Making the science comprehensible, said Mr. Frayn, whose academic background is in philosophy, was, indeed, difficult.
The challenges exist even for students whose academic progress has come relatively easier.
"They can be especially important for applicants whose academic results are more borderline.
They might be teenagers who have done well at interview, but whose academic performance seems patchy.
— Liza Batkin, a first-year student at Bard College, is a dancer whose academic interests run to philosophy and literature.
Find a school whose academic strengths match your interests and which devotes resources to instruction in those fields.
At a news conference on Thursday in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, Sheik Sharif praised Mr. Ali, whose academic focus has been international trade, public finance and public choice.
In the Continuing Student Counseling Department, Ms. McCarthy, 44, works with many students whose academic progress has slowed if not stalled.
Deloitte snatched up Andrew Stern, a graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, whose academic concentration was organizational effectiveness.
Mr. Pena, 58, whose academic specialty is Latin American film, also teaches cinema at Columbia University and said he would continue to do so.
The Bush administration also said it plans to scrutinize student visa applicants whose academic interests are in what it considers sensitive fields of science or technology.
