Leland+ for College

Tips for Making the Most of Career Fairs

Make strong impressions, ask smart questions, and turn quick chats into real opportunities.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Recommendations

Don’t let weak recs sink your app—avoid these common pitfalls and set your recommenders up for success.

Why UChicago Essay – Economics, Research, and Community Engagement

A focused and well-researched supplemental essay outlining the applicant’s academic goals in development economics, interest in data analytics, and enthusiasm for UChicago’s research culture and civic-minded community.

Common App Submission Example– Leadership, Research, and Social Impact Profile

A comprehensive Common App submission featuring high academic achievement, extensive leadership, entrepreneurial initiatives, and a personal essay on resilience and teamwork through organizing India’s largest student-led fest.

Making the Most of Alumni Networks

Tap into alumni communities for mentorship, referrals, and real-world insights that boost your career.

What BYU Admission Officers Actually Want to See From You [5/26/2026] (Recording)

After this session, you'll know exactly how BYU admission officers evaluate applications and where most candidates unknowingly lose ground. We'll cover how to frame your personal statement around BYU's specific values, what the activity and leadership sections actually signal to reviewers, and how to approach the honor code essay in a way that feels authentic rather than performative. Attending live means you can ask how these principles apply to your specific background, grades, or extracurricular history, and hear how the coach thinks through cases that don't fit a clean template. The coach works with BYU applicants regularly and will share the patterns that separate the candidates who get in from those who look similar on paper but don't.

Applying to College in 2026? Here’s What You Should Be Doing Each Month [5/27/2026] (Recording)

In this session, former admissions director, Loubna Bouamane, will walk students and parents through the real college admissions timeline from May through December — including what actually matters each month if you're aiming for competitive U.S. universities. We’ll cover: How to build a balanced college list strategically When students should start essays (and why waiting until September is risky) How extracurriculars and summer activities should be positioned What admissions officers notice early in the review process Common mistakes students make over the summer Testing timelines, recommendation strategy, and application planning How to avoid creating an application that feels overly polished or AI-generated This session is especially helpful for: Rising seniors applying in Fall 2026 International students navigating the U.S. admissions process Families targeting selective colleges and universities Students feeling overwhelmed or behind

MBA Scorecard: Rank Every Program to Find Your Fit

A personalized Excel scorecard for ranking every top MBA program that autopopulates based on key criteria you should evaluate in narrowing down your list to your top-choice programs. Weight only the factors that matter to you (e.g., specific career funnels, geography, cost, culture, academics), and score each program out of 100, and see your rankings update live. This includes a filled-out example as well so you can see what a final product looks like. Delete anything that isn't useful, and keep the rest so this search is custom-tailored to you.

MBA Self-Discovery Workbook: Unlock Your Narrative & Write Freely

This is a reflection-focused, 13-section workbook for MBA applicants to uncover and build your story before embarking on the complex, layered process of writing your essays. This resource is informed from my time in Stanford GSB's Interpersonal Dynamics (Touchy Feely), my time helping dozens of other GSB classmates find their voice as the Managing Editor for Stanford GSB's Paper (Nondisclosure), and in helping over 500 MBA applicants self-reflect in a way that feels genuine, personal and clarifying. I wrote this resource with just enough structure (but not too much), and with a practical eye towards covering the ground you'll need for your MBA apps. You'll go deep, but every question has a purpose. I also use this with everyone I work with, and it's something we'll cover at the very beginning of our process. My hope is that this resource, in addition to being a big help, feels like we're in conversation. The goal is just to get to know you a little better, one step at a time, in a way that feels natural, even enjoyable. Even if you're the only one who ever sees it, I've tried to write this in a way that I'd speak about this kind of thing with you. Because I think humans are the best way to help other humans see themselves a little deeper. And trust me, plenty of "coaches" could use more of that too ;) This workbook will cover your background, motivations, short and long-term goals, values, behavioral stories, and more. A PDF is attached here, but there's also a downloadable Word file I recommend using to make things much easier for you to fill out as you go. This took me about 20-30 hours of time to put together, and I suggest putting at least 5-10 into filling this out. Some go at it all at once, but most do it in a few sittings. Long walks are good to interperse between writing sessions, and I actually recommend you reflect and go back to this to update your answers several times throughout your MBA process. Save new versions as you go and you'll be able to see your application pixellate over this monthslong process. If you're reapplying, I'd push you to compare what you end up with here with what you submitted last time. The differences may be revealing. I hope ends up a real tool for you, and that it helps you find answers you might not have found otherwise. It also will give you a glimpse into what coaching together feels like. Don't hesitate to reach out if you feel like sharing this. Working on your writing and applications together is a natural byproduct of the kind of reflection you'll be doing here, and it's my favorite thing to help someone with. Happy writing :) -Ben

