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Description
This package is designed for PhD applicants who want targeted, high-value support—without a full end-to-end engagement. Whether you’re just getting started or polishing your materials for submission, this package gives you the flexibility to focus on your highest-priority areas. You’ll partner with an expert coach to refine your research proposal, sharpen your written materials, and prep for interviews or faculty outreach. Every session is focused on driving real progress and elevating your candidacy. Common coaching activities in this package include, but are not limited to: - Application Strategy: Align your academic background, research experience, and long-term goals into a cohesive story. - Program & Faculty Fit: Refine your target list based on research alignment, funding, and mentorship opportunities. - Research Statement/SOP Editing: Get structured, detailed feedback to help you articulate your research goals and demonstrate strong fit. - Academic CV Optimization: Highlight research contributions, presentations, awards, and relevant experience in a polished CV format. - Recommender Guidance: Strategize on who to ask, what they should emphasize, and how to prepare them for a strong letter. - Interview Prep: Practice articulating your research interests, background, and goals with confidence and clarity. - Final Application Review: Ensure your application is polished, cohesive, and ready to submit.
What you'll get from this package
A strategic application plan tailored to your academic and research background
A research statement and/or SOP that tells a compelling, well-organized story
A polished academic CV that showcases your strengths as a future scholar
Mock interviews to build confidence in your academic and professional communication
A ready-to-submit application package you can feel proud of
Additional details
Coaching delivered via live sessions and .
Additional expectations or terms of engagement may be provided by coaches (e.g. expected response times, etc.).
Services included:
Application Strategy
Essays
Resume
Letters of Recommendation
Editing
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 Ian
Custom hourly · $79/hr
Get help with Interviews, Research, and .
Offered by Ian H.
Joined September 2026
Academic Coach
I have coached dozens of students at Stanford University's Center for Teaching and Learning, helping them work through academic challenges and build more effective ways of working. Having recently completed my own PhD, I understand firsthand the pressures of graduate school and the difficulty of navigating research when the path forward is not always clear. My approach is highly individualized. I help clients clarify the problem they are actually trying to solve, make sense of the evidence in front of them, and develop systems that can serve them beyond a single challenge. My research background also allows me to support clients with research strategy, analytical thinking, and data analysis when those are part of the problem. I can also work with prospective graduate students on applications, drawing on my own experience successfully navigating admissions at highly selective universities including Stanford and Cambridge. Whether someone is trying to get into graduate school, make progress once they are there, or work through a difficult research problem, my goal is to help them leave with a clearer path forward and a stronger ability to solve similar problems independently in the future.
Starting at $158
2h+ of coaching