Education: Chicago Party

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Like a proud, fussy host, President Robert Maynard ("Bob'') Hutchins of the University of Chicago settled a batch of students in his new "College" last autumn (TIME, Sept. 21). Ever since, the College has much resembled a high-brow houseparty. You work as you go, study or roister as you please, plan to get a College certificate in two years or so, then do specialized work in one of the ''Divisions." Last week Host Hutchins gave his guests a try at a new, exciting party game: Examinations. The new Board of Examinations, after lengthy studies, issued a set of questions—nearly 1,000 of them—which are samples of the four comprehensive tests sooner or later to be given the guests. The samples cover the autumn's work but the real ones, to be answered in six hours, will be for the whole year. They will be offered in June, September, December. Those who fail may try, try again, at $5 the first repetition, $10 for every subsequent one. After these are passed, there are further tests in two of the four fields the College work covers, plus other requirements, before the College certificate is awarded.

Sample questions in the four fields are based on lectures, conferences, reading. Excerpts:

(In Biology) "Suppose you found a fossilized jawbone of a vertebrate. What characteristics would you look for to determine whether or not it belonged to a mammal?"

(In the Humanities) "Suppose the following 17 statements had been presented to the typical educated Egyptian of the Empire Period (1600-1200 B.C.). Mark (1) if he would have agreed with the proposition; (2) if he would have disagreed; (3) if he would have debated the proposition without necessarily agreeing or disagreeing; (4) if he would have found it meaningless: Murder of a freeman is wrong; the earth moves around the sun; all property holders must pay taxes to the government; naturalism is a possible objective in sculpture; comedy is a superior form of drama to tragedy."

(In Social Sciences) "Comment on the following senatorial statement: 'I don't know much about the tariff, but I know this much: When I buy a coat that comes from England, I have the coat and the English have the money. But when I buy a coat that has been made on this side, we have both the coat and the money.' "

(In Physical Sciences') "Water at the temperature of ice is as effective as ice in cooling drinks such as lemonade. True or false?"