Leland+ for College

From Freshman to Senior: Extracurricular Roadmap

A clear, year-by-year guide to help students build a stand out extracurricular profile. Learn what to focus on at each stage of high school -- from exploration to meaningful impact -- so you can make confident decisions and build an extracurricular profile that demonstrates what makes you unique.

How To Step From Participation to Leadership in your Extracurriculars

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

Gap Year: Is It Right for You?

A comprehensive guide to the pros and cons of taking a gap year, with key questions to consider before making your decision.

Extracurricular List 3: Example & Analysis

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

How to Prepare for Interviews

A comprehensive guide to preparing for interviews, with tips on researching the company, practicing common questions, and making a lasting impression.

Stanford Undergraduate Interview Questions

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

The "Why?" Essay

A guide to mastering the "Why this school?" or "Why this major?" essay, with strategies for showcasing genuine interest, specific research, and a compelling connection between you and the institution.

What Not to Include in the Additional Info Essay

Avoid the most common mistakes on the "additional information" essay, including using it as a third personal statement, making excuses for poor grades, or simply repeating information found elsewhere in your application.

How to Craft a Strong Narrative

Learn how to tell your personal story in a compelling and authentic way that captures the attention of admissions officers and makes your application unforgettable.

Mastering the Verbal SAT: Key Techniques for Every Question Type

​Struggling with tricky SAT verbal questions? Want to boost your Reading and Writing scores with proven strategies? In this session, expert coach Jessica F. will walk you through the exact techniques top scorers use to approach every question type with confidence. ​By the end, you’ll have a toolkit of practical strategies to tackle the Verbal SAT section with clarity and confidence—no matter your starting score.

Awards & Honors: Example & Analysis

A detailed breakdown and analysis of a successful awards and honors list, with tips for showcasing your achievements and making a strong impression on admissions committees.

How to Set Better Goals

Learn how to set more effective and achievable goals with a proven framework that will keep you motivated and on track to success.

Informative Essay: UPenn & Caltech Examples

A detailed breakdown and analysis of successful "informative" essays for UPenn and Caltech, with strategies for crafting your own and showcasing your intellectual curiosity.