Schedule a call with a Leland team member who can help you explore your options.
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This package is designed for ambitious international applicants who want to build a strong U.S. Master’s application foundation with expert support—without committing to a full, end-to-end engagement. Whether you’re just beginning to explore U.S. programs or looking to clarify your strategy, this flexible option helps you focus on what matters most, right now. You’ll work one-on-one with a Leland coach to strategically tackle the parts of the U.S. admissions process that will have the greatest impact. Your coach will help you navigate cultural and academic differences, prioritize your time, identify key areas of opportunity, and build momentum toward your target programs. Common coaching activities in this package include, but are not limited to: Initial kickoff and planning session: Dive into your background, goals, and timeline to co-create a personalized game plan. Profile evaluation: Get honest, strategic feedback on your strengths, gaps, and overall competitiveness for U.S. admissions. Program selection: Curate a list of U.S. Master’s programs that align with your academic interests, professional goals, and personal preferences. Application strategy: Define the key differentiators in your story and map how they’ll come through across your materials. Essay brainstorming & editing: Explore pivotal experiences and uncover strong thematic angles to anchor your U.S.-focused narrative. Resume review: Reframe your resume to highlight international experience, academic achievements, research, leadership, or professional work—tailored for U.S. admissions expectations. Recommender strategy and prep: Select the best combination of recommenders (at home or abroad) and equip them with thoughtful prep documents. This package is ideal for international applicants seeking high-leverage support early in the process. It’s your launchpad to a compelling, well-positioned U.S. Master’s application that helps you stand out globally.
A clear application timeline and plan, to ensure you stay on track and hit your US Master's program application deadlines
Compelling personal statement that is differentiated, personalized, and thoughtful, catered to US adcom readers
Expertly articulated extracurriculars and activities in the Experiences section of your Master's program application
Clarity on whom to select as recommenders and how to prepare them - navigating cultural differences
Unique and interesting supplemental essays — tailored to each program you decide to apply to
Coaching delivered via live sessions and .
Services included:
Financial Aid & Scholarships
Editing
Interviews
Waitlist Strategy
School Selection
Secondary Review
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.
5h+ of coaching