MBA/MPP Admissions Experts

Drawing on 20 years of MBA admissions advisory experience and my work partnering with C-suite and executive leaders at corporate and private equity-backed companies to build their teams, I have a rare perspective on how elite institutions and senior decision-makers assess talent. Since 2006, I've advised 750+ clients across 45 countries, including professionals from PE/VC, tech, consulting, social impact, the arts, the military, and entrepreneurship. My work is rooted in the belief that the strongest candidates are not simply applying to business school. They are preparing for the next stage of leadership. Through Helium Coaching, I help clients articulate the experiences, judgment, values, and ambitions that distinguish them while building the clarity and confidence to pursue top-tier MBA programs and long-term executive or entrepreneurial careers.

Ranked 6th out of 500+ MBA coaches on Leland's Top Coaches 2026 list! As a professional MBA Consultant, I deep dive into who you are to craft a first-rate application for acceptance to an M7 or global top 20 MBA program. From typical applicants who need to stand out to unconventional applicants who need to fit in, we succeed together. I have helped 100% of my full-service clients gain acceptance to the top 30 MBA programs, with an impressive 95% acceptance rate to the top 20 programs (this is based on comprehensive-package clients applying to a minimum of 3 schools). This does not mean I only work with applicants with high test scores, great academic records, and exceptional resumes. I have assisted many people with below-average GMAT/GREs, subpar GPAs, and hard-to-quantify work experience to get into top MBA programs. In addition to M7 and other top American programs, I have extensive experience and success in helping applicants gain admission to all top European schools. I also welcome international applicants, and was ranked as a Top 10 Leland International Coach (no individual rankings within the top 10) having guided many to successful admissions at both American and European institutions. The key to this success lies in getting to the heart of who you are. It’s a simple sentence but not a simple process. We both need to invest time and energy to objectively explore your past, core beliefs, current position, and future aspirations. We then use this life theme to create a profile that enhances your personal and professional narratives, ensuring you effectively showcase your distinctive strengths and experiences. Many clients have remarked that after this journey of self-discovery, they feel they know themselves far better, bringing a fresh sense of enthusiasm and inspiration into their lives. I have developed with my wife and business partner, M, a highly organized, 8-phase process we call Identity Mapping that we use to guide the entire application process from deep introspection to the final applications. When you book a free intro call, I will show you exactly how it works and why our clients always rave about it and call it a game changer. BONUS: M (https://www.joinleland.com/coach/m-g/mba), is also a professional MBA admissions coach, and we regularly review each other’s clients’ applications. This means you’ll benefit from a second expert perspective at no extra cost. We may work on a case-by-case basis or cover all of the following in my all-inclusive package. • Profile optimization as described in the paragraph before the last. • Tailor your school selection, application timeline, round strategy, and more to your profile and goals, ensuring a targeted approach to your MBA journey. • Craft compelling and impactful MBA essays that truly resonate with admissions committees. From initial outlines to multiple draft revisions and a meticulous final edit, we will ensure that your story is memorable for all the right reasons. • Structure and refine various MBA application components, such as work experience descriptions, affiliations, achievements, certifications, research, publications, and awards. My systematic approach results in a cohesive and compelling application package. • Elevate your resume to meet the rigorous standards of MBA applications. Constructive critiques and expert edits will help you present your accomplishments and qualifications successfully. • Secure strong letters of recommendation that amplify your strengths and potential. I can guide you in selecting the right recommenders and obtaining compelling endorsements. • Evaluate every component of your MBA application in a meticulous final review to guarantee coherence, accuracy, and impact. This last layer of polish is crucial to submitting an application that not only meets but significantly exceeds admissions standards. • Ace your MBA interviews with confidence. Realistic school-specific mock interview sessions, tailored feedback, and personalized coaching will help you refine your presentation, responses, and overall interview strategy, guaranteeing you make a lasting impression. • Navigate the critical decisions after your MBA interviews with expert guidance. Whether you're weighing multiple offers, seeking to move up from a waitlist, or deciding on the best school for your goals, I provide strategic advice to make sure you enroll in the perfect MBA program for you. I limit my full-time clients to five per application round (this number may increase or decrease slightly depending on the round and the amount of assistance my clients need), ensuring dedicated and personalized service. My expertise lies in working with international applicants and helping them navigate the challenges of applying in a second language and to a different educational system. This ‘About Jesse’ section may seem as if it’s more about you than me, but that’s the point. You are the star; I am here to help you shine. Let's work together to create the best application possible and secure your spot in a top MBA program.

