Grant leads to applicants discovering American university (5)
I believe the answer is:
admit
'grant' is the definition.
(grant can mean to agree or admit something)
'leads to applicants discovering american university' is the wordplay.
'leads to' indicates taking the first letters.
'american university' becomes 'MIT' (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).
The initial letters of 'applicants discovering' is 'ad'.
'ad'+'mit'='ADMIT'
(Other definitions for admit that I've seen before include "Confess (to something)" , "Stop being obstructive" , "Agree to the truth" , "Usher in" , "Take on" .)