Could You Pass the 1869 Harvard Entrance Exam?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the difficulty and content of the 1869 Harvard Entrance Exam and a comparison with the MIT entrance exam. Participants explore the relevance of the subjects tested, particularly the inclusion of Latin and Greek, and reflect on their own experiences and perceptions regarding these historical academic standards.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Historical

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express that while the Latin and Greek sections of the Harvard exam may be outdated, the other subjects remain relevant today.
  • Others highlight the difficulty of the MIT exam, noting that the English section would be particularly challenging due to unfamiliarity with certain authors.
  • A participant questions whether Latin and Greek were common knowledge at the time of the exams, suggesting that they were part of a standard curriculum for students aiming for university.
  • Another participant speculates about the expectations for students to be familiar with geography and authors relevant to their time and region, particularly in relation to MIT's exam.
  • There is a humorous remark about a specific question from the MIT exam, suggesting it might have been a "secret code question" for privileged students.
  • A later reply provides a historical context, indicating that Latin was a compulsory subject in UK education systems well into the 20th century, which may reflect broader educational practices of the time.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the relevance of Latin and Greek in modern education or the overall difficulty of the exams. Multiple competing views are presented regarding the historical context and expectations of students during that era.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include assumptions about educational standards and practices in the past, as well as the varying interpretations of the relevance of classical languages in contemporary education.

gravenewworld
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http://spectrum.columbiaspectator.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/harvardexam.pdf


Ok, so the Latin and Greek sections may be outdated, but everything else is still fair game for today. Brutal test.
 
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MIT's is a beast too:

http://libraries.mit.edu/archives/exhibits/exam/
 
gravenewworld said:
MIT's is a beast too:

http://libraries.mit.edu/archives/exhibits/exam/

The beards in that photo rocks.
 
at least there's no latin required for MIT. I would have been in no problem. The harvard geography got the best of me.
 
The MIT English section would have dominated me. I hate to admit it, but I don't recognize some of those authors.
 
gravenewworld said:
The MIT English section would have dominated me. I hate to admit it, but I don't recognize some of those authors.
The English section is really more of a humanities/geography section, and the references are a reflection of the times. I would expect that a classic education of the time would have exposed one to the authors, works and geography of the time and region. I'm sure students at a university were expected to be familiar with Massachusetts geography. I also imagine that it was expected that MIT would take the top students from various communities.
 
Ho MAN, I am so IN to MIT now!

Except for that "What part of the month of August is 7/18 minutes?"

I bet that's the secret code question, where the kids of the lumber barons are told to write:

"the part that falls in the corner," or something.
 
was latin and greek common knowledge at the time or soemthing?
 
So if that MIT test was still around I could get in MIT ? That's pretty awesome.
 
  • #10
Physics_UG said:
was latin and greek common knowledge at the time or soemthing?

Assuming the American model of education was similar to the UK, then yes, anybody who attended school past the age of about 10 and was planning to go to university would take courses in Latin, and probably Greek as well, as part of the standard curriiculum.

Even in the 1970s, passing an exam in Latin was a still compulsory requirement to read any subject at Oxford or Cambridge universities in the UK. But that was no big deal, since in state schools (= US public schools) that were likely to send students to Oxbridge, everybody took courses in a couple of foreign languages, usually French and Latin for the top streams, and French and German for the rest, with national exams (the GCE - General Certificate of Education) at age 16.
 
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