Matthew Aldridge

Hello and welcome! I'm Matthew Aldridge, based in Nara, Japan, and I've worked with many hundreds of clients, both individuals and organizations based in Japan and overseas, providing total support for all forms of English communication.

Are you seeking help with any of the following...?

• Applying to international academic programs: MBA/EMBA, LLM, graduate school, university
• Preparing for a job interview, presentation, or meeting in English.
• Preparing English-language content for a website, book, or other publication.
• Studying for TOEFL, TOEIC, GMAT, GRE, or other English language tests.
• Writing academic papers, reports, or business correspondence in English.

You've come to the right place! I work only on a one-to-one basis with each client, and can offer a highly customized, personalized service

Two concepts central to the way I operate are “flexibility” and “partnership”. I can offer any service you need related to English communication: from help with a specific one-time-only project to a long-term relationship covering all your English-related business or academic needs. I can tailor my assistance to suit your situation, from providing intensive coaching and guidance to simply offering an objective “second opinion”. I can offer a fully complementary service – a collaboration between you and me – or I can step in to provide everything you need from start to finish.

Applications to MBA, LLM, and other graduate school programs and scholarships

Application Strategy & Counseling ・ Editing & Support for Application Essays, Personal Statements, and CV/Resume ・ Interview Coaching & Practice

I have experience of working with applicants and applications for hundreds of academic institutions around the world. I do not choose to work only with those clients who are applying to "elite" institutions, but am willing to help anyone and everyone, regardless of their background or the schools they are applying to.

I have worked closely with people from leading firms and organizations representing almost every industry, individuals representing small family businesses or local firms, as well as the self-employed and unemployed. Everybody, whatever their background, has the potential to present a strong and persuasive case for admission to leading schools and academic programs around the world.

Depending on their individual needs and schedule, I work one-on-one with the applicant to shape their application strategy, plan and revise their essays and resume, and coach them for interviews, ultimately leading to successful admission.

Check out some of my clients' recent successes...

Professional English Services

Customized Private Lessons

Career Change Preparation (job applications & interview training) ・ Language Tests ・ Writing ・ Presentations, etc.

Editing / Proofreading

On-demand editing services for anything from academic reports and research papers to presentation materials and articles for publication. I have edited articles for publication in outlets ranging from national newspapers such as The Japan Times to international specialty journals such as The Lancet, as well as materials for use in the pharmaceutical, financial, investment and other industries.

Website content / Commercial literature

Clients have included NPOs and NGOs, a venture capital fund, a management consulting venture, a wine producer, and a food importer.

To learn more about these services or take the next step, e-mail me with any questions or requests.

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Pricing

No excessive "package" fees. Only pay for the service you need and use.

Online
(select your choice of platform: Meet / Teams / Zoom, etc.)
JPY 15,000 / 50-minute session

In Person
(only by arrangement in the Kansai area)
JPY 20,000 / hour

Offline work
JPY 10,000 / hour

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Successes for MBA, EMBA, and Finance programs starting in late 2026 / early 2027

• Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper)
• Columbia Business School x 4
• Cornell University (Johnson)
• Duke University (Fuqua)
• Esade x 5
• Harvard Business School
• HEC Paris x 7
• IE x 8
  
• IESE x 3
• IMD
• Imperial College Business School
• INSEAD x 2
• Johns Hopkins University (Carey)
• London Business School x 4
  
• Michigan State University (Broad)
• MIT (Sloan) x 7
• National University of Singapore x 3
• New York University (Stern) x 3
• Northwestern University (Kellogg) x 2
• Stanford Graduate School of Business
• University of California, Berkeley (Haas)
• University of California, Los Angeles (Anderson) x 2
• University of California, San Diego (Rady)
• University of Cambridge (Judge) x 6
• University of Chicago (Booth) x 5
• University of Michigan (Ross) x 3
• University of Oxford (Saïd) x 6
• University of Texas at Austin (McCombs) x 2
• Yale School of Management

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Adding up the numbers - Successes over the past 15+ years...

