OPTIONAL EXAMINATIONS.

THE CLASSICS.

Candidates who present themselves upon Course I. will be at liberty to offer themselves for additional examination upon the following classical subjects:

Livy (two books).

Horace (Odes and Epodes).

LATIN.

The translation at sight of a passage from the philosophical works of Cicero.

The retranslation of the English of a similar passage into Latin.

Plato (Apology and Crito).

GREEK.

Homer (Iliad, Books IV.-VIII. inclusive, or Odyssey, Books IV. and IX-XII. inclusive).

Euripides (Alcestis), or Homer (Odyssey, Books V.-VII. inclusive). Translation from English into Greek.

No candidate will be required to present himself at these examinations; but those who pass them with high credit, in addition to the other classical examinations of Course I. above, will be admitted, immediately on entering College, to advanced sections in Latin and Greek, or to elective studies either in the classics or in other departments, in place of the Freshman studies thus anticipated. All those who wish to attain distinction in classical studies, or to graduate with classical honors, are advised to pass these examinations on entering.

MATHEMATICS.

Candidates who present themselves upon Course I. are at liberty to offer themselves for examination also upon any of the advanced Mathematical subjects (7, 9, 10, 11) of Course II.; and upon passing such examination with credit they will be admitted to an elective section, either in Mathematics or in some other subject, in place of the Freshman study thus anticipated.

GERMAN.

Candidates for admission who present French may offer themselves for examination also in German Grammar and the translation of simple German prose, and upon passing such examination with credit will be excused from attendance upon the Freshman Course in German, but will be obliged to take some elective course.

PRESCRIBED STUDIES OF THE SOPHOMORE AND JUNIOR YEARS.

Candidates for admission to the Freshman Class, who are prepared to pass a creditable examination upon any of the prescribed studies of the Sophomore and Junior years (see pages 48-62), may pass such examination at the beginning of the Freshman year, instead of at the beginning of the year in which the study is pursued, and thereby relieve themselves from attendance at the exercises in that study in College.

A principal aim in providing these examinations is to encourage teachers to carry the studies of their brighter and more diligent pupils beyond the bare requisitions for admission, in whatever direction taste or opportunity may suggest. Full employment may thus be secured for the most capable student until he is thought mature enough to enter College, while his greater progress in school will make College more profitable by enabling him to take up his studies at a more advanced stage, or to give more time to the studies of his choice.

TIMES OF EXAMINATION.

Two regular examinations for admission to the Freshman Class are held each year, one at the beginning of the summer vacation, the other at the beginning of the academic year in the autumn.

In 1875 the first examination will take place on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, July 1, 2, and 3; and the second on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, September 30 and October 1 and 2. Each examination will begin at precisely 8 o'clock, A.M., on Thursday. The candidates will assemble in Harvard Hall. Attendance on the three days is required.

The optional examinations will be held at the time of the second examination for admission; those in Mathematics also at the first examination.

No person will be examined for admission to College at any other time than those above specified.

ADVANCED STANDING.

Candidates may be admitted to advanced standing as late as the beginning of the Senior year, provided they present themselves for examination as directed below. The candidate for admission to advanced standing must appear on examination to be well versed in the following studies:

1. In the studies required for admission to the Freshman Class.

2. In all the prescribed studies already pursued by the class for which

he is offered; and in as many elective studies as he would have pursued if he had entered at the beginning of the course, including, if he is offered in Course II., elective studies substituted in place of the Mathematics of the Freshman year.

All candidates for admission to advanced standing must be examined at the times of the regular examinations for admission to the Freshman Class, and in conformity with the following rules :

1. All candidates for admission to advanced standing must first be examined for admission to the Freshman Class; for this examination they may offer themselves at either the first or the second examination.

2. The examination on the studies of the Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior years, is held only in the autumn, at the time of the regular exami nation for admission to the Freshman Class.

