Top Tier AdmissionsShannon is a Senior Private Counselor at Top Tier Admissions with over 25 years of experience in the college admissions field. She has successfully advised students applying to top universities, including the Ivy League, Stanford, and MIT. Shannon previously served as Senior Assistant Director of Admission at Northwestern University and has also held leadership roles at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Chicago Waldorf School. Shannon holds a Master’s in Higher Education Administration from Northwestern and a Bachelor’s in Elementary Education from Penn State.
Having spent time as a graduate student, an admissions officer, and now as a neighbor of Northwestern University (NU), writing to you from my home in Evanston, IL, I’ll admit upfront that I may be a little biased about Wildcat excellence. But it’s not just me. Northwestern’s recent application numbers confirm that plenty of others […]
The College Board has announced that AP scores will begin rolling out on July 6, 2026. If you haven’t already, log in to your account now to test your credentials — the last thing you want is to be locked out when your scores finally appear. Once you’re in, opening that score portal can bring […]
If you spend any time on college admissions forums, you might come away with an incorrect conclusion: “I need an internship to get into a top college.” The truth is more nuanced and, for many students, far more encouraging. An internship isn’t a “golden ticket”; it’s just one option among many to build your extracurricular […]
Summer is a critical time for high-achieving students to strengthen their college applications through meaningful academic enrichment. With so many summer options available, however, it can be difficult to determine which opportunities are truly worthwhile. At Top Tier Admissions, we develop strategic, personalized summer plans for our Private Counseling students that maximize impact and align […]
As college admissions grow more competitive and timelines stretch longer each year, students are increasingly turning to strategic application plans to improve their chances. While the benefits of Early Decision 1 (ED1) are widely known, Early Decision 2 (ED2) remains one of the most underutilized yet powerful tools in the application process. In 2025, ED2 […]
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