Dione C.

Dione C.

4.9

(43)

96,565 min coaching

GSB & M7 Expert | Top 50 Leland | Essay & Career Coach

Super Coach

Supercoach

Stanford Graduate School of Business Logo

Studied at Stanford Graduate School of Business

Strategic Admissions Consulting Logo

Admissions Committee at Strategic Admissions Consulting

Available Friday at 11:30 PM UTC

Usually responds within 10 hours

Nice to e-meet! I'm a professional, experienced MBA coach and have helped hundreds of individuals gain admission to top MBA programs. I'd love to learn more about you.! Please share your CV and a short intro: - MBA plans (target schools, round #) - Career goals - Where you're at in the application process (e.g. recs, exam, essays) I'm a full-time coach. Please reach out if you can't find a time on my Leland calendar. I look forward to meeting! Best, Dione

Questions? Start chatting with this coach before you get started.

Dione's Coaching Offerings

Custom hourly · $379/hr

Get help with Financial Aid & Scholarships, Editing, and .

Dione is a contributor to Leland+

Access a library of videos, templates, and examples curated by Leland’s top coaches.

Dione’s MBA Qualifications

Coaches professionally

400+ people coached for MBA

Open to working with clients outside the U.S.

Hi! I’m a first-generation college grad, Stanford alumna (MBA, BA Economics & Communication, Phi Beta Kappa) and writing/career coach who has found my calling in helping others to pursue their educational dreams. I provide personalized, knowledgeable, trusted support to diverse US and international students at every step of the admissions process. By working together, you’ll: • Access deep admissions expertise gained from years of direct experience: interviewer, applications reader, Stanford minority admissions advisory representative, pro bono admissions consulting, member of professional educational consulting organizations, quoted by US News. I’ll demystify college admissions and help you to make informed choices. • Create crafting authentic, insightful personal statements that uniquely reflect your background, values, experiences and goals and enable you to stand out. You don’t need to love writing. I’ll help you to identify not only what to communicate, but also how to communicate clearly, concisely and compellingly. • Chart your career vision. Perhaps you’re still considering your career options. I’ll serve as a knowledgeable and supportive sounding board and mentor. • Chart your career vision. Perhaps you’re still considering your career options. I’ll provide a knowledgeable and supportive sounding board and mentor. Together, we’ll identify strategies and actions you can take to achieve your academic and career goals (admissions committees want to know this!). I’ve personally enjoyed diverse, non-traditional work opportunities spanning international business, tech and marketing, strategy and communications at startups, nonprofits and corporations in the US, Europe and Asia. I draw on my experiences and extensive network and bring a “can do,” non-judgmental, strategic approach to helping you to achieve your goals. • Build a customized, balanced list of schools where you can thrive. The question we’ll focus on isn’t whether you’ll get into a great program (trust me, you will!), but rather, how do we identify a short list of schools where you will thrive. I tap deep roots in the Stanford community where I’m an active alumna, pro bono alumni consultant, minority/DEI initiative leader, and class secretary who’s been honored for my volunteer service by Stanford. • Benefit from personalized, responsive support at every step of the application process. I work closely with a limited number of diverse, motivated US and international clients each year. Working together, you will be able to: o Identify strategies and action plans for preparing your strongest candidacy o Write essays that elevate you from being a qualified applicant to a compelling one o Navigate the admission process with less stress and uncertainty and better outcomes

Dione can help with:

Financial Aid & Scholarships

Editing

Recommendations

Interviews

Ding Analysis

Waitlist Strategy

School Selection

Secondary Review

Application Strategy

Essays

Resume

Dione also coaches for College, Chief of Staff, and Career Coaching. View all.

