Leland+ for MBA

Sample Columbia Business School Essays

Stuck staring at the Columbia essay prompts? See exactly how admitted applicants pulled it off. This collection includes more than twenty complete essay sets covering every recent CBS question. Read across industries, geographies, and career stages to find approaches that resonate with your own story.

Starting Your GRE Journey: An Introduction to the GRE General Test [5/14/2026] (Recording)

Starting your GRE prep can feel overwhelming when you’re not sure what the test actually involves or how to begin. This session is for anyone looking for a clear introduction to the GRE General Test and how to approach it effectively. You’ll learn how the exam is structured, what each section tests, and how to build a study plan that sets you up for steady improvement. Join live to ask questions about your starting point and get guidance on how to approach your prep with more confidence. The speaker is an experienced GRE coach who regularly helps students navigate the early stages of preparation. They’ll share the patterns they see across successful test takers and the foundational strategies typically covered in 1:1 prep sessions.

Consortium Example Essays

These essays helped an ally be admitted to Consortium and to UC Berkeley Haas and UCLA Anderson. They stand out due to the clarity in career goals, specific ways the applicant supported unrepresented groups, and multi-faceted plans for involvement and support in the future.

Successful UCLA Anderson Essays

See how this applicant made the most of Anderson's very short essays, securing admission and a full-ride scholarship!

Haasome (ie. Awesome Haas) Essays

These winning Haas essays show a clear vision of the applicant's career, a plan for how to make the most of her time at Haas, and the self-awareness and personal growth that Haas values. Talking points for the "What Makes You Feel Alive When You're Doing It" video essay are also included.

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.

Crafting an MBA Essay That Actually Stands Out [5/12/2026] (Recording)

FREE LELAND + FOR 1 MONTH FOR ALL LIVE ATTENDEES. Strong MBA essays aren’t just well-written, they clearly communicate who you are and why you belong at a program. This session is for applicants who want to move beyond generic advice and craft essays that genuinely stand out. You’ll learn how to develop a focused personal narrative, avoid common mistakes that dilute your story, and align your essays with what admissions readers are actually looking for. Join live to hear from MBA admissions experts and ask questions about your own essay ideas. The panelists regularly work with applicants on essay development and will share the patterns they see across successful submissions. Expect practical feedback and insights similar to what’s covered in 1:1 coaching conversations.

GMAT Quant Short-Cuts Used by Top-Scorers [5/26/2026] (Recording)

In this session, you will learn how top GMAT scorers approach quantitative problems faster and more accurately by recognizing pattern types before choosing a method. The focus will be on number properties shortcuts that eliminate answer choices early, strategic back-solving for algebra-heavy problems, and how to identify when estimation beats exact calculation on data sufficiency questions. The coach works with GMAT candidates regularly and will be sharing the reasoning process they actually teach, the kind of situational thinking that is hard to absorb from a recording alone.

What AI Can’t Do in MBA Admissions [5/18/2026] (Recording)

Artificial intelligence has transformed how applicants brainstorm, draft, and prepare for business school applications, but the strongest MBA applications still require far more than polished prose. This session will break down where AI can help, where it often hurts, and the critical aspects of strategy, reflection, and storytelling that technology cannot replicate. Attendees will learn why top admissions committees continue to reward authenticity, judgment, and narrative depth, and how to use AI as a tool without allowing it to dilute what makes an application compelling.

Targeting M7 Schools? What It Really Takes [5/20/2026] (Recording)

1YR FREE LELAND+ GIVEAWAY FOR LIVE ATTENDEES ($119 VALUE). After this session, you'll know how to assess whether your profile is genuinely competitive for M7 schools and where the real gaps tend to appear. We'll cover how admissions committees at these programs actually differentiate candidates at the margin, what a strong post-MBA narrative looks like for the most common applicant profiles, and how to decide where to apply given your specific background and goals. Attending live means you can hear how experienced coaches thinks through cases like yours in real time, context a recording simply cannot replicate. These coaches work with M7 applicants daily and will share the patterns that separate candidates who get in from those who fall short at the final round.

