Harvard's New Admission Criteria

It turns out the UW System isn't alone in revamping its admission criteria this spring.

According to The Harvard Crimson, the Harvard Business School recently admitted college dropout Blake Gottesman into its MBA program for the upcoming fall term.

Gottesman -- who will get the rare privilege of enrolling in an Ivy League graduate program without an undergraduate degree -- completed one year of college at Claremont-McKenna College in California before dropping out seven years ago.

So what are Gottesman's credentials for admission?

For the past four years, the 26-year old has been carrying around breathmints and making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for President George W. Bush.

Oh, and he used to date Jenna Bush in high school.

(Story via Talking Points Memo.)

UPDATE: I should add that I actually think Gottesman appears like a good candidate for Harvard Business School -- being the president's personal aide surely isn't a trivial task, as I made out in admittedly snarky fashion in this post.

But what makes the story stand out is timing. With all this talk of how race and class affect one's treatment, it's important to remember that nothing is as powerful as who you know.