Competitive Civil Service examinations for summer jobs in Washington should be "a great advantage to Harvard students," Richard G. King, director of the Office of Graduate and Career Plans, said Wednesday.

The Civil Service Commission announced earlier this week that the present policy of allowing each Federal agency to determine its own criteria for summer replacements will be abandoned next year in favor of nationwide competitive examinations.

"Harvard students traditionally do exceptionally well on "the Civil Service exam," King stated. "Last year the average score for Harvard was the highest among New England colleges."

He noted, however, that a lot depends on just how much weight the Commission and Federal agencies decide to place upon the examinations. "It's conceivable that exam scores will be counted very little in selecting summer employees," he said.

King did not know how many Washington summer jobs would be affected by the change in policy. But he pointed out that the Commission has stated that the change will not apply to summer internships and other jobs with Congressmen.

King said he doubted that the institution of the examination system would succeed in making summer job selection "completely objective," but he said it should climate much of the political favoritism that now exists.