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Full-service application support for Columbia Business School, designed for candidates who want every piece of their CBS application strategically positioned and rigorously executed. Columbia's evaluation process has nuances that other top MBA programs don't, its Early Decision round is binding and rewards candidates who can articulate clear, specific reasons for choosing Columbia, and its interview is conducted by alumni who evaluate candidates differently than admissions staff would. The work centers on building an application that demonstrates real fit with Columbia and prepares you for the full evaluation process — including the interview that, given my background, I know especially well. The engagement begins with a comprehensive intake and narrative discovery session. We work to surface the through-line in your career and identify what genuinely connects you to Columbia specifically. This isn't superficial "Why this school" work, Columbia evaluates fit with real seriousness, and weak applications often fail because the candidate hasn't articulated specific, defensible reasons for choosing CBS over other top programs. Round strategy is a real piece of the work for Columbia in a way that's not true at most other M7 schools. Columbia's binding Early Decision round can be powerful for the right candidate but wrong for others, and the calculus depends on your profile, your school list, and your tolerance for committing before you have other admits in hand. We work through this decision carefully before locking in any timeline. Columbia's essays each get the depth of attention they require. We work iteratively through multiple substantive drafts (typically 5–8 rounds per essay), refining structure, voice, and Columbia-specific positioning until each essay is genuinely strong. Beyond the essays, the package covers a polished resume crafted specifically for Columbia, strategic recommendation letter guidance, the activities and short-answer sections, and the post-MBA career goals framing. If you're invited to interview, full Columbia interview preparation is included, and this is where my background does real work for you. I have served as an alumni interviewer for Columbia Business School admissions, which means I've been one of the people sitting on the other side of these interviews. I know exactly what we're trained to evaluate, the questions we tend to ask, and what separates a strong interview from a weak one. That perspective is genuinely rare in MBA admissions consulting and informs how I prepare candidates for both essays and interviews. Throughout the engagement, you have direct messaging access for time-sensitive questions, and we meet live for strategy work and substantive drafting sessions across the application cycle.
A comprehensive narrative discovery process that surfaces the through-line in your career and connects it specifically to Columbia
Polished, finalized Columbia essays through multiple iterative drafts (typically 5–8 rounds per essay)
A strategic positioning document tailored specifically to Columbia
A locked-in round strategy — including a careful evaluation of whether Early Decision is the right move for your profile
A Columbia-optimized resume crafted for the markers Columbia specifically evaluates
Strategic recommendation letter guidance — choosing the right recommenders and briefing them effectively
Activities and short-answer sections optimized for impact
Full Columbia interview preparation informed by my own experience as an alumni interviewer for CBS — including the specific question types and evaluation criteria interviewers use (when invited to interview)
A final review of the complete application before submission
Direct messaging access throughout the engagement, with same-day or next-day response during peak season
Coaching delivered via live sessions and .
This package combines live 1-on-1 video sessions with asynchronous review of essay drafts, application materials, and direct messaging access throughout the engagement. We meet live for strategy work, substantive drafting sessions, and key inflection points in the cycle, typically every 1–2 weeks during the lead-up to the application, stepping up to weekly or more frequent sessions as deadlines approach. My approach is structured and direct. On essays, I work iteratively rather than trying to "fix" drafts in two passes. On interview prep, I bring a perspective most consultants can't: I have served as an alumni interviewer for Columbia Business School admissions, so I prepare candidates for the actual evaluation criteria and question patterns I see when I'm on the interviewer side of the table. That changes how I coach interview prep for Columbia specifically, it's grounded in current, first-hand knowledge rather than generic interview advice. The candidates I work best with for Columbia are professionals with clear career achievements, specific reasons for choosing Columbia (not just "top program in NYC"), and the willingness to think carefully about round strategy before committing to a timeline.
Engagement timeline: This package is designed to be completed across approximately 3–5 months, ideally beginning 4–6 months before your target round deadline. Earlier starts are particularly important for Early Decision candidates given the binding nature of that round. School scope: This package covers the Columbia Business School application only. Candidates applying to additional schools should consider Multi-School MBA Application packages or layer additional school packages onto this engagement. Round strategy note: Columbia offers Early Decision (binding), Regular Decision, and Merit Fellowship rounds, plus separate August and J-Term entry tracks. Round selection is a meaningful strategic decision that we work through carefully before locking in your application timeline. Early Decision in particular requires careful consideration because it commits you to attending Columbia if admitted, and is best suited for candidates who are confident Columbia is their first choice. Live sessions: 1-on-1 video sessions are scheduled at mutually convenient times via my calendar, typically 60–90 minutes each. During peak season, session frequency increases as needed. Cancellations require 24 hours notice; no-shows or late cancellations count toward the engagement. Response time: I respond to messages within 24 hours on weekdays and within 48 hours on weekends. During peak season, most responses are same-day. Essay revisions: Essay revisions are unlimited until each essay is final. There is no cap on draft rounds. Interview support: Full Columbia interview preparation is included if you are invited to interview, informed by my experience as an alumni interviewer for CBS. If you are not invited to interview, the interview prep portion of the package does not transfer to other use. Final review: A final review of the complete application is included before submission. Refunds: Refunds are available on a pro-rated basis for unused hours within the first 30 days of engagement. After 30 days, this package is non-refundable. Unused hours remain available throughout the application cycle.
Services included:
Recommendations
Interviews
Ding Analysis
Waitlist Strategy
Secondary Review
Application Strategy
Essays
Resume
Supplementary Materials
Editing
Schedule a call with a Leland team member who can help you explore your options.
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Get help with Recommendations, Interviews, and .

Joined February 2024
Admissions Expert | Columbia MBA | 15 Years of M7 & Top School Admits
I've spent the last 16+ years helping ambitious applicants get into the world's most competitive MBA programs, including Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, MIT Sloan, Yale SOM, and Booth. Across 200+ MBA clients, 95% have been admitted to at least one of their top-choice programs, and over half have received scholarship money. I graduated from NYU Summa Cum Laude with a double major in Economics and English, and earned my MBA from Columbia Business School in 2020, where I focused on Strategy and Entrepreneurship. That gives me a current, first-hand perspective on what M7 adcoms are actually looking for. My career in this work started in Singapore, at a test prep and admissions firm I helped expand into Shanghai, running tutoring and admissions consulting in both markets before coming back to New York to found my own practice. That international background means I'm equally comfortable working with US candidates and applicants from Asia, Europe, and beyond, particularly the kinds of candidates who often have the strongest stories but the hardest time articulating them: finance professionals reinventing themselves, engineers making a pivot, non-traditional career switchers. My work focuses on coherence. Most applicants arrive with strong but scattered material: a real career, real accomplishments, but no through-line. My job is to help you find the narrative that ties it all together, build a school list that's strategic (not aspirational), and turn essays into the strongest part of your application instead of the most stressful. If you want a structured, results-focused partner, let's talk.
25h–35h of coaching