[Anupam Goli]

Hey Bill,

At 1648, we've had an application and tryout period for the past few years. Since 2012, our team's performance and popularity has dramatically increased. In order to provide the best experience possible for our students, we're forced to be selective about who we take; we have few mentors, and we do not have too much space to fit more than a certain number of people.

Our process starts with a basic application, which includes some short behavioral questions. One of the key qualities we look for in applicants is the desire to challenge oneself, the ability to take criticism, a passion for learning, and the desire to be competitive. While we review applications, we host large "tryouts" where the prospective members come together and do a few creative exercises and challenges, where our current leaders and mentors look at teamwork, leadership, creative thought, and analytical abilities.

Our mentors and student leaders then take a look at the applicants and how they did during the "tryout", before they're placed in our JV Program. Our JV Program does VEX in the fall and are members of subteams on FRC. The hope is for them to develop a foundation of mechanics/programming and iterative design in VEX, which they can then apply in FRC. A student then graduates from JV and is placed into the Varsity subsection by leading a VEX team the following fall.

Through this entire process, we find motivated students who wish to succeed, and most everyone who succeeds in our tryouts and JV program becomes an influential leader in our overall program. Typically, students who don't have the dedication and drive don't generally make it past the VEX season. We do try and make sure every student is having a good experience and resolve any issues in the team though, so it isn't a hard cut.