Why I Coach—Amy Hazen
Amy H., an expert Leland coach and former Wharton staffer, outlines why she chooses to coach and what it means to her.
By Amy H.
Posted June 13, 2025
.When new applicants ask how I got into admissions consulting, I say: “I’ve arrived at the perfect place after walking a somewhat crooked career path.” I spent my undergrad education and early professional life in journalism, with a 5-year stint as a newspaper editor, then took a hard left turn to embark on a 12-year career at Wharton Business School, at the University of Pennsylvania.
As an admissions coach, I’m able to put the skills I’ve learned as both a journalist and admissions official to their best possible use: by helping hopeful applicants gain admissions to their dream business schools. I really do feel like I’ve arrived at the perfect place. And the thing that makes it all worthwhile is sharing in the joy my clients experience as they pursue their MBAs.
The applicants I work with are smart, talented, clever, witty, impassioned, diverse, well-rounded—I could go on and on! I know all this is because my clients and I get close—we’re talking laugh-together, cry-together, sharing-deep-secrets-together close. I’m there for all of their questions, from “Am I a strong candidate for school X?” to “What will the admissions committee think of Y?” to “How can I address perceived weakness Z?” We have fun shaping application strategy, digging deep for meaningful themes, and penning knock-em-off-their-seats essays (yep, I did say “fun!”). And when one of my clients, who I’ve watched shed blood, sweat, and tears, receives that sought-after offer letter … well, there’s nothing quite like it.
Ultimately, my goal as a coach is to do for you what admissions consulting has done for me: to help you uncover your unique skillset, craft your most compelling story, and lay the groundwork for your future—to get you to your “perfect place.” I look forward to embarking on this exciting MBA application journey with you!
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Interested in working together? Click here for my Leland coaching profile.
Written by Amy
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If you're reading my bio, it's likely for a specific reason: the Wharton School is on your list of potential MBA programs! And that's fantastic -- Wharton is absolutely my area of expertise thanks to the 12+ years that I worked there. But since then, I've also spent years as an admissions coach and honed my perspective on the broader landscape of the M7s. I've been fortunate to work with extremely talented applicants to HBS, GSB, and CBS, as well as many of Wharton's other peer schools, and to share in the joy of successful admits to all of these schools. My secret sauce is not only this depth of experience both in higher education and as a coach, but the combination of this plus my time as a professional editor prior to joining Wharton. So that's my value proposition: I'm able to offer firsthand AdComm experience as well as niche expertise with writing, editing, and crafting the perfect narrative.
Amy has helped clients get into organizations like:
Kellogg School of Management (Northwestern)
Darden School of Business (UVA)
Stanford Graduate School of Business
Chicago Booth
Michigan's Ross School of Business
