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They Went to College Early
the youth of some Scholars makes adjustment to a metropolitan
campus difficult. The student body at Chicago is divided between
commuting students and resident students. There is not the
homogeneity in campus life that many colleges can achieve. This may
have been one factor affecting the younger students, although the
large number of early entrants at Chicago has made possible the
development of athletics and extra-curricular activities which fit
their needs.
Despite all
of these factors, however, I am confident that the over-whelming
majority of the Scholars (and other early entrants) at Chicago have
adjusted well, that they have been glad that they entered college
early, and have found an intellectual stimulation from college that
they would not have found during the corresponding years of high
school. I see no reason to believe that the intellectual
stimulation for this majority was achieved at the expense of social
maladjustment. They have more than held their own in the social
life of the campus.
Columbia
College
When, in the
spring of 1955, the Columbia College faculty instructed the
committee responsible for admissions that up to 25 early admission
candidates might be admitted within any one year, the action
clearly had a double significance. It represents, in the first
place, a formal acceptance of the desirability and practicability
of early admission for qualified candidates. But the limitation of
the number to be admitted reflects the special situation of
Columbia College. New York City and the Metropolitan Area offer a
rich source of student talent. We attract boys from this region as
a national college which can be reached by subway. However, most of
our applicants for early admission live in New York City. Our
status as a national college is maintained by our capacity to draw
students from beyond the confines of the metropolis. Simply adding
to our representation from New York and its immediate environs will
undercut the very basis on which we appeal to the highly talented
youths within that area. Moreover, an increase in our New York City
contingent would distort our pre-professional balance, because a
high proportion of New York City applicants for early admission are
pre-medical students of whom we already have as high a proportion
as we can handle without damage to our liberal arts program.
If it were
possible to secure a large number of equally able early admission
candidates from the country at large, Columbia would benefit
greatly. But the widespread announcement of the early
admission