About Dione

ABOUT ME - Professional FT MBA and career coach | Top M7 Programs | Leland Top 50 | Supercoach | Customer Favorite | Writer I'm a full-time, professional coach with nearly 15 years of experience coaching hundreds (!) of highly talented, motivated and diverse MBA and college applicants and professionals to success. Being a trusted, knowledgeable and dedicated admissions and career coach is not a side gig! The first in my family to graduate from college, I earned a BA at Stanford where I double majored in Economics and Communications (with concentrations in journalism and sociology). After graduating with Phi Beta Kappa honors, I held multiple roles (forecasting, communications, President's staff, HR tech) in the telecommunications industry before returning to Stanford GSB for my MBA. I've worn many hat in my career, and benefit from an uncommon mix of experience, having worked with very different organizations (startups, corporations, nonprofits) in multiple capacities (investing, marketing, partner development, communications/writing, strategy, chief of staff, consulting) in the US, Asia and Europe. I continue to be an involved Stanford GSB alumna: class secretary, alumni chapter leader, nonprofit consultant. I've successfully led mentorship and learning & development programs for Stanford GSB students and alumni. A few years ago, was inducted to Stanford's honorary organization for their most valued (top 2%) alumni volunteers. Here's a brief and partial overview of my experience: * Types of companies: startups, nonprofits, Fortune 500 and everything in between * Industry sectors: Finance, tech, consumer products, communications, education, non profit * Roles: international marketing, channel/partner development, business consultant, Chief of Staff, investment analyst, editor, writer, communications (marketing, executive, corporate, product), founder (nonprofit, consumer start up), group facilitator, forecasting/product planning, writer, editor, go-to-market, educator * Worked and lived in: US, Asia, Europe (with regional responsibility including Africa, Middle East) I’ll share practical tools and insights to help you thrive. I am passionate about helping individuals to lean into their strengths and enable others to recognize their unique strengths and life/work experiences.

Why do I coach?

Gaining admission to top programs and pursuing both traditional and non-traditional career paths can be stressful, uncertain and require a significant investment of your time, energy and resources in every way. As a first gen college student, to be honest, I didn't know what I didn't know about identifying and pursuing my goals. Now, I'm lucky to have found my calling in helping others to achieve their educational and career goals. I draw on my professional experience, ongoing community involvements, love for storytelling and the energy and satisfaction that I get from coaching others. I love to travel, read, and continue to learn from and be inspired by a rich network of friends, former classmates and and coaching clients from all walks of life. I draw on the cumulative knowledge and insights of having supported hundreds of applicants. I apply best practices gained from working with 4 top MBA consulting firms, as a Stanford GSB alumni leader, and from evaluating hundreds of college and MBA applications. My approach is strategic, honest, knowledgeable and supportive -- I provide a customized mix of life, career, educational and writing coaching. Every client is different and admissions is competitive, so cookie-cutter methodologies just don't cut it. We work together to put your best foot forward with greater confidence and better results. I'm lucky to have found my calling in helping others to achieve their educational and career goals. I draw on my professional experience, ongoing community involvements, love for storytelling and the energy and satisfation that I get from helping others. I love to travel, read, and continue to learn from and be inspired by a rich network of friends, former classmates and and coaching clients from all walks of life.

Work Experience

Strategic Admissions Consulting Logo

Principal & Sr Admissions Consultant

Strategic Admissions Consulting

June 2012 - Present

Admissions Committee

Principal, Strategic Admissions Consulting Admissions Consultant at 5 top admissions consulting firms Member, professional organizations for educational consultants: HECA, WACAC, AIGAC Stanford admissions experience

Various companies Logo

Consultant, Manager, Founder

Various companies

1990 - 2025

Admissions Committee

Here's a brief and partial overview of my experience: * Types of companies: startups, nonprofits, Fortune 500 and everything in between * Industry sectors: Finance, tech, consumer products, communications, education, non profit * Roles: international marketing, channel/partner development, business consultant, Chief of Staff, investment analyst, editor, writer, communications (marketing, executive, corporate, product), founder (nonprofit, consumer start up), group facilitator, forecasting/product planning, writer, editor, go-to-market, educator * Worked and lived in: US, Asia, Europe (with regional responsibility including Africa, Middle East)

Education

Stanford Graduate School of Business Logo

Stanford Graduate School of Business

MBA

Admissions Advisory Council Member Alumni Chapter leader Co-facilitator - alumni affinity groups Class Secretary Non profit alumni consulting team volunteer Recognized as a Stanford Associate (honorary organization for alumni volunteer service, awarded to top 2%) GSB business case author

Stanford University Logo

Stanford University

BA, Economics, Communication (+ concentrations in sociology, journalism)

First-gen college student Phi Beta Kappa Admissions reader

43 Reviews

Overall Rating

4.9


Knowledge

5.0

Value

4.9

Responsiveness

5.0

Supportiveness

4.9

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Dione C.

Dione C.

4.9

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