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.
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 […]
If you’ve had a bump in the road during high school, maybe a suspension, honor violation, or other disciplinary action, you’re not alone. For years, most college applications required students to disclose any high school disciplinary history. But that’s changing. Good news: A growing number of colleges no longer ask about a student’s disciplinary record. […]
I have personally toured more than 60 college campuses: first as a prospective student, then as an admissions officer, now as a counselor guiding other families and (most recently) as a parent walking my own child through the process. Each role offers its own lens, and seeing it all converge has been enlightening and sometimes […]
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