Leland+ Content Library

Extracurricular Secrets: What Colleges Actually Care About

A concise, insider guide that breaks down the most common misconceptions about extracurriculars and explains what admissions committees at selective colleges are actually evaluating. Designed for ambitious students and thoughtful families who want to build focused, high-impact profiles rather than guess their way through the process.

Prepare Now: Acing Your Dental School Interviews

Your dental school interview isn’t just a conversation—it’s your opportunity to bring your application to life. This is where passion, purpose, and personality set you apart. The right preparation can be the difference between a polite interview and a powerful impression. In this session, you’ll learn how to craft memorable answers, tell your story with confidence, and think on your feet when the pressure’s on. We’ll break down what interviewers are really listening for and how to show up as a future clinician they can already envision in their program. If you’re ready to turn interview invites into acceptance calls, this is where it starts.

The Year-End Review Playbook

Most professionals approach the year-end review passively and leave the outcome to chance. This guide covers the full process high performers use: building a documented case throughout the year, writing a self-assessment for the calibration room (not just your manager’s inbox), preparing your manager to advocate for you in the room you’re not in, and using the review conversation to set the terms for next year. Includes before/after self-assessment examples and exact language for the conversations most people avoid.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

New People Manager: First 90-Day Checklist

A phase-by-phase checklist for your first 90 days as a people manager: diagnose before you prescribe, provide clarity on direction, then raise the bar on performance, Includes the five most common new manager traps and a clear definition of what good looks like at 90 days.

The MBA Story Bank Worksheet

Build your core story library before writing a single essay or preparing for a single interview. This fillable worksheet walks you through cataloging your 8–10 strongest career stories with the specificity MBA admissions committees and interviewers actually require — including a story card template for each experience, a theme matrix to map your stories to essay and interview categories, a coverage checker to identify gaps, and a goals and narrative prep section to build the spine of your entire application.

Your Master’s Application Roadmap: What to Do Early and Why It Matters

A strong master’s application starts long before deadlines hit. This session is designed to help you understand what to do early—and why those early moves matter so much. You’ll learn how to plan your timeline, prioritize key components like testing, essays, and recommendations, and avoid last-minute mistakes that weaken applications. Whether you’re just beginning to explore programs or getting ready to apply, you’ll leave with a clear roadmap and confidence in your next steps.

M7 MBA Essay Question Bank: Prompts by School (2024–25)

A reference guide to official M7 MBA essay prompts — organized by school. Covers all seven programs with each school’s full prompt list, word counts, what the admissions committee is actually evaluating per prompt, the most common mistakes that cost applicants, and strategic tips on what each school’s adcom is really looking for. Includes a format comparison table and universal essay principles that apply across all M7 applications.

Building a Dental School Personal Statement That Stands Out

A compelling dental school personal statement goes beyond listing shadowing hours and coursework, it clearly conveys your motivation for dentistry, your readiness for clinical training, and the experiences that shaped your commitment to patient care. In this session, you’ll learn how to structure a focused narrative, highlight meaningful experiences, and avoid common pitfalls that make essays blend together. Whether you’re starting from scratch or refining a draft, you’ll leave with practical strategies to craft a personal statement that feels authentic, polished, and memorable.

Build Your Dental School Application Plan

A strong dental school application starts long before you hit submit. In this session, you’ll learn how to map out your timeline, prioritize key components like shadowing, DAT prep, letters of recommendation, and personal statements, and build a strategy that strengthens your candidacy from start to finish. Whether you’re applying this cycle or planning ahead, you’ll leave with a clear, organized game plan to approach the dental school process with confidence.

Final Push: Perfecting Your Master’s Application Before the Deadline

The deadline is almost here—make sure your Master’s application is truly ready. In this session, expert Leland coaches will walk you through the final checks that matter most, from tightening your narrative to eliminating subtle weaknesses that could cost you an admit. You’ll leave with a clear, prioritized plan to submit a polished, compelling application with confidence.

How Top MBA Applicants Nail “Why MBA” and “Why Now”

“Why MBA” and “Why now” are two of the most important—and most challenging—questions in any MBA application. This session is designed to help you craft clear, convincing answers that show purpose, timing, and fit. In this event, you’ll learn how top applicants connect past experiences to future goals, articulate strong motivations, and avoid common pitfalls that weaken these essays and interview responses. We’ll also cover what admissions committees look for and how to make your story stand out. Whether you’re just starting your application or refining your narrative, you’ll leave with practical frameworks and greater confidence.

