Fall Term Averages Top Last Year's Grade List

Undergraduates' fears of being drafted had a beneficial effect on College grades during the past term, according to figures released yesterday by Registrar Sargent Kennedy '28.

The draft-conscious classes of 1952 and '53 rectified last year's academic drop. Fewer of their classmates have been called to University Hall this year to explain unsatisfactory grades. About the same percentage of men made the Dean's List--34.2 percent--as in the fall of 1950. Last year, however, the College slipped 2.9 percent to an average of 32.2 percent.

Most encouraging figure was the improved record of the Class of 1952. As juniors their number of unsatisfactories had increased to 12.7 percent, a jump of five percent. This fall only 53 seniors (5.8 percent) had unsatisfactory records--the lowest number in any class.

Juniors Improve Alse

This year's junior class righted itself from its sophomore 15.1 percent unsatisfactory figure to 8.9 percent. This was the second lowest figure in the College and is the normal percentage. About 7.7 percent of the Class of '53 drew unsatisfactories in 1950.

Dean Bender said that tension was probably a factor in last year's relapse for the Classes of 1952 and '53. Almost all the students in academic difficulties mentioned draft fear as a reason for their records. Many also admitted spending too much time investigating service opportunities.

The Class of 1954 bettered academic records of its two predecessors, with only 12.5 percent of unsatisfactories. The overall decrease in failing records was less than one percent, with the freshman and junior classes showing slight increases.

Midyear-grades can in no way affect a student's status under current regulations; Draft Boards are interested only in the student's class standing during the previous complete academic year, Kennedy said. The Office of the Registrar, therefore, issued no statistics yesterday as to the grades men need to place in the upper half of their classes.

Classes Split at Group IV

Unofficial calculations set the upper-half dividing line for all classes somewhere in group IV. Seniors, to be in the upper half, had to place in the top one eighth of the group; juniors, top three fifths; sophomores, upper seven-tenths; and freshmen, top nine-tenths. Rank within a group is determined by plus and minus grades.

Academically, the classes are ranged in order from seniors to freshmen. The Class of 1952 leads the Dean's List quota with a high of 46.4 percent, and also led the field with 49 (4.9 percent) group I men. Almost 15 percent of the Class of 1955 had unsatisfactories; however, 13 men made group I against 11 for last year's Yardlings.

The run-down on overall College ranklist standings at mid-year's is as follows: Group I, 2.9 percent; II, 10.6; III, 20.8; IV, 26.7; V, 20.5; VI, 4.8; Insufficient, 1.5, Unsatisfactory, 11.4, and Withdrawals, 8.