Stages

College admissions can feel like a high‑stakes project—but for families, it’s really a transition point.

In this episode of Stages, host Emily Grace sits down with Elizabeth “Liz” Stone, CEO of Top Tier Admissions, to reframe the admissions process as something far more meaningful than acceptance letters or rankings. Together, they unpack what selective colleges actually value, where families tend to over‑invest their energy, and how students become memorable rather than merely impressive on paper.

Liz brings a rare dual perspective: deep experience from inside highly selective admissions offices, combined with decades of work helping families navigate an increasingly opaque and stressful process. The result is a thoughtful, clarifying conversation about focus, intention, and preparing young adults for what comes next—well before senior year.

Key Topics & Takeaways

• Why college admissions is not a meritocracy—and why understanding this early reduces stress
• What selective colleges really mean by “intellectual vitality”
• Why “doing more” activities often backfires
• The difference between being impressive on paper and memorable as a person
• How depth, curiosity, and initiative consistently stand out to admissions readers
• What has changed in recent admissions cycles—and what has stayed the same
• How AI is influencing college essays, and why authenticity matters more than ever
• The role parents can play that genuinely helps (and where it backfires)
• How strong recommendations are earned long before they’re written
• A stage‑by‑stage framework from middle school through senior year

Episode Timeline

• 01:42 – Liz Stone’s background and the founding of Top Tier Admissions
• 05:41 – Where families waste energy—and why “doing more” doesn’t help
• 08:24 – Turning familiar activities into distinctive impact (the soccer + mindfulness example)
• 09:49 – What’s changed—and what hasn’t—in college admissions
• 11:51 – What admissions officers consistently look for in successful applicants
• 13:00 – Impressive vs. memorable: what really differentiates students
• 18:46 – A practical, year‑by‑year playbook from middle school through senior year
• 24:59 – Building a grounded, balanced college list
• 32:45 – The most common college essay mistakes
• 35:12 – Where parents can help—and where they should step back
• 39:56 – AI‑assisted essays: what schools are seeing and how students should respond
• 48:24 – The one thing families should remember about this process

About the Guest

Elizabeth “Liz” Stone is the CEO of Top Tier Admissions, a firm dedicated to bringing transparency and strategy to the college admissions process. With experience both inside highly selective admissions offices and alongside families navigating the system, Liz focuses on helping students present authentic, compelling applications—and helping families approach admissions with clarity rather than panic.

About the Host

Emily Grace works with dynamic families as they navigate complex life transitions—balancing opportunity, priorities, and long‑term decision‑making across generations.

In her work, college admissions often appears not as a technical problem to solve, but as a signal: a moment when families benefit from stepping back and thinking more intentionally about independence, responsibility, and readiness for adulthood. Emily frequently helps parents think through a broader pre‑college checklist—not a packing list, but a framework for earned independence, with wealth in the background, not the foreground.

If This Episode Raised Questions for Your Family

That’s often the point.

Many families reach out not because they need help choosing a school, but because they want a calmer, more intentional way to navigate this stage—one that supports both the student in front of them and the adult they’re becoming.

You can find additional resources in the show notes or reach Emily directly at
 [email protected]

Thank You for Listening to Stages

Stages explores the moments that shape families over time—offering perspective, clarity, and practical frameworks for what comes next.

About Stages 
Stages explores the moments that shape families over time - offering perspective, clarity, and practical frameworks for navigating life’s transitions with intention. 

About the Host 
Emily Grace works with dynamic families as they navigate complex life stages, helping parents and individuals step back, clarify priorities, and make thoughtful decisions amid complexity. Her work focuses on long-term readiness, earned independence, and supporting families through transitions where financial resources are present - but not the point.

If this episode prompted reflection or raised questions about a stage you or your family is navigating, you’re welcome to reach Emily at [email protected].

Having personally experienced my father's battle with dementia and supporting my aging mother, recording the latest episode of Stages, on Cognitive Mental Decline, was emotionally intense yet rewarding. 

My conversation with Colleen Jackson from Intent Clinical, a partner of the Grace Team, was a mix of challenging discussions, light moments, valuable insights, and heartfelt emotions. 

