WASHINGTON, Jan. 4--A plan to defer college students on the basis of their academic standing has been relayed to Selective Service headquarters, the CRIMSON learned tonight.

Rumors of the plan, advanced by Selective Service's special committee on deferment, have prevailed here for two weeks, but they were confirmed unofficially and clarified tonight.

The new deferment policy must still gain the approval of Gen. Lewis B. Hershey, Selective Service director, and of the White House. It provides two deferment criteria:

1) Every undergraduate in the nation must take a general classification test, similar to the standard I.Q. test, before he can be considered for deferment. A score of 110 would be the minimum standard.

Stiffens by Class

2) In order to be deferred beyond the freshman year of college, a student would have to stand in the upper half of the freshman class. Sophomores would have to rank in the top third of their class to be deferred, and juniors would have to be in the highest quarter.

Students would be drafted or deferred on the basis of educational prowess alone. The plan makes no distinction between men in the physical and social sciences and in the humanities.

The new policy was the result of a meeting of the entire 20-man draft committee on December 9 and 10. Committee members were at that time pledged not to release their plan until it had been announced by official sources.

Final Word May Take Time

This announcement--if it comes at all--may not be made until sometime this Spring. All students have automatic deferments until the end of the academic year.

The one-half, one-third, one-fourth fractions of deferred students would be made smaller if the military budget is raised and draft quotas resultingly enlarged. On the other hand, if President Truman succeeds in urging Universal Military Training on Congress, this deferment policy will no longer hold.

Deferment of students by academic rank is a departure from earlier predicted draft policy. Before the draft committee met last month, it was thought here that it would urge blanket deferment for all students.

However, many educators and other prominent citizens have opposed such a policy on the grounds that it would enable a man to dodge the draft by paying tuition at a college.

"Healing arts" students were given automatic deferment by a previous Selective Service directive