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Why We Won’t Assign You a Passion Project

At Top Tier Admissions, we often get asked, “Can you help me choose a passion project?” or “What’s the best capstone for my college applications?” While we understand why students and parents want guidance in this area, we believe it’s important to clarify why we don’t assign passion projects. WHY WE DON’T ASSIGN A PASSION […]

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The Best Summer Programs for High School Students

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 […]

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expert guidance high school students writing

The Value of Writing (and Publishing) in High School

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 […]

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The Case for Humanities Majors

As the number of humanities majors continues to shrink, is there a case to be made for the value of a college degree in, say, English or history? In the 2019-20 academic year, the proportion of bachelor’s degrees awarded in just engineering and computer science (12%) surpassed that of ALL humanities majors (11.7%) for the […]

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Making the Most of Your Spring Break College Campus Visits

Visiting colleges during your high school spring break allows you to see the university in session, filled with students engaged in their activities, and campus culture on full display. While summer can be a more convenient travel time, most colleges are sleepy places during their long annual break when there are fewer students around (or […]

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