The administrative push for more economic and social diversity drastically changed the nature of the College.

In 1948, for the first time in Harvard's history, high school students outnumbered preparatory school students.

During those four years, tradition was upended-three fifths of Harvard came from private schools when the Class of 1950 entered, and when it left, three fifths came from public schools.

Harvard's effort south of the Mason-Dixon Line and west of the Appalachians paid off, displacing Harvard's long status as a regional, New England college.

Enrollments from the Pacific region tripled and those from the South nearly doubled.

And the public school boys shared a trait with the veterans-academic success.

While more than 40 percent of students from public schools made Dean's list in those years, only 20 percent of students from private schools did so.

The scholarships and public school recruitment were important to Harvard's administration as they culled the most promising young intellectuals from around the country to maintain Harvard's reputation for intellectual prowess.