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PODCAST

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions

Great Minds Advising

In this podcast series, we break down the complex game that is elite college admissions and the strategies and pitfalls students need to adopt or beware of if they hope to win admission to one of America’s top colleges.“The Game” is hosted by Sam Hassell and brought to you by Great Minds Advising.Sam is a published scientist, having spent four years as a neuroscience researcher at Columbia University. Building upon his experiences in research and academia—as well as over a decade in educational

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All Episodes

21:18

Elite Colleges Don’t Want Well-Rounded Students...

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2025/10/28

Assuming you haven’t been living under a rock since the 90s, you (hopefully) know by now that top colleges no longer want “well-rounded” students. The same old boring applicant admissions officers at top colleges see in droves––the student who plays sports, the violin, is editor of the school newspaper, and class president. The type of profile that makes admissions officers at highly selective colleges fall asleep. But there’s a catch: one part of a student’s candidacy where admissions ...

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53:43

The Math Trap: What Top Colleges Actually Expect

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2025/10/23

In this episode, we upack what top colleges actually expect from your math track. While many students targeting top colleges will have similar course rigor, we introduce a simple “two-slider” model to determine more precisely what math and other course levels are optimal. We consider a particularly difficult case study to further illustrate additional constraints on course selection—such as admissions officers’ strong expectation students complete four years in all core subjects—and candidacy...

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21:29

Why Most Strategy for Top Colleges Is Wrong

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2025/10/21

In this episode, we dismantle the mythology of overrated concepts in admissions counseling such as “demonstrated interest.” We show why most of what students and families are told when it comes to applying to top colleges barely moves the needle and can even hurt a student’s candidacy by diverting attention from higher-priority concerns. We share a simple two-factor analysis for evaluating admissions guidance—particularly for students targeting highly selective institutions—and reveal s...

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24:41

Why “Gifted & Talented” Programs Don’t Stand Out to...

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2025/10/13

Masterclass Registration – Oct 15th @ 7pm ET (Zoom) In this episode, we tackle the question of whether “gifted and talented” programs and designations like Johns Hopkins CTY or Davidson Young Scholar actually matter to top colleges. While these labels may sound impressive, we break down why admissions officers may view them as redundant with other more relevant components of a student’s application and how they can even backfire if framed poorly. Ultimately, we emphasize that students a...

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108:19

The Hidden Odds Game of Elite Admissions

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2025/10/08

Masterclass Registration – Oct 15th @ 7pm ET (Zoom) Elite college admissions isn’t just about “getting to apply to Stanford” or “taking your shot at Penn”—it’s about layering every possible decision and advantage so that when the time comes, you’re not playing a lottery like everyone else. In this episode, we challenge students and families to reverse engineer the process from the perspective of a senior applying to college and understand how just like a savvy poker player or investor, winnin...

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189:58

App Deep Dive: From Hook to ED Strategy

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2025/07/24

In this episode, we analyze the application strategy of a high-achieving student preparing to apply Early Decision in the 2025–26 cycle. We evaluate her academic and extracurricular profile, explore how to elevate her thematic positioning around identity, language, and global impact, and assess which colleges offer the best strategic fit for her ED choice. —— “The Game” is hosted by Sam Hassell and brought to you by Great Minds Advising. Great Minds Advising’s unique, hands-on mentorship pr...

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255:00

App Teardown for Student Targeting Yale & Stanford

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2025/07/15

In this episode, we break down the profile and application of a top student deciding between Yale and Stanford for early action in the upcoming 2025-26 application cycle. We analyze both the strengths and weaknesses in her profile, identify admissions hooks that portray the most compelling view of her resume, and overhaul the initial draft of her application, optimizing critical themes and through-lines while removing potentially costly errors that could jeopardize her chances of admission to...

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160:50

Most Overrated Aspects of College Admissions

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2025/06/10

Much of what students and families worry about or hear in college admissions actually matters less than they might know. In this episode, we expose the most overrated pieces of the process—and traditional guidance—from the importance of leadership, service, and GPA weighting to launching “passion projects” or communicating with admissions officers. —— “The Game” is hosted by Sam Hassell and brought to you by Great Minds Advising. Great Minds Advising’s unique, hands-on mentorship prog...

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31:12

10 Ways To Ruin Your Admission Odds

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2025/05/27

In this episode, we flip the script and walk through the 10 fastest ways to sabotage your college admissions chances—so you can do the opposite. From staying “well-rounded” to avoiding commitment to a hook, we discuss common traps that smart students fall into. We cover why being passive and waiting for permission or perfection when it comes to resume-building are silent application killers—and how trap essay prompts, misaligned majors, or poor testing strategy can sink student candidac...

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135:04

Is Legacy A Backdoor To The Ivy League?

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2025/05/21

In this episode, we answer three listener questions on the following topics: how to best strategically position a pre-law studenthow to take college courses that improve your candidacythe role of legacy in admission to top colleges and early application strategy—— “The Game” is hosted by Sam Hassell and brought to you by Great Minds Advising. Great Minds Advising’s unique, hands-on mentorship program and its deep strategic insight into the application review process have earned the company ...

