"This is a very prestigious businessperson's club," he says. "The [dress] code reflects the tenor of the club."

But he adds, the clubhouse has had none of the problems with stuffiness which have beset its sister club in New York.

"They've been fairly on the formal side," he says. "What they've done recently is create an area of the club that is less formal so they can be casual. We've always had that."

The lower level of the Boston club, which houses a bar and grill as well as athletic facilities, allows casual dress, Gillberg says.

"Members have the option to dine formally or dine casually," he says.

While, according to the Times, the Harvard Club of New York has suffered a 20 percent drop in revenues from dining rooms and functions in the last six or seven years, Gillberg says the Boston club is "fine" financially.

The club recently renovated overnight rooms, banquet rooms and the fitness area in its 85-year-old building, he says.

Expensive

Part of the reason for low recruitment numbers among younger graduates may be the Harvard clubhouses' high prices.

In the Boston club's dining halls, entrees are priced at about $22, and rooms run about $100 a night, Gillberg says.

The Boston club's Back Bay building is equipped with a fitness center, 11 indoor aquash courts, overnight hotel-like accommodations and a grill/bar as well as formal dining areas.

The club is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. Membership dues may run as high as $1,400 for the first year and $775 each additional year, officials at the Boston club say.

But presidents of clubs that do not have clubhouses say their dues are considerably less. They range from as low as $10 for recent graduates to up to $50 for senior members.

To offset the financial crunch, the Boston clubhouse sets membership dues proportionately less for members who have graduated more recently. The club also waives initiation fees for students interested in joining. Gillberg says.

"In general, when you get out of college, you're not in a position financially to undertake the costs of the club." Gillberg says. "We take that into consideration.