Schedule a call with a Leland team member who can help you explore your options.
Schedule a call
This package is designed for PhD applicants who want targeted, high-value support—without a full end-to-end engagement. Whether you’re just getting started or polishing your materials for submission, this package gives you the flexibility to focus on your highest-priority areas. You’ll partner with an expert coach to refine your research proposal, sharpen your written materials, and prep for interviews or faculty outreach. Every session is focused on driving real progress and elevating your candidacy. Common coaching activities in this package include, but are not limited to: - Application Strategy: Align your academic background, research experience, and long-term goals into a cohesive story. - Program & Faculty Fit: Refine your target list based on research alignment, funding, and mentorship opportunities. - Research Statement/SOP Editing: Get structured, detailed feedback to help you articulate your research goals and demonstrate strong fit. - Academic CV Optimization: Highlight research contributions, presentations, awards, and relevant experience in a polished CV format. - Recommender Guidance: Strategize on who to ask, what they should emphasize, and how to prepare them for a strong letter. - Interview Prep: Practice articulating your research interests, background, and goals with confidence and clarity. - Final Application Review: Ensure your application is polished, cohesive, and ready to submit.
A strategic application plan tailored to your academic and research background
A research statement and/or SOP that tells a compelling, well-organized story
A polished academic CV that showcases your strengths as a future scholar
Mock interviews to build confidence in your academic and professional communication
A ready-to-submit application package you can feel proud of
Coaching delivered via live sessions and .
Additional expectations or terms of engagement may be provided by coaches (e.g. expected response times, etc.).
Services included:
Application Strategy
Essays
Resume
Letters of Recommendation
Editing
Schedule a call with a Leland team member who can help you explore your options.
Schedule a call
Get help with Interviews, Research, and .

Joined February 2026
PhD Student in Sociology, Harvard University
PhD admissions is not a numbers game. There’s no magic GPA or standardized test score you need that will guarantee success. That means it is hard to predict how you’ll do—and that if you know what admissions committees are looking for, you can build a winning application. I am a PhD Student in sociology at Harvard University, in addition to having a JD from Harvard Law School, and a BA from Bard College. I know first-hand how stressful the PhD application process is, and how to successfully navigate it. I know what admissions committees look for. And I know how to present your credentials—and build them—the way successful applicants do. Sociologists analyze the "hidden curriculum," but too often only whisper networks give applicants the insights they need to make a successful application. I hope to change that. My approach is bottom-up. If you’re at the beginning of your application process, let's start by assessing your goals, generating a list of programs from there, and then thinking strategically about how to maximize your chances of admission at each program you apply to. If you’re further along, let’s look at your materials and work them into top shape. If you have interviews scheduled, we’ll practice them so you can start off on the right foot with potential mentors. Wherever you are in the application process, let’s connect and work together to further your academic goals.
2h+ of coaching