How Admissions Committees Evaluate Extracurriculars

A behind-the-scenes look at how admissions committees evaluate student activities. Learn the five signals that help applicants stand out and how to demonstrate them in your application.

Ask Me Anything as a Software Engineering Interviewer

Ever wondered what interviewers are actually thinking during a technical interview? In this open AMA session, get candid insights from a software engineering interviewer on what stands out, what raises red flags, and how hiring decisions are really made. We’ll cover technical screens, system design, behavioral questions, evaluation criteria, and how to recover from mistakes mid-interview. Bring your toughest questions and walk away with practical, insider advice to approach your next interview with clarity and confidence.

Managing Up: A Field Guide

Managing up isn’t about flattering your boss — it’s about owning the relationship with the person who has the most influence over your career. This guide covers how to diagnose your manager’s style, what to ask them early in any new relationship, the most common managing up mistakes and how to fix them, and how to navigate specific situations when the relationship is strained.

The Resume Screen: How to Get The First Interview

Your resume has seconds to make an impression before it’s sorted into "Interview" or "Reject." We strip away the fluff and focus on the high-impact signals that Bain screeners seek. Learn how to highlight the "so what" of your experience and structure your bullets to prove you already think like a consultant.

Gain Competitive Advantage as a Non-Traditional Applicant

Standing out as a non-traditional dental school applicant requires more than explaining your path—it requires positioning it as an advantage. In this session, you’ll learn how to frame career changes, academic gaps, or time in the workforce as strengths, address common admissions concerns, and build a cohesive narrative across your application and interviews. Whether you’re pivoting careers or applying later than your peers, you’ll leave with a clear strategy to turn your unique background into a competitive edge.

Military to MBA with Alex S.

Join us for a focused workshop designed to help veterans and active-duty service members navigate the transition from the military to top MBA programs. Military veteran and Ross MBA Alex S. will break down how to translate your experience into civilian leadership language, highlight impact in a way admissions teams understand, and build a compelling narrative that showcases your trajectory. Learn to turn military experience into a powerful competitive advantage in MBA admissions!

Your Senior Summer Blueprint: What Top College Admits Do Differently

Are you ready to make the most of your senior summer and set yourself apart in the college admissions process? Join me for a practical session on crafting your Senior Summer Blueprint. As someone who has guided students to some of the most prestigious institutions in the country, including all eight Ivy League schools and Stanford, I know what it takes to stand out. And I know that the summer months before senior year can make all the difference. In this session, I'll share my recommendations for how to structure your summer—what to do and when—so you can head into fall feeling organized, confident, and ahead of the curve. In other words: less overwhelm, stronger applications.

How to Succeed as a Joint MBA-MPP Applicant

Are you considering applying for a joint MBA-MPP program and wondering how to stand out in the competitive admissions process? Join me for an insightful session on how to succeed as a joint MBA-MPP applicant. With firsthand experience as an admit to both Harvard Kennedy School and MIT Sloan, I understand the unique challenges and opportunities of these programs. Throughout my career, I've helped applicants craft compelling narratives that connect their experiences to a clear direction, focusing on school and networking strategy, essays, resumes, and interviews. In this session, we'll cover the common storytelling mishaps of joint degree candidates, and exactly what admissions committees are looking for. We'll also do a live exercise so you can walk away with a better sense of your own application story.

Build an Investor-Level Pitch Deck with Claude, Excel & PowerPoint [5/29/2026] (Recording)

Build Anything Series · Event 03 · Free · Live Investor decks are a specific genre. They aren't "presentations." They're a tight argument backed by a defensible model, told in 12 slides. This event walks through how to build one with Claude, Excel, and PowerPoint working together — the way real founders actually do it now. What we'll build live: - The financial model — TAM/SAM/SOM, unit economics, P&L forecast, sensitivities, all in Excel/Sheets with Claude generating and reviewing the formulas - The story — problem, market, solution, traction, team, ask. Each slide does one job. We'll write them tight. - The slides — clean figures, charts that read in 3 seconds, narrative continuity. Polished and ready to send. Who it's for: - Founders fundraising (or about to) - Operators building internal pitches for new initiatives - Anyone who's stared at a blank deck for two weeks waiting for inspiration Not a fit if: - You don't have a real business or initiative to pitch - You want me to make a deck for you — this is a workshop, you build alongside We'll be honest about what investors actually look at (versus what advisors say they look at), and where AI helps versus where it gets in the way. Bring your data — even rough — and we'll build live.