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.
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 […]
Many students, whether still in high school or post-grad, come to Top Tier Admissions with the goal of attending medical school. Each year, over 50,000 students apply, yet only around 40% are accepted. The key to getting into medical school starts with the AMCAS (American Medical College Application Service), a centralized application system managed by […]
The moment you’ve been waiting for is finally here—the start of your college journey. You’ve put the work in, perfected the Common App, written the essays, made your decisions, and here you are… ready to begin your year as a newly minted college freshman. Whether you’ve already moved in or are still busy with last-minute […]
Letters of recommendation play a vital role in a student’s successful college or grad school admissions journey. Small yet mighty, these letters provide insight on a student’s academic strengths and potential contributions to their campus or program. When asked what he’s looking for when reviewing a letter of recommendation as part of graduate admissions at […]
In 2010, a study of U.S. law school matriculants determined that the most influential factors for students deciding to attend law school were a desire for a challenging and rewarding career, academic development and financial security. Today’s law school applicants are different. As U.S. News & World Report noted, the 2022 LSAC matriculant survey showed […]
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