“What began as an alternative pathway is quickly becoming a core part of how selective colleges manage demand, shape their classes, and protect their metrics.” As Dr. Liz Doe Stone points out: “In an era of record-low admit rates, the real change isn’t just who gets in — it’s when, and on what terms.”

“In moments of uncertainty, the behavior students watch most closely isn’t what parents say,” Dr. Liz Doe Stone explains. “It’s how parents respond.”

“Helping girls flourish is not about lowering expectations,” Dr. Liz Doe Stone explains. “It’s about building the internal architecture that allows them to sustain ambition without burning out: sustained attention, intrinsic motivation, community-rooted purpose, and the ability to separate performance from identity.”

“The applicants who truly stand out are not the ones who simply did more. They are the ones who went deeper.” As Dr. Liz Doe Stone explains, “A sustained hobby, one pursued consistently over time, signals something admissions committees value deeply: intellectual vitality and voluntary, enduring engagement.”

Dr. Liz Doe Stone observes, “In my work, the families who make the clearest decisions about academics, pacing, and long-term goals are rarely the ones moving fastest. They are the ones who have intentionally created space before acting.”

For National College Week, Dr. Liz Doe Stone shares her smart, practical tips for kicking off the college process with your teenager.

In her recent Forbes article, Dr. Liz Doe Stone reflects on what truly sets students apart: “In an age of acceleration, the students who stand out are not the fastest or the busiest, but the ones who have learned how to stay with a problem, a question, or a line of thought long enough for insight to emerge. For many students, this doesn’t happen in isolation. It emerges through relationships, reflection, and sustained mentorship that helps them understand how they learn, focus, and persist.”

“In an environment where every applicant has strong grades and test scores, what sets you apart is how you use your time when no one is watching,” Dr. Liz Doe Stone advises. “By transforming winter break into a season of learning, service, and reflection, you not only strengthen your application, but also begin building the habits of character and curiosity that Ivy League and other selective colleges value most.”

Maria Laskaris, a college counselor from TopTier Admissions, helps students prepare for and get into schools best suited for their needs, beginning younger than high school age. She agreed that the Supreme Court ruling affects primarily highly selective private institutions, but said the changes would not necessarily change how she advises minority student clients.

“I would make sure that any student I advise is aware of the landscape in which they are applying to college and various policies of the colleges they’re interested in,” she said. “It’s about how you set yourself apart. What do you bring to the table that makes you stand out from other applicants?”

“After months of work and emotional investment, students often experience the deferral not as a pause, but as a setback. Yet deferrals, while discouraging, are not denials,” notes Dr. Liz Doe Stone, adding that “according to emerging research on resilience and adolescent development, they may even become inflection points that strengthen agency, adaptability, and long-term direction.”

“Many families assume a deferral reflects some fatal flaw in the application. In reality, the reasons are far more nuanced, and often have little to do with the student personally,” Dr. Liz Doe Stone points out, elaborating on how “in today’s admissions landscape, deferrals often say more about institutional strategy than about a student’s potential.”

“Selective colleges today are looking for ‘proof of participation.’ They want evidence that an applicant can move from passive learning to active service, from information consumption to contribution.” Dr. Elizabeth Doe Stone emphasizes that “in a world where digital fluency is assumed, analog fluency, the ability to show up, sustain relationships, and make others better, has become the skill that carries the biggest impact.”

“The college process is more than a family milestone; it’s a stress test of gender dynamics and invisible labor. For executive women, it collides with perimenopause, eldercare, and peak career pressure to create burnout conditions that no amount of ‘self-care’ can fix,” explains Dr. Liz Doe Stone. “Recognizing, redistributing, and supporting women through this season is not just about fairness. It’s about the future of leadership itself.”

“Families are expanding their search beyond the Ivies and other hyper-selective schools with single-digit acceptance rates, looking instead to schools that combine academic rigor with an aspirational campus experience,” explains Dr. Liz Doe Stone. “Rankings still matter, but so does something harder to quantify: vibe.”

Experts say the South’s demographic advantage is one key factor — the region won’t hit its peak in high school graduates for another decade — but so are migration trends, rising institutional reputations and lower tuition costs. Together, Kylie Dowling, a senior private counselor with TopTier Admissions, said those forces are positioning Southeastern schools a step ahead of peers elsewhere, reshaping the geography of American higher education at the very moment many predicted contraction.

“At Top Tier, we believe that true impact begins with potential — and this year’s class embodies that more than ever,” said Dr. Liz Doe Stone. “Their dedication to scholarship, service, and integrity stands as a beacon for the future we all hope to build.”

This recognition underscores our mission to guide students toward academic and personal success at the highest levels. 

“Every fall, families navigating the college application process are met with a flood of fresh rankings. But here’s the truth: rankings are powerful cultural artifacts, not roadmaps.” As Dr. Liz Doe Stone explains, “They reflect prestige, metrics, and marketing, but not necessarily what will make your child thrive.”

“This year, a quieter revolution is underway: families are increasingly reframing the process around alignment and values,” observes Dr. Liz Doe Stone. She adds: “Here are seven ways values are reshaping college admissions in 2025.”

“What was once a single personal statement has evolved into a complex portfolio of supplemental essays, each tailored to reflect an individual college’s values and priorities.”  Dr. Liz Doe Stone explains, these essays “offer an important window into the traits and qualities admissions officers most want to see in future students… Look closely, and a clear pattern emerges: the students who stand out are those who can demonstrate five essential traits: curiosity, connection, joy, resilience, and purpose.”

