With a Master's degree in Global Affairs from Tsinghua University as a Schwarzman Scholar, I bring a wealth of experience. Growing up in a small town in South Africa, earning a prestigious international scholarship once felt like a distant dream. After navigating the competitive application processes for the US, UK, and China, I’ve become passionate about mentoring aspiring scholars through the scholarship process. From crafting a strategy to acing interviews, I will support you in reaching your academic ambitions, every step of the way. Having experienced firsthand the complexities and rewards of securing prestigious scholarships, I understand the transformative impact they can have on your life and career. Let’s work together to achieve your dreams.

Hello and welcome! I hold dual Master’s degrees from the University of Oxford—a Master’s in Public Policy and an MBA—as well as a First Class Honours degree in Economics from the University of Cape Town. My academic and professional experiences, including working with organisations like McKinsey & Company and KPMG, have equipped me to guide students through the rigorous admissions processes for competitive graduate programmes. Having personally navigated these challenges and co-founded a student chapter of Effective Altruism, I understand how to craft compelling applications that reflect your unique strengths and aspirations. Whether you’re refining your statement of purpose or building a targeted admissions strategy, I’m here to provide personalised guidance to help you achieve your academic and professional ambitions.

As a Fulbright Scholar, I understand how daunting and competitive the applications for graduate scholarships can appear. Through my experience interacting with the Fulbright committee in the country, I have developed a keen understanding of what these admissions teams are looking for and how to best support students and professionals hoping to acquire these types of grants. I look forward to helping you achieve your scholarship and graduate school goals!

For more than a decade, I oversaw admissions for the Stanford MSx Program, a specialized Master of Science in Management degree at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. In that role, I admitted eleven cohorts of Stanford Sloan Fellows, working in close coordination with MBA Admissions on operational and policy matters. My admissions work took me to more than two dozen countries, I reviewed thousands of GSB applications, conducted hundreds of interviews, and served as academic advisor to students. I learned a lot about what it takes to be admitted, and I learned even more about what it takes to get the most out of graduate school. Crafting a great application is a valuable step to having an exceptional graduate school experience, and not just because it gets you admitted. Applying can and should be a process that prepares you for what comes after--clarifying your rationale, helping you build confidence to tell a compelling, personal story. It should help you articulate the values you hold deeply and the value proposition you offer. Getting into a great program should not be the end in itself, but a step in an broader process of growth and impact. If you work with me, this is part of the perspective I bring. After leaving Stanford, I've had some opportunities to work with boutique admissions consulting firms, but I value the transparency and range of options Leland provides to you, the client. I don't like to work with an client unless I believe I can deliver more value than what it costs. Working with a coach/consultant is like finding a therapist, where chemistry matters, and there may be others that are a better match for what you need (or at least for some of what you need). After an initial consultation, I offer packages that allow us to spend a few hours reviewing your application or plan in detail, where I will draw on my experience to help you identify opportunities to clarify and strengthen your pitch, and possibly challenge assumptions you have, resulting in a clear plan of action. From there, we can better determine if additional engagement would be useful, where we would both commit to deliverables and a timeline if we believe, that by working together, you can succeed in hitting your goals. This might involve targeted assistance with specific components of your application, a more comprehensive effort, or simply helping you identify resources that can best serve you. Good luck! And if you've read this far, maybe let's set up a time to chat.

I am a former PPIA fellow at Princeton's School of Public Affairs and I completed my MPP from the University of Oxford where I was a financial award recipient. I also took courses at Harvard Kennedy School while I was a JD student at Harvard Law School. I have a solid understanding of different policy and public administration programs and strategies for aspiring applicants.

Over the past 5 years, I have helped my peers and coachees get into top public policy programs at the masters and PhD levels, specifically through their essays, resumes, and other application materials. I have a keen eye for editing and am honest and clear with feedback. Additionally, I helped students applying to the Kennedy School through HKS admissions programming.

Hi all! I'm a seasoned product manager with 5 years of operating experience scaling small startups into companies with hundreds of employees. I've founded, gone through acqusitions and recently started dabbling in investing by spending time at leading Venture firms. One of my proudest achievements is attending the Schwarzman Scholars program in Beijing, China. It's a very unique experience that's fully funded but also extremely competitive. If you're interested in applying to Schwarzman Scholars or other MBA-type programs I'm happy to help! How I like to work: 1. Free introductions call and assessment (I will not waste your time if I don't think I can be of value to you). During this time I'll take in your information and give you my candid feedback on how we might be able to work together. 2. Customize an application strategy from Top to Bottom. Since Schwarzman Scholars has a very low interview-intake rate, we'll focus on highlighting your strengths to optimize getting past the application screening process first. During this process I'll be leveraging my own experiences applying as well as knowledge from my classmates. 3. Start sessions!

Welcome to my profile! I believe that personal development leads to professional success. As someone who has successfully earned several scholarships for renowned programs such as the prestigious Schwarzman Scholars Master's program and the Fulbright scholarship, I am excited to support your growth by applying to these programs! I am also an International Coaching Federation (ICF) Associate Certified Coach (ACC) Candidate with formal training to facilitate productive coaching conversations. Let's work together to unlock your potential and craft a strategic path to success!