PREPARATION.
First in order comes the question which every young man
who proposes to enter the University must answer for himself:
Am I prepared to profit by the work of the University?
How he should answer this question will depend on the work
he desires to do there. If his studies lie in the academical
department, then of the thirteen Schools which compose it,
there are eight in which only the essentials of an ordinary
common school education are absolutely indispensable. These
are English, History and Political Economy, Modern Languages,
General Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Mineralogy
and Geology, Biology and Agriculture, Moral
Philosophy. Of the remaining five, Pure Mathematics and
Natural Philosophy require in addition an acquaintance
with the elements of Mathematics, while Latin and Greek
demand at least the rudiments of these languages; and the
School of Practical Astronomy can be profitably taken
only by students who have accomplished a tolerably complete
course of Mathematics and Physics.
In short it may be said that while the benefit of sound,
mental training and accurate preparation is nowhere greater
than here, yet no man of robust intellect and earnest purpose
need turn away from the doors of the University in despair.
She offers to all such ample fields of work suited to their
powers, and makes abundant provision for the repair of their
deficiencies.
In the professional departments of Law and Medicine,
the same remarks as to preparation can be made. But
inasmuch as a certain maturity of mind is requisite for the
proper grasp of these studies, it is not recommended that any
student, however well prepared, enter upon them at an age
less than eighteen years. In the department of Engineering
the matriculate should be well trained in the elements of
mathematics.
