Top Tier Admissions
When my daughter was in first grade, her teacher called me in February and left a message: “Your daughter is significantly behind in reading; I recommend that she attend summer school for eight weeks this summer to improve her skills.” As a longtime educator, and a parent of two older children, I was stunned. Why […]
As a former creative writing major and teacher of college English classes, I love working with young writers. Writing, as I have seen firsthand as a Top Tier Admissions Senior Private Counselor, not only allows students to exercise their imagination, but also to challenge expectations, build empathy, and, of course, expand their vocabulary. But when […]
As an astrophotographer, I track the seasons in the sky. Winter brings nebula season, when iconic sights like the Horsehead Nebula and the Cone Nebula take center stage. Spring shifts to galaxy season, with dark skies perfect for capturing the Milky Way and beyond. In admissions, we’re entering our own kind of season: college essay […]
Summer: a time to relax, lay out on the beach, and—return to the classroom? It’s true! Intellectual exploration is not reserved for the school year alone. In fact, admissions officers are increasingly interested in how students are using their summer breaks, recognizing that, for many students, summers represent the largest amount of free time they […]
The role of writing in the high school curriculum has evolved drastically over the last few decades alongside the digital media explosion, the advent of laptops and tablets in the classroom, and the arrival of ChatGPT. Fewer students are hunching over Blue Books, racing to hand-write a five-paragraph essay defending their stance on the leading […]
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.