3. All candidates for admission to advanced standing will assemble with the candidates for admission to the Freshman Class on Thursday, at 8 o'clock, A.M., in Harvard Hall.

In the case of graduates of other colleges who seek admission to Harvard College, the examination will be directed to ascertaining whether their previous course of study has been sufficiently extensive and their proficiency in it sufficiently great, to fit them to join the class for which they offer themselves, a minute acquaintance with all the ground they have previously gone over not being essential. Such candidates should bring evidence of their standing at the colleges where they received their degree.

TESTIMONIALS AND BOND.

All candidates for admission are required, before examination, to produce certificates of good moral character; and students from other colleges are required to bring certificates from those colleges of honorable dismission.

Every candidate, if admitted, must furnish to the Steward a bond for six hundred dollars, executed by two bondsmen, one of them a citizen of Massachusetts, as security for the payment of College dues; or, if he prefer, he may make, in place of the bond, a deposit of money with the Steward for the same purpose.

No officer or student of the University will be accepted as bondsman.

NEW REQUISITION FOR ADMISSION IN 1876. Candidates for admission in 1876 and thereafter will be examined in all the subjects required for admission in 1875, as stated above, and also in one of the three following subjects in Elementary Science, viz. :— 1. Elementary Botany.

2. Rudiments of Physics and Chemistry.

3. Rudiments of Physics and of Descriptive Astronomy.

The selection of the subject will be left with the candidate.

The following books are mentioned as serving to indicate the nature and extent of this requisition:

In Botany, Gray's "How Plants Grow."

In Physics, Balfour Stewart's Primer of Physics.

In Chemistry, Roscoe's Primer of Chemistry.

In Astronomy, Rolfe and Gillet's Handbook of the Stars (first 124 pages).

Candidates who offer Botany will be required to give evidence that they can analyze simple specimens; and those who offer Physics or Chemistry, that they can perform simple experiments like those described in the Primers referred to above.

This requisition will form the sixteenth subject in both courses of preparatory study.

DIVISION OF THE EXAMINATION.

Candidates for admission to the Freshman Class are allowed to divide the examination into two examinations separated by an interval of not less than an academic year, provided they present themselves at the preliminary examination in at least seven of the subjects enumerated in either Course. No candidate, however, will be admitted to examination on a part of any subject, and no account will be made of, nor certificate be given for, the preliminary examination, unless the candidate has passed satisfactorily in at least four subjects.

Candidates who prefer may still pass the entire examination in the same year, as heretofore.

COURSE OF STUDY

FOR THE DEGREE OF A.B.

The course of study to be pursued by a candidate for the Bachelor's degree is made up in part of studies which are prescribed, and pursued by all students alike, and in part of studies selected by the student himself out of the various courses of instruction which are given in the College.

PRESCRIBED STUDIES.

The prescribed studies occupy the whole of the Freshman year and about one-third of the Sophomore and Junior years. In the Senior year only certain written exercises are prescribed.

ANTICIPATION OF PRESCRIBED STUDIES.

The prescribed studies of the Sophomore and Junior years being of an elementary character, students who wish to be relieved from attendance at College exercises in one or more of them will be excused from such attendance, if they pass a satisfactory examination in such study or studies at the beginning of the year in which they would regularly pursue the study or studies in College, or at the time of their examination for admission to College. Studies which are pursued only in the second half-year may also be anticipated in the same way in the middle of the year. No such examination will be deemed satisfactory unless the student shall succeed in obtaining at least one-half of the maximum mark. The mark obtained when the examination is successful will be credited to the student as his mark on the Annual Scale of the study which forms the subject of the examination. Preparation for these examinations can often be made while the student is preparing for College or in the long vacation, and time may be thus gained for higher courses of study.

Students who intend to present themselves for such examination in any required study for 1875-76 must give notice to the Dean in writing before September 1, 1875.

Information concerning the requirements for passing the examination in any study can be obtained from the instructor in that study.