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The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions

The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions

By: Great Minds Advising
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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 services—Sam spearheaded the Great Minds Advising program, a premium college consulting service based in the New York Metropolitan Area and serving students nationwide from NYC to Silicon Valley.


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 to a top-choice school in the 2025–26 application cycle.


Its students have recently gained admission to Stanford, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Penn, Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell, Duke, Georgetown, Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, Rice, Northwestern, UC-Berkeley, and WashU (among many others) and are admitted to the Ivy League at a rate 14x the national average (90% when applying early).


For the first time, in this podcast, Sam and his team reveal the secrets and strategies they have used to help their students consistently beat the game of elite college admissions.


Web: greatmindsadvising.com

Contact: greatmindsadvising.com/#contact

Newsletter: greatmindsadvising.com/#newsletter

Email: info@greatmindsadvising.com

FB: facebook.com/GreatMindsAdvising

IG: instagram.com/greatmindsadvising

© 2026 The Game: A Guide to Elite College Admissions
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Episodes
  • How Elite Colleges Actually Track Students
    Jun 26 2026

    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.

    Ultimately, we delineate between factors that can and cannot be controlled in the admissions data arms race—and highlight the actions students and families can actually take to increase the probability of admissions success.

    ——
    “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 to a top-choice school in the 2024–25 application cycle.

    Its students have recently gained admission to Stanford, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Penn, Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell, Duke, Georgetown, Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, Rice, Northwestern, UC-Berkeley, and WashU (among many others) and are admitted to the Ivy League at a rate 14x the national average (90% when applying early).

    Web: greatmindsadvising.com
    Contact: greatmindsadvising.com/#contact
    Newsletter: greatmindsadvising.com/#newsletter
    Email: info@greatmindsadvising.com
    FB: facebook.com/GreatMindsAdvising/
    IG: instagram.com/greatmindsadvising

    Show More Show Less
    56 mins
  • Why Elite Admissions Rewards Focus
    Jun 18 2026

    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 students with a decision-making filter that reduces uncertainty, protects them from distractions, and helps ensure that years of hard work are spent moving in the right direction.

    ——
    “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 to a top-choice school in the 2024–25 application cycle.

    Its students have recently gained admission to Stanford, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Penn, Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell, Duke, Georgetown, Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, Rice, Northwestern, UC-Berkeley, and WashU (among many others) and are admitted to the Ivy League at a rate 14x the national average (90% when applying early).

    Web: greatmindsadvising.com
    Contact: greatmindsadvising.com/#contact
    Newsletter: greatmindsadvising.com/#newsletter
    Email: info@greatmindsadvising.com
    FB: facebook.com/GreatMindsAdvising/
    IG: instagram.com/greatmindsadvising

    Show More Show Less
    27 mins
  • The Summer Mindset Hurting Your Candidacy
    Jun 11 2026

    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-round rather than in short seasonal bursts––and don’t wait on deadlines, programs, permission, or ideal circumstances to make progress.

    ——
    “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 to a top-choice school in the 2024–25 application cycle.

    Its students have recently gained admission to Stanford, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Penn, Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell, Duke, Georgetown, Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, Rice, Northwestern, UC-Berkeley, and WashU (among many others) and are admitted to the Ivy League at a rate 14x the national average (90% when applying early).

    Web: greatmindsadvising.com
    Contact: greatmindsadvising.com/#contact
    Newsletter: greatmindsadvising.com/#newsletter
    Email: info@greatmindsadvising.com
    FB: facebook.com/GreatMindsAdvising/
    IG: instagram.com/greatmindsadvising

    Show More Show Less
    36 mins
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