Denver, CO - The Colorado theater shooting suspect left a good impression on people he met in his pursuit of a neuroscience career, with a reference describing him as having a "great amount of intellectual and emotional maturity."

That account comes in a recommendation letter sent to the University of Illinois Neuroscience program as part of James Holmes' application to the school last year. The names of those who wrote the references letters were blacked out.

The letter and all the university's documents related to Holmes were provided to The Associated Press Friday after an open records request. The News-Gazette in Champaign, IL first obtained the documents.

Holmes declined to attend the highly selective program, and instead attended the University of Colorado, Denver, studying neuroscience until he dropped out in June.