Civilian Enrollment In College Sinks to 677

College civilian registration will drop during the spring term to a low mark of an estimated 677 undergraduates as against a pre-war total of 3500, Dean Buck announced last night. The entering Freshman Class of 75 will swell the Class of 1947 to 644 men, of whom an estimated 350 will remain to study in Cambridge in the coming trimester.

The figures, derived from study cards received two weeks ago, show 277 members of the Class of 1947 returning, 182 men who entered in the Class of 1946, 100 men of the Class of 1945, and 14 members of the Class of 1944. In addition to this, there are four men who are out of course standing, 25 former students who will return in March, and the 75 new Freshmen. Forty undergraduates are returning as members of the V-12 unit.

464 Under 18

Wartime conditions affecting Freshman enrollment were shown in a University release which stated that 464 of the 569 men who registered for the first time in July and November were under 18 at the time. A complete breakdown of the figures indicates that about 2.3% of the Class of '47 enrolled at the age of 15.

In peacetime, the average entering age was 18 years and two months, but the war has driven the median down to a point slightly below 17 years, five months. Over 85% of the men who started college work in July were under 18, and over 61% of the members of '47b fell into that classification.

Dean Leighton said recently that "under present conditions, over 20% of the incoming Freshman Class have not yet reached their 17th birthday at the time of registration in Harvard College." The newly-released figures show that 20.1%, or 100 out of 498, of the July group fell into that classification, while a slightly lower percentage of 16- and 15-year-olds registered in November.