Are you considering going to graduate school? I am pleased to offer coaching services for prospective graduate students. My services focus on two areas of coaching: decision-making about graduate school and applying to graduate school.

Decision Coaching   Application Coaching

Why work with me as your graduate school coach?

Kyle Inselman I’ve been helping students apply to graduate school since the beginning of my coaching career in 2014. I’ve led “Graduate School 101” workshops for college students to explain the purpose of graduate school and demystify the application process. And, I’ve helped several students successfully apply to master’s and doctoral programs with 1-on-1 application coaching.

Plus, I’ve gone through the graduate school application process myself—a few times over! Working with me as your coach, you’ll know I’ve been in your shoes before and I’ve successfully made it through to tell the tale. I have two master’s degrees and I’m now a PhD student in Industrial-Organizational Psychology.

The path to graduate school isn’t easy, and I know that sometimes it can be downright defeating. I pursued a nontraditional and interdisciplinary path to my PhD program, giving me a unique lens into the challenges that nontraditional applicants can face. I’ve also been following the changing landscape of higher education for over a decade, including the impact of state and federal legislation on access to education. Particularly for LGBTQ+ students, there are serious considerations to take into account that may limit the opportunities available. I’m not going to tell you that your concerns aren’t valid—my goal is to help you weigh these difficult decisions and find a path forward that you feel comfortable with and excited about.

When the going gets tough, I’m not going to tell you to give up or settle. And while I can’t promise that you’ll get into your dream school, I can promise that I will help you weigh the pros and cons of different options and explore the paths available to make your dreams a real possibility.

And if you decide that graduate school isn’t your path after all, I’ll help you with identifying new goals and routes forward to pursue them. Ultimately, my vision and dream for you is that with more information about yourself and your options, you can make a decision that you feel confident about.

Ready to get started?
or book a FREE 20-minute discovery call today!

Decision Coaching

You’ve started thinking about it, but you’re still not sure: is graduate school the right next step in my career? With graduate school decision coaching, I will help you with the process of deciding if, when, and where to apply to graduate school.

Over the course of one or more sessions, we’ll:

  • Start with a birds-eye view to help you articulate why you are interested in pursuing graduate school and what goal it will help you achieve.
  • Break the decision process down into manageable steps tailored to where you’re starting from and the scope of the decision you’re making.
  • Cover what kinds of information you need to gather to make an informed decision.
  • Discuss how to build and leverage a network to call upon for advice throughout the decision-making and application process.
  • Look at the big picture and how to strategize your application process to balance career, academic, and life goals.

Who is decision coaching for?

I focus on the high-level process of decision-making, suitable for clients interested in a range of fields. If one of these sounds like you, decision coaching could be what you’re looking for:

  • You are just starting to consider graduate school and know very little about it. You may not be sure what you would study or what kind of degree you would pursue.
  • You know that graduate school is necessary to pursue your career goals, and you need some help with getting the process started.
  • You feel confident about the decision to pursue graduate school, but you have limitations or barriers that have made it difficult to follow generalized advice.
  • While you have mentors helping you with the details, you also want an outside perspective to help you weigh your options.

Does this sound like you? Let’s chat!
or book a FREE 20-minute discovery call today!

Application Coaching

You’re applying to graduate school and need some help with your CV, personal statement, and other application materials. As with my resume and cover letter reviews, I am pleased to offer educational feedback on CVs and personal statements for graduate school applications in the social sciences.

What application coaching is:

  • Reviews conducted over email include a thorough, line-by-line review of your materials. Typically, I make minor in-text corrections, and provide the bulk of my feedback through suggestions and questions to prompt you toward strengthening your materials.
  • During a phone or video appointment, we’ll discuss strategic choices for showcasing your qualifications and experience, demonstrating your interest, and structuring your personal statement.
  • When your materials are in good shape and you’re actively applying, we can stay in touch to keep you motivated and confident throughout the process: from application, to interviews, to admission.

What application coaching is not:
As a career coach, my role is to help you learn skills that you can confidently use throughout your career. Therefore:

  • I will not write your resume, CV, or other application materials for you.
  • I will not assist with generating application materials via AI. Sometimes AI can play a useful role in revising materials—however, my approach is based in learning new skills by practicing them yourself, and I encourage all clients and students to practice the “long way” on their own before adding AI into their process.

Who is application coaching for?

Graduate application norms and requirements vary greatly across fields of study, and the majority of my experience is with applicants in the social sciences. Therefore, I currently only offer this service for applicants to liberal arts and social science fields.1 This includes areas such as psychology, counseling and social work, communication, political science, cultural studies, and education.

My application coaching services will be most beneficial if one of these sounds like you:

  • You’re creating your first CV or first personal statement
  • You’ve wrestled with resume/CV templates and still can’t get yours to look how you want it
  • You’ve heard conflicting advice about CVs and personal statements and you’re unsure what’s best for your application
  • You’re a nontraditional applicant and need to convert an industry resume into an academic CV

Does this sound like you? Let’s chat!
or book a FREE 20-minute discovery call today!

  1. Please note: I always encourage graduate school applicants to work with a team of advisors and mentors, and I will encourage you to also seek feedback on your materials from faculty mentors in your field once you have a solid draft ready for their input. My role on your team is to help you implement foundational strategies of narrative structure, content tailoring, and formatting. This will give you a solid base for any adjustments recommended by mentors and peers in your specific discipline. ↩