U.S. MBA / EMBA programs

Stanford Graduate School of Business MBA/MSx x 34 ・Harvard Business School x 33 ・University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) x 31 ・University of California, Berkeley (Haas) x 37 ・MIT Sloan MBA/Sloan Fellows Program x 71 ・Columbia Business School x 65 ・University of Chicago (Booth) x 48 ・Northwestern University (Kellogg) x 52 ・Dartmouth College (Tuck) x 22 ・Yale School of Management x 30 ・New York University (Stern) x 17 ・University of Michigan (Ross) x 66 ・Duke University (Fuqua) x 27 ・University of Virginia (Darden) x 17 ・Cornell University (Johnson) x 10 ・Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper) x 38 ・UCLA (Anderson) x 43 ・University of Texas at Austin (McCombs) x 28 ・University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler) x 45 ・Georgetown University (McDonough) x 9 ・Emory University (Goizueta) x 52 ・University of Indiana (Kelley) x 25 ・University of Southern California (Marshall) MBA/IBEAR x 46 ・Washington University in St. Louis (Olin) x 23 ・Babson College (Olin) x 27 ・Vanderbilt University (Owen) x 21... and many more

European MBA / EMBA programs

INSEAD x 78 ・London Business School x 109 ・IESE x 130 ・IMD x 23 ・University of Cambridge (Judge) x 94 ・University of Oxford (Saïd) x 49 ・HEC Paris x 109 ・IE x 139 ・Esade x 96 ・Manchester Business School x 34 ・Imperial College Business School x 6 ・Rotterdam School of Management x 11... and many more

Asian MBA / EMBA programs

National University of Singapore x 58 ・ Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (HKUST) x 19 ・ Nanyang Technological University x 11 ・ The University of Hong Kong (HKU) x 8 ・ China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) x 4 ・ Hitotsubashi ICS x 6 ・ University of Tsukuba MBA in International Business x 4... and many more

Finance programs

London Business School Masters in Finance (MiF) x 16 ・University of Cambridge (Judge) Master of Finance (MFin) x 5 ・Princeton University Master in Finance x 2

Postgraduate programs

Harvard University Graduate School of Education ・Stanford University Graduate School of Education ・Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health ・Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs ・Columbia University Teachers College ・Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations ・London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) ・Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy ・University College London ・University of California, Berkeley School of Information... and many more

plus

Fulbright Program Scholarships x 12

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More about me

Living with my family in beautiful, historical Nara, I use my expertise to support individuals and organizations in Japan and elsewhere who seek to reach out to the wider global community.

With over 30 years in the English communication industry – as teacher, trainer, writer, editor, translator, manager, and counselor – I can offer the most effective communication advice, service, or strategy to match the needs of each client.

With 30 of those years spent in Japan, I understand both the specific problems many Japanese have with the English language, and also how to explain and describe in English the often unique cultural and social aspects of Japan that often get "lost in translation".

A strong believer in a "Simple is Best!" approach to communication, I'm frequently told by clients that I offer the clearest, easiest-to-understand instruction and advice they have ever received.

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What my clients say...

I enjoyed your lesson very much and will definitely recommend your service to other applicants. Please kindly keep helping applicants who are aspiring to study abroad (especially self-sponsored). Your service really helps those self-sponsored applicants because your service is reasonable neverthless the quality is much better than any other services. Please kindly keep contributing to the globalization of Japanese business men! S.A.さん

You gave me not only the technique for the interview but also the confidence. Indeed, I enjoyed the interview and I believe that's one reason why I was accepted. Y.N.さん

Thank you very much for your support. Your interview training was great, and although you may be more famous for doing interview training in the MBA world, I think that your essay editing was also superb. I made the right choice in approaching you initially for a second opinion. N.M.さん

I received an offer from the school this morning. I would like to say a special thank you for your help. I couldn't give a good impression to the Professor and members who were in charge of deciding which students to admit to the school without your help. M.U.さん

Thank you for your great help and advice. I strongly agree with your argument. I think my essays are all completed. Now I'm sure it was correct that I asked YOU to revise my essays. I think you did more than what I expected a school to do. T.S.さん

My essays changed to very good ones after your revisions. I believe you are one of the greatest essay editors, so in the future you can be independent to support applicants by giving lessons for interview and essays. In your interview lessons, applicants have to share information that is not described in the application essays. I think now there is no school or teacher who supports making essays by first trying to know the applicants' informal information through interview lessons. H.F.さん

I have to mention this now. Frankly speaking, I believe your work and dedication should be more highly evaluated. In fact, although there are thousands of MBA counselors in Tokyo, I asked you to become my counselor. Even in the capital Tokyo, it is extremely difficult to find really first-rate and dedicated counselors. You are the real, very rare "first-rate" counselor, I believe. Please, please, please, don't lose your passion for your job. Your job is respectable and very elevated because your job determines your clients' future lives. I believe your son will be proud of your job; if he cannot understand it, I'll tell him. Many counselors lose their passion for and dedication to their job but instead increase their passion for and dedication to "money." I hope my success will contribute significantly to your independence and success. Please be as you are now, Mr. Aldridge, my mentor. T.K.さん

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