DR. GUMMERE REPORTS

In his annual report the Chairman of Admissions points to a mature Freshman class drawn from all parts of the country. An increasingly wide geographical distribution of students is filing down the steel grip which one small section of the country has held on the Committee of Admissions.

President Conant's Prize Fellowships have stimulated a great increase in admissions from the middle west. This section, now supplying 281 of the 948 Yardlings, has increased its representation 300 per cent since 1933. With New England losing 15 per cent, the geographical spread of the class of '40 does not resemble the distribution of the American people in the days when Adams and Hancock raised havoc on the Common.

The Freshmen are a mature, as well as a national class. Their average age of 18.25 years varies little from that of previous classes. Its high scholastic standing, illustrated by the record numbers escaping Warren House jurisdiction and the 250 men admitted to advanced courses, indicates the appropriateness of this average age to Harvard standards.

By attracting a representative Freshman class of mature men President Conant's scholarship plans demonstrate their value. With their extension, Harvard can continue to progress towards its goal--a student body responsive to the advantages of a truly national university.