Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1874-11-06
Vermont Students in other Colleges.

"Why do so many Vermont young men go
elsewhere to college," is question often
asked, and one deserving consideration. In
the first place, not so many do go rs are sup
posed. A Vermont newspaper last winter
published editorinlly statement, which was
widely copied, that more than twice rs ma
ny Vermonters went out of the state for
their education, TO Dartmouth, Yale, AM
herst, Williams and Wesleyan. us remained
in our own colleges. The fact is that dur
ing the past academic year there have been
six more Vermont students ut Middlebury
and Burlington than Mt all these colleges
combined. Burlington alone had ten more
Vermonters than Dartmouth Gncluding
medical students in both,) and within one
rs many as all of them. There were last
year ut Yale but five Nernionters, mt AM
herst ton, Mt Williams five, ut Wesleyan
| four.
| Still, u large number of our Vermont
young men do go to colleges out of the state,
and that too in spite of the provcrbial pride
of our people in their own state and its in
| stitutions. The reasons for this arc many.
First, the local proximity and accessibility
|
seven Vermonters ut Dartmouth, only six
live west of the mountain. Most would
have to go under the caves of Dartmouth to
reach Burlington or Middlebury. The same
is true of those who go to Amherst and w IL
liams. Secondly, the attractions of old and
richly endowed preparatory schools in other
states, from which the Vermont boys 20
with the majority to some neighboring col
loge. Ifa boy is sent to Merlden, or Phillips
Academy, or Easthampton, to prepare for
college, he is almost sure TO 60 to college
out of the state. Thirdly, the influence Of
numbers, of extensive collections and valu,
able appliances for study, and of distinguish
; ed professors. in the larger and Weather col
leges. FouFthly, the desire OF the religious
sects to build up their own denominational
institutions. But, except the first, none oil
these considerations carry so much weight
with large class of young men rs the OPP
pOrtunity for pecuniary aid offered them by
the well endowed colleges of other states
Most of the older institutions have received
funds from the state legislatures or from
private munifcence, which enable them t.
refund the tuition and in many cases to pa.
part of the other expenses of II large numbe
of poor young men.
There is at tho present time an unusua
appeal for such help, Never before hav
we had so many applications for scholar
ships from promising young men struggling
Tor AN education; And this we regard Al
encouraging sign Of the times. 1t mean
that the prizes of life are going to be takel
= moro by those who have the energy to viii
them, and less by those into whose lap the
fall. The students whom college instruct
ors like best to see locking TO their classe:
are just these resolute, ambitious, self de
pendent young men, Injured to hardship, an,
more ashamed of idleness than Of poverty
= We can carry along certain small humble
y of the curled darlings OF society, it we hay
. enough of tho other class to keep up the IN
tellectual vigor and moral tone of the co
- lego community-not otherwise. To b
!, obliged to shut the door against these poe
" boys, is TO shut out almost all the intellectu
4 al manliness and enterprise which Civ
70 character TO an institution of learning. II
- very common occurrence for young me
to write TO the president of the u niverslt
n that they prefer to come to their own co
! lege, but cannot afford to do so, unless IL
, same aid is extended to them which HI
r been offered them by some other institl
"a tions. Tho University has but seventee
scholarships, which are enjoyed mainly
brave young fellows who AFRO fighting the
way without any other aid, from the scanl
ID farm 10 scholarly eminence and uselulnos
We ought TO have ffty such. For la ok
st them, some are obliged to abandon altoget