XIV. The Students—Number, Birthplace, and Parentage
During the session of 1904–05, approximately six hundred
and sixty-two students matriculated at the University
of Virginia. By March, 1913, that number had
grown to eight hundred and thirty-six; but it was not until
the beginning of the session of 1915–16 that the roll
embraced one thousand names,—the thousandth name
being that of Matthew S. Martin, of New Jersey. By
March, 1916, the number of matriculates had swelled
to one thousand and sixty, and by March, 1917, to one
thousand and ninety-two. During the interval between
1904–05 and 1915–16, the rate of increase had not exceeded
fifty per cent.
The explanation for the slow advance during the early
part of this period was to be found in the operation of
several adverse influences: (1) the adoption of more
rigid entrance examinations by the University; (2) the
popularity in the world at large of certain branches of
technological education, which could be more satisfactorily
acquired in institutions devoted exclusively to that
province of study; (3) the reputation for difficulty which
had long stuck to the University's undergraduate courses;
and (4) the false impression that the expense of living
within its precincts was abnormally high. There was a
suspicion that jealousy on the part of some of the less
prominent colleges had led them to exaggerate the
importance of all these supposititious drawbacks. The
principal competitors of the University of Virginia in
the State, at this time, in enrolment of students, were
the Polytechnic Institute at Blacksburg, the College of
William and Mary, the Military Institute at Lexington,
and Washington and Lee University. At least two of
these,—the College of William and Mary and the Virginia
Military Institute,—like the University of Virginia
itself, received a large number of matriculates without
any charge for tuition.
The declaration of war with Germany led to a shrinkage
in the roll of matriculates at the University of Virginia
during the session which followed that event. By
March, 1918, when American participation in hostilities
had been protracted over nearly twelve months, the number
of its students did not exceed seven hundred and
sixty; but before another session had passed, that number
had rebounded to thirteen hundred and eighteen, the
largest, up to that year, in the history of the institution,
and the immediate result of the return to college of so
many young men whose education had been temporarily
interrupted by their enlistment in the army,—from
which they were now withdrawn, as peace had been again
established.
To what States were the students enrolled in the Ninth
Period, 1904–19, accredited? And what was the proportion
of attendance belonging to each State? The
number of matriculates coming from Alabama previous
to 1916–17 had never, in any one year, risen above thirty
or fallen below fourteen. Arkansas could never claim,
during the same length of time, more than sixteen;
Florida more than twenty-two; and Georgia more than
twenty-seven. During some of the sessions, each of
these commonwealths was represented by one half of
these respective numbers. In 1907–08, Kentucky had
sent forty-four matriculates; in 1911–12, fourteen only;
but in 1918–19, the attendance from that State rose to
thirty-nine. The largest number which Louisiana could
claim between 1904–05 and 1916–17 was twelve; the
largest which Mississippi could claim was twenty-four;
North Carolina, thirty-one; South Carolina, twenty-seven;
Tennessee, forty-eight; West Virginia, thirty-two;
and Texas, twenty-six. All these States showed a
large increase in enrolment during the abnormal year of
1918–19.
The smallest attendance to which any of these commonwealths
sank was six matriculates. This occurred
only in the case of Louisiana. In the instance of both
North Carolina and Texas, it was seven; of South Caolina,
eight; of Mississippi, twelve; of West Virginia,
fifteen; and of Tennessee, seventeen. The number of
students from Virginia who matriculated in 1904–05 was
three hundred and seventy, and in 1908–09, four hundred
and thirty-five. There was a shrinkage to three hundred
and ninety-four in 1910–11; but, in 1915–16, the
attendance from this State rose to six hundred and fifty-five.
The same abnormal increase was observable in
its enrolment in 1918–19 as in the case of the other
commonwealths of the South.
Among the Trans-Mississippi communities represented
in the lists for the Ninth Period were Arizona, California,
Colorado. Idaho, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Montana,
Nevada, New Mexico, North and South Dakota,
Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming, and Washington.
