Had the same questions for my honors program.

There is no such thing as academic success because success implies you are finished. Education is constant, even beyond college. Education is more than academics because it exists outside of universities also. The "success" exists in the lesson of "how to think" not "what to think" and the love of learning, not the wealth of knowledge. If they want a success story relating to their college, then says the success only begins there, that's the starting point, and you are eager to begin the adventures which come not from knowledge itself, but in the endless pursuit of it.

Colleges don't exist just to spit out successful people. You change the way a single student sees the world and that's worth more than 100 graduates who just "temporarily retained the information."

Good luck!