Yale's system of placing freshmen in their own giving area but assigning them to an upperclass residential college seems an attempt to compromise between the two ideals. At Harvard, debate about the freshmen housing lottery perennially raises the option of abandoning the lottery and assigning freshmen to a House in their first year. While this seems to give the best of both worlds--contact with upperclassmen as well as a specialized advising system--the College shuns it because it eliminates choice.

Says Fox of the present system, "It was adopted because it is practical, we can afford it, and it works."

Moses says he has tried to give the arrangement as many advantages as possible by careful selection of the 150 proctors and nonresident advisers. Moses says he looks for "maturity and commitment" in proctors--not necessarily familiarity with Harvard.

"We look for quick learners," Moses says, adding. "The problem with some Harvard graduates who are proctors is that they think they know everything--they may not brother to study how things have changed since they were freshmen."

Now-resident advisers usually hold some other officer in the University, ranging from admissions officer to superintendent of Yard dorms.

Proctors and non-resident advisers receiver extensive briefings form the freshman dean's office. When proctors greet freshmen on the first day of school, for example, they have already pored over a collection of essays put out by the office which addresses such topics as "What should I say in conversations with students" and "advisers' responses to misconduct."

Running freshmen year is almost like a business for Moses. "We have 1600 customers and 150 staff--there have to be times when things don't go perfectly. I don't think every students gets exactly what he wants."