<p>Shortest answer: We can’t, because our personal sample sizes are too small (for most of us, anyway).</p>
<p>Short answer: I agree with fencersmother, but I’d broaden the institutional range. At the top, if the admissions staff has picked students based on intellect, accomplishments, energy, and personal qualities, they’ve probably picked multiple future leaders, even if they’ve guessed wrong on some–e.g, they might have picked a future Steve Jobs and not Steve Wozniak, or vice versa.</p>
<p>Longer answer starts here, focused on the elements of “a good job” that we might be able to detect from the university’s web site, CC, and meeting the admissions staff.</p>
<p>1) The admissions staff should recognize the uniqueness of each individual applicant, even when many of the applicants seem to be “much of a muchness.” Admittedly, that’s extremely hard to do, when there are 20,000 of them. But if a published description of an applicant starts out “another . . . ,” it’s probably not a good sign. In one recent thread, I think Northstarmom illustrated the reaction you’d hope for: She’s obviously interviewed a large number of applicants with the trip-to-Costa-Rica-to-build-a-school or the-trip-to-India-to-work-in-a-clinic, but she explores their individual experiences and motivations through her interview questions.</p>
<p>Sincerely,
Another scruffy-lookin’ Nerf Herder</p>