Leland+ for MBA

R1 Is In: Prep for the MBA Interview Before Your Invite Lands [9/28/2026] (Recording)

You submitted Round 1. Booth's interview invitations go out mid-October through early November on a rolling basis, and the turnaround between the invite and the interview is short. Most applicants start preparing the day the invite lands. That is about two weeks too late. I spent a year as an Admissions Fellow at Chicago Booth reading applications, running 60-minute interviews, and writing the evaluation that went back to the admissions team. I know what the evaluator is filling in while you talk. In 30 minutes I'll cover what an MBA interviewer is actually scoring, the three answers worth building before any invite arrives, and the mistake that makes a strong candidate sound rehearsed. Bring your resume. Questions in the last 10 minutes. Useful whether or not you have an invite yet, and whether or not Booth is on your list.

One Week to R1: The 3 Essay Mistakes I Flagged as a Booth Admissions Fellow [9/9/2026] (Recording)

Booth's Round 1 deadline is September 15 and most other R1 deadlines land the same week. The essays I read still have the same three problems. I spent a year as an Admissions Fellow at Chicago Booth reading applications, running 60-minute interviews, and writing the evaluation that went to the committee, so I saw what moved a file forward and what got skimmed. In 30 minutes I'll cover three mistakes. The essay that re-argues the resume. The why-this-school answer anyone could have Googled. The story with no cost in it. Each one with before-and-after language you can apply the same night. Bring a paragraph you're stuck on. I'll take as many as I can in the last 10 minutes. If you're aiming at Round 2, everything here still applies. You just have more time to use it.