Why Mosaic

Sure, it takes grades to get into your dream school. Grades tell an admissions officer that you can do the work. But it doesn’t stop there. Grades are only the first criteria in a process that gets more competitive every year.

Today’s top colleges are searching for students with unique talents and aspirations. They will scour your application for opinions, statements, passions, hopes, dreams and fears. They want to know what you’ll do to make their school a little different. They’re not necessarily looking for the class valedictorian. They’re looking for someone like you.

Unfortunately, many people get lost in the admissions process. It’s intimidating. The essays can be overwhelming. And you can wind up looking at a blank screen, attempting to outguess the admissions officer, trying to be someone you aren’t.

Our Team

Mosaic’s team is comprised of talented, diverse professionals with extensive experience in college admissions, writing, marketing, the arts, and business development. We are storytellers at heart and will help you convey who you really are.

Sarah Tierney

Sarah Tierney founded Mosaic Admissions in 1999 to help high school students and their parents navigate the complex college admissions process. She has over thirty years of experience in college admissions and higher education marketing. She was a member of the Harvard-Radcliffe Club of Chicago Schools Committee for ten years and a member of the Rocky Mountain Harvard Club’s Schools Committee for six years.

As a Schools Committee member, Sarah interviewed and assessed Harvard applicants, working closely with the Harvard College Admissions Office. She also worked as an application reader for Northwestern University’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions, evaluating student applications and making admissions recommendations. Since 2001, Sarah has consulted to the admissions offices of colleges and universities such as the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Virginia, helping them to develop their recruitment strategies and admissions materials.

Before she decided to focus exclusively on college admissions, Sarah served as an Account Executive with the global advertising agency Leo Burnett, and as an Operations Manager with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Later, she was a Senior Account Manager at Creative Communication Associates and an Independent Marketing Consultant at Lipman Hearne, consulting firms that specialize in college marketing and recruitment.

Sarah graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College, where she majored in English and American Literature and Language, while concurrently enrolled at the New England Conservatory of Music, studying bassoon performance. In 1995, she earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, concentrating in marketing, management strategy, and organizational behavior. She began her career as a professional bassoonist, and was one of six musicians in the United States to be named a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts in 1984.

Andrea Ross

Andrea Ross is the author of Edith: The Rogue Rockefeller McCormick and Let the Lions Roar! The Evolution of Brookfield Zoo. Her career has been unconventional, including stints as the Operations Manager of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and as Assistant to the Director of the Chicago Zoological Society. She currently runs the library at the local public school while working on her writing projects. Andrea graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in German Language and Literature. She lives in Elmhurst, Illinois.

Patrick Tierney

Patrick Tierney has over thirty years of diverse professional experience, ranging from putting bombs on target to growing small businesses, including two startups. During his career, he served as president or general manager of small units of larger companies such as Eaton, Danaher, CNH (formerly Case Corporation), and Berkshire Hathaway. Later, as operating partner for a small private equity fund in Denver, he worked with various companies to drive strategic improvements in their businesses and build a legacy for their founders. Before entering the business world, Pat was a flight officer in the US Navy, flying the EA-6B Prowler from the USS Independence and USS Midway during Desert Storm. In addition to his travels with the Navy, his professional experiences have spanned the globe, and include assignments in France, Belgium, Germany, Japan, England and Monaco. Pat speaks fluent French and has studied French, Russian, German, Flemish and Japanese. He received his Bachelor of Science degree with merit from the United States Naval Academy (French minor), pursued graduate studies at the University of Paris on a Cox Fund Scholarship, and received his Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School. Pat lives in Castle Pines, Colorado with his wife, Sarah, and their two sons.

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