Get to Know College Admissions Expert, Heidi Steinmetz Lovette

Our mission at Top Tier Admissions is to provide comprehensive support, guidance, and resources to students and families navigating the college admissions process. We prioritize teen mental health and work towards alleviating the stress and pressures associated with this process, empowering students to make informed decisions, nurturing their authentic love of learning, and encouraging academic achievement.

How do you bring your experience working as Assistant Director of Admissions at Cornell University to your private counseling students?

At Cornell I made admissions decisions on almost 10,000 applicants, so I’ve seen firsthand what it takes to stand out among thousands of applicants. Admissions decisions may seem somewhat capricious, but at the same time – at least in my experience – they are far from random: whenever I did the final review of the applications in my admit pile versus my waitlist pile, I could always point to a specific rationale why each applicant ended up where they did. As a former editor, I often wished I could reach out to applicants to give them feedback like “tell me more about this experience – it’s the most interesting part!” Now that I’m working with students before they submit their applications, I can give them that kind of advice while it is useful. My experience at Cornell thereby refined my ability to help students present themselves in ways that reflect their experiences and attributes authentically and strategically, so that admissions officers can see how they will contribute to and thrive at their institution. And of course, working with just a handful of students now, getting to know them deeply, and being 100% devoted to their success is much more rewarding than reading thousands of applications and never getting to meet most of the students who wrote those essays.

Based on your many years of engagement with prospective applicants and their families as an admissions officer, what would you say are the biggest misconceptions about the college admissions process?

That an A/A- average is impressive. There has been a lot of grade (and score) inflation since today’s parents of high schoolers were in school, so there is often a misperception about how well their children are doing relative to the much more competitive environment their students face in the current admissions landscape.
That the high threshold of “what it takes” is only for the Ivy+ schools. Parents often mention that their student isn’t “aiming for Harvard or an Ivy, just a good school.” Yet the threshold of what it takes to get into the broader set of top 100 schools many students aim for is not as far off as most imagine.
That admissions is a game and that there is a magic bullet or simple gimmick for success, or a specific profile or combination of activities that admissions officers are looking for. Most admissions officers are fundamentally educators who believe in the important of a college education in transforming lives. They are looking for a broad range of students who will each contribute in a different way, usually academically, so there is no pre-determined path to success. Every detail matters in today’s holistic admissions setting and the best strategy is an individualized one where a student highlights their achievements, interests, and talents compellingly, honestly, and cohesively.

How has your career in publishing and communications informed your approach to essay guidance?

You could say that my time in admissions at Dartmouth and Cornell “bookended” my 15 years as a science book acquisitions editor for academic and commercial publishing houses. Working with faculty authors to prepare book proposals and publish their manuscripts is surprisingly similar to the process of helping students apply to college: strategy matters, the stakes are high, you don’t get a chance for a re-do, and the quality of the written presentation determines the ultimate outcome. And of course, the practical experience of editing authors — and now students – to present themselves powerfully and compellingly is another close parallel. One difference is the target audience: in admissions the readership that matters is the admissions officers that will review those materials. Since I’ve been in that role too, I can now help guide students present the experiences that will matter most in the admissions setting.

You attended Dartmouth College for undergrad. What was the highlight of your college years and what do you wish you had known about Dartmouth when you were an applicant?

In some ways I was ahead of current admissions trends – I pursued an academic passion outside of school before that was something that was commonly thought about. In my case, that happened completely naturally as I was a year-long foreign exchange student and then spent the next two summers on archaeological excavations as a way to get back to a place I loved: Italy. I applied in the Early Decision round as I could see that would be an advantage and so I took a “one and done” approach, which in hindsight was risky because I only prepared that one application – and I would have been in trouble if I hadn’t received the “thick envelope” in December. As a Californian, there was a mystique about going “back east” to school, and Dartmouth lived up to much of my vision: cross-country skiing on campus, great study abroad programs, and small discussion-based classes taught by professors instead of graduate students. I was also a double major, which was not nearly as common at the time as it is now.

Above all, I wish I had known how quickly four years goes by. There is so much emphasis on getting into college – no matter what school that is – and most students are less intentionally strategic about taking full advantage of those four undergraduate years. My current life in a college town – Ithaca, NY home to both Cornell University and Ithaca College – is a way for me to stay connected to those vibrant college years and inspiring students.

Want to work with Heidi? Contact us today to reserve your spot.