Raja A.
Former Stanford Admissions officer coaching MA degree clients
Studied at Stanford University
Worked at Stanford University Graduate School of Business
Available tomorrow at 10:00 PM UTC
I am not taking on hourly clients right now but I am offering a package to do final application reviews for Round 1 and Round 2 MBA and MA clients. Clients must reach out to check about availability. This service is typically available the month before application submission.
Questions? Start chatting with this coach before you get started.
Raja’s Master’s Programs Qualifications
Coaches professionally
100+ people coached for Master’s Programs
Open to working with clients outside the U.S.
I am a former Stanford and Berkeley MBA admissions officer and as part of my role, I had the privilege of reading joint degree essays for a myriad of programs. Over the past 7 years I have helped clients interested in Master's programs in engineering, environmental sustainability, nursing, public policy, public health, education and more craft compelling personal statements and statements of purpose that highlight the exceptional strengths they would contribute to their program and their motivation for pursuing their intended degree.
Raja can help with:
Editing
Essays
Resume
About Raja
I have spent my career identifying, understanding and articulating how individuals across industries make an impact at work and in their communities. As an Assistant Director in the MBA admissions office at Stanford Graduate School of Business and an Associate Director for UC Berkeley Haas School of Business I evaluated applicants for admissions, trained new hires on identifying high potential leaders, led interviews and supported initiatives to increase the diversity of the applicant pool. I was also an undergraduate admissions counselor at Stanford University in charge of evaluating and admitting candidates from my US territories. Now, as a Director at Bancroft Advising, I help aspiring MBAs and mid-career professionals craft a powerful narrative that highlights their leadership and impact and works with them to communicate their story to different audiences.
Why do I coach?
I coach because I love helping people identify and articulate their greatest strengths and impact. My clients often remark that they have never met anyone who loves their job as much as I do. They are right! I worked in admissions for most of my career and it gave me the opportunity to read incredible stories about people's lives, family, work, ambitions, and understand what made them tick. Over the past 8 years, I have been working 1:1 with clients to deeply understand who they are and to help them tell their own powerful stories. I also love putting my admissions officer hat on and scrutinizing an application and story to ask 'What would the stranger ( the admissions officer) reading this be impressed by or worried about?' This hasn't just helped client gain admissions to great MBA programs (and other Master's) but has given them the confidence to pitch themselves to employers and funders later in their career. Not currently taking hourly clients but check out my packages for receiving a comprehensive application review before you submit your applications.
Work Experience
Director
Bancroft Admissions Advising
October 2014 - Present
Boutique admissions advising focused on MBA/MA candidates
Associate Director MBA Admissions Haas
University of California, Berkeley
2013 - 2014
Assistant Director of MBA Admissions
Stanford University Graduate School of Business
2008 - 2011
I was a core member of the MBA admissions team where I evaluated applications, trained people on the application evaluations process, interviewed candidates and developed the GSB's college to MBA (think 2+2) admissions process.
Admissions Counselor
Stanford University
2007 - 2008
I was a member of undergraduate admissions team responsible for evaluating and admitting applicants from my territories. I also managed the review and admissions of students with exceptional math and computer science skills in conjunction with the Stanford Math faculty. Liaison to the Women's Center on campus.
Raja was also given offers to work at
The University of Chicago
Education
Stanford University
Masters, Policy, Organization and Leadership
2009 - 2010
Wellesley College
BA, Economics
1999 - 2003
Raja was also personally admitted to
Harvard University
Northwestern University