The Students They'd Hoped Would Come, but Didn't

Arlene Wesley Cash, vice president for enrollment management, Spelman College:

"Tanya" and I became e-mail pals during my first month here at Spelman, in July 2003. Her first note went something like this: "Hello Ms. Cash. It has been my dream since childhood to attend your college. I am submitting my application now but can't come this fall due to personal and financial constraints. I am hoping to enroll in January if I am accepted. I will be working for three months to prepare for my trip to Atlanta; do you have any advice as to what else I should be doing in the meantime? I can't wait to be there!" This sounded like a young woman with a dream and the drive to achieve it. If her credentials matched her determination, she seemed to be the kind of student who would do well here.