Advanced Standing Losing Popularity?

Harvard's advanced standing program seems to be a little less popular now than in the past. Only about 53 per cent of the qualified freshmen this year have accepted sophomore standing.

Actually this is a slight increase over last year, when only 45 per cent of the eligible freshmen took advantage of the program. But in past years the rate of acceptances was much higher--usually between 75 and 100 per cent. Further more, this year's percentage increase is not a real one. Ninety-eight students accepted advanced standing this year and almost the same number--97--accepted it last year; but only 186 students were eligible for the program this year; last year 210 qualified.

Christopher Wadsworth '62, assistant director of the advanced standing program, yesterday attributed the decline in acceptances to the "loss of glamour attached to starting as a sophomore."

Spurred by Sputnik

Wadsworth said that when the program began in the mid-1950's "during the days of Sputnik" there was considerable emphasis on accelerating students. Participation in an advanced standing program was "the thing to do," he said. "and thus, don't enter the program merely to be fashionable."

"But students are no longer under this pressure," he said, "and thus, don't enter the program merely to be fashionable."

The drop in acceptance, will bring about no great changes in the advanced standing program. Wadsworth said that his office is basically happy with it and the opportunity it gives qualified students to get into their fields of study more quickly.

Most advanced standing students do quite well at Harvard, and it's been suggested that those who don't are the ones who joined the program because it was the thing to do. Of the 49 students who graduated with the Class of 1966 after only three years in residence, 24 graduated with summas or magnas, and 16 graduated cum laude; only nine received just their degrees.

Chance or Choice

No one really knows why the number of students qualified for advanced standing declined this year. It might be just chance. To qualify for advanced standing, a student must get a certain score on at least three Advanced Placement Tests. But these tests, which are administered by the College Entrance Examination Board, are not given until May, a month after Harvard has sent out its acceptances. So Harvard, which has no way of knowing a student's Advanced Placement status, may just have accepted a class with a very small number of people who happened to do well on the AP tests.

But with the de-emphasis on accelerated programs, It's likely that the number of Harvard applicants taking AP courses and tests has declined.