Top Tier AdmissionsA former Admissions and Financial Aid Officer for Harvard University, Kristen brings over 20 years of experience working in higher education. Kristen has a PhD in Education with a concentration in Higher Education, an M.S. in Business Management, and a B.A. in English. Her PhD dissertation won the International Susan B. Anthony Institute Dissertation Award. In her role at Harvard, Kristen oversaw admissions for 17 departments and was also responsible for distributing funding from the National Science Foundation Fellowships Program and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Student Research Fellowship Program. Kristen previously worked as a substitute K-12 teacher, as adjunct faculty at three universities in MA and NY, and as an educational researcher. Kristen recently published a book (Information Age Publishing) on faculty and tenure in academia which Stanford University Libraries featured on their recommended "Gender and Education Books" list. Kristen has written for Entrepreneur Magazine and published in journals such as the Journal of Critical Scholarship on Higher Education and Student Affairs and the American Association of Behavioral and Social Sciences Journal. Kristen has also been featured in and interviewed for publications such as U.S. News & World Report, the Washington Examiner, Yahoo News, and Business Insider.
By: Dr. Kristen Willmott The impact of the coronavirus is one we are actively following for our students past, present and future. So far, we have had high school students with cancelled spring break immersion programs, college tours and campus visits like those at MIT, admit weekends like those at Harvard, summer programs, study abroad […]
By: Dr. Kristen Willmott We are often asked “How can I fix my undergrad GPA?” by those considering grad school admissions consulting. How low is too low? What’s the cut off and why don’t more programs publish that? How holistic is a “holistic graduate admissions review?” How does a 3.2 or 3.4 happen? It’s more […]
By: Dr. Kristen Willmott As we dive into the new year, many graduate school applicants are putting the finishing touches on their Master’s, MBA, PhD and law school applications. In recent years, more and more applicants we’ve worked with have noted that the faculty members and supervisors they’ve asked letters of recommendation for have said […]
Post by: Dr. Kristen Willmott The importance of self-monitored blood pressure as a behavioral strategy; an exploration of Toxoplasma on the path to curing parasitic infections; how to pinpoint aspects of early warning signs before an eating disorder surfaces; the molecular changes that occur when stem cells are exposed to high levels of an acid […]
By: Dr. Kristen Willmott Grad school applicants are well into the graduate school admissions process and we are assisting with personal statement brainstorming, resume and CV edits, exploring publishing opportunities, and pinpointing which writing samples to submit to grad school programs. Before you go too far into the grad school admissions process, review the websites of […]
Calling All Juniors!
Your August Edge Starts Here:
Application Boot Camp®
Complete your Common App and supplemental essays, build a school list aligned to your profile, and develop a clear admissions strategy—guided by the Top Tier Admissions team. In our 22 years running Boot Camp, our counselors have helped thousands of students earn admission to the country’s most selective colleges.