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.
2025 has been a tumultuous year for U.S. business schools. Still recovering from the disruptions of COVID-19, schools now face campus protests, faculty and staff concerns about funding, and growing uncertainty around international student enrollment and retention. At the same time, the MBA landscape is shifting. Applicants are more ROI-conscious than ever and are increasingly […]
Students often ask me, “What makes a great law school application?” I like to flip the question—because it’s just as important to ask, “What makes a law school great?” At Top Tier Admissions, we guide our students to look beyond prestige and focus on the true value of a law school program—during the application process, […]
Law school applications to nearly 200 law schools nationwide are up 20.5% compared with last year, as the Wall Street Journal reported this month. Each year the American Bar Association releases information on the most recent batch of law students in the U.S. In 2024, the incoming class was ~39,600 students, 4.8% larger than the incoming […]
Today’s top colleges are looking for true scholars, students who can authentically demonstrate they are curious, knowledgeable, problem solvers with a knack for critical thinking. While I wish that all high schools and colleges had a mandatory “introduction to research” class, most do not. That means students are often left to fend for themselves as […]
Back in May 2024, I shared my top strategies for getting into law school and how high school students can start preparing early. Now, with law school application deadlines approaching in February and March, it’s time to dive into one of the most critical elements: crafting a compelling admissions essay. Your law school admissions essay […]
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.