Leland+ for MBA

Traditional MBA Candidates: Differentiating Yourself

A strategic session for applicants from common pre-MBA backgrounds—like consulting or finance—focused on how to craft a distinctive narrative, highlight unique experiences, and stand out in a competitive pool.

Letter of Recommendation Deadlines Tracker – MBA Applications

A spreadsheet to help applicants organize recommender deadlines across schools, ensuring timely submissions and clear communication throughout the application cycle.

Columbia MBA Example Essays – Music Education, Innovation, and Leadership

Three essays answering Columbia's prompts on “Why an MBA,” “A favorite class,” and “A leader you admire,” blending a passion for music education with social entrepreneurship, teamwork, and creative leadership.

Application Strategies for Non-Traditional Candidates

Learn how to leverage your distinctive background and stand out in the MBA application process!

Template: How to Guide your Recommenders

A comprehensive guide for recommenders to craft impactful MBA letters, focusing on key attributes and application requirements for top business schools.

Admissions Insiders: What Schools are Really Looking For [8/19/2026] (Recording)

Admissions can feel like a black box. What actually moves the needle on your application? How much does the interview matter? Nobody tells you, because the people who know aren't usually the people talking. This panel changes that. Three former MBA admissions officers, the people who used to sit on the other side of the table deciding who got in and who didn't, are coming together to tell you what they actually looked for. Now they coach applicants through this exact process, so they've seen it from both sides: what gets an application noticed, and what gets it rejected. If you're applying to a top MBA program, this is the closest you'll get to sitting in on the room where those decisions get made.

Blank Page to Submitted: Step by Step Guide to Writing Your Personal Statement [8/20/2026] (Recording)

Writing an MBA personal statement can be challenging when you’re trying to turn your experiences and goals into a clear, compelling story. This session is designed for MBA applicants who want practical best practices for writing stronger essays and a better understanding of what makes a personal statement effective. Ben and Allie will walk through key principles for developing your story, structuring your essay, and strengthening your writing, with examples to show what these principles look like in practice. Attending live gives you the opportunity to bring your specific questions, whether you’re starting from a blank page or working through a particular school’s prompt, and get a direct response in the moment. Ben and Allie will share the advice and techniques they use when working with MBA applicants and, where helpful, walk through example essays to show how strong writing decisions come together. If you want practical guidance you can apply to your own essays, it’s worth joining live.

What Applicants Often Miss: Resumes and Letters of Recommendation [8/18/2026] (Recording)

After this session, you'll know how to frame your resume for an MBA application rather than a job application, and how to brief recommenders so their letters actually reinforce your narrative. Most applicants underestimate both: resumes that read like LinkedIn profiles, and recommendation letters that praise effort instead of demonstrating impact. These are two of the most common patterns I see across candidates who stall at the screening stage. Attending live means you can describe your specific background and get a direct answer about what I would flag or fix, which a recording cannot give you. I review MBA applications regularly, and this session reflects how I actually think through these materials when I'm evaluating a real candidate's profile.

10 Must Haves for a Strong MBA Application [8/20/2026] (Recording)

After this session, you will know exactly what separates competitive MBA applications from the ones that fall short. We will cover how to frame your post-MBA goals in a way that feels coherent and specific, how to assess whether your recommenders are actually positioned to advocate for you, and how to evaluate your own candidacy the way an admissions committee would. Attending live means you can ask a direct question about your profile and hear how an experienced coach thinks through a case like yours in real time, context that a recording simply cannot replicate. This coach works with MBA applicants daily and will be sharing the patterns that consistently show up across strong applications, offering a genuine look into how this work gets done.

The MBA Story Sprint: Build a Compelling Admit-Ready Narrative [8/18/2026] (Recording)

This workshop will help MBA applicants move from a fragmented set of stories/experiences to a clear, compelling admissions narrative. We’ll break down how to craft a story that connects your career history, leadership moments, future goals, and “why MBA” into a narrative that feels distinctive, credible, linear, and harmonious. You’ll leave with a practical framework for identifying your strongest themes, avoiding generic essay traps, and building an application that shows not only what you’ve done, but also who you are, how you lead, and where you’re going. My objective for livestream attendees is simple: to equip MBA applicants with a framework to unlock the strongest version of their story, then communicate it with clarity, confidence, and proof. If you are a professional applying to MBA programs in Round 1 or Round 2 (especially if currently in or looking to switch to strategy, finance, consulting, corporate, or operations post-MBA), this event is for you! This is free. It's live. It's 1 hour that will transform your application. Reserve your spot now while seats are available. **** About your Host Jimmy is a Tuck MBA graduate, corporate strategy executive, and former Management Consultant with 13+ years of experience shaping high-stakes presentations and stories for senior executives and boards. As an MBA admissions coach, he helps applicants uncover what makes them distinctive and turn their experiences, goals, and values into a clear, authentic, and compelling application story.

