Leland+ for College

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.

Driver or Passenger? Taking Control of the College Admissions Process 

The college admissions process can be daunting, but adopting a driver's mindset can make the difference between your dreams and disappointment. In this session, Harvard educated college admissions advisor Jessica F. discusses how to cultivate the essential qualities of leadership, curiosity, character and impact by moving from the passenger seat into the driver's seat. Did you join the debate club or start a debate program for middle-schoolers in underserved areas? Are you choosing colleges because they're prestigious or because you've found your matches? Are you taking classes you should or love? Do your essays use passive or active language? From a high level to specific details, this session will give you valuable tools to help you successfully navigate the college application process to achieve your dreams. Jessica F. has been holistically guiding students through the college application process for thirty years. She's helped students earn perfect scores, write brilliant essays, craft winning narratives and gain admission to the likes of Harvard, Stanford, Brown, Dartmouth, Yale and many more top colleges. She'd love to support you too!

Business and Engineering Cover Letter Template

Need to submit a cover letter for your application? This one earned offers at huge aerospace & business firms!

The Long Game in College Admissions: What to Do Now

College admissions success isn’t just about acing the next test or writing the next essay—it’s about strategically planning your path over time. In this session, you’ll learn how to identify priorities, build a compelling profile, and make choices now that will set you up for stronger applications later. We’ll cover actionable steps for academics, extracurriculars, and personal development, helping you focus on what truly matters and avoid common missteps. By the end, you’ll have a clear roadmap for playing the long game in college admissions with confidence and purpose.

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.

Secrets of the Admissions Office: A Former Admissions Officer and Stanford Graduate Break Down Elite College Admissions

Elite college admissions hinge on how applications are read behind closed doors, not just on grades and test scores. In this session, a former admissions officer and Stanford graduate will reveal how files are evaluated, what makes an applicant memorable, and how admissions committees interpret essays, activities, recommendations, and context together. You’ll learn how to avoid common missteps, highlight authentic impact, and build a cohesive narrative that resonates with highly selective schools.

Roadmap to College: A Values-Based Guide to Choosing the Right College

Instead of focusing on traditional ideas of “fit,” this values-based guide invites you to reflect on what truly matters to you. Through self-reflection and journal prompts, you will identify colleges that align with your values, interests, and goals. Designed for students in grades 9-12, it offers practical steps to help you approach the college search with greater clarity and confidence so you can make intentional choices and find a college community that's authentic to you.

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.

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.

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.

Why Getting Started Now Matters for College Applications

The strongest college applications are built over time, not rushed together senior year. In this panel, admissions experts will break down why starting early gives you a meaningful edge and what students should actually be doing now to stay ahead. You’ll learn how to think strategically about academics, extracurriculars, leadership, and narrative development long before applications open. Whether you’re a freshman, sophomore, or junior, this session will help you understand how small decisions today can shape stronger outcomes later.

Grad Student Loan Paydown Schedule

Stop Guessing. Start Seeing Exactly When Your Loans End. Most people with student debt make their monthly payment and hope for the best. This template lets you run the actual math so you can see, month by month, exactly what happens when you pay more. Built in Excel. No subscriptions, no logins, no apps. Just a clean, professional model you'll actually use. What's inside: Three side-by-side paydown scenarios run simultaneously your base schedule, a flat monthly extra payment, and a fully flexible column where you can plug in one-time lump sums for any month. Salary bonus coming in March? Tax refund in April? Type it in and watch your payoff date move in real time. Built for people who just finished an expensive degree and are serious about what comes next. Whether you're in consulting, finance, tech, or any high-growth field, this tool helps you layer your paydown strategy around how you actually earn, raises, bonuses, tuition reimbursements, and surplus months, not just a flat monthly payment. What you'll know in five minutes: > Your exact payoff date under any scenario > How much interest you'll save with different payment levels > The true cost of waiting vs. paying aggressively now Fully editable. Works with any loan amount, rate, or term. One-time purchase, yours to keep.

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

What BYU Admissions is Looking For

Applying to BYU but unsure what actually moves the needle in admissions? Strong grades matter—but they’re only part of the picture. In What BYU Admissions Is Looking For, you’ll get a clear breakdown of how to position yourself strategically for Brigham Young University. The speaker regularly works 1:1 with applicants navigating competitive admissions, and this session offers rare access to the evaluation frameworks typically shared in private coaching conversations. Who This Is For - High school students planning to apply to BYU - Transfer applicants seeking clarity on positioning - Students with strong academics who want a more compelling application - Applicants unsure how faith, leadership, and extracurriculars fit into their story What You’ll Walk Away With - What BYU weighs most heavily beyond GPA and test scores - How to present leadership, service, and character authentically - The patterns admissions see across successful applicants - The common positioning mistakes I correct in 1:1 sessions - How to align your essays with BYU’s mission and values

Real MBB + Big Tech Resume: Bain AC to LinkedIn Strategy & Operations

This is a real resume from someone who successfully recruited into Bain & Company out of a Big 10 non-target school and subsequently landed a Strategy and Operations role at LinkedIn. It is not a template or a fabricated example. It is the exact resume used to secure these offers, formatted and structured the way MBB recruiters expect to see. Use it to understand how to frame internships and experiences with quantifiable impact, how to structure bullet points that signal analytical ability, how to present a non-linear background in a way that reads as an asset rather than a liability, and what a clean, one-page consulting resume actually looks like in practice. Whether you are preparing your application for MBB firms or targeting Big Tech strategy roles, this resource gives you a concrete, real-world benchmark to pressure test your own resume against.

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

How to Create A Competitive College Application

​College admissions are more competitive than ever, and standing out requires more than just good grades and test scores. In this session, Kirsten S. (Admissions Committee @ Princeton), William F. (Director of Graduate Admissions @ UPenn), and Skyler A. (Assistant Director of Admissions @ Northwestern) will break down how to craft a cohesive, authentic application that highlights your unique strengths and story. ​You’ll learn how to approach your essays, choose the right recommenders, showcase your extracurriculars, and tie everything together into a compelling narrative that resonates with admissions officers. Whether you’re just getting started or finalizing your materials, this event will give you practical strategies and insider insights to put forward your strongest possible college application.

Extracurricular List 2: Example & Analysis

A detailed breakdown and analysis of a successful extracurricular list, with tips for showcasing your leadership and impact.

Application Power Hour: Standout Resume, Essay, & Recommendation Tips

Applying to college or graduate school can feel overwhelming - but with the right approach, you can make every part of your application shine. In this power-packed hour, you’ll learn how to: - Build a resume that shows who you are and what you’ve accomplished. - Write an essay that’s authentic and memorable. - Secure letters of recommendation that strengthen your story. Whether you’re just getting started or polishing your final draft, this session will give you the tools and confidence to submit your strongest application.