Finished Chicago…

Finished Chicago interview reports, only a few weeks late. One high recommend, one solid recommend, one mixed recommend, one no. I don't really know how much power my recommendations have, but some, I think. It's a little scary, knowing that I may be affecting these kids' future to a fair extent. There's a real temptation to just be enthusiastic about all of them, because they're all charming and appealing in one way or another. And you see all this potential...but at the same time, I have to honestly try to assess whether I think Chicago would be a good place for them, whether they'd be happy there, and also whether their taking a place there might take the place away from someone more suited to it. It's a bit of a muddle, and so many factors end up coming into play -- intelligence, enthusiasm, passion, versatility, comfort with intellectual discourse...and just whether I can imagine them there, in that environment, interacting with the other students and professors. Oddness. I hope I did right by them all.