Deferred MBA Admissions Experts

I draw on my expertise as a former Harvard Business School MBA Admissions Board member, brand marketer, and Kellogg MBA to help my clients fulfill their MBA dreams. My strength is helping applicants identify what is most distinctive and compelling about their background, and then communicate it in a way that feels both strategic and authentic. My work covers a range of services: school selection and fit assessment, narrative and essay brainstorming, career goal refinement, resume and recommendation guidance, short-answer revisions, interview preparation, post-acceptance decision-making, and ongoing feedback and guidance throughout the MBA application process. I've coached clients across a wide range of industries, backgrounds, and career stages, from experienced professionals to college students pursuing deferred MBA programs. I bring particular expertise in deferred admissions, as I was one of the original founders of the HBS 2+2 Program. I know how daunting the MBA admissions process can feel. My goal is to demystify the process, reduce unnecessary stress, and help guide my clients to discover and achieve their full potential.

With an MBA from the prestigious Haas School of Business and over 10 years of experience as a Senior Admissions Counselor at Stratus Admissions Counseling, I have guided 100+ applicants to success in their MBA journeys. My expertise lies in helping clients develop a personal brand strategy, identify the best programs for their goals, and navigate the entire application process, including mock interviews and waitlist strategy. As a former Alumni Admissions Interviewer at Haas and active AIGAC member, I bring insider knowledge of what top programs are looking for. Let's work together to craft a compelling application that stands out. Reach out to start your path to a top MBA program today!

With MBA Ad Comm experience, I have helped 200+ MBA applicants get into every M7 school and many of the top 25. I graduated from Chicago Booth with high honors, scoring a GMAT of 770 (99th percentile). I have been a top coach on Leland the last two years (since joining) and am ranked in the top 5 best admissions consulting firms on Poets and Quants for 2025. • Chicago Booth Alum, Class of 2020 • MBA Admissions Fellow, interviewing and reviewing the applications and resumes of nearly 100 applicants • Coaching | Advised multiple admits into Chicago Booth, HBS, Wharton, Kellogg, MIT Sloan, Stanford GSB, Yale SOM, and more (10+ Leland reviews), while teaching multiple courses through Leland • GMAT / Test-Taking | Scored 770 (99th percentile), but more importantly I've mastered my ability to help others master the core concepts and identify patterns to boost their score quickly • Interview Training | I'm interview-trained for McKinsey, allowing me to give high-quality mock interviews for MBBs and any MBA program • I have extensive experience working with international applicants and am an expert at helping applicants with gaps in their application or a non-traditional background get admitted. If you're looking for personalized guidance and proven strategies to navigate the MBA admissions process, I'm here to help. Let's connect and discuss how I can support you in getting that acceptance phone call.

MBA COACHING, WRITING EXPERTISE & CAREER • Stanford GSB Alum, Class of 2021 -- see relevant experience sets below: • Coaching | Advised 300+ admits into Stanford GSB, HBS, Wharton, Kellogg, MIT Sloan, INSEAD, Haas, and more (see ~100 Leland reviews), while teaching multiple courses through Leland • Professional Writing | Speechwriting in public policy & political environments, Lead Editor for Nondisclosure (Stanford GSB's magazine) and Managing Editor for the Stanford International Policy Review • GMAT / Test-Taking | Scored in the highest percentile of GMAT test-takers, but more importantly I've honed my ability to help others extrapolate top test-testing strategies in the areas they're weakest • Interview Training | I'm interview-trained for McKinsey, allowing me to give high-quality mock interviews for MBBs and any MBA program • Additional Writing | Crafting op-eds, ghostwriting for major publications, developing a fictional short story collection, policy deep dives, a book on chess applications to life, and application essays of all sorts CAREER • What I'm Doing Now | Based in NYC, building a publication 'Staying Human', working on a stealth, marketplace startup, playing chess profssionally, and advising while a slate of Seed to Series C startups through Elevate LLC • Public Policy | Prior to Stanford, worked on the Policy Team for the Chicago Mayor's Office under Mayor Rahm Emanuel, focusing on 5G infrastructure policy, criminal justice policy, and citywide corporate/economic development deals • McKinsey | Before policy, worked at McKinsey & Co , with casework focused on job training for the formerly incarcerated and workforce development for at-risk youth • PE / VC / Startup Advising | After Stanford, worked in Bain's Private Equity Group on various due diliegences, managed deals with several venture capital firms, and advised multiple startups on growth and go-to-market strategy

Welcome to my profile! With over 20 years of experience in MBA and specialty master's admissions, I have a deep understanding of what it takes to succeed in the competitive application process. As a former admissions advisor at MIT, I have firsthand knowledge of evaluating and interviewing candidates. My role as an MBA Admissions Counselor at Stratus Admissions Counseling has allowed me to coach over 100 candidates on application strategy, school selection, and interview preparation, earning top reviews on Poets&Quants and GMAT Club. My clients have earned over $6.5M in merit scholarships and Forte and Consortium fellowships since 2021. I am passionate about helping you craft a compelling application that stands out. Let's work together to achieve your MBA goals!