Previous to 1917, about three hundred and sixty students
matriculated from these States; about two hundred
and one from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota,
Ohio and Wisconsin; and about five hundred and
ninety-two from Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts,
New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont. Of these
commonwealths, New York contributed the largest number
of matriculates, with Pennsylvania following close
at its heels. China, Japan, and the South American Republics
were also represented by a small attendance.
|
1907–8 |
1911–12 |
1914–15 |
1918–19 |
| North Atlantic States |
51 |
56 |
48 |
44 |
| South Atlantic States |
530 |
562 |
710 |
977 |
| South Central States |
139 |
127 |
129 |
188 |
| North Central States |
34 |
26 |
25 |
14 |
| Western States |
19 |
27 |
15 |
6 |
| Foreign Countries |
5 |
8 |
8 |
5 |
The above table would seem to show that, during the
interval between 1907–08 and 1918–19, it was only the
attendance from the South Atlantic States that increased
substantially. With the exception of the South-Central
States,—in which there was a small addition,—the
other great divisions of the Union disclosed a positive
shrinkage in their enrolment; and this was most conspicuous
in the roster of matriculates for the NorthCentral
and the Western States. From this fact, it
would be inferred that the drift in the attendance of students
at the University of Virginia during the Ninth
Period, 1904–1919, was away from these latter two
groups of commonwealths at the very time that the registration
from the South Atlantic States,—practically
the former Confederacy,—was repidly growing in volume.
In 1905–06, the University of Virginia and
Princeton obtained about thirty per cent. of their students
from beyond the borders of the States in which they were
situated, while the proportion for Columbia, Cornell, and
Harvard Universities, and the University of Pennsylvania
ranged from thirty to twenty-six. In 1914, the attendance
at the University of Virginia from outside the
boundaries of its own commonwealth was estimated at
a ratio as high as fifty per cent. The University of
Michigan alone approximated this figure.
In what schools were the young men who were enrolled
prepared for admission to the University of Virginia?
In 1906–07, about forty-one per cent. of those registered
had been students in private high schools; about twenty-two
per cent. in public schools; about twenty-six per
cent. in colleges; and about nine per cent. in universities.
Only about two percent. had been taught by private tutors.
In 1911–12, the group of young men who entered
for their first session had received their previous drilling
in the following institutions: fifty-one in universities;
fifty-nine in colleges; ninety-nine in public schools, and
one hundred and thirty-one in private. As yet, the private
school could claim the largest proportion of the
matriculates. In 1912–13, the number of first-year students
who had been previously trained in universities
was forty; in colleges, seventy-one; in public schools, one
hundred and eleven; in private, one hundred and twenty-two.
The private high school could still show the higher
proportion. In 1916–17, forty-five of the first-year students
had been instructed in universities; seventy-six in
colleges; one hundred and twenty-two in private schools;
and one hundred and seventy-five in public. The public
school had at last run ahead of the private in the numerical
race.
The remarkable growth in the attendance of students
in the undergraduate or college department was thought
to be due to this rapid increase in the number of young
men who had received their secondary education in the
public schools. What an important tributary to the reservoir
of the University the public high school had now
become is disclosed by the fact, that, in 1906–07, twenty
six of the thirty-three Virginian counties without a representative
in the student body did not possess a single
school of this grade,—in other words, only seven
counties of the State that had not established public high
schools had been able, during that session, to add to the
University's list of matriculates; and the same general
ratio continued to be observed during later years.
We have seen, in our description of earlier periods
of the University's history, that the proportion of young
men returning to the precincts for a second or third year
of study was far smaller than would have been normally
expected. The same condition was perceptible during
the Ninth Period. In the long interval between the
sessions of 1904–05 and 1915–16, only eleven hundred
and forty-five of the twenty-two hundred and forty-one
first-year students entered for a second year; only six
hundred and eleven for a third year; only two hundred
and thirty-three for a fourth; and only seventy-four for
a fifth. Dean Page attributed the failure of so many to
come back to the professors' inability, from overwork,
to give the necessary amount of attention to each student.