[Currently, we are offering special discounted pricing in celebration of my company’s 25th year and my 30+ years of work as a coach. Enjoy the discounted pricing!] For over 30 years, I have served as a coach and consultant, helping over 1100 MBA and Executive MBA applicants develop their skills, accelerate their careers, and gain admission to top business schools to bring their admirable career visions to fruition. People often ask why I price much lower than other coaches. The answer: access. I strive to ensure that a broad range of applicants can benefit from outstanding consulting, and my company's motto is "Excellence at an Affordable Price." This approach has brought amazing fruit. It has been my honor over the years to help leaders equip themselves to impact the world--from a penniless doctor who attended Harvard Business School, became a billionaire, and is now disrupting the pharma industry, to the entrepreneurs who have scaled their microfinance companies and expanded their private equity firms to support high-impact projects globally. My clients have been admitted to top business schools, which include all the best schools in the United States and Europe/Britain--Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, MIT, Columbia, Kellogg, Booth, Yale, Cornell, Tuck, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Duke, Darden, NYU, Oxford, Cambridge, INSEAD, LBS, HEC, IESE, and the list goes on! Very importantly, I strive to help make applications "scholarship-worthy," and many of my clients have earned substantial scholarships, including full-ride scholarships to Stanford Business School, Fulbright Scholarships, Rhodes Scholarships, top EMBA scholarships, the MIT President's Scholarship, Forte Scholarships, and full-ride Consortium scholarships. My clients have come from over 83 countries on six continents—from the USA to India, China, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Spain, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, and South Africa, among many others. My clients have also hailed from varied entities—from multi-billion-dollar market-leading companies to unicorns, scaling entrepreneurial ventures, and pre-revenue organizations. I worked in a Harvard admissions office, in Stanford's Office of the President, as a Harvard alumni recruiter, and as Co-Leader of the Harvard Undergraduate Admissions Council. I graduated from Harvard College and Oxford University (master's and doctoral degrees). Throughout my academic journey, I earned awards for academic excellence, including the John Harvard Scholarship, and over $400,000 in other scholarships, including the Fulbright Scholarship. I leverage all this expertise to empower people to achieve their dreams. I am excellent at helping candidates with flaws in their profiles overcome their weaknesses and gain admission to schools where they otherwise may not have been accepted. If you want personalized guidance and proven strategies for submitting an outstanding application, I'm here to aid you. Please reach out to discuss how I can support you in achieving your goals.

