26,731Leland Reviews

For context, I am a non-traditional applicant considering grad school after working for 10 years with a lower undergraduate GPA than one would want for highly competitive programs (3.49 overall; 3.8 in major). I scheduled introductory meetings with 5 advisors, one of whom was Kenneth, in order to better understand what work I'll need to do to create a competitive application. Of the 5, Kenneth was the only one who charged a fee for the introductory meeting, which I assumed was an indication of his level of expertise and professionalism. Unfortunately, I was extremely disappointed by his demeanor and coaching ability compared to the other 4 advisors I met with. For example, when discussing my GPA, all the other advisors asked follow-up questions such as "The classes that lowered your GPA related to the program you're applying to?" and "Were there anything extenuating circumstances in your life at that time (medical emergencies, etc.) that can help explain it?", and then suggested concrete actions I could take to help improve my application. Kenneth simply said that my top choices were unlikely and strongly encouraged me to apply elsewhere. When I pressed him further about what I could do now to compensate for my GPA, like taking additional classes for graduate credit or working on research projects, Kenneth said "Look, I'm not a miracle worker." His attitude was that my undergraduate grades are an insurmountable obstacle and also said that he wasn't "like other coaches who will just tell you what you want to hear" - implying that the other coaches on Leland are willing to mislead their clients. I think Kenneth had good intentions and truly believed what he was telling me, but there is a line between being realistic and being unnecessarily discouraging. I don't need to pay someone to tell me that getting into a program will be extremely challenging; I already knew that. There were a few other minor points I found unprofessional - he arrived slightly late and appeared distracted by other things on his computer at points throughout the meeting, especially at the beginning - but it was mainly the "I'm not a miracle worker" comment and the implication about other coaches that I took issue with. I am so grateful that Kenneth is not the only advisor I met with, or else my entire perspective on what is possible might have been severely skewed. My advice to anyone reading this would be to schedule a few introductory meetings with different advisors and carefully consider different perspectives and opinions.

The session was scheduled to start at 6:30 PM, but unfortunately Zul did not show up. I'm not sure if there was a mix-up with the time, but I was really looking forward to it. Hoping to reconnect and reschedule soon!

I chose a 5 hour package to get some help on MBA essays and later on interviews. She made zero effort to know about my personal narrative and story for the essays and provided merely grammatical suggestions for my essays. She also took more than 24 hours to respond to my emails about everything. The worst part while prepping for interviews was that she abruptly cancelled a mock interview session 10 mins before the meeting and provided me with a lame excuse for it, and did not even try to reschedule it. She is not worth the money at all, and if you are looking for someone supportive, knowledgeable and professional, look somewhere else because she is definitely not the way to go!