Top of the Class
Hear from Harvard graduates, Olympiad medalists, charity founders, science fair winners, college admission experts and more. We get their practical tips and advice so you can do the same. This podcast is powered by Crimson Education - visit crimsoneducation.org to learn how to apply to the world’s top universities and create your own extraordinary extracurriculars.
- Update frequency
- every 4 days
- Average duration
- 33 minutes
- Episodes
- 123
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2023
Wrapping up 2020! What We Learned from Guests and College Admissions News
With Santa on his way, Top of the Class co-hosts, Jamie and Alex, reflect on what they've learned from the students featured on the show and give some tips for listeners to make the most of 2021.
Jami…
#21 How to Learn 14 Coding Languages and Run a Global Blog
16-year-old Satvik is a massive Marvel fan but it was one of the lesser known characters that took him on a journey that has changed his life.
Jarvis, the artificial intelligence assistant of Tony Sta…
#20 MIT's Student Body President on Authentic College Applications, Leadership and Hope
When Danielle Geathers was elected Student Body President of MIT, she made history by being the first black woman to hold the role since the university was founded in 1861.
But her achievement still s…
#19 Building Companies, Writing Books and getting into Harvard Business School
Kaushal Reddy Ottem has accelerated through school and now he has just been accepted to Harvard Business School for postgraduate studies - even though he just turned 17 and he hasn't yet graduated hi…
#18 Creating a Global Blog About Social Justice and Feminism
Growing up in Hawaii and San Francisco, it was easy to find a group of students to discuss social justice issues with.
But moving back to Japan, Yuko Nagakura started to notice that feminism and socia…
#17 Starting an App Development Company in High School
More and more students are learning to code in high school but how do you take that next step to turn it into a profitable company?
In this episode, co-founder of AppSydney, 15-year-old Nicholas Mihai…
#16 Winning the Google Science Fair and Protecting the Environment
Fionn Ferreira's enthusiasm for chemistry and innovation is only matched by his passion for helping the environment.
When you put these two qualities together along with the chance to win a t-shirt an…
#15 Winning Olympiad Medals and Life at Harvard with Ben Zhang
After seeing thousands of talented students, it takes a lot to impress Crimson Education CEO, Jamie Beaton, but even he admits that Ben Zhang is 'one of the highest achievers I've ever seen.'
Now at H…
#14 Figuring Out Your Post-School Path
"What do you want to be when you grow up?"
We have all got a version of this question and while some may have certainty, many do not. Learning from her own struggles in attempting to answer this quest…
#13 How to Approach Any Application and be an Effective Student Leader
16-year-old Melbourne student, Magnus Mulhall, was surprised after receiving the 'Best Delegate' award at the Harvard Innovation Challenge but he shouldn't be!
Magnus has interests across the board be…
#12 From Idea to Innovation with America's Top Young Scientist for 2019
In 2019, a 14-year-old Kara Fan won the 3M Young Scientist Challenge for her nano-silver liquid bandage. The win gave Kara some great prize money and the title of America's Top Young Scientist.
Now 15…
#11 How to Create a Global E-Learning Platform in High School
While some students may tutor a few friends, Daksh Chuchra has set up a whole e-learning platform. Econocomics started as a resource sharing site which now has a global reach and he's doing it all fo…
#10 Where a Passion for Science Can Lead You
Maha is a 15-year-old from Aurora, Illinois and is a self-proclaimed science nerd. With an interest in organisations that make a difference, Maha is now the Director of Science at ATHENA by Wi-STEM a…
#9 How a 17-year-old is Helping Thousands Fight Phone Addiction
When 17-year-old Gayatri went into lockdown, her phone usage started to skyrocket and her friends were experiencing the same problem. After deleting social media apps or phone usage apps didn't work,…
#8 Former NZ Prime Minister on School, Skills and Careers of the Future
In this special episode, Crimson Education CEO and Top of the Class co-host, Jamie Beaton, sits down with former New Zealand Prime Minister, Sir John Key.
John Key recounts his days in high school, hi…
#7 Creating an International Debating Competition During High School
When COVID-19 lockdowns started to cancel school extracurriculars, many students were at a loss at what to do with their new found free time.
John Hopcroft, 16, was one of these students and after wo…
#6 How to Win the VEX Robotics World Championship and Breaking Glass Ceilings in STEM
In this episode, Jamie chats with 3 x VEX Robotics Champion, Jia Dua. Jia is originally from New Zealand but now studies at Duke University and is a recipient of the full ride Robertson Scholarship.
J…
#5 Winning the Intel Science and Engineering Fair and Conducting Research in School
What do you get when you cross Grey's Anatomy and the Just Dance video game? For 17-year-old Krithik Ramesh, you get an award winning science project that could revolutionise spinal surgery.
In this …
#4 Life After Harvard and Getting Into Y Combinator
Soumil Singh recently graduated from Harvard and now lives in LA to take part in the prestigious Y Combinator start up accelerator.
It's a long way from Soumil's hometown of Hamilton in New Zealand so…
#3 Raising $1.8M for Charity Before High School
When Jack was 9, he had never visited a farm and didn't know any farmers. But when he saw a story on the drought that was devastating Australian farmers, he knew he wanted to make a difference.
Since …