The New Admission System of Mt. Holyoke, Smith, Vassar and Wellesley Colleges F BY M. L. BURTON, PH.D., LL.D., PRESIDENT OF SMITH COLLEGE. OUR of the largest certificating colleges for women, Mount Holyoke, Smith, Vassar and Wellesley, announced last year the adoption of a new admission system. I have been asked to describe the new method and to state the reasons which led to its adoption. Beginning in October, 1915, conferences were held by representatives of the four colleges. Each institution was represented by its president and a member of the faculty. All of the conferences were characterized by a genuine frankness in the statement of points of view, by a willingness to meet all the reasonable desires of each college and by a unanimity which was at once inspiring and prophetic. It is an achievement of no little magnitude to secure the hearty and active co-operation and approval of the faculties of four large colleges upon a measure affecting so directly and fundamentally the future of all the institutions concerned. We began in October and the conclusions had been accepted by all four faculties in February, a fact which in itself intimates that the plan probably expresses some elements of truth and possibly represents a constructive solution of some of the perplexing phases of the problem of entrance. In endeavoring to describe accurately the new plan it seems wise to quote here in toto the official announcement as it is being sent out from the offices of all four of the colleges. It is as follows: OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT OF A NEW PLAN OF ADMISSION ΤΟ MT. HOLYOKE COLLEGE, SMITH COLLEGE, VASSAR COLLEGE WELLESLEY COLLEGE Four women's colleges, Mount Holyoke, Smith, Vassar, and Wellesley, announce a new method of admission, to supersede the present system of admission by certificate. In 1919 the new method will entirely replace admission by certificate and it may be used earlier if desired. The present method of admission by examination in all subjects will be continued as an alternative to the new plan. No change is made in the subjects now required for admission, no addition nor diminution in the amount prescribed for admission is proposed. The new plan is similar to that adopted by Harvard, Princeton, and Yale in prescribing a test of the quality of the applicant's scholarship and intellectual power. The examinations required in this plan are of the type known as comprehensive examinations to be offered by the College Entrance Examination Board beginning in June, 1916. The new method depends on two kinds of evidence: 1. Evidence submitted by the school, consisting of a. A school report covering the entire record of subjects and grades for four years. b. A statement from the school principal including an Evidence submitted by the candidate, consisting of (1) English or History, selected by the applicant. (4) A fourth subject, designated by the applicant from the subjects which may be offered for admission. This choice must be approved by the Committee on Admission of the respective colleges. These four examinations must be taken at one time. At least two examinations must cover more than two admission units* each. In each subject chosen the comprehensive examination covering all the units offered by her for admission must be taken by the applicant. It is desirable that applicants furnish school records and state the subjects selected for examination before February fifteenth of the year in which the examinations are to be taken. Candidates may apply for admission, however, at any time prior to the September examinations. The Committee on Admission of the individual college must give its permission, based upon the evidence submitted by the school, before the applicant may take the examinations. It is proposed that the comprehensive examination set by the College Entrance Examination board be judged by readers appointed by this Board, and forwarded to the individual college for final decision by the college Committee on Admission. Under the new plan the candidate, if admitted to college, will be admitted free from all conditions. Failure to meet completely the standard in both kinds of evidence required will not necessarily involve rejection of the applicant; the Committee may accept unusual excellence in one part of the credentials submitted as offsetting unsatisfactory evidence or even failure in another part. If the candidate fails of admission in June she will not be debarred from taking examinations under the old system in September, but she may not take the comprehensive examinations for admission under the new plan before June of the following year. It is believed that this new type of admission combines the best elements of the present certificate system and of the examination system in that it requires the school record and estimate *Note.-A unit as defined by the College Entrance Examination Board represents a year's study in any subject in a secondary school, constituting approximately a quarter of a full year's work. of character, and also demands examinations designed to test the candidate's intellectual power, not alone her memory of prescribed facts. Furthermore the method offers the applicant the fullest opportunity to show her ability in subjects in which she believes herself best qualified. This plan substitutes a uniform method of administration in place of the various certificate forms now used by the four colleges and gives the school entire freedom in the sequence of its work making no requirement of certain subjects in the last years. Comprehensive examinations according to the new plan will be given by the College Entrance Examination Board in June, 1916, and applicants may enter college by satisfying these tests and furnishing the required evidence from their schools at any examination period before 1919 though this new plan will not entirely supersede admission by certificate until that date. For a clear understanding of the plan and a real appreciation of its merits, certain further details are necessary. It should be clearly understood that in the evidence submitted by the school, the "report covering the entire record of subjects and grades for years" is made out upon a blank furnished by the colleges and is not a certificate in the old sense but merely a transcript of the student's record. It does not admit her to college nor, in case it is defective at certain points, exclude her. It does not even give her permission to take the examinations. It is merely one form of the evidence. Great value will be attached to the statement of the principal concerning the applicant's character and abilities. In order that the reader may know exactly what is asked of the principal, the following quotation is made from the blank: "The Board of Admission will be grateful for an estimate of the candidate's character. The Board will be glad to have information also about the candidate's scholarly interests, whether connected with her school work or outside of it; her possession of exceptional ability of any kind; her fondness for out door sports; her moral qualities, such as honesty, courage, self-control and regard for duty; the influence she has exerted among her schoolmates, and any ways in which it has been recognized. The Board does not expect that information will necessarily be given on all the points men tioned above. Whatever information is received will be placed on file in the office of the Board and will be regarded as confidential." It becomes clear at once that the colleges are searching for the real and essential facts concerning the candidate. It is not merely a question of marks and courses but her entire attitude to learning and to life. If the school record and the principal's certificate justify it the student is then given permission to present further evidence by means of the examinations. They are offered by the College Entrance Examination Board and known as the "comprehensive" type. The questions are prepared by a new group of examiners and the papers judged by a separate set of readers. They are thus entirely distinct from the regular old line examinations in all subjects offered by the same Board. The vital point, however, is the method of reading and marking the papers. The readers are not asked to give marks in the usual form. They are expected to judge the papers and to answer the following questions: "Does the candidate show sufficient knowledge of this subject to continue it in college? Does her book suggest a different kind of training from that on which the examination is based?......or poor training? ....or that she has not made full use of her opportunities? Does the book suggest capacity for Honor work?......or is it merely passable?......or a failure?...... What does she do best. Indicate by underlining words in following lists the characteristics of the book: GOOD.-Neatness, accuracy, correct spelling and punctuation, sense of order and arrangement, reasoning power, memory, ability to apply knowledge. BAD.- Slovenly, inaccurate, careless spelling and punctuation, illogical, poor memory, no ability to rea Remarks:.. son. Again it must become evident that the colleges are endeavoring to arrive at fundamental facts. It is precisely this information that any person must have who is asked to decide whether a stu |