🚀I'm a top full time MBA admissions coach with 11yrs experience and 85% success rate to H/S/W + Top 15 global MBAs. 🥇Being a top coach means I have high coaching EQ and guide with frameworks derived from: 1️⃣ A deep understanding of how admissions officers think - I am rated more effective than coaches who are former admissions officers 2️⃣ Direct experience in the roles you seek, relevant to tie your experience and goals together 3️⃣ Technical startup mentality that allows me to coach you how to showcase your innovative side by pitching creatively 🤖 Expertise in training general AI models (ChatGPT/Anthropic) and training other consultants/professionals to use AI to get non-generic admissions caliber feedback. My 1:1 coaching is traditional non-AI, but for those who want to use AI to accelerate their writing, I help guide you to tools that avoid AI Slop and enhance without making you sound robotic. 🤖HBS Essays Guide at https://blog.getmba.ai/how-to-get-into-harvard-business-school-hbs-essays 🤖AI Usage Guides at https://blog.getmba.ai/ 🧙🏼‍♂️ Expert working with highly technical industries/roles: Enterprise AI, product management, consulting, health&wellness, gov, infrastructure, real estate, fintech, engineering 🌍 Middle East, Europe, Latin America experience derived from working/living in different countries 👉🏼Through our conversations, I challenge you to discover your leadership voice by placing you in the "interview seat" from our first call. I draw on my deep understanding of what admissions look for and what essay questions are truly asking for to help you create an authentic story and ambitious goals that stand out. Together we create a design session where we think deeply about personal and professional moments that show who you are. This leads to your strongest application, higher interview invitation rates, and admissions. 🌍 I work with a small group of international/US candidates each round from diverse backgrounds (tech, entrepreneurs, consultants, family business). I am available for my clients within short notice. Get started right away with intro 1-2hrs foundational call - according to my reviews, it's a worthwhile investment. 👉🏼 Most clients do not have clear goal when we begin working together, but end with clear career direction - and some have started companies based on the ideas we formulated together. 👉🏼Unlimited Coaching package includes additional review by a second coach (you get 2 in 1 coaches!) 👉🏼I apply my superpower as an innovator and storyteller to walk clients through a framework that helps connect the dots of past experiences and future aspirations. We get to your “aha” moment and get you excited (and less anxious) about your own fantastic and bold story - this in turn elevates your competitiveness in MBA applications and interviews. 👩🏻‍💻 IG: MBAcoach 👉🏼My expertise has been featured in Poets&Quants. 👉🏼I have advised professionals across 20 countries in complex industries including tech, finance, consulting, government, healthcare, biotech, entrepreneurship, renewable energy, military, and telco. Experience spans product management, strategy, operations, analytics, finance, sales, engineering and manufacturing. Areas of less expertise: Brand management, marketing, HR. 👉🏼Experienced with top 17 MBAs worldwide: Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Kellogg, MIT, Booth, Columbia, Tuck, Haas, Yale, NYU, UCLA, Ross, Duke, Fuqua, London Business School, Insead 👉🏼Experienced with MBA, EMBA, PT MBA, & deferred admissions. 👉🏼Experienced with dual degrees MBA/MPP(A) or MBA/MA product, design, engineering, education, biotech. 📣 Poets&Quants Article: https://poetsandquants.com/2024/08/07/tips-to-nail-new-harvard-mba-essays/?pq-category=sbc&pq-category-2=sponsored-blogs 🥇Why don't I have a Leland Supercoach badge? It's awarded based on content creation on Leland+, not coaching experience. I don't contribute to content here on Leland as I post on my Youtube/IG @MBACoach 👩🏻‍💻Personality traits: I recognize that applying to competitive MBAs is a serious process for you on top of a competitive full time job. I inject my naturally open and humorous personality to make the process feel a little less like work. Nimble and grounded are other core strengths, I know when to guide to create urgency and when to give you room to explore your creativity. *Note: only up to 3 initial hourly purchases will be credited toward upgrade to Unlimited Coaching packages

I've guided candidates through the full MBA admissions process for over 10 years — from school selection and application strategy through to essays, CV, letters of recommendation, and interview prep. Nearly all candidates who completed the full journey with me were admitted to their target school, including M7 programs (Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Columbia, Booth, Kellogg, MIT Sloan) and top European schools (LBS, INSEAD, HEC Paris, Bocconi, IE, IESE, Cambridge, Oxford). As a BCG consultant with an engineering background, I bring a perspective that most admissions coaches don't have. I know what top employers actually look for in MBA graduates, which programmes open which doors, and how to position technical and STEM profiles for business schools — because I've done it myself. I hold an MBA from SDA Bocconi and Columbia Business School, and a mechanical engineering degree from Politecnico di Milano and the University of Illinois, so I've navigated this transition firsthand, on both sides of the Atlantic. I work on every element of the application: defining your narrative and positioning, selecting schools strategically, crafting essays that sound like you and not like a template, shaping your CV for impact, coaching recommenders on what to highlight, and preparing you for interviews. The goal is a cohesive application where every piece reinforces who you are and why you belong. If what you've read resonates, write to me.