How To Step From Participation to Leadership in your Extracurriculars

A step by step framework for turning extracurricular involvement into leadership and impact.

The Hiring Room: Amazon TA Leader’s Interview Playbook

This is not a list of behavioural questions. It’s a comprehensive, end-to-end interview strategy guide from a former Amazon Talent Acquisition leader and Stanford graduate — designed to help you think, prepare, and perform like a top candidate. We begin before the interview even exists: clarifying who you are, what you want, and how to align your narrative with the roles you’re pursuing. From there, we move through resume positioning, strategic storytelling, behavioural frameworks, executive presence, and what interviewers are actually assessing behind the scenes.

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.

Stanford Undergraduate Interview Questions

Comprehensive set of interviewer questions the school requires interviewers to ask.

Writing Compelling College Essays

College essays are your chance to go beyond grades and test scores and show who you really are. In this session, top Leland coach and former Stanford interviewer Alex L. will break down what makes an essay stand out, how admissions officers read them, and why many otherwise strong essays fall flat. You’ll learn how to choose the right story, write with clarity and authenticity, and craft an essay that leaves a lasting impression.

How to Ace Your Ivy League Interview

How to Ace Your Ivy League Interview is a premium, visual guide that walks applicants through every stage of the Ivy League interview process, from research and preparation to presence, delivery, and follow-through. This guide goes school by school across all eight Ivy League institutions, surfacing the niche programs, cultural touchstones, and academic traditions that signal genuine fit to alumni interviewers. It then builds outward into the full arc of a successful interview: how to construct and own your personal narrative, how to decode and answer the questions that appear most consistently, how to carry yourself in the room, how to close strong, and how to follow up in a way that keeps you top of mind. The guide is structured around seven actionable sections and packed with frameworks, do/don't tables, answer scaffolds, and a week-by-week prep timeline. Best for: High school juniors and seniors preparing for Ivy League or highly selective college interviews who want a rigorous, specific, and beautifully designed resource to guide their preparation from first research to final thank-you note.

How to Ace College Admissions Interviews

This event recording provides tried-and-true advice to ace college admissions interviews. You'll come out with a much better understanding of what the interviews are like and how to leave a strong and lasting impression. I also offer highly realistic mock interviews! Book one here: https://www.joinleland.com/coach/felipe-f-1/p/nail-the-college-admissions-interview

Global Mobility for Real People: Careers, Visas & Passports in 2026

Borders are tightening, digital‑nomad visas are mostly marketing, and “just get an MBA abroad” is no longer a complete mobility plan. In this session we look at global mobility as part of your life and career portfolio: how degrees, skills, employers, visas and, in some cases, second citizenships fit together over the next 10 to 20 years. Drawing on current data and real cases from Europe and Asia, we will cover what is realistically available to professionals who are not billionaires, how to read countries’ migration postures, and how to choose programmes, roles and locations that keep your options open. You will leave with: - A clear framework for thinking about mobility as risk management and opportunity, not fantasy - A map of the main routes that actually move the needle for early and mid‑career professionals - Concrete questions to ask when choosing schools, employers and countries if you want real global options, not just a nicer passport stamp

Resume Best Practices: Tips to Take Your CV From Meh to Magnifico!

After 15+ years of reviewing more applicant resumes than I care to count as a recruiter/hiring manager/talent leader at McKinsey and Bain, these are the core tips I coach my clients to always consider when crafting their CV.