Admissions Dean Defends Required Entrance Exams

Harvard's dean of admissions. Dr. Chase N, Peterson '52, has defended the College's admissions requirement of college board exams in the wake of Bowdoin College's vote two weeks ago to make them optional.

"Bowdoin's announcement is a good reminder of the excellence of that college and of the fact that they, like ourselves, don't rely excessively on the scores," Peterson said.

Although Peterson agreed to the charge that the board exams are culturally biased, he said, "there's also a cultural bias in education because you're learning how to think, not how to survive in boot camp or in a slum," Physical survival is very important, he added, "but very different from what you have to learn to survive at Harvard."

Without Boards

Peterson said that without board scores, too much emphasis might be placed on teachers' recommendations. Those schools with the best letter-writers, possibly private schools or cosmopolitan public schools, would have "an inordinate advantage."

The scores, he added, are often very helpful in interpreting high school grades.

Peterson cited the fact that applicants with scores of 800 have almost an 80 per cent chance of admission, whereas those candidates with SAT scores of 400 have only a 2 to 5 per cent chance of acceptance.

On the other hand. Peterson said, "We don't worship the things." If Harvard went strictly by college board scores itcould raise the class median from the present 695 to about 735. "A lot of freshmen who are self-conscious go around comparing board scores and that's a terrible thing."

SAT scores, said Peterson, will continue to be required along with achievement exams, grades, class ranks, teachers' reports, and an interview. "Students are better served by a variety of forms of reporting as long as any one report isn't taken too seriously."

"In some ways, the most exciting part of the class is at the top and bottom of the board scores, he said. Students with the top scores are chosen for "pure intellectual brilliance" and those at the bottom have "toughness and staying power."