AMA/Office Hours with Former Stanford GSB Admissions Director [7/15/2026] (Recording)

I spent more than 16 years working at Stanford GSB, including five years as Executive Director of the school's Center for Leadership, where I helped revamp the MBA leadership curriculum, and more than a decade as Director of the Stanford MSx Program and Director of Admissions. I taught electives, advised students, strategized with the deans, and read thousands of applications. If business school is your objective, I'm happy to offer any insight I have to the admission process and how to maximize its value proposition.

Hear Straight from Admissions Directors

Want to hear directly from the people who help shape MBA classes? This session offers a unique opportunity to learn how admissions directors evaluate candidates and what stands out in today's competitive application process. Whether you're just beginning your MBA journey or preparing to apply soon, you'll leave with a clearer understanding of what top programs are looking for. Join live for this special MBA Week session, presented in partnership with Poets & Quants, featuring a panel of MBA admissions directors. Bring your questions and gain firsthand insights that can help you approach your applications with greater confidence and clarity.

Wharton Moelis Essays - Financial Inclusion and Community Impact

Essays answering Wharton's prompts on “What do you hope to gain from the MBA?” and “How do you plan to add meaningful value to the Wharton community?” focusing on building a fintech venture to expand credit access to young earners without credit histories.

3 Tips to Calm Test Anxiety

A one-page guide with three science-backed nervous system tools to use before and during a test, plus why each one works. For anyone taking the GMAT, GRE, LSAT, or any high-stakes test who wants fast, practical tools to calm anxiety and think clearly when it counts.

Winning Wharton Essays

Let's face it - Wharton's essay prompts are pretty dry. Check out how a tech consultant applicant nailed them by providing a vision for his career and what he wanted to gain/contribute to Wharton, while still showing personality and explaining what made him unique!

Your GMAT Mistakes Called. Did You Get the Message? [5/20/2026] (Recording)

Ever feel like your GMAT prep isn’t paying off the way it should? You’re putting in the hours, solving question after question—yet your score isn’t reflecting your effort. What’s going wrong? In this interactive webinar, “Your GMAT Mistakes Called. Did You Get the Message?”, expert GMAT coach Jennifer PD will uncover how to learn from your mistakes. From flawed study strategies and timing issues to misreading questions and falling into trap answers, we’ll break down the patterns that silently hold you back. You’ll learn how to identify your personal weak spots, avoid repeating the same errors, and approach the exam with sharper strategy and confidence. Whether you’re just starting your GMAT journey or looking to push your score to the next level, this session will help you turn mistakes into meaningful progress.

Successful Tuck Essays (with career goals)

Successful Dartmouth Tuck essays with career goals section, consultant, non-traditional application, volunteering, nonprofit, startup, family story, personal story, and thoughtful applicant positioning.

Is the MBA Still Worth It? The Real ROI in an AI-Disrupted World [5/13/2026] (Recording)

It’s the most common question in admissions right now. With AI disrupting traditional MBA "on-ramps" in consulting, finance, and tech, many applicants are wondering if they are investing in a degree that the future is outgrowing. After this session, you will understand the new "MBA ROI." This will help you calibrate your story and application for an AI-augmented economy where your human-centric leadership is becoming the most valuable commodity in the market. We will save a large portion of this event to answer your questions.

MBA Application Checklist: A Step-by-Step Strategy Guide

A practical, easy-to-follow MBA application guide designed to help applicants move from uncertainty to a clear admissions strategy. This resource walks through the key decisions behind a strong MBA application, including when to apply, how to choose the right MBA format, how to build a balanced school list, what admissions committees look for, and how to craft a compelling application narrative. Inside, you’ll find a structured MBA application checklist covering standardized tests, school research, essays, recommendation letters, interview preparation, offer evaluation, and key strategic considerations. It is especially useful for career pivoters, international candidates, and applicants who want more clarity before investing time and money into applications. Created by Fabio Rodriguez, IESE MBA, Coach & Professor, this guide is based on the MBA strategy framework shown in the uploaded session deck, including school fit, career outcomes, application process, and admissions positioning.

AI in MBA Admissions: Opportunity, Risk, and Strategy [3/26/2026] (Recording)

AI is quickly changing how applicants research schools, refine essays, and prepare for interviews—but most candidates aren’t sure how to use it strategically without weakening their application. This session is for MBA applicants who want to understand where AI can genuinely strengthen their process and where it can quietly undermine authenticity. You’ll learn practical ways to use AI for brainstorming and feedback, how admissions readers may detect overly AI-generated materials, and how to maintain a strong personal voice while leveraging new tools. Join live to ask your questions about essays, school research, and interview prep in an AI-enabled world. The speaker is a Stanford instructor with experience in both MBA admissions and AI research, and regularly advises applicants navigating these decisions. They’ll share the kinds of frameworks and examples that typically come up in 1:1 strategy conversations with candidates.