College Admissions

Hello and welcome to my profile! With a Master’s Degree from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University, I bring a strong academic background to my coaching practice. As a Certified Professional Leadership & High-Performance Coach, I specialize in helping students navigate the college admissions process with confidence and clarity. My approach is rooted in science-based psychology and coaching techniques, ensuring that each client can achieve their academic and personal goals without compromising their well-being. Whether you're feeling overwhelmed by the application process or seeking to enhance your communication skills, I'm here to support you every step of the way. Let's work together to make your college dreams a reality—reach out to start your journey today!

I have supported students in the college and graduate school admissions process for over fifteen years on the side. It started as a passion project, as I was a first-generation college student of immigrant parents and navigated everything on my own. It evolved to supporting many of my friends’ children and my children’s friends. I understand what it feels like to be lost as a student and want to accompany others in the process. I worked in admissions during my undergraduate years and learned an incredible amount about prospective students and their families. I also have a doctorate from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill and was a professor at the University of Texas at Austin for a few years, where I taught a senior-level writing course. At UT, I mentored students, assisted them with graduate school applications, and served on undergraduate scholarship committees, reading hundreds of essays. Over the last five years, I have used that essay reader experience to help many mediocre personal statements become standouts. Most importantly, these experiences uniquely positioned me to support my own three children through their college application process (2020-2026). So much has changed in the last few years! Each of them taught me a tremendous amount – one college athlete who opted to go to a small D3 liberal arts college in the northeast to study finance, one who went to a small school in the south with a full scholarship, and then went through the transfer process to a large state school in Texas to study interior design, and a third who is going to an out-of-state flagship for engineering. Each received significant scholarships, but it wasn’t without a collaboration between me as the admissions consultant and them as the student. Even though I was the in-house expert, I was also mom, so it was not without friction! As a result, my goal is to reduce that friction for other families. I truly love working with students through this discovery process and aim to reduce the anxiety that often accompanies it. I focus on holistic fit of the student with the university's academic opportunities and culture. While I have had an entirely different career in public health, this is what I love to do in my spare time. So much so that I am finishing up a Certificate for College Counseling from UC San Diego.

I am deeply committed to helping my mentees grow and succeed. I focus on boosting their confidence and guiding them through critical stages, such as college applications and career transitions. I provide direct yet supportive feedback, helping them articulate their strengths and passions. My diverse and global background allows me to offer valuable insights tailored to each individual. Overall, I blend expertise with empathy, aiming to inspire and drive meaningful personal growth in others. After seeing my mentees flourish, I don’t know if I am rooting for the Tree, the Bears, the Ducks, The Wolverines, or others, but I know that I am rooting for the future game changers.

Coming from an immigrant background, I was always determined to attend a prestigious university because I understood the opportunities and access it offered, and, more importantly, to attend with zero debt. Through strategic guidance, great mentors, and rigorous discipline, I was fortunate enough to earn two merit scholarships: the QuestBridge National College Match Scholarship and the Lilly Endowment Scholarship, affording me the opportunity to attend any university in my state debt-free. I eventually graduated from a T-15 university in 2025. I am determined to do the same for individuals who need tailored help crafting their stories and standing out in a competitive application pool. Before Leland, I helped individuals gain admission to undergraduate and master’s programs at Harvard University, the University of Notre Dame, Brown University, Indiana University Bloomington, Washington University in St. Louis, and many more. I can help provide advice and review your resume, offer strategies for picking and asking teachers for letters of recommendation, brainstorm, draft, and edit essays, and help you stand out even if you don’t meet the stats.

I specialise in competitive UK university applications for maths, physics, economics and business courses. I prepare students for the admissions tests that decide many of these places, including the TMUA, MAT, PAT, STEP and ESAT, and I help with course selection and personal statements. My students have received offers from the University of Bath and the University of Edinburgh. I studied Physics at UCL and then completed an MSc in International Finance at HEC Paris (GPA 3.8/4.0, GMAT 715), so I have been through demanding UK and European admissions processes myself. Since 2022 I have delivered more than 1,500 hours of one-to-one tuition across IGCSE, A-Level, the IB and Scottish Advanced Higher, which means I can support both the grades and the application at the same time. I work through two London agencies, Lumo and Upgrade Education, and can coach in English or Russian, which helps international families navigate the UK system.

Welcome to my profile! As a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business and a current MBA candidate at The Wharton School, I bring a strong academic foundation to my coaching. My professional journey at Boston Consulting Group helped me hone my analytical and strategic skills. At BCG, I actively supported recruiting efforts through mock interviews and coffee chats, giving me firsthand experience in what top firms look for in candidates. I am passionate about helping students navigate the college admissions process, leveraging my background to provide tailored guidance. Whether you need help with application strategy, essay writing, or interview preparation, I'm here to support you every step of the way. Let's connect and make your college dreams a reality!

UCLA graduate and college admissions coach, with a background in management consulting at PwC Japan and venture capital at Techstars, Plug and Play, and Rainmaking APAC, where I saw up close what makes people and ideas stand out when they’re backed by real work rather than polish. I also advised students on US applications as a counselor at a study-abroad academy. I coach students to turn genuine interests into real, verifiable projects, then into authentic applications. My approach borrows from the startup world. I help students find a real question, build it into something tangible (a product, a nonprofit, a research project, etc.), and then tell that story in their own voice. I help them think more clearly through the process, so the result is authentically theirs. I work with students and families in English, Japanese, and Korean, and I’m especially glad to support international students and those navigating the US system from outside it, since I’ve been there myself.

Welcome to my profile! As a Harvard Business School and Spelman College alumna, I bring a wealth of experience in guiding students through the college admissions process. Graduating Phi Beta Kappa from the Honors Program at Spelman with an HBS admission in hand, my background includes leadership roles in student organizations and a strong academic record. Given my professional experience at McKinsey & Company and Deloitte I leverage my strategic planning and top-down communication skills to help students craft compelling college applications. An Army Brat, I've also leveraged VA benefits to pay for school and learned to crystalize my unique background into compelling admissions stories. Whether you're aiming for top-tier application process strategies or seeking to highlight your unique strengths, I'm here to provide personalized guidance and support. Let's work together to make your higher education dreams a reality!

The most successful college applications are best described as portraits. Yet, for applicants, interests and experiences might often feel like scattered details: vivid in isolation, but not yet revealing a larger composition. My job is to help students trace the connections among these details, and bring into focus the character, curiosity, and ambition that make their story their own — while never imposing an overly tidy narrative on their lives. My experience studying computer science at Harvard and music composition at Berklee informs a coaching approach grounded in analytical rigor and an ear for individual voice. From developing an overarching application strategy to refining activities descriptions and supplemental essays, I help students give their complex passions clear, nuanced expression while preserving what makes them distinctive.

Hello and welcome to my profile! With a full scholarship and B.S. from Cornell University, I have guided over 50 students to successful admissions results including to: - Columbia University - UPenn Wharton - NYU - Harvard University - Cornell University - GeorgiaTech - University of Florida - Vanderbilt University - and more I bring a unique perspective to college admissions coaching. My methodology does not only help you navigate the application, but rather develops you with lifelong skills you'll carry long after college. The focus isn't instruction, it's empowerment. Because you are more capable and interesting than you think. My background allows me to tailor each application to highlight your individual strengths in a compelling story that differentiates you to universities. Whether you're looking to refine your personal statement or start from scratch, I can to jump in at any point and guide you to submit in time for your deadline.