The college gives degrees indicating four grades of distinction on the basis of scholarship. These are indicated as "plain," "cum laude," "magna cum laude" and "summa cum laude." The two professional schools grant degrees with two grades of distinction, viz., "plain" and "cum laude."
Lowell assumes that the grade attained on the college entrance examinations indicates with a certain degree of correctness the natural scholarly abilities of the student. The course of studies elected during college reflects roughly the general interests of the student at that time. The college records indicate his ability in the pursuit of those studies, including under ability such things as persistence, patience, fidelity, zeal, as well as native intelligence. The records in the professional schools are taken as indicating quite approximately the student's real ability to achieve success in the particular professional work of the technical sort.
All students are consequently classified according to these various factors. The entrance examinations are divided into "clear" and "conditioned." The college degrees and the professional degrees are classified on the basis of the degree of distinction awarded. All students are also classified on the basis of their election of the four possible college courses: (a) literature and languages; (b) natural sciences; (c) history and political science; (d) philosophy and mathematics. The relations between these various classifications are then presented, and analyzed in various ways.
Thus it is shown that there is very little or no relation between the college course elected and the probability of achieving a degree "cum laude" in the professional schools. The figures are summed up in the following table:
SHOWING RELATION BETWEEN COURSE ELECTED IN COLLEGE AND HONORS RECEIVED IN SUBSEQUENT YEARS IN PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS (LOWELL)
--------------------------------------------------------- | Degree in Law | Degree in Medical | School | School Course Pursued |-----------------+------------------ |Plain|"Cum Laude"|Plain|"Cum Laude" --------------------+-----+-----------+-----+------------ Lit. and Lang. | 801 |180 (18.4%)| 145 |166 (53.4%) Nat. Science | 19 | 3 (13.6%)| 75 | 81 (51.9%) Hist. and Pol. Sci. | 627 |129 (17.1%)| 30 | 20 (44.4%) Phil. and Math | 8 | 11 (57.9%)| 6 | 7 (53.8%) ---------------------------------------------------------