The academic record is important, as is the written application, which is usually 6 to 10 pages and sometimes runs to 20 or more. The letters of reference are carefully read for evidence that the applicant has the maturity, self-discipline, ability, energy and initiative to succeed in the program. There are no minimums for grades or test scores, and both may be made irrelevant by the pages that the student writes. There is no application fee. Applicants are judged on their own merits, not by comparison with others.
New students begin as freshmen.
Each year a handful enter directly from the eleventh grade. An interview is desirable but is required only in special cases.