We delved into the importance of initiating early conversations with our parents, the advantages of baseline evaluations in midlife, and effective strategies for addressing cognitive decline when it arises. I learned more about the early interventions available that can make a significant difference – a realization that resonated deeply with me as I reflected on my own experiences with my father.

I am deeply grateful to Dr. Jackson for sharing her expertise and insights with me, and by extension, with all of you. 

Whether it's financial planning or safeguarding mental cognition, early preparation can truly make a positive impact.

[email protected] or 212-756-1951

About Stages 
Stages explores the moments that shape families over time - offering perspective, clarity, and practical frameworks for navigating life’s transitions with intention. 

About the Host 
Emily Grace works with dynamic families as they navigate complex life stages, helping parents and individuals step back, clarify priorities, and make thoughtful decisions amid complexity. Her work focuses on long-term readiness, earned independence, and supporting families through transitions where financial resources are present - but not the point.

If this episode prompted reflection or raised questions about a stage you or your family is navigating, you’re welcome to reach Emily at [email protected].

The economic landscape has changed and with it has come a shift as employers have regained the power. Listen in as I speak with Michael Sherman Founder of Graduate to Employment. Michael provides strategies and tips to help today's college students find key jobs and coveted internships.

Call me at 212-756-1951 or email me at [email protected] to learn more about the work that the team and I do to help dynamic families strategize through all the stages of their lives. 

About Stages 
Stages explores the moments that shape families over time - offering perspective, clarity, and practical frameworks for navigating life’s transitions with intention. 

About the Host 
Emily Grace works with dynamic families as they navigate complex life stages, helping parents and individuals step back, clarify priorities, and make thoughtful decisions amid complexity. Her work focuses on long-term readiness, earned independence, and supporting families through transitions where financial resources are present - but not the point.

If this episode prompted reflection or raised questions about a stage you or your family is navigating, you’re welcome to reach Emily at [email protected].

Listen in as I speak with Bernie Frischer, Eminent Latinist, Roman archaeologist, virtual reality technologist, Classics department chair at various US universities, longtime part-time resident of Rome, and overall bigwig at the American Academy in Rome. Bernie is the Founder and CEO of Flyover Zone - an EdTech company that brings ancient Rome to life for both students and travelers alike.

About Stages 
Stages explores the moments that shape families over time - offering perspective, clarity, and practical frameworks for navigating life’s transitions with intention. 

About the Host 
Emily Grace works with dynamic families as they navigate complex life stages, helping parents and individuals step back, clarify priorities, and make thoughtful decisions amid complexity. Her work focuses on long-term readiness, earned independence, and supporting families through transitions where financial resources are present - but not the point.

If this episode prompted reflection or raised questions about a stage you or your family is navigating, you’re welcome to reach Emily at [email protected].

With summer in full swing, siblings are spending increasingly more time together. Thinking about how to manage sibling relationships, especially when they are your children, can be really tricky. You also have to manage your feelings about someone else relationships. Listen as I speak with Mariana Weiss, parenting consultant, on effective strategies to creating a healthy and happy sibling bond.  

About Stages 
Stages explores the moments that shape families over time - offering perspective, clarity, and practical frameworks for navigating life’s transitions with intention. 

About the Host 
Emily Grace works with dynamic families as they navigate complex life stages, helping parents and individuals step back, clarify priorities, and make thoughtful decisions amid complexity. Her work focuses on long-term readiness, earned independence, and supporting families through transitions where financial resources are present - but not the point.

If this episode prompted reflection or raised questions about a stage you or your family is navigating, you’re welcome to reach Emily at [email protected].

Clutter can affect our anxiety levels, sleep, and ability to focus. It can also make us less productive, triggering coping and avoidance strategies that are detrimental to our mind, body, and finances. 
Listen in as I speak with Robin Zaino & Irene Gans of 'Just Organize You' as we unpack the ways to organize, plan, and get moving to clear the clutter from our lives.

About Stages 
Stages explores the moments that shape families over time - offering perspective, clarity, and practical frameworks for navigating life’s transitions with intention. 

