The author raises the perplexing question, 'What are the institutes selecting applicants for?'. He is concerned about the large number of candidates who never plan to become analysts; rather they seek analytic training to become superpsychiatrists, therapists, theoreticians, medical school professors, or to get personal help. He feels that institutes too often favor candidates with 'normal character disorders', who are unanalyzable, and will never be successful analysts. Correspondingly, 'creative characters' who might make contributions to psychoanalytic knowledge too often are discouraged by formidable selection procedures.