Discouragement, for one cause or another, was,
undoubtedly, the reason which influenced a large number
to remain away after their first session. Not all had
been sufficiently trained even for the college or undergraduate
department; and this deficiency possibly continued
after admission, either because of their own indolence,
or because the number of professors was too small
to remove the shortcomings of all the members of their
classes. Restricted means too led many first-year students
to limit their attendance to a single session; and the
desire to earn a livelihood in active life at the earliest
hour practicable governed the decision of many of their
companions.
These several grounds for depression did not come into
such powerful play in the Northern institutions of learning,
—especially in those in which the modified curriculum
still prevailed. In Princeton University, the proportion
of students of the first year who did not return
for a second session was only twenty-two percent.; and in
Williams College, eighteen. This was very near the
ratio for the other seats of higher learning situated in
that part of the country.
What was the parentage of the students who registered
during the Ninth Period? Of the seven hundred
and ninety-six enrolled during the session of 1905—06,
five hundred and twenty-seven replied to an inquiry
submitted to all on this point,—eighty-seven were found
to be sons of farmers, about sixteen percent. of the
whole number: eighty-two, the sons of lawyers, about fifteen
percent.; and seventy, the sons of merchants, about
thirteen per cent. The most important of the other
pursuits disclosed in the return were medicine, manufactures,
real-estate, clerkships, teaching, civil engineering,
banking, contracting, and the ministry. During the session
of 1909–10, forty-four percent. of the young men
were the sons of farmers, merchants, and lawyers. The
farmers were still the most numerous in the parentage.
During the session of 1911–12, nearly every calling in the
community, from the highest to the lowest, from the
proudest to the humblest, was represented,—of the
students reporting, one hundred and three were the sons
of farmers, one hundred and two, of merchants; and
sixty-five, of lawyers. The sons of parents engaged in the
remaining pursuits ranged in number for each pursuit
from two to forty. During the session of 1913–14, the
majority of the parents were still farmers, merchants,
lawyers, and physicians, taken in the order named.
Forty-seven callings were to be found in the parentage.
In 1914–15, the farmers again headed the list, followed
by lawyers, physicians, and clergymen. Forty-nine pursuits
were represented during this session. During the
session of 1916–17, eighty-four per cent. of the students
reported their parentage,—the farmers again led, followed,
in proportion to numbers, by merchants, lawyers,
physicians, clergymen, real-estate agents, bankers, brokers,
railway employees, manufacturers, and teachers.
All the other vocations were also represented.
It may be seen, from the preceding enumeration, that
the largest proportion of students were the sons of farmers;
the next largest, the sons of merchants; the next,
the sons of lawyers. The number of parents belonging
to the learned professions fell, as a whole, short of the
number of those who pursued the ordinary callings.
The progress of the Ninth Period does not seem to have
altered this condition.
In 1906–07, the average age of the students enrolled
in the college department was nineteen and three-quarter
years; in the graduate, twenty-six; in the engineering,
twenty and one-third; in the law, twenty-two and two-thirds;
and in the medical, twenty-two and one-half.
In 1914–15, the average age of the students in the college
department was twenty years and two-thirds of a month;
in the graduate, twenty-five years and three months; in
the law, twenty-one years and eleven months; in the
medical, twenty-three years and one month; and in the
engineering, twenty-one years and two months. During
the session of 1910–11, the average age of the whole
body of students was twenty-one years and two months.
In 1913–14, it advanced to twenty-one years and four
months; in 1914–15, it fell back to twenty-one years and
three and one-half months; and in 1915–16, it further
declined to twenty-one years and two months. During
this session, the average age of the first-year students
was nineteen years and ten months.
