My classmate Stephen Olson ’70 has a letter in the October issue about changes in what alumni volunteers were asked to do for the admissions committee in the 1980s. He notes that these changes led to several resignations. Having volunteered to represent Princeton for a small private school for several years in the late ’70s and early ’80s, I grew disillusioned that we were told to encourage as many suitable applicants as possible from the schools to which we were assigned. Only one of the promising students I interviewed during those years was admitted. In retrospect, I wonder if we were being used to boost Princeton’s ratings, which rose higher the more students Princeton rejected? I deeply love Princeton, and I realize it can’t be perfect. But it was painful for me each time a good applicant was turned down.

Richard Waugaman ’70
Potomac, Md.