Chemistry Courses, Expository Writing Lead Summer School in Enrollment

Final enrollment figures released yesterday indicate the Chemistry Department again leads the Summer School in popularity, with a total of 272 pupils taking the department's summer offerings.

Chemistry S-1, "Introductory General and Inorganic Chemistry," attracted 137 students, while 135 others enrolled in Chemistry S-20, "Organic Chemistry."

Expository Writing courses came a close third in popularity, with 131 participants. Ukrainian studies and English as a foreign language follow, with each department attracting 100-130 students.

Med School

This year's greater demand for Natural Sciences courses and falling interest in Humanities and Social Science offerings reflect a 10-year trend, Marshall R. Pihl '55, associate director of the Summer School, said yesterday.

"Students are less concerned now with the world at large than with their own professional interests," he said.

Chem S-20, one of the oldest Summer School offerings, traditionally draws large numbers of students, but the rise in popularity of Expos courses was noticeable. Last year, Expos ranked only 14th on the list of most popular courses.

Literacy

Michael Shinagel, acting director of the Summer School, said yesterday the rise in Expos's popularity may be due to the increased number of high school students attending the Summer School this year.

Over 300 high school students are taking summer courses this year, more than three times last year's total.

Pihl attributed the large enrollment in English language courses to this year's increase of the foreign student body, which now totals 13 per cent of the Summer School's enrollment.

"The foreign students not only come to Harvard to work on their English, they are attracted by the opportunity to broaden their understanding of American culture," Pihl said.

Enrollment figures also indicate that students apparently prefer introductory and survey courses to higher-level offerings. Economics S-10, "Principles of Economics," and Fine Arts S-13, "Survey of the History of Art," continue to draw over 50 students each.

Who Needs It?

Although total Summer School enrollment increased by almost 200 students to a total of 2700 students this year--the first increase in five years--the percentage of Harvard students taking summer courses dropped from one-fifth to one-sixth of the student body. TEN MOST POPULAR COURSES CHEMISTRY S-1  137 CHEMISTRY S-20  135 EXPOSITORY WRITING  131 UKRAINIAN HISTORY S-1544  129 ENGLISH S-D1  102 UKRAINIAN LANGUAGE S-B