How to Write an MBA Goals Essay

A complete framework for writing the goals essay that nearly every MBA program requires. Learn the winning formula, then use fillable tables to map your goals, select supporting past experiences, and connect to opportunities at up to four target schools. At the end, you'll have everything you need to draft a focused goals essay.

MBA Optional Essays - Your Complete Guide

The optional essay is one of the easiest places to hurt your MBA application. This guide shows you when to write one and when to skip it, with a real successful example explaining a low GMAT quant score and a clear framework for addressing extenuating circumstances without overexplaining.

Guide to Negotiating MBA Scholarships

Everything is negotiable, including your MBA scholarship. This guide walks you through the full strategy for increasing your award, from leveraging competing offers to highlighting recent achievements to following up effectively, plus four plug-and-play email templates covering the most common scenarios so you can negotiate with confidence.

Sample MBA Interview Answers

A comprehensive library of sample MBA interview responses across every major question category: leadership, teamwork, problem-solving, communication, self-awareness, resilience, ethics, and adaptability. Each example uses the STAR method to show you exactly how to structure compelling, quantified answers you can adapt with your own experiences.

2026-2027 Columbia Essay Brainstorm

The complete brainstorming workbook for Columbia's 2026-2027 essays. Inside: step-by-step exercises for every prompt, from short answers to Essay 1 goals to Essay 2 collaboration stories to Essay 3 "co-create" arguments, with structured charts to help you organize your stories, research, and outlines before you start drafting.

MBA Application Week Kickoff [6/1/2026] (Recording)

GIVEAWAY DURING EVENT: Join for the chance to win $300 of coaching credit! Starting your MBA applications can feel overwhelming when you’re not sure how to prioritize test prep, school selection, and your overall story. This kickoff session is designed for prospective applicants who want a clear roadmap for the week ahead and a sharper understanding of what top programs are actually looking for. You’ll walk away with a structured plan for tackling your application components, a framework for evaluating your candidacy, and guidance on how to get the most value out of each upcoming session. Attending live gives you the chance to ask questions about your goals and get real-time direction on where to focus first. The speaker works closely with applicants and will share the patterns they see across successful candidates, along with what they look for when evaluating readiness. If you want to start the week with clarity and momentum, it’s worth showing up live.

8 Steps to an MBA App: 5) Why an MBA? Why now? Your contributions?

Applying to business school can feel overwhelming! You have dozens of moving pieces: essays, short answers, video content, resume, recommendations, outreach, research, and more. This workshop is the fifth of a structured 8-part MBA Identity Mapping series designed to take you from fragmented tasks to a clear plan of action. In this session, you will define exactly what you need from an MBA and articulate the value you will bring to an MBA community, making sure you can answer the questions of why an MBA and why now successfully. These sessions walk you step by step through building one fully aligned MBA application. In every workshop, you will be assigned tasks to complete over the next two weeks, keeping you organized and accountable. By the end, you will have strong, authentic essays and a cohesive narrative that runs consistently through your resume, goals, recommendations, school strategy, and interviews. You are absolutely welcome to watch individual videos if you only need focused help on a specific component(s) of your MBA application. This session moves your MBA application forward by clearly defining why you need an MBA now and what you will contribute to your future program: • Identify the specific skills, experiences, and perspectives you need from an MBA. • Clarify the academic, leadership, and experiential gaps your MBA must fill. • Articulate the perspectives, experiences, and strengths you will contribute to your MBA community. • Ensure your application shows both readiness for the MBA and a clear reason for pursuing it now. This is the phase where your goals and identity connect directly to the MBA itself. Instead of simply saying you want an MBA, you will clearly explain why this step is essential for your growth and how your presence will enrich the classroom and community. The MBA Identity Mapping process has guided 100+ applicants into every M7 program, all other top 20 U.S. programs, and leading international programs, including INSEAD, London Business School, IESE, Esade, Oxford, Cambridge, NUS, and more. Clients consistently describe it as transformative because it replaces scattered effort with forward momentum and strategic clarity. If you are ready to clarify exactly how an MBA fits into your journey and demonstrate both readiness and contribution, this is your next step. Message me to receive a copy of the Why an MBA Why Now Worksheet I mentioned in the video!