I’m Kaneisha Grayson, and I founded this site in 2010 during my last year as an MBA & MPA graduate student at Harvard when I realized I wanted to combine my passions for writing, teaching, mentorship, and entrepreneurship to start my own company.

With my very first business plan and a $10,000 loan reduction fellowship from the Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship from HBS, I launched The Art of Applying and formed this community. Since then, I’ve helped hundreds of applicants from around the world apply to top MBA, MPP, and fellowship programs through my articles, coaching, and workshops.

I look forward to working with you in some way to apply to your dream school. The best way to begin our journey together is by hopping on my mailing list so you can get my weekly newsletter, The Offer. You’ll get a new tip from me each week on what you should be doing to prepare for your MBA, MPP, and fellowship applications—whether you are applying in 3 months or 3 years.

What is The Art of Applying (TAOA)?

The Art of Applying is more than just an admissions consulting firm. The Art of Applying is a community for applicants to top MBA, MPA/MPP, and leadership/management fellowship programs to get support, encouragement, feedback, and guidance during the application process. My mission is to make the graduate school and fellowship application process an experience of self-discovery, self-expression, self-confidence, authenticity, and integrity.

 

TAOA (pronounced “tau-wuh”—like a native Bostonian might say “tower”) can help you in several ways:

• Free advice: The Offer is my weekly newsletter featuring one quick and easy task to help keep you on track as you apply to your dream school. Click here to subscribe. It’s free!
• Private Coaching: 1-on-1 sessions via Skype or phone with TAOA founder Kaneisha Grayson. Learn more here.
• Workshops & Classes: Get guidance for every step of the application process with classes and workshops on various topics related to the admissions process. Take a class.

About the founder, Kaneisha Grayson

Kaneisha Grayson is the Founder of The Art of Applying, a company that provides coaching and community for applicants to top MBA, MPP, and fellowship programs. She has an MBA from Harvard Business School, where she earned Second Year Honors (top 20% of Second Year students). She has an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School, where she was a George Leadership Fellow through the Center for Public Leadership. Kaneisha has a BA in Black Studies from Pomona College where she was awarded Most Influential Senior Woman, Outstanding Senior Thesis in Black Studies, and won an award for a short story she wrote while studying with David Foster Wallace. She spent the year preceding graduate school in Accra, Ghana as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar.

Kaneisha has been a featured speaker at Harvard Business School (twice), Dartmouth College (twice), The Ivy Leadership Summit, Pepperdine Graziadio Business School, and the RISE Conference (Relationship & Information Series for Entrepreneurs), named as the 2013 Must Attend Conference for Entrepreneurs by Forbes. Kaneisha has written for or been featured in outlets such as MBADiversity, Beat the GMAT, MBA Podcaster, and Vault.

Kaneisha is also a self-help author, having recently published a book for college-aged women titled Be Your Own Boyfriend. The book was launched in early 2013 thanks to the contributions of 230 people from around the world who gave over $11,000. Be Your Own Boyfriend has been featured online at ESSENCE and Black Enterprise among others.

Kaneisha lives, works, and eats tacos in her hometown of Austin, Texas.