“By the numbers, just about everything seems to be going Vandy’s way. Applications are up… The acceptance rate is down to about 5%. That makes 152-year-old Vanderbilt almost as selective as Yale University — and more selective than Dartmouth College or New York University.” Dr. Liz Doe Stone “calls it a ‘unicorn school,’ with strong academics, a vibrant Greek life and Division 1 sports.”

Town & Country moderated a virtual panel discussion with independent college admissions counselors including Top Tier Admissions CEO, Dr. Liz Doe Stone. The discussion focused on today’s rapidly changing college admissions landscape, and explored the many ways high school students and their families can prepare for the challenges of applying to and selecting a college. 

“Entire disciplines that once defined a university education are now being deemed expendable.” Dr. Liz Doe Stone suggests how “these shifts point to a broader societal transformation: when something once considered foundational (like a liberal arts education or a childhood shaped by books rather than screens) becomes scarce, it doesn’t disappear. It becomes exclusive.”

“More students are turning to tools like ChatGPT to generate their first drafts. Some parents call it smart strategy.” Dr. Liz Doe Stone explains, while “Others quietly wonder: is this ethical? Will colleges know? And more importantly, will my kid learn anything from this process?”

“As a longtime college admissions counselor, I’ve seen students fixate on the wrong details, assuming that a great essay can make up for weak grades, or that a stacked resume can guarantee a spot at a top school. The truth? Admissions officers look to assess four core traits when they read applications.” Dr. Liz Doe Stone relates.

“The most strategic phase of college admissions is just beginning. Whether you’re a rising sophomore plotting your long game or a senior gearing up to hit ‘submit,’ the start of the school year is a critical runway, and how you take off matters.” Dr. Liz Doe Stone shares “…how students can treat the back-to-school season not as a return to routine, but as a launchpad for standing out.”

Dr. Liz Doe Stone explains: “In 2025, a polished college homepage can look like a luxury ad campaign. But behind the curated messaging, universities are sending signals about politics, priorities, and pedagogy. For families navigating an increasingly competitive college admissions landscape, knowing how to read between the lines isn’t just smart—it’s essential.”

“This year, families are weighing more than rankings and acceptance rates,”  Dr. Liz Doe Stone points out. “With elite universities facing federal investigations, many parents, administrators, students, and applicants are asking: How will the political climate affect application decisions, and what kind of campus experience can students expect upon arrival?”

“Dartmouth’s stance of ‘institutional restraint’ is a double-edged sword for prospective students and their families,” says Maria Laskaris. “Some may appreciate the focus on academic freedom and diverse viewpoints, but others will see the new policy as a lack of engagement on critical societal issues.”

“With perceptions about the university tainted, founders and executives at college counseling firms are witnessing the damage firsthand. Dr. Liz Doe Stone, president of Top Tier Admissions, had a student pick Duke over Columbia this year because of concerns over federal funding for research…” 

“They’re such an amazing and crucial opportunity to really shape how admissions officers perceive you beyond just the numbers and the accolades,” says Dr. Liz Doe Stone, president of admissions consulting firm Top Tier Admissions. “Ideally, it can also showcase what excites you, what you love to learn about, your enthusiasm for a particular subject or an experience.”

Mimi Doe of Top Tier Admissions told CNN some students have already reconsidered where to attend, particularly when it comes to enrolling at Columbia University. Columbia has had perhaps the highest profile pro-Palestinian encampments and protests.

At some point, some students who might have chosen Harvard in the past may think about going elsewhere. While the prestige of elite schools like Columbia and Harvard remains strong, the perception that they are awash in political activism has also filtered down, says Dr. Liz Doe Stone, president of Top Tier Admissions, a college-prep consultancy.

How students view online learning at a college level is determined largely by their experiences in high school, says Kristen Willmott, senior private counselor and graduate school admissions director at Top Tier Admissions.
“I tend to find there is very little gray area,” Willmott says. “Students either were very comfortable and love the ability to do classes from home in their pajamas, or they said, ‘Oh my god, that was a nightmare.'”

Already, many students understand that the Columbia they’re getting — and paying as much as $93,417 for annually — is less than the Columbia they were promised. The brand is tainted, and in the Ivy League, every bit of reputation slippage matters. “For parents,” said Dr. Liz Doe Stone, who runs the consultancy Top Tier Admissions, “Columbia used to feel like a safe prestige play. And now it might be a talking point they’d have to explain at a family dinner.”

Maria Laskaris weighs in on how students hoping to gain admission to Ivy-Plus schools should consider targeting institutions where gender preferences tip the scales in their favor.

“People used to think of Northeastern as a community, Boston-oriented school, then a safety school if you’re going to [Boston College] or [Boston University],” said Mimi Doe, chief executive of the college counseling company Top Tier Admission. “Now, good luck getting in, with a single-digit acceptance rate.”

“Keep an open mind and visit the campus,” advises Michele Hernández Bayliss, cofounder of Top Tier Admissions, a private college consulting firm based in Weybridge, Vermont, and Concord, Massachusetts.

Maria Laskaris offers insights on why students have said they wanted to avoid elite colleges in the Northeast and California because of clashes between demonstrators and school administrations over the war in Gaza.

According to Top Tier Admissions, Tulane has a slightly higher acceptance rate for women than men with 15% and 13%, respectively despite receiving 1.7 times the number of women applicants than men.

Dr. Michele Hernández of Top Tier Admissions speaks with Meredith Viera about what it takes to get into college.