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 program...
Jul 24, 2025•3 hr 10 min•Season 2Ep. 6
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 to...
Jul 15, 2025•4 hr 15 min•Season 2Ep. 5
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 program and its...
Jun 10, 2025•2 hr 41 min•Season 2Ep. 4
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 candidacies. By e...
May 27, 2025•31 min•Season 2Ep. 3
In this episode, we answer three listener questions on the following topics: how to best strategically position a pre-law student how to take college courses that improve your candidacy the 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 a ...
May 21, 2025•2 hr 15 min•Season 2Ep. 2
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 purport the great myth of “test optional,” or that students failing to submit strong scores are not a...
May 13, 2025•1 hr 24 min•Season 2Ep. 1
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 Matriculations Ivy League Acceptance Data for “Unhooked” Students (i.e. non-legacy/donor, recruited athletes, etc) Hooked vs. Unhooked Student Acceptance Rates & GPAs Drawing upon this data, we argue that alluring college track records at many top ...
Nov 07, 2024•46 min•Season 1Ep. 21
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. Great Minds Adv...
Oct 23, 2024•5 hr 41 min•Season 1Ep. 20
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 Recommendation Early Action Plans That Prohibit Early Decision To Other Colleges Help With My Vanderbilt Essay! Strategic Implications Of Parent Colleges & Backgrounds Send Us A Question : info@greatmindsadvising.com —— “The Ga...
Oct 04, 2024•1 hr 31 min•Season 1Ep. 19
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 fundamenta...
Sep 24, 2024•4 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 18
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. Great Minds Advising’s unique, hands-on mentorship program and its deep strategic insight into the appli...
Sep 06, 2024•2 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 17
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 grade Score ranges for juniors who might be in play for National Merit awards connected to their PSAT/NMSQT scores Timeline for PSAT/NMSQT score return Calculation of the National Merit “Selection Index” that determines National Merit awards Commen...
Aug 27, 2024•1 hr 20 min•Season 1Ep. 16
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” items Other types of “quasi-demonstrated interest” or “yield signaling” that can affect admissions od...
Aug 22, 2024•1 hr 22 min•Season 1Ep. 15
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/career...
Aug 05, 2024•47 min•Season 1Ep. 14
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...
Jul 30, 2024•1 hr 26 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Admissions Masterclass Registration (8/7 via Zoom) In this episode, we dissect the candidacy of a student from the Wall Street Journal piece, "To Get Into The Ivy League, Extraordinary Isn't Always Enough These Days." The piece spotlights Kaitlyn Younger, a Texas high school senior with a 3.95/4.0 unweighted GPA in 11 AP courses, 1550/1600 SAT, top marks on AP exams, and a rank of #23/668 (top-3%) in her graduating class. Younger applied to 12 colleges, was rejected by 9, waitlisted at 1, and on...
Jul 24, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 12
In this episode, we respond to real questions in the popular online forum Reddit from students across the country. In particular, we cover answers to the following: Which letters of recommendation do I send? How important is course rigor freshman and sophomore year? How do you come up with your college essay topic? Which GPA do colleges use? What are my college chances? —— “The Game” is hosted by Sam Hassell and brought to you by Great Minds Advising. Great Minds Advising’s unique, hands-on ment...
Jul 16, 2024•1 hr 36 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Many students and families heavily rely on the college acceptance data (GPA/test scores vs. college outcomes) of past applicants from their high school to make high-stakes decisions about their school list, selection of early decision colleges, and likely overall college outcomes. In this episode, we break down how past college acceptance data is reported at many high schools, and the significant limitations and shortcomings of using such data for students applying to the most selective colleges...
Jul 11, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 10
In this episode, we review the profile and applications of a premed student who was rejected from both of their early decision schools, roughly top-25 to top-35 national universities. This student attended a top-1% US high school, possessed a 3.9 unweighted GPA, 99th percentile test scores, took 15 AP/honors courses, and had what many would consider an excellent resume filled with many “leadership positions” and “service activities.” In our case study, we break down several of the student’s appl...
Jul 02, 2024•51 min•Season 1Ep. 9
In this episode, we cover many factors—including costly mistakes, myths, and traps—related to students’ school selection. In particular, we address the following: School Visits Why it doesn’t make sense to visit highly selective colleges before mid-11th grade Prioritization of best and best-fit colleges for visits, especially schools that offer binding/restrictive early plans (such as Early Decision) Decision Plans Different types (ED1/2, REA/SCEA, EA, RD) and how much each improves your admissi...
Jun 25, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 8
In prior episodes, we’ve determined that top colleges seek not only students with excellent grades, course rigor, and test scores but also students with compelling admissions “stories” or “hooks” related to their academic/intellectual passions and how they will contribute to their future college—and hopefully, the world—in some specific, unique way. However, just as with students’ “metrics” (grades, rigor, scores), a focused resume is still not necessarily sufficient for gaining admission to hig...
Jun 18, 2024•1 hr 37 min•Season 1Ep. 7
She was the Valedictorian of her high school. Perfect GPA in over twenty advanced classes, taking Calculus BC by 10th grade and college math courses by 11th grade. All perfect or near-perfect test scores, tennis captain, multiple leadership positions, a scholarship to a prestigious math program, and state math champion. To boot, as a female applying for math/engineering, she was an underrepresented applicant and hailed from a U.S. state that might be seen as contributing to campus diversity. Yet...
Jun 12, 2024•37 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Summer is upon us, and many rising seniors—if they haven’t already—are turning their attention to college applications. Among the most important components they will be tackling is the Common Application “Personal Essay”, often simply called “the college essay.” For almost all students, this will be the most important essay colleges read, and for some, it may even be the only one they read. But there’s just one problem: almost every student writes the wrong type of essay. In this episode, we bre...
Jun 04, 2024•57 min•Season 1Ep. 5
College admissions has never been more competitive: high GPAs, strong test scores, and a well-rounded resume—once sufficient for an acceptance—are now common features of most applications to highly selective colleges. In this episode, we reveal what top colleges nowadays seek: students with compelling admissions stories centered around a focused academic passion, or “hook.” Using the process we’ve employed with our own students to help them gain admission to top colleges, we break down how stude...
May 28, 2024•46 min•Season 1Ep. 4
When many parents applied to college around three decades ago, college lists and outcomes assumed a fairly predictable, linear order. You had your “safeties,” schools to which you were almost certain to be admitted, your “targets,” schools to which you could reasonably expect to be admitted, and “reaches,” schools to which you would most likely not be admitted. Nowadays, however, college outcomes seem less predictable than ever, with students often being rejected or waitlisted even at schools th...
May 21, 2024•26 min•Season 1Ep. 3
You’ve probably heard of Early Action, but do you know what Single-Choice and Restrictive Early Action are? Seven of the top colleges (Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, CalTech, Georgetown, and Notre Dame) offer one of these unique sub-types of Early Action that place significant restrictions on the other colleges to which students under these plans may apply. In this episode, we break down what these plans entail, why Single-Choice and Restrictive Early Action are often confused, and what the...
May 14, 2024•21 min•Season 1Ep. 2
While many students and parents are caught up with AP exams, senior course selection, college visits, college essays, requesting teacher letters of recommendation, in this episode, we reveal the one thing that absolutely every high school junior must do right now if they want to ensure they are on the path to admissions success at top colleges. And spoiler alert: you’re probably not doing it. *Newsletter/Admissions Masterclass (May 15) sign-up available at our website above —— “The Game” is host...
May 07, 2024•40 min•Season 1Ep. 1
