> wealthy parents will push their children into the activities CMU is looking for I had the same thought, but there may be more to it... they unfortunately lef

> wealthy parents will push their children into the activities CMU is looking for I had the same thought, but there may be more to it... they unfortunately left us speculating as to what findings about their admissions process led them to this change. Trying on a slightly fringe hypothesis: engineering has surpassed finance as the perceived get-insanely-rich discipline. So the top engineering schools are now more vulnerable to those who will pretend their "heart is in the work" but really just want to get on track to becoming Lord Voldemort (take your pick of real-world unscrupulous CEO). I have nothing against financial success being a motivator. But as a university, or as a manager for that matter, I'd want to filter out anyone for whom it's the only motivator. Put another way: a demonstrated interest requirement selects for intense drive/motivation of any kind. Maybe CMU is looking for a specific kind, e.g. intellectual curiosity. As an aside, agreed there will always be admissions gaming. But if the game is going to be broken, changing the rules periodically at least prevents the hacks from becoming too commoditized.