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” or compelling through-line supporting a focused and differentiated passion.

We analyze these current deficiencies that will significantly hurt the student’s chances of admission to top colleges and discuss potential solutions.

——
“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