Of the five colleges Nolan Soltvedt applied to, one appealed to him more than all the others combined: the Carlson School. So it was especially difficult when it was the only college that sent him a letter of rejection. Nolan, who grew up in Karlstad, MN, near the Canadian border, graduated high school with all the attributes of a great college student. He was academically gifted, athletic, and involved in extracurricular activities. But despite his potential, the Carlson School simply wasn’t large enough to admit Nolan.

Nolan had known for a long time that he was suited for a career in business. His father was a CPA, and it was from him that Nolan gained an acuity for numbers. Instead of choosing to take his talents to a college outside of Minnesota (he had been admitted to two), Nolan decided to hedge his bets by attending the University's College of Liberal Arts. He hoped that by building a stellar academic record he could transfer into the Carlson School. After applying two more times and maintaining an excellent GPA, Nolan finally was admitted at the start of his junior year.