Jack’s Story: Jack began the Top Tier Admissions Private Counseling program in 8th grade. He attended a large public high school in an urban area and was ranked in the top 5% of his class. Top Tier Admissions helped him identify and deepen his interests in biology and environmental research. By the time he applied to college, he had worked with a college professor to publish a literature review article on advances in cancer treatments. He also won a national STEM challenge and secured a patent for an innovative water filtration system. Jack pursued diversity initiatives in his community with TTA’s encouragement, linking up with a professional sports team in his city to foster inclusivity within the fanbase. Jack had an ACT score of 36, five AP scores of 5, and decided to attend Yale University.

Mary’s Story: Mary went to a prestigious New England boarding school and began working with Top Tier Admissions sophomore year. She scored a 1590 on the SAT and had two AP scores, both 5s. With the guidance of the Private Counseling program, Mary pursued her interest in politics and activism to become a high-impact applicant. By the time she applied to Yale, she had completed research on women politicians of color, served as an intern for a high-profile senator, pursued grassroots advocacy on voter registration and outreach, and held leadership positions at her school. She also launched her own initiative to advocate for immigrants in her community. Mary is attending Yale University.

Charlie’s Story: As a rising senior, Charlie attended Application Boot Camp, where he completed his college essays and refined his application strategy. Charlie went to high school in Texas and earned a 36 on the ACT. He was in the top 10% of his graduating class and an AP Scholar with Distinction. With the help of Top Tier Admissions, Charlie leveraged his interest in Native American art and his community activism as a bilingual elections clerk to craft stand-out essays and a compelling application package. Charlie was accepted to Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Columbia, UPenn (Wharton), and Stanford.

Peter’s Story: Peter attended a small private school in a rural community. He had a perfect ACT score (36) and one AP score (4). Peter’s school did not calculate weighted GPA or class rank and offered only a few APs. At Application Boot Camp, the Top Tier Admissions team helped him identify an academic niche in environmental policy, create compelling application materials, and finalize an application strategy. Connecting his academic niche with his mountain town community created an authentic and compelling narrative thread. Peter was accepted Early Action to Yale University, his first-choice school.

Uma’s Story: Uma began working with Top Tier Admissions as a senior in college, with the goal to apply to international education MA programs throughout the U.S. By working with the Top Tier Admissions Private Counseling Graduate School program, she was able to pinpoint a specific discipline. To boost evidence of her passion for international education, TTA helped Uma identify productive Distance Learning courses through Harvard Extension School and solidify her research foundation. TTA also affiliations, conferences and resources in her targeted field. During the application process, TTA assisted with brainstorming and editing of essays and applications for five graduate programs and held mock interviews. Uma was accepted to her first choice program at Harvard, as well as Columbia and UPenn.

Sophie’s Story: After being denied by Yale in Single Choice Early Action, Sophie took advantage of the Top Tier Admissions Application Deferral/Denial Analysis Program to transform her application package and celebrate Regular Decision acceptances from Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Johns Hopkins, and Williams. Sophie was an A/A+ student from the greater Philadelphia area with 6 APs – all 4s and 5s, 760/790 SAT, and advanced coursework in math and science. Her extracurricular accomplishments were significant, including published scientific research and high-level art and music. However, her original application materials had not highlighted these strengths in the ways that would resonate with admissions officers. The TTA program provided her with a frank and constructive assessment of her original application, along with a detailed list of many specific improvements that she could act on quickly before the Regular Decision deadlines.

Max’s Story: Max, a prospective pre-med student and Eagle Scout, contacted Top Tier Admissions the day after being deferred from Northwestern in Early Decision. Our Deferral Analysis Program plus 10 hours of Essay Guidance allowed Max to better emphasize his strengths and take advantage of the Early Decision 2 application round. 790/800 SAT, 8 APs, and was a straight-A student in the top 6% of his large Texas class of 600+ students. However, our analysis of Max’s application identified many key places where his inexperience with this process led him to make poor application decisions, including careless typos, a cliché main essay topic. Implementing our suggestions and rewriting essays allowed Max to pursue his pre-med dreams at WashU, a top research institution.