The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions

In elite college admissions, intuition can work against you—because the most logical moves are often the ones everyone else is making. In this episode, we unpack six counterintuitive admissions truths, from why colleges that are better “fits” are harder to get into to why elite admissions can punish the very pre-professional ambition that attracts students to top colleges in the first place. We explore how unconventional thinking can outperform the intuitive playbook most applicants use...

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 ...

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...

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-...

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...

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...

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...

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’...

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...

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...

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 ...

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 ...

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...