There Are No Degrees Conferring Special Honor.
A Man Cannot Go Out "In Honors" As He Does With Us.
There are no
"firsts" or "double firsts;" no "wranglers;" no "senior opts" or
"junior opts." Nor are there prizes of fellowships and livings to
be obtained.
It is, I think, evident from this that the greatest
incentives to high excellence are wanting at Harvard College.
There is neither the reward of honor nor of money. There is none
of that great competition which exists at our Cambridge for the
high place of Senior Wrangler; and, consequently, the degree of
excellence attained is no doubt lower than with us. But I conceive
that the general level of the university education is higher there
than with us; that a young man is more sure of getting his
education, and that a smaller percentage of men leaves Harvard
College utterly uneducated than goes in that condition out of
Oxford or Cambridge. The education at Harvard College is more
diversified in its nature, and study is more absolutely the
business of the place than it is at our universities.
The expense of education at Harvard College is not much lower than
at our colleges; with us there are, no doubt, more men who are
absolutely extravagant than at Cambridge, Massachusetts. The
actual authorized expenditure in accordance with the rules is only
50l. per annum, i.e. 249 dollars; but this does not, by any means,
include everything. Some of the richer young men may spend as much
as 300l. per annum, but the largest number vary their expenditure
from 100l. to 180l. per annum; and I take it the same thing may be
said of our universities.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 432 of 538
Words from 114905 to 115186
of 143277
