{"podcast":{"title":"Admittedly: College Admissions with Thomas Caleel","slug":"admittedly-college-admissions-with-thomas-caleel-6069707","podcast_index_feed_id":6069707,"rss_url":"https://feeds.libsyn.com/461571/rss","website_url":"https://sites.libsyn.com/461571","image_url":"https://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/7/0/7/9/70790ea0084cb796a04421dee9605cbd/AP_cover_art.png","author":"Thomas Caleel","episode_count":136,"summary":"Does thinking about applying to college, grad school, or prep school make your head spin? The Admittedly Podcast is for both parents and students preparing for or navigating school admissions. We aim to demystify the admissions process and share with you what you really need to know to succeed. Our host, Thomas Caleel, former director of MBA admissions and financial aid for the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, is here to help. He is a lifelong entrepreneur and CEO of a global admissions consulting agency where he works with families worldwide to help them achieve their educational goals. New episodes go live every Tuesday and Thursday. Learn from our guest speakers, live coaching sessions, and weekly solo episodes. Have admissions questions you'd like answered on the show? Apply to be coached by Thomas himself on one of our upcoming recordings. In this podcast, we don't promise easy answers or quick fixes. But with decades of experience under his belt, Thomas will address the practical aspects of applying to school and how to think like an admissions officer to improve your college or prep school application.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/admittedly-college-admissions-with-thomas-caleel-6069707"},"episode":{"title":"S5E8: Inside the Minds of Elite Admissions Officers: How AOs Are Trained To Review Your Application (Interview with Former Duke AO)","slug":"s5e8-inside-the-minds-of-elite-admissions-officers-how-aos-are-trained-to-review-your-application-interview-with-former-duke-ao","published_at":"2026-02-21T00:09:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/admittedly-college-admissions-with-thomas-caleel-6069707/s5e8-inside-the-minds-of-elite-admissions-officers-how-aos-are-trained-to-review-your-application-interview-with-former-duke-ao","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/admittedly-college-admissions-with-thomas-caleel-6069707","url":"https://0d82b450-fcc2-4086-b871-7e76ac366a12.libsyn.com/s5e8-inside-the-minds-of-elite-admissions-officers-how-aos-are-trained-to-review-your-application-interview-with-former-duke-ao","audio_url":"https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/0d82b450-fcc2-4086-b871-7e76ac366a12/SONAM_FULL_EPISODE_AUDIO_.mp3?dest-id=3894051","summary":"To speak with an advisor and map out your student's next steps, book a Complimentary Strategy Call at admittedly.co/apply. In this episode of the Admittedly Podcast , Thomas sits down with Admittedly's Interim Director of College Counseling and former Senior Admissions Officer at Duke University, Sonam, for a candid look inside how highly selective admissions offices actually evaluate applications. Sonam reviewed more than 10,000 applications during her time in admissions. She holds degrees from Duke and an MBA from Rice, and she has worked across nearly every side of the process — inside a top university admissions office, in high schools, and in community-based organizations. In short: she understands both how decisions are made and how students should prepare. Together, Thomas and Sonam pull back the curtain on how admissions officers are trained, how institutional priorities shape decisions, and why the process is far more nuanced than most families realize. They discuss the return of standardized testing, what transcripts really signal, how committee rooms actually function, and why trying to \"reverse engineer\" a school's priorities is often a mistake. The conversation also dives deep into extracurricular strategy — what meaningful involvement looks like, how admissions officers spot inconsistencies, and why students don't need ten perfectly aligned activities to be compelling. From late bloomers to school list strategy to regional admissions nuances, this episode gives families a rare insider perspective grounded in real experience. This is especially valuable for parents and students aiming at highly selective colleges who want clarity about how decisions are made — and how to position themselves with intention rather than guesswork. Key Takeaways: • Admissions…","meta_description":"To speak with an advisor and map out your student's next steps, book a Complimentary Strategy Call at admittedly.co/apply. In this episode of the Admitted…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1921,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/admittedly-college-admissions-with-thomas-caleel-6069707/episodes/s5e8-inside-the-minds-of-elite-admissions-officers-how-aos-are-trained-to-review-your-application-interview-with-former-duke-ao/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/admittedly-college-admissions-with-thomas-caleel-6069707/s5e8-inside-the-minds-of-elite-admissions-officers-how-aos-are-trained-to-review-your-application-interview-with-former-duke-ao.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}