With an MBA from the prestigious Haas School of Business and over 10 years of experience as a Senior Admissions Counselor at Stratus Admissions Counseling, I have guided 100+ applicants to success in their MBA journeys. My expertise lies in helping clients develop a personal brand strategy, identify the best programs for their goals, and navigate the entire application process, including mock interviews and waitlist strategy. As a former Alumni Admissions Interviewer at Haas and active AIGAC member, I bring insider knowledge of what top programs are looking for. Let's work together to craft a compelling application that stands out. Reach out to start your path to a top MBA program today!

Welcome to my profile! With extensive experience in MBA admissions, I have served as a Senior Assistant Director of Admissions at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where I oversaw recruitment and admissions for early career pipelines, including the Deferred MBA Program. My role involved application review, interviewing, and making final determinations on admittance. Additionally, I have been an Admissions Ambassador at Emory University and a Student Recruiter at Baylor University, where I helped recruit hundreds of students annually. My insider knowledge from serving on admissions committees at UChicago, Emory and Baylor equips me with a unique perspective on what top business schools are looking for in applicants. Whether you need help with application strategy, essay writing, or interview preparation, I'm here to guide you through the process. Reach out to start crafting a standout application!

Hey there! I'm Katie—I earned dual MBA/MPA degrees at Stanford GSB and SPIA, and coach admissions for MBA, MPA, and fellowship programs for graduate and undergraduate students. I can't wait to meet you and learn more about how we can turn your dreams into achievable goals, together. I grew up in Tennessee, and got life-changing opportunities to gain a higher education through three fully-paid programs: the Jefferson Scholarship, the Knight-Hennessy Scholarship, and Princeton SPIA's funded MPA program. I've successfully navigated admissions to multiple MBA and MPA programs, and have weighed virtually every combination of joint degree and fellowship program out there. I know how high-stakes these application processes can feel, and how important it is to develop an application and interview in a way that reflects what you uniquely bring to the table. Beyond my own experience, I've spent six years serving on scholarship and admissions selection committees. I've seen how reviewers read applications, what makes essays memorable, and how candidates can avoid common obstacles in the process. I've coached +20 students through every stage of the process—from preparing for standardized tests and identifying the right programs, to crafting compelling narratives and preparing for interviews that feel authentic. Beyond working in investment policy, I love exploring running routes through my new hometown of San Francisco, dabbling on the piano, playing tennis at the park up the street, and hosting dinner parties with my wife.

As a tech founder and writer, I help ambitious candidates stand out in elite admissions by telling their story with clarity, conviction, and craft. I was one of roughly 30 students admitted to both Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School in my year, earning three prestigious fellowships along the way and later being recognized as a World Economic Forum Global Shaper. I understand how competitive admissions committees think — and what separates memorable applicants from merely impressive ones. What sets me apart is that I don’t believe an MBA is right for everyone — and I bring that discernment into my coaching. Before we optimize your application, we start with a candid conversation about whether this degree truly aligns with your goals, timing, and trajectory. If the answer is yes, I help you articulate who you are and present your story with clarity, confidence, and depth. I’ve been working with high-achieving students on career and personal development since my time at Harvard, and I bring that same rigor and care to every applicant I coach.

Hey! Excited to see that you're looking to pursue higher ed! I know, you're probably thinking this writing is some form of automated AI slop (hint: it's not). I'm here to coach you because I found my post-Army grad school application experience more difficult in some ways than my time in the military(!) I want to help you navigate those challenges and achieve your goals. Really you're here to know how to answer: what matters most to you and why? right? It's a tough question but my quick tip is that if you start with that question and reflect on what you want in lift, it can be a great thought exercise for you, whether you get in or not. Ready to go? Message me!