Many students attend college to study with exceptional professors in fields, such as biostatistics, with the hope of getting mentored, performing research, connecting with others in parallel fields of interest, and gaining a grasp of how they might carve career paths. On paper all this sounds neat, clean, and almost easy. Yet, in reality, none of it is easy. The hardest part of most endeavors is the people part. Learning how to deal with people and setting goals are, for most students, difficult tasks. It’s too easy to screw up, to not do at all, or to get knocked off course. This is why Rick Cherwitz, an associate dean of graduate studies, and professor of communications at the University of Texas, Austin, set up the Intellectual Entrepreneurship (IE) Program.
Q&A Session on College Admissions: Yale, Pomona College, Lawrence (Wisconsin), University of Texas, Austin
In light of this year's flood of applications received by the most selective schools: Harvard received a record 27,200 applications, an increase of 19% over last year, University of Chicago's application volume increased by 18%, Amherst College, 17%, Northwestern, 14%, and Dartmouth, 10%, gaining a clearer insight into how the admissions offices of the most selective schools operate is useful. What better way to do this than hearing what the key admissions officers have to say?