800 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXIII. No. 



tained a satisfactory quality of mind. He 

 is expected to make a creditable exhibition 

 of himself, and it is hoped that the system 

 will exclude the boy who, under the old 

 system, probably by the aid of a skilful 

 tutor, can just scrape through every ex- 

 amination. It is hoped that in good 

 schools the new system will make it easier 

 for the school-master to prepare boys for 

 Harvard; but it is not intended to make 

 entrance to college in any way easier for 

 the hoys. 



Inasmuch as the inquiry relates to the 

 intellectual power of the boy at the mo- 

 ment when he stands ready for entrance, it 

 is obvious that the examination can not be 

 divided into preliminary and final. For 

 the same reason, the evil of conditions will 

 be wholly eliminated by the new system. 

 A boy either is or is not fit to enter college. 

 If he is not fit, then he must either aban- 

 don the idea or else go back to school and 

 study until he becomes ready. There can 

 be no conditions. 



It is not the intention by the new system 

 either to raise or to lower the "standard" 

 of admission. That is to say, it is hoped 

 that in a four years' course the amount of 

 intellectual effort which a boy has to put 

 out in order to prepare for Harvard will 

 be as before. But a smaller proportion of 

 it will be mere cram. 



1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 



Admitted to freshman 



class 576 594 529 573 565 



Eejected, or withdrew 

 before completing 

 the examination . . 166 164 147 197 221 



Admitted provision- 

 ally as special stu- 

 dents 66 40 12 



Total number of ap- 

 plicants for admis- 

 sion to freshman 

 class 808 798 688 770 786 



Per cent, admitted to 



freshman class . . . 71.3 74.4 76.9 74.4 71.9 



The present policy of Harvard in ad- 

 mitting students can be seen from the above 

 statistics, which are complete for the years 

 covered. 



Of those admitted in the past five years 

 there are undoubtedly some who would 

 have been rejected if they had been com- 

 pelled to come up under the new system. 

 Many of these have failed, or will fail, to 

 complete their college course, at least with 

 credit. Of those registered, some could 

 probably have gained admission if the new 

 system had been open to them; and of 

 these a large proportion would very likely 

 have shown distinction in their subsequent 

 college course. What the effect will be 

 upon the size of the classes admitted to 

 Harvard College, when most of the appli- 

 cants shall come up under the new system, 

 is not easy to forecast. There has been 

 some apprehension that the percentage of 

 boys admitted will be considerably re- 

 duced, but it is hoped that the larger num- 

 ber of schools which will now find them- 

 selves able to prepare boys for Harvard 

 will counterbalance this tendency, and pre- 

 vent any large reduction in the numbers of 

 the future entering classes. 



In conclusion, a few words may be added 

 as to the general results which it is hoped 

 to secure from this new plan when it goes 

 into full operation. These results are of 

 widely varying kinds. 



1. Harvard College hopes to secure a 

 better body of freshmen, for they will have 

 been selected from the whole number of 

 applicants by more nicely adapted meth- 

 ods, and they will be free from conditions 

 and therefore able to do better work. 



2. A large number of excellent schools 

 of the accepted type, now unable in their 

 regular curriculum to fit boys to enter 

 Harvard College, will, it is hoped, under 



