"Whom Do You Admit?'
Bender readily agrees that it is a terrible nuisance now at Harvard, which last year received 3600 applications for a class of 1150; what then, could you call the 10,000 applications anticipated for the class of 1970?
Another existing problem which will be greatly magnified by the war-baby flood is that of "whom do you admit." According to Bowles, in the February 1954 College Board Review, 150,000 of the people who entered colleges this year do not have the demonstrated ability to do college work.
A Magical Ratio
"If we say 150,000 fast, it may not seem a large number, but translated in terms of colleges, it becomes impressive. It amounts to no fewer than 150 fully-equipped colleges, each with a student population of 1,000, president, faculty, dormitories, classrooms, libraries, and laboratories. . .
"These 150 institutions do not exist as identifiable colleges . . . but their component part are scattered among colleges throughout the land. They represent, in fact, non-productive investments in education. Assuming a capital investment of $2,000 per student . . . and an expenditure per student of $400 . . . this means unused capital of $300,000,000 and wasted expenditure to the amount of $60,000,0000 a year . . . This, be it noted, could purchase a lot of good education. It is a high price to pay for the slogan that everyone should have his chance."
The ability, then, to predict which students are capable of college work is essential; now, Bender points out, "We have very blunt instruments, indeed, for prediction."
Other considerations than ability will have to be taken into account. With greatly increased costs because of building and faculty, scholarship funds may not increase proportionately. They probably will not be available in the same 1:4 ratio that they are at present. John U. Monro '34, director of the Financial Aid Center, asks, "Why should there be anything magical about our present ratio" If there are more qualified students who can pay their own way why shouldn't we admit them?"
After Twenty Years
Expansion problems hardly end with application, selection, and assistance. One of the most obvious for enlarged classes of 1550 is housing. The easiest way out would be to increase without increasing the number of residents. But even by doubling the number of commuters, another problem arises--enlargement of Dudley facilities.
For the residents, construction of new Houses depends largely on what kinds of facilities are desired and on what funds are available. The Housemasters, now seeking one or two new Houses to end present overcrowding, are considering a redefinition of the role of the House after twenty years.
'Educating Each Other'
Should a House be a social unit--with recreational as well as living and dining facilities? Should a House be an intellectual unit with extensive library facilities and conference rooms for talks with tutors? Or is it possible to maintain a satisfactory combination of both instruction from tutors and what Elliott Perkins '23, master of Lowell House, describes as "The process of the undergraduates educating each other"?
Regardless of the masters' decision, however, certain elementary physical changes will be necessary. To build Dunster House in 1929-30 cost about $3,500,000. To reproduce it now would cost $7-10,000,000. Thus, fireplaces and costly chimneys will yield to the relentless pressure of economy; the cherished luxury of private bathrooms will go the way of chinaware at meals; the system of small, quiet entries will probably be replaced by long hallways.
According to Edward Reynolds '15, Administrative Vice-president, the original houses cost between 12 and 15 thousand