The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1883-05-20
Tho Harvard Annex.

University has hitherto declined 10 open ltS
doors to students Of the female sex. there
has been organized In Cambridge q society
for the collegiate instruction OF women.
This Incorporated body has arranged to
avail itself Of the Harvard PROFESSIONAL stan,
and has for some time offered to young
women courses OF instruction substan-
TALLY Identical with thoee pursued by
undergraduates. The degree Of prof.
cheney acquired In the several branches
Is tested by periodical examinations, and
those who after satisfying the require
ments for admission, prosecute four
years course In the school, will receive certifl-
Gates graduated according to merit and
attesting such attainments as are demanded,
either for an ordinary Harvard degree OF
Bachelor Of Arts or for degree with honors.
To exhibit the precise Significance OF these
opportunities, we avail ourselves OF the
official prospectus Of the society to point out
how much Is expected Of candidates. and
what lines Of study are marked out for the
coming twelvemonth.
1t appears that two examinations for ad-
mission to the Harvard school for women
will be held at Cambridge during the next
FIVE months, ono on tho last three days OF
June and another on the Goth, 9th, and 2sth
OF September. Candidates, moreover, may
present themselves at the Harvard Univer-
sity examinations for women, which will
take place In New York, Philadelphia, and
Cincinnati. All those who purpose following
tho four years course In the school, with the
hope Of obtaining certificate equiva-
lent to university degree. are expect
ed to show under the preliminary scru-
tiny q certain degree OF preparation In
seven prescribed subjects, and In two
| out Of four optional studies. That is to say,
the examiners will exact OF all candidates an
| elementary acquaintance with the Latin and
Greek languages, with ancient history and
geography, with mathematics, including al
zebra and plane geometry, with physics, with
English composition, and with either French
or German. The applicant for admission
| must also give evidence Of q more advanced
knowledge Of two out Of four subjects, to
wit, Greek, Latin. mathematics, and physics.
Let US suppose for example, that young
woman bases her hope Of entering the Har-
ward Annex mainly ON her attainments In the
classics. She would, apparently, be forced to
demonstrate q proficiency considerably SUI
perior to that which Is retained by the great
iudJOLiGJ "a AuloLlCou COLc8c 8lhuublco VI
twenty years standing. Thus In Latin she
must not only offer four books Of CEsAR's
Commentaries. six books Of VIRGIL's Encid,
and CICERo's orations against CATILINE
and for ARcHIAs-it will be observed
that rs regards the books offered
candidates must, besides translating.
answer questions relating to the subject mat
ter and to grammatical forms-but she must
be ready to translate ut sight passages OF
average difficulty chosen at random from
the whole OF CESAR, from all OF CICERo's ora
tions, from the whole OF the Ened, and
from OvID's Metamorphoses. The young
woman will also have to turn into grammati-
cal Latin tolerably long fragment OF con-
nectcd English narrative. In Greek her pre-
liminary attainments will be less consider
| able, yet they must comprehend the ability
to translate at sight average passages from
XENoPHoN and HERoDoTUs with only slight
assistance from vocabulary furnished by
the examincrs), and three books Of the Had,
unless here also the candidate prefers to sub
stitute for questions on subject matter and
| construction the translation at sight OF pas
sagcs selected from any OF the twenty-four
books OF the poem. When we add that the
| aSpirant for admission to the Annex must
also be verscd In simple Greek composition,
1t will be clear that the preparatory work
imposed on her would have disnayed senior
class in many an American college of large
pretensions half Il century ago. And what Is
here said Of the proficiency expected OF
candid6ZAp have given most of their
attention % ~ Classics, is equally true OF
the requirements designated In the case OF
.hN oaIH<
four optional studies with which more ex.
tenslve acquaintance is demanded. In such
instances the young woman must not only
be thoroughly trained in arithmetic and be
ready to be catechised in algebra through
quadratic equations, and In plane geometry
but she must also be, In some measure, con.
versant with solid geometry, with loga
rithms, and plane trigonomctry. In other
words. she must be as well advanced in math.
ematics before she can even enter the Har.
ward school for women Us Harvard students
who had not elected that branch OF work
were expected to BIO at graduation twenty
years ago.
We take for granted that these require
ments are not nominal. but that the fitness
Of candidates for the Annex Is tested with a.
much rigor as IL manifested In the examina.
tions Of young men for admission to the
freshman class at Harvard. Let US see nov
what schemes Of lectures and study will bt
offered to the successful applicants during
the next academical year. Four courses, i,
seems, OF two hours a week each in tho more
advanced studies and five courses In thu
moro elementary subjects corresponding
to those taken up by fresh
man class, are regarded as q full
years labor. The so-called elementary
work will cover some orations OF LYsIAs
two OF PLATos dialogues, the Odyssey
some books OF Ivy, the odes and epodes O
HORACE, one OF CIcERo's ethical treatises
and the student will also DO carried FORWARD
In solid geometry, plano trigonomotry ant
advanced algebra. AS to the courses market
out for the young women who have alrcad,
spent one or more years In the school, W,
may say In general that they reproduc,
faithfully tho lines OF study followed b,
the three upper classes In tho AGA
J demical department Of tho university
We will only mention that they include In
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