Harvard students and alumni rank first in the nation in terms of social prestige and achievement, according to a recent study published in "Hawes' Comprehensive Guide to Colleges."

Gene R. Hawes based his findings on the number of students and alumni who appear in the "Social Register" and "Who's who in America".

Hawes said yesterday, "The Social Register" lists "the oldest, richest and socially most-prominent people." It is "the closest thing to a directory of the American upper class which exists," he added. "Who's Who in America" is based entirely on achievement."

Poor Elis

Yale and Princeton follow Harvard in the ratings, second and third respectively in both social prestige and achievement. "If a college has high social standing, it has high academic quality," Hawes said, adding his book "proves that this is a fact."

"Hawes said "the higher the faculty salary level, the more capable the college is academically." Harvard professors, with a mean salary of $27,200, are the second-highest paid while professors at the University of Alaska at Fairbank have the highest median salary, at $27,800.