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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

54:26

The Real Cost of “We Have Plenty of Time” in Elite...

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2026/01/08

Families with younger students often treat building a college candidacy as a long, low-intensity process simply because the deadline is far away. But, in this episode, we explain why this common mindset destroys one of the most precious competitive advantages––and any hope for differentiation among extremely talented applicants––when it comes to earning admission to elite colleges. We argue, instead, that top outcomes don’t come from spreading effort thin over many years but rather from...

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47:42

How “School Fit” May Ruin Your Top College Odds

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2026/01/06

In this episode, we discuss the strategic implications of “school fit” and “college preferences” for students who are specifically aiming for admission to highly selective colleges. When competitiveness and admissions strategy are layered in, many students end up with a highly fragile candidacy and a high risk of striking out on many, if not all, top colleges when their “preferences” end up eliminating too many colleges, especially those that are most viable. Finally, we argue that weaker can...

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43:06

The Top College You May Regret Not Visiting

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2025/12/19

In this episode, we discuss one of the most strategic schools every applicant to top colleges should consider adding to their list and that may make or break their candidacy. —— “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 a nation-leading track record of excellence, with 100% of its students gaining admission...

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24:07

The Logic of Elite College Decisions

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2025/12/17

Why do elite colleges consistently reject “strong” applicants with impressive but scattered resumes? In this episode, we explain the strategic framework admissions officers use when evaluating applications—and why focus has become the dominant signal at top colleges. Drawing on admissions psychology and institutional incentives, we outline five reasons focused applicants outperform well-rounded ones. Finally, we address why not all focus is equally valuable: in oversubscribed areas like engin...

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118:06

Evaluating A Junior’s Profile For Yale

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2025/12/11

In this case study episode, we analyze the profile of a high-achieving junior targeting Yale and other top colleges, with strong grades, near-perfect test scores, and a deep set of extracurriculars spanning environmental conservation, theater, and ethics. Despite an impressive volume of resume activity, however, the student’s profile currently lacks the level of scarcity and scale required to truly compete at the Yale tier. These problems are compounded by further strategic liabilities, such ...

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39:02

Crafting An Elite STEM Hook For 10th Grader

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2025/12/09

In this case study episode, we analyze the profile of a high-achieving 10th grade student targeting top engineering and STEM programs (MIT, Princeton, and Georgia Tech), with strong grades, advanced math/STEM coursework, and some early depth in STEM-relevant activities. Despite a solid foundation, however, the student’s extracurricular profile currently lacks a clear, differentiated through-line, as well as activities and awards that are necessary for benchmarking the level of technical abili...

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83:19

Building An Ivy-Caliber Resume For 10th Grader

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2025/12/04

In this case study episode, we analyze the candidacy of another high-achieving 10th grade student near the top of their class, with 7 AP courses by sophomore year and near-perfect test scores. However, despite their strong metrics, we highlight the biggest constraint in the student’s candidacy: their “hook” and resume-building. We dive deep into the student’s primary passions and academic strengths, including both music and math, and present several strategic paths forward with tactical...

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39:30

Fixing A High-Achieving 10th Grader’s Profile

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2025/12/02

In this case study episode, we break down the profile of an academically high-achieving 10th grader, with excellent “stats”: straight As in highly accelerated and multiple grade-ahead course rigor and a 1550 SAT before beginning sophomore year. Despite this student’s extremely strong metrics, however, their resume significantly lags behind and has the typical characteristics of most rejected profiles at top colleges: a broad number of highly common/cliche activities lacking any clear “hook” o...

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31:33

The 6 Most Cliché Activities In Elite Admissions

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2025/11/25

The most selective colleges do not admit normal applicants; they admit exceptional applicants. And in order to be exceptional, students must first be an exception—or not like their other high-achieving peers, the vast majority of whom will be rejected by top colleges. In this episode, we cover six of the most common and cliché activities—sports, music, and more—that continue to fill the resumes of top college applicants, causing their applications to come across as bland, unremarkable, and ea...

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52:03

5 Resume Mistakes That Kill Top College Dreams

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2025/11/20

Want to have us analyze your current profile for top colleges in an upcoming episode? Email us at info@greatmindsadvising.com Unfortunately, despite possessing excellent grades, course rigor, and test scores, the vast majority of applicants to top colleges lack the type of compelling resume outside the classroom that actually differentiates accepted from rejected students. In this episode, we unveil the costly and potentially candidacy-ending resume mistakes that tend to beset many otherwise ...

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29:08

How Top Colleges Evaluate Your Application Strategy

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2025/11/18

Want to have us analyze your current profile for top colleges in an upcoming episode? Email us at info@greatmindsadvising.com Early decision, or placing a binding commitment, is the strongest possible signal of demonstrated interest at any top college and is often rewarded with a significant increase in a student’s chance of admission. In this episode, however, we consider how colleges at which a student is not applying early decision view their applications and what other signals a s...

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45:43

The Worst Major For Getting Into Top Colleges

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2025/11/13

Top colleges look to admit students with focused passions or “hooks” that they’ll uniquely contribute as part of the incoming freshman class. However, not all hooks—or the intended college majors they’re associated with—are created equal. And certain hooks/academic areas may even jeopardize students’ ability to earn admission to a top college at all. In this episode, we spotlight what we deem the “worst major” or hook for getting into a top college. We identify nine different reasons this are...

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23:21

The Truth About Early Decision & Deferrals

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2025/11/11

In this episode, we dig into early vs. regular decision acceptance rates, what a deferral in the early round signals about a student’s chance of admission in the regular decision round, and how to understand and correctly analyze deferrals at various top colleges before potentially making other high-stakes decisions. —— “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 int...

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56:20

Top Colleges Want These 3 Traits

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2025/11/06

Top colleges fundamentally look to admit future high-impact scholars and leaders. In this episode, we analyze three characteristics or “signals” top colleges aim to identify in their applicants that are highly predictive of future promise. We explain why different components of the application should showcase different traits, and why sending the right signals in the right places can be the difference between acceptance and rejection. —— “The Game” is hosted by Sam Hassell and brought ...

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25:48

How Many Times Should You Take The SAT?

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2025/11/04

In this episode, we break down one of the most misunderstood topics in college admissions — how many times you should take the SAT or ACT. We cover the ideal test scores for top colleges, explain why retaking the tests carries virtually no downside, how to think about risk vs. reward, and why one top college’s “submit all scores” policy doesn’t change the strategy for most students. —— “The Game” is hosted by Sam Hassell and brought to you by Great Minds Advising. Great Minds Advising...

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76:55

The Perfect Activity for Ivy Plus Colleges

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions ·

2025/10/30

For the first time, we reveal the anatomy of a “perfect” activity when applying to top colleges. Using real past examples, we illustrate why this activity is so differentiating and leaves almost every other resume-builder for elite admissions in the dust. —— “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 a nati...

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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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48 results

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