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84:49

3 Lies Admissions Officers Love to Tell

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2025/05/13

In this episode, we reveal three common pieces of misinformation that admissions officers so often convey to applicants and their families, breeding a false sense of complacency and a dangerously naive view of admissions at top colleges. In particular, we cover: how applications are actually reviewed, with many being discarded long before they are given a “holistic review” as admissions officers purportthe great myth of “test optional,” or that students failing to submit strong scores are not...

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46:05

Exposing Top Private HS Matriculation Records

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2024/11/07

In this episode, we perform a case study analysis on acceptance and matriculation data from one of the top private high schools in the U.S. and a well-known Ivy League “feeder school.” We cover the following:Most Recent Year and 5-Year Ivy League MatriculationsIvy League Acceptance Data for “Unhooked” Students (i.e. non-legacy/donor, recruited athletes, etc)Hooked vs. Unhooked Student Acceptance Rates & GPAsDrawing upon this data, we argue that alluring college track records at many top U...

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341:13

Stanford Application Review

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2024/10/23

In this deep dive episode, we analyze the profile and application of a current high school senior applying to Stanford. We pinpoint many critical strategic mistakes affecting the quality of the student’s presentation across both the Common Application and the Stanford supplements––errors that are very often committed by top academic students in general and students targeting Stanford in particular.“The Game” is hosted by Sam Hassell and brought to you by Great Minds Advising. Web: greatmindsa...

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90:39

“Help With My Vanderbilt Essay!” & Answering Other...

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2024/10/04

In this episode, we return to the popular online forum Reddit to answer college admissions questions from students across the country. In particular, we cover the following topics:Additional Information Section: Good or Bad?Including A Third Teacher or Supplementary RecommendationEarly Action Plans That Prohibit Early Decision To Other CollegesHelp With My Vanderbilt Essay!Strategic Implications Of Parent Colleges & BackgroundsSend Us A Question: info@greatmindsadvising.com“The Game” is h...

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241:05

Application Strategy With HS Senior

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2024/09/24

For the first time, we analyze the profile of a current HS senior targeting three top colleges: WashU, Vanderbilt, & Michigan.While this student possesses a strong academic foundation (perfect GPA in 15 APs, 34/36 ACT, ranked #1 in HS class), he significantly lacks the type of extracurricular profile, depth, and admissions “hook” that will differentiate students targeting highly selective institutions. Given the student is already in the process of applying to colleges and cannot fun...

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126:16

10 Ways To Build An Admissions Hook

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2024/09/06

In this episode, we cover ten primary ways students can build their admissions hooks to differentiate their applications at top colleges, the pros/cons of each activity type, and several highly common activities that tend to contribute minimally to—and even potentially jeopardize—a student’s odds of acceptance.“The Game” is hosted by Sam Hassell and brought to you by Great Minds Advising. https://linktr.ee/greatmindsadvising

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79:38

Episode 16 — Do The PSAT & National Merit Matter?

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2024/08/27

In this episode, we break down the timeline and significance of the PSAT and various National Merit awards that are associated with strong PSAT scores:PSAT for students in grades earlier than 11th (e.g. PSAT 8/9 + PSAT 10)The PSAT/NMSQT exam in 11th gradeScore ranges for juniors who might be in play for National Merit awards connected to their PSAT/NMSQT scoresTimeline for PSAT/NMSQT score returnCalculation of the National Merit “Selection Index” that determines National Merit awardsCommended...

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81:55

Episode 15 — Should You Contact Admissions Officers?

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2024/08/22

In this episode, we dive into the many different types of “demonstrated interest” and the particular case of contacting admissions officers:Why “demonstrated interest” is generally overrated and over-discussed compared to other candidacy-building factors for students targeting highly selective colleges“Strong” vs “weak” demonstrated interest: defining highly strategic forms vs. mere “checkbox” itemsOther types of “quasi-demonstrated interest” or “yield signaling” that can affect admissions od...

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47:00

Episode 14 — Application Red Flags To Avoid

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2024/08/05

Admissions Masterclass Registration (8/7 via Zoom)In this episode, we cover the much more strategic attitude—versus a purely “instructions-following” mindset—students should take into the application process for each and every piece of information admissions officers will view, including components that might seem like pure “data entry.”We highlight negative perceptions and various red flags that can be associated with variables such as (1) parent occupations, (2) students' future plans/caree...

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85:49

Episode 13 — The Truth About Summer Programs

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2024/07/30

Admissions Masterclass Registration (8/7 via Zoom)Think college summer programs are helping your case for admission to highly selective schools?Think again. In this episode, we pull back the curtain on the widely popular—and vastly overrated—college summer programs in which so many high school students enroll and why almost all of them fail to actually impress admissions officers at top colleges.We discuss several critical issues with these programs, including why they are often looked down u...

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