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Package Description:
Each MBA program receives 20 hours of fully dedicated support, including both asynchronous and synchronous guidance. Hours may be allocated across strategy, writing, editing, interviews, and final review based on the applicant’s needs and preferences. Sessions can be scheduled as recurring weekly or biweekly meetings. Tara also offers WhatsApp access for quick questions or updates between sessions, separate from the 20 hours of structured coaching time. In addition, Tara offers a complimentary resource folder containing guides, documents, links, and materials she has personally used in her own applications and shared with successful applicants.
What you'll get from this package
Initial Kickoff & Planning Session: Deep review of background, goals, experiences, recommenders, and long-term aspirations. Creation of a personalized application plan.
Program Selection Guidance: Identification of best-fit programs aligned with academic, professional, and personal goals.
Application Strategy Development: Definition of narrative themes, differentiators, and positioning across all schools.
Personal Statement / Main Essay Brainstorming & Editing: Multiple rounds of feedback to refine personal storytelling and motivations.
Supplemental Essay Advising & Editing: Tailored guidance and editing for school-specific prompts and short-answer questions.
Activity Descriptions: Support in articulating extracurriculars, leadership roles, awards, and achievements.
Letters of Recommendation Strategy: Assistance selecting recommenders and preparing recommender briefs.
Complete Application Review: Comprehensive review of essays, resume, short answers, activity descriptions, and more to ensure cohesive storytelling.
Interview Coaching: Mock interviews with feedback and preparation notes.
Miscellaneous / Custom Support: Any additional support the applicant may need, including timeline management, email drafting to recommenders, clarifying program differences, and help navigating unique circumstances or questions. Tara remains flexible and open to adjusting the coaching approach based on the applicant’s preferences.
Additional details
Coaching delivered via live sessions and .
Tara’s coaching style is strategy-first, deeply collaborative, and highly attuned to the realities international applicants face, with a focus on building a cohesive, compelling narrative rather than simply editing essays. She specializes in helping international students translate complex, cross-cultural backgrounds into clear, differentiated stories that resonate with U.S. and global admissions committees. Tara has extensive experience supporting competitive international applicants and deferred MBA candidates, as well as students applying to finance, computer science, and business analytics programs and competitive scholarships. Having worked with applicants from both U.S. institutions and universities across Asia and Africa, she is particularly well positioned to guide international candidates through positioning, signaling, and strategy.
Services included:
Financial Aid & Scholarships
Editing
Recommendations
Interviews
Cover Letters
Ding Analysis
Networking Strategy
Waitlist Strategy
School Selection
Secondary Review
Application Strategy
Essays
Resume
Testing & Assessments
General Exploration
Supplementary Materials
Talk to a team member
Schedule a call with a Leland team member who can help you explore your options.
Schedule a call
More packages from Tara
Custom hourly · $120/hr
Get help with Financial Aid & Scholarships, Editing, and .
Offered by Tara A.
Joined June 2022
5.0
MBA Admissions Coach for Deferred Applicants & International Students
I’m Tara, originally from Indonesia, and a deferred admit to the Stanford GSB. I hold a degree in Political Economy from UC Berkeley, with concentrations in Law, Institutions, and Development. My career has been global in scope, beginning at the World Bank in Washington, D.C., and Brussels, where I spent over three years working with senior leaders in government, the private sector, and multilateral organizations across Africa, Asia, Europe, and more. My work ranged from shaping investor engagement strategies for the Bank’s $54+ billion bond issuance program to contributing to climate and education policy research, and leading a World Bank–funded legal empowerment initiative in Tanzania that now provides legal education to 1,000 girls. I was later selected for a competitive Princeton University fellowship in Rwanda, where I joined a consulting firm focused on private-sector development in fragile and post-conflict African countries and worked directly with one of Rwanda’s key economic advisors, who led the nation’s post-genocide reconstruction and development program. I am now based in East Africa, working in venture capital and investing in early-stage companies delivering tech-enabled need-to-haves across frontier and emerging markets. A constant thread through all my experiences has been storytelling. Whether connecting global investors to the World Bank’s mission, presenting the outcomes of development projects, or using creative arts to deliver legal education to girls in Tanzania, I’ve seen how powerful narratives can resonate with people, build connection, and inspire action. As a coach, my goal is to help you achieve the same: crafting and refining the most compelling version of your story so it becomes the cornerstone of your MBA application. I may be a good fit for you if you are an international student; interested in the intersection of development, finance, and public policy or political economy (including impact investing, venture capital, development finance, geopolitics, diplomacy, and academic research); pursuing or considering a global career; or drawn to the intersection of business and policy. I’m excited to help you navigate your MBA or university applications and advance your career ambitions.
$1,500
20h of coaching