About the Host 
Emily Grace works with dynamic families as they navigate complex life stages, helping parents and individuals step back, clarify priorities, and make thoughtful decisions amid complexity. Her work focuses on long-term readiness, earned independence, and supporting families through transitions where financial resources are present - but not the point.

If this episode prompted reflection or raised questions about a stage you or your family is navigating, you’re welcome to reach Emily at [email protected].

Life throws a lot at us and, while there is no magic bullet, creating efficiency can help to break down some boundaries that impede our ability to be present in our day to day lives. Listen as Jeff Boyd, Founder of MTE (More Than Energy), and I discuss how removing the barriers to having fun makes for a life filled with greater happiness and tranquility. Jeff talks about the work and branding that went into creating his product, a wellness shot – boosting your mood and energy, and ultimately leading to more fun.  If I can help ease your financial stress and break down a barrier for you, reach out to me at [email protected]. 

About Stages 
Stages explores the moments that shape families over time - offering perspective, clarity, and practical frameworks for navigating life’s transitions with intention. 

About the Host 
Emily Grace works with dynamic families as they navigate complex life stages, helping parents and individuals step back, clarify priorities, and make thoughtful decisions amid complexity. Her work focuses on long-term readiness, earned independence, and supporting families through transitions where financial resources are present - but not the point.

If this episode prompted reflection or raised questions about a stage you or your family is navigating, you’re welcome to reach Emily at [email protected].

It's a great time to revisit both your financial and fitness plans. Listen as I speak with Anna Kaiser, fitness trainer to the stars and CEO/Founder of Anna Kaiser Studios. Being both a trainer and choreographer, Anna has great advice for how to stay committed to a program and find something that works for you to get your heart pumping at least 30 minutes a day. Both your financial and fitness plans should be about more than getting in shape (money-wise or health wise) reach out to me at [email protected] to discuss.

About Stages 
Stages explores the moments that shape families over time - offering perspective, clarity, and practical frameworks for navigating life’s transitions with intention. 

About the Host 
Emily Grace works with dynamic families as they navigate complex life stages, helping parents and individuals step back, clarify priorities, and make thoughtful decisions amid complexity. Her work focuses on long-term readiness, earned independence, and supporting families through transitions where financial resources are present - but not the point.

If this episode prompted reflection or raised questions about a stage you or your family is navigating, you’re welcome to reach Emily at [email protected].

What does it take to go from hearing ‘no’ to running a successful business? The lessons from Marvina Robinson, Founder and CEO of B. Stuyvesant Champagne, resonate whatever your stage (whether talking about running your business or your life.) Listen in as we hear about creating a brand, competing with the more established institutions, and generating a loyal following. 

Pro tip for making an open bottle of champagne last longer occurs around minute 15 – enjoy!

About Stages 
Stages explores the moments that shape families over time - offering perspective, clarity, and practical frameworks for navigating life’s transitions with intention. 

About the Host 
Emily Grace works with dynamic families as they navigate complex life stages, helping parents and individuals step back, clarify priorities, and make thoughtful decisions amid complexity. Her work focuses on long-term readiness, earned independence, and supporting families through transitions where financial resources are present - but not the point.

If this episode prompted reflection or raised questions about a stage you or your family is navigating, you’re welcome to reach Emily at [email protected].

The question of how to protect children on-line is huge. From cyber bullying and predators to identity theft, the issue is not going away. And, keeping children off of technology doesn’t seem to be the answer. Listen in as I speak with Brian Ebert, Chief Strategy Officer at Hackersjack, about how to address these issues and help our children succeed on-line.




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About Stages 
Stages explores the moments that shape families over time - offering perspective, clarity, and practical frameworks for navigating life’s transitions with intention. 

About the Host 
Emily Grace works with dynamic families as they navigate complex life stages, helping parents and individuals step back, clarify priorities, and make thoughtful decisions amid complexity. Her work focuses on long-term readiness, earned independence, and supporting families through transitions where financial resources are present - but not the point.

If this episode prompted reflection or raised questions about a stage you or your family is navigating, you’re welcome to reach Emily at [email protected].