With over a decade of experience, I’ve helped candidates break into the world’s most competitive MBA and master’s programs, consistently delivering results across applicant types and industries. My unique qualifications include: ◉ At Harvard Kennedy School, collaborated directly with the Head of Admissions to revamp evaluation processes and led formal knowledge-sharing with other policy programs and M7 MBA programs (e.g., HBS, Wharton, Booth) to align HKS selection standards with leading graduate admissions practices. This revamp gave me unique insights across top MBA programs to understand what they look for in their processes, a cross-school lens not many coaches have been afforded ◉ Leland Top Coach in 2023, 2024, and 2025 (since rankings began), with reviews attesting to strategic, high-touch coaching ◉ 150+ M7 admits and tens of millions in scholarship funding secured across MBA, MPP, and master’s programs ◉ Proven success with traditional (consulting, banking), deferred, joint-degree, international, and non-traditional candidates With deep insight into how top programs evaluate applicants, I specialize in translating client profiles into compelling narratives that highlight leadership, trajectory, and potential. Some big wins include helping an individual with a 3.2 GPA and 145 (Quant GRE) / 158 (Verbal GRE) secure admission to a top 5 MBA with 60% tuition scholarship and negotiating another candidate's M7 waitlist offer to admission with 100% tuition funding. Given my extensive client-facing experience in consulting and investment banking, I am extremely responsive and tailor my approach to fit each client's needs. I am especially helpful to: ◉ applicants from established pre-MBA careers (e.g., consulting, banking) hoping to differentiate themselves in a crowded field ◉ international applicants looking for guidance on the U.S.-specific nuances for MBAs ◉ non-traditional candidates without cookie-cutter GPAs or test scores looking to highlight strengths in other areas ◉ deferred candidates looking to show their future *potential* through storytelling ◉ candidates seeking scholarship funding ◉ underrepresented minorities, especially LGBTQ+ / BIPOC applicants, who want to work with someone with a shared lived experience ◉ joint / concurrent degree applicants ◉ candidates who want to make a great impression during interviews. I take special pride in one of my interviewers saying I was the best-prepared applicant he had seen in 10 years :) ◉ waitlisted or rejected applicants who want to make a compelling case for their candidacy through informal channels

🏆 Selected as one of the Top 5 Coaches on Leland 🏆 During my time inside the admissions office at Chicago Booth, I learned a hard truth that drives my work today. There is a massive gap between being qualified for an MBA and actually getting admitted. Most of you are qualified for admissions to one of the top business schools in the world. You have the grades and the work experience (or internships, in the case of Deferred appicants). But for the last 17 years, my job has been to help applicants move from the 'qualified' pile to the 'accepted' pile. I do that by helping you strip away the generic business jargon, find your core story, and build a narrative that actually sticks in the memory of an admissions officer. As a member of AIGAC, I’m constantly talking to schools to understand what they are looking for this specific cycle. For MBA applicants, the bar is incredibly high because you are selling potential, not just history. My goal is to help you figure out how to prove that potential.

As a current Harvard Business School student admitted through the 2+2 Deferred Enrollment Program, I have firsthand experience navigating both the deferred and traditional MBA admissions processes. I successfully gained admission to multiple top MBA programs, including my top choice HBS, and understand what it takes to craft a compelling application at every stage. Whether you're applying through a deferred program like HBS 2+2 or Yale Silver Scholars, pursuing a traditional full-time MBA, or exploring a combined degree like an MS/MBA, I can help you develop a differentiated application strategy, refine your essays, and prepare for interviews with confidence.

I'm an admit of the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Having read over dozens of essays and resumes from prospective applicants, and drawing from my own successful application journey, I have a deep understanding of what makes a truly stellar application, including the lesser known tips and tricks that one really only picks up from having gone through the process. In my own application to Stanford GSB, and other top schools, I approached every little detail methodically and carefully. I'm committed to supporting your application with this same type of intentionality and thoughtfulness. Your success is my mission. Wherever you are in the process, whatever your background may be, I'm excited to meet you where you're at and serve as a resource for you!

I graduated from Wharton's MBA program and the Harvard Kennedy School's Masters of Public Administration program. I have expertise in dual-degree applicants, candidates with traditional backgrounds looking to differentiate their application, and candidates committed to mission-oriented careers. I have 5 prior years of formally coaching full-time and deferred-applicants with over 75 students accepted to M7 programs. I have deep experience with candidates from traditional backgrounds in finance (IBD + PE + Real Estate), consulting (healthcare + CPG), and social impact looking to advance within their industries & make pivots. I am particularly passionate about linking the seemingly unrelated pieces of candidate's backgrounds into a clear through line. I love meeting the Leland community, so please feel free to schedule an intro call!