Leland+ Content Library

What Really Happens After You Submit: How MBA Applications Are Read, Sorted, and Remembered

What actually happens once you hit submit on your MBA application? In this session, Bianca Keys, CEO of Admit.me Access, pulls back the curtain on how applications are reviewed, evaluated, and discussed behind closed doors. You’ll learn how files are read, what admissions committees prioritize, how candidates are compared, and what makes certain applicants memorable. This conversation will give you a clearer understanding of how to position your materials so they stand out long after the first read.

Craft Your Narrative, Tell Your Story: Winning Personal Statement Strategies

A strong personal statement isn’t about listing achievements, it’s about telling a clear, intentional story that helps readers understand who you are, what drives you, and where you’re headed. In this session, you’ll learn how to identify the throughline in your experiences, structure your narrative for impact, and avoid common pitfalls that dilute otherwise strong applications. Whether you’re starting from scratch or refining a draft, you’ll leave with practical strategies to craft a personal statement that feels authentic, focused, and memorable.

Crafting a Winning Narrative: Harvard and Stanford Graduate Break Down Elite College Admissions

Elite college admissions are driven by how clearly and authentically you tell your story, not just by grades and test scores. In this session, graduates of Harvard and Stanford will explain how top schools evaluate applications and what makes a narrative resonate with admissions committees. You’ll learn how to connect your experiences, values, and goals into a cohesive story across essays, activities, and recommendations, while avoiding common pitfalls that weaken otherwise strong profiles.

Breaking Into Growth Equity: How Funds Think, Hire, and Invest

Growth equity is where high-growth companies scale—and breaking in starts with understanding how funds operate. This session offers an inside look at how growth equity firms think, hire, and invest. You’ll learn how funds evaluate opportunities, what they look for in candidates, and how recruiting differs from PE or VC. Whether you’re exploring the space or preparing to recruit, you’ll leave with clear insight and momentum to pursue growth equity with confidence.

Are You Thriving or Surviving as a Leader?

Are You Thriving or Surviving as a Leader? A 3-Minute Leadership Check-In Why This Matters High-performing leaders are often the last to notice when they’ve shifted from thriving to simply surviving. This brief reflection is designed to help you pause, assess, and realign.

Top 5 Tips for Your Law School Application [3/5/2026] (Recording)

Join Indrani as she goes over her top 5 tips to help you put your best foot forward as you apply to law school! A great law school application requires research, authenticity and hard work, and Indrani will help you strategize. She will go over the importance of the LSAT, putting together a thoughtful school list, who should submit letters of recommendation, how to go about writing your essays and the optimal timeline for getting it all done! The session will end with ample time for questions and answers.

The Interview Narrative Toolkit

Interviews aren't a memory test. They're a communication test. The Interview Narrative Toolkit gives you a repeatable method for answering behavioral questions in a way that's specific, credible, and actually interesting to listen to. It's built around the CARL framework — not because frameworks are magic, but because most people ramble without one. What's inside: You'll learn how to isolate your actual contribution from the team's work, which is the thing most candidates blur and most interviewers notice. You'll get a breakdown of the phrases that feel safe but quietly tank your signal — the "we wore many hats" answers, the "great learning experience" deflections — and what to say instead interview-narra...it (1).pdf . And you'll walk away with a method you can apply to any story, not just the ones you prepped. The goal isn't a perfect answer. It's a demo-able one. Concrete. Under two minutes. Yours. One story rewritten using this method is enough to see the difference. Most people find they've been underselling themselves for years — not because their work wasn't good, but because they never learned how to make it visible.

Deferred MBA Planning — Preparing for a Successful Application [3/5/2026] (Recording)

Are you gearing up for the deferred MBA application process sometime in the next couple of years? Join me for a session dedicated to making sure you are well prepared when application season rolls around. I'm John, CEO of Leland, and I'll be your host for this session. Prior to Leland, I was admitted to HBS 2+2 and Stanford GSB deferred, and then founded Deferred MBA Consulting. In the past 8 years I have helped thousands of people with their deferred applications. Space is limited, so make sure to RSVP and secure your spot today!

Build Something Colleges Notice: Personal Project Blueprint

Learn how to design a thoughtful, student-driven project built around your genuine interests. This blueprint shows how to develop curiosity ce into a meaningful initiative that reflects depth, leadership, and purpose.

From Field to Framework: Crafting a Civilian-Ready MBA Resume

Military experience translates powerfully to MBA admissions when it’s framed in the language schools understand. This session shows you how to convert roles, missions, and outcomes into civilian-ready impact, highlight leadership and decision-making, and align your resume with post-MBA goals. You’ll learn how to quantify results, choose the right stories, and avoid common translation pitfalls so your resume clearly signals readiness for top programs.

Your MBA to MBB Pathway

Breaking into McKinsey, Bain, or BCG from an MBA program requires more than strong academics, it demands a clear recruiting strategy, disciplined case prep, and intentional networking from day one. In this session, you’ll learn how to position yourself for MBB success, avoid common recruiting missteps, and build a structured plan that covers resumes, networking, casing, and behavioral preparation. Whether you’re pre-MBA or already on campus, you’ll leave with a practical roadmap to maximize your chances of landing an MBB offer.

GRE Issue Essay Template & Writing Guide

This guide provides a clear structure for writing high-scoring GRE Issue Essays. It includes step-by-step templates for the introduction, body paragraphs, counterarguments, and conclusion, along with useful academic phrases for building strong arguments. Students can use these templates to organize their ideas quickly and write structured essays under timed conditions.

Harvard Essay 1 Example

Harvard Essay 1 example of a female from a CPG start-up accepted into the class of 2028.

Harvard Essay 2 Example

Harvard Essay 2 example, female from a CPG start-up, accepted into the class of 2028.

Time GRE Verbal Timing & Pacing Strategy

This guide presents a structured approach to managing time during the GRE Verbal sections. It explains how to maintain consistent pacing, prioritize question types strategically, and make effective decisions when encountering difficult questions. Students will learn how to use timing checkpoints, implement a skip-and-return strategy, and allocate time efficiently across Text Completion, Sentence Equivalence, and Reading Comprehension questions. The guide also outlines a practical system for reviewing flagged questions and maintaining control of the section under timed conditions. This framework is designed to help students maximize accuracy while avoiding common timing traps, ensuring they reach every question and make the most of the available time during the GRE Verbal section.

The 4 Levels of GMAT Combinations

GMAT combinations questions can feel overwhelming, but they follow clear patterns once you know what to look for. This session breaks combinations into four progressive levels, helping you recognize question types, choose the right approach, and avoid common traps. You’ll learn how to move from brute force to efficient reasoning, improve accuracy under time pressure, and build confidence with one of the GMAT’s most challenging topics.

Breaking into Venture Capital: Ask Me Anything

Venture capital recruiting can feel opaque, especially without a clear sense of how firms evaluate candidates and what actually matters in the process. In this open AMA session, you’ll get candid insights into breaking into VC, from sourcing experience and networking to interviews, skill development, and common misconceptions about the industry. Bring your questions and leave with a clearer understanding of how to position yourself and take practical next steps toward a career in venture capital.

Landing an Investment Banking Role

Investment banking recruiting is highly competitive, and success depends on strategy, preparation, and timing. This session breaks down the full recruiting process, from understanding roles and timelines to building a strong resume, networking effectively, and preparing for technical and behavioral interviews. You’ll learn how banks evaluate candidates, what differentiates top applicants, and how to avoid common mistakes that derail otherwise strong profiles.

You vs. You | How to Stop Self Sabotaging

You're not lazy. You're not unmotivated. You're not broken. You're just stuck. And there's a reason for that. You vs. You is for the person who has every reason to be moving forward, but somehow keeps getting in their own way. The one who procrastinates on the very things they care about most. Who burns out chasing goals that never seem to fill the gap. Who knows what they want, but can't figure out why they can't make it happen. That feeling isn't a character flaw. It's self sabotage — and it's running quietly in the background of almost everything you do. In this ebook, you'll finally understand why. You'll learn how 95% of your daily decisions are being made for you by a subconscious that was programmed long before you had any say in it. You'll see exactly how your values, your beliefs, and your deepest fears are shaping your choices and keeping you stuck. And most importantly, you'll walk away with real, practical tools to start changing it. Inside, you'll discover: • Why self sabotage has nothing to do with willpower, and everything to do with your subconscious programming. • The hidden values and faulty beliefs driving your burnout, your procrastination, and your patterns in relationships. • A step-by-step process to identify your self sabotaging behaviors and trace them back to their root cause. • Exercises to reprogram your belief system and finally start making decisions that align with who you actually want to be. This isn't another generic self help book about thinking positive. It's an honest, grounded guide to understanding yourself at a level most people never reach, and using that understanding to start building a life you don't need to escape from. At the end of this book, you'll gain a level of self-awareness that most people spend years in therapy trying to find. Ready to go deeper? Every purchase includes access to a special one-time offer of 50% off your first life coaching session — because reading it is just the beginning. Message me directly on Leland to claim.

Breaking Into Product In Depth Guide

Full in-depth syllabus and playbook for APM/PM interview prep resources (interview types, question types, common terms, interview frameworks, interview rubric overview, and weekly prep plan to ACE your interviews!) This has helped my clients go from 0 product knowledge to landing PM internships and full time offers.