Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 67.djvu/551

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DISTRIBUTION OF TIME OF CORNELL STUDENTS.
545

In comparing the classes, the women are included with the men, though their number is specified; in comparing the courses, they are separated from the men in the arts and sciences group only.

The percentage of enrolled students actually represented is indicated in every instance. It ranges from 19 per cent, to 43 per cent.

Comparison of the Classes.—As will be seen from Table 2 it is difficult, if not impracticable, to assert any general differences in the distribution of the daily time of freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. The only generalization that is suggested is that freshmen and seniors give less time to university work than do sophomores and juniors. This statement is borne out by the table, and by inspection of the tables of the first series it may be discovered that the least work is done by freshmen or seniors in eight of nine courses; conversely, most work is done by sophomores or juniors in six of nine courses. The shorter time of freshmen is evidently due to the fact that prescribed work in certain professional courses calls for less laboratory and field work in the first, than in succeeding years. Thus the courses in which the hours of the freshmen class are shortest are law, veterinary medicine, civil, mechanical and electrical engineering.

Table 2.

Totals by classes, all courses.[1] Average Day.

Year. Freshmen. Sophomores. Juniors. Seniors. Specials and
Grads.
Total number 253 201 204 185 36
Number women 21 18 12 25 8
Per cent. represented 24 37 43 43
Lectures 1.95 2.25 2.19 2.50 1.71
Laboratories 1.38 1.81 1.62 1.79 2.90
Shop and field 1.02 1.40 1.06 0.36 0.28
Outside study 4.34 3.69 4.42 4.38 4.01
(University work) (8.69) (9.15) (9.29) (9.03) (8.90)
Amusement 2.17 2.34 2.26 2.28 1.89
Physical exercise 1.96 1.69 1.59 1.63 1.29
Meals 1.49 1.36 1.34 1.41 1.44
Sleep 8.00 7.96 7.77 7.83 8.02
Unclassified 1.21 1.25 1.42 1.52 1.76
Support 0.48 0.25 0.33 0.30 0.70

Comparison of the Courses.—As shown in Table 3, the several colleges of the university may be arranged in the following order in terms of the average number of hours given in university work: medicine, veterinary medicine, mechanical and civil engineering, architecture, law, agriculture, arts.[2]


  1. Includes all but 16 specials in agriculture (14 men and 2 women).
  2. The special group is excluded in this discussion, being too heterogeneous to be classed as a graduate group. Its place would be between architecture and law.

    Electrical and mechanical engineering, if computed separately, are found