eager to develop and communicate in your essays
Coaching delivered via live sessions and .
Services included:
School Selection
Application Strategy
Essays
Resume
Letters of Recommendation
Schedule a call with a Leland team member who can help you explore your options.
Schedule a call
Get help with Letters of Recommendation, Essays, and .

Joined January 2026
Harvard MPA | Journalist | Author. Crafting winning admissions narratives.
Ryan Prior is an award-winning journalist telling stories at the front lines of science and democracy. Over the past 12 years, he has written hundreds of stories for CNN, Psychology Today, The Guardian, The Nation, STAT, USA Today, and The Daily Beast. He has produced work across documentary film, nonprofits, book publishing, and think tanks. His reporting spans pandemic response, science policy, geopolitical conflict, and national security. His recent experience includes field reporting in Ukraine, along with study trips to Israel/Palestine, the Balkans, and Western Europe through Harvard Kennedy School and RIAS. Ryan believes the best journalism connects the dots between high-level decisions and lived experiences of people on the ground — making the strategic personal, and the personal strategic. His writing combines the rigor of data-driven reporting, the intimacy of narrative memoir, and the pragmatism of a policy brief. It’s a rare, yet essential blend in today’s climate of misinformation and polarization. He is the author of The Long Haul: How Long Covid Survivors Are Revolutionizing Healthcare (MIT Press/Penguin Random House), which explores the global impact of the pandemic and the chronic illness crisis that followed. The book has been called “a book we need right now” by Senator Tim Kaine and “an important contribution” by the Secretary General of the World Health Organization. It has also been featured in Newsweek, Los Angeles Times, CNN, Democracy Now, Psychology Today, Science, and The Lancet.
6h of coaching