The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions

Episodet

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  5 Principles That Build Elite Applicants 08.07.2026 42min

  In this episode, we distill five recurring principles that separate elite applicants from the many high-achieving students who blend into the applicant pools at top colleges. —— “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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  3 Teacher Rec Traps Top Applicants Miss 02.07.2026 45min

  Teacher recommendation letters are among the most important—yet also most overlooked—components of applications to highly selective colleges, with very few students thinking strategically about the type of information they provide their teachers. In this episode, we examine three common questions found on teacher recommendation questionnaires that can unintentionally weaken an otherwise strong application. We explain why seemingly harmless prompts about academic struggles, intended college ma...
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  How Elite Colleges Actually Track Students 26.06.2026 56min

  In this episode, we answer an audience member question related to AI in admissions, specifically its use to pull student and parent data in order to forecast an applicant’s likelihood to “yield,” or enroll at a given college. While AI has given more firepower to the process of tracking demonstrated interest and predicting enrollment, we reveal how colleges have long since been building “yield” models for years—despite many colleges and admissions officers making claims to the contrary. Ultima...
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  Why Elite Admissions Rewards Focus 18.06.2026 27min

  Top colleges do not reward smart and talented students; they reward students who have harnessed their abilities toward impact in a specific area. In this episode, using two student examples, we reveal the costs of operating without a plan—from constant jumping between interests and activities to allowing outside influences to dictate actions that are misaligned with a student’s admissions goals. Ultimately, we argue that focus is about more than building an admissions “hook.” It provides stud...
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  The Summer Mindset Hurting Your Candidacy 11.06.2026 36min

  For many students targeting top colleges, summer has become synonymous with college admissions. Summer programs, summer internships, and summer research are treated as though they are the key to building a competitive candidacy. In this episode, we challenge this common view and explain why students, parents, and the college admissions industry at large dramatically overestimate the importance of summer activities. We argue that exceptional candidates at top colleges build their resumes year-...
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  Refining A Junior’s Profile For Top Colleges 04.06.2026 1h 34min

  In this case study episode, we analyze the profile of a high-achieving junior interested in political science, public policy, and pre-law. Despite a 4.0 GPA, top 1% class rank, strong course rigor, and a 34 ACT, the student’s extracurricular profile currently lacks the type of focused depth and differentiation required to stand out among applicants targeting highly selective colleges. We break down the strengths and weaknesses of the student’s academics, testing, activities, and awards, ident...
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  The Niche Strategy Behind A Harvard & Stanford Admit 29.05.2026 1h 3min

  In this episode, we break down a viral parent forum post from the family of a student allegedly admitted to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, and MIT. The post argues that in today’s admissions landscape, even a traditional “spike” or hook––such as a student specialized in computer science, politics, or healthcare––is no longer specific or compelling enough for the most selective colleges. Using the post as a starting point, we reinforce the growing importance of scarcity, hyper-specific po...
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  Taking A Top Student’s Profile To The Next Level [Case Study] 24.03.2026 1h 13min

  In this case study, we walk through how to take a high-performing STEM student and strategically refine her profile to stand out at top colleges. We analyze academics, testing, awards, and extracurriculars—highlighting not just strengths but also subtle inefficiencies like gaps in core coursework, suboptimal testing strategy, and time spent on lower-ROI activities. We next move on to identify and build a compelling theme that intersects multiple interests/activities the student has, spanning ...
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  Avoiding Course Selection Red Flags At Top Colleges 19.03.2026 25min

  In this episode, we break down how to think about high school course selection when different admissions “rules” seem to conflict. Using the case of an actual student, we explain why many students who are particularly strong in one area (e.g. STEM vs. humanities/social sciences) often create subtle red flags to admissions officers. Finally, we discuss the problems with the typical framing of “X vs Y” course selection decisions when deciding between classes and demonstrate how students can thi...
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  Admissions Q&A: Hard Truths the Internet Won’t Tell You (Part 2) 04.03.2026 55min

  In this episode, we answer five different college admissions questions from students and families, including how class rank affects students’ candidacies at top colleges and whether to drop a junior year AP class in which a student has a B average. —— “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-leadin...
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  Admissions Q&A: Hard Truths the Internet Won’t Tell You 19.02.2026 28min

  In this episode, we answer four different college admissions questions from students and families, ranging from self-studying for AP exams to why so many college counselors continue to recommend summer programs that fail to impress top colleges. —— “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 t...
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  2026 Acceptances at America’s Top High School 10.02.2026 55min

  In this episode, we analyze 2025–26 early admissions data at arguably America’s most famous high school, Phillips Exeter Academy. Drawing upon the Exeter data, we reveal the hidden advantages that actually drive top college acceptances, from demographic scarcity to unique academic positioning and narratives. While many families targeting top colleges often attribute acceptances to students’ core profiles and elite high school pedigrees, we use the data to show how the vast majority of student...
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  5 Rules Of The Elite Admissions Game 29.01.2026 32min

  In this episode, we reveal five “rules of the game” of elite college admissions and why the process is fundamentally different from almost every other performance domain students—and their parents—are used to. The core idea is simple: admissions outcomes can be modeled like a points-based competition, where the students with the highest “candidacy point totals” earn admission. Points come from obvious sources like grades, course rigor, and test scores, but also from factors such as a student’...
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  Avoid This Hidden Course Selection Trap 27.01.2026 43min

  Course selection has arrived for many students and is just around the corner for many others. In this episode, we shed light on a particular “hidden trap” that many students fall into when beginning their selected courses, causing them to remain in classes that jeopardize their transcript, and ultimately, their candidacy at top colleges. —— “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 d...
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  Why Hobbies Are Admissions Cheat Codes 23.01.2026 41min

  Many applicants to top colleges obsess over “activities” and significantly overlook the value of more informal pursuits such as hobbies. In this episode, we break down seven major advantages of a student’s hobbies––from piggybacking on existing uses of a student's discretionary time to signaling high degrees of intrinsic motivation and coming across to admissions officers as potentially “less performative” versus other more formal extracurriculars. We discuss how hobbies can play a pivo...
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  5 Admissions Worries That Waste Time 21.01.2026 24min

  Many students and families waste time solving the wrong “problems” or worrying about the wrong things in admissions. In this episode, we debunk five common anxieties that don’t meaningfully move outcomes, from overthinking a student’s number of SAT/ACT sittings to visiting schools that will not play a significant role in a student’s ultimate application strategy. —— “The Game” is hosted by Sam Hassell and brought to you by Great Minds Advising. Great Minds Advising’s unique, hands-on mentorsh...
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  The Real Cost of “We Have Plenty of Time” in Elite Admissions 08.01.2026 54min

  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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  How “School Fit” May Ruin Your Top College Odds 06.01.2026 47min

  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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  The Top College You May Regret Not Visiting 19.12.2025 42min

  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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  The Logic of Elite College Decisions 17.12.2025 24min

  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...