the Scholars had a wide range of aptitude scores and were almost
as numerous as their classmates.
These
Comparison students differed from the Scholars in two important
respects—they were about two years older, and they had
completed high school. They were matched with the Scholars on the
basis of aptitude scores. Some of the colleges used the College
Board Scholastic Aptitude test for this purpose, others used the
American Council on Education Psychological Examination, and still
others used these "yardsticks" in combination. In general, the
Scholars and Comparisons were about equal on these various measures
of aptitude; where there were small differences in mean scores,
they tended to be in favor of the Scholars.
Some of the
colleges made an effort to apply other factors—such as family
background, type and location of home community, and amount of
scholarship aid, in doing the matching. Most of the Comparison
students were aware of their role in the experiment, and some
displayed a lively interest in it.
HOW THE
COLLEGES HANDLED THE SCHOLARS
Most of the
colleges and universities participating in the program have made it
a point to give Scholars the same academic treatment as other
entering freshmen. The heavy emphasis in the freshman and sophomore
years has been on a liberal or general education. In most
institutions—with Goucher and Oberlin as notable
exceptions—the Scholars, along with other entering students,
have been allowed relatively little choice as to curriculum in the
first two years. Typically, they have entered prescribed courses in
the social sciences, natural sciences, mathematics, and humanities,
often with a foreign language as well.
In six
institutions—Columbia, Chicago, Goucher, Louisville, Oberlin,
and Shimer—academic arrangements for the Scholars have not
differed in any respect from those for other students. The same has
been generally true at Lafayette, although engineering Scholars at
this college have been given a special integrated