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.
Seven years ago, I wrote a blog post by the same title that offered a framework for selecting a graduate school admissions consultant. As a former Admissions and Financial Aid Officer at Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, I want to help busy students and working professionals vet their options. I have also […]
The Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) is not just a hill to climb for medical school applicants, it’s a gate keeper. This multiple-choice exam (a perfect score is a 528) haunts thousands of applicants from all over the world every year. Many medical school programs choose not to disclose their average MCAT scores, but a […]
Can holding down a summer job affect your college admissions outcomes? We know admissions officers want to see evidence of personal growth and concrete work experience is one clear way to show this growth in action. In fact, all seven of the Common Application’s 2022-2023 main essay prompts share a common theme. From asking for […]
For students building their target list of top law schools, the “push for prestige” is strong, especially given the competitive job market for aspiring lawyers. We also commonly work with students aiming for “the T-14.” This refers to the top 14 law schools in the U.S., and it’s based on the annual U.S. News & […]
As we launch into the new year, many college students and working professionals are in the throes of planning their next steps. ‘Tis the season! The GRE and GMAT have haunted some and the question of should you or shouldn’t you apply this year has perhaps come up when considering an MBA pathway. It’s a […]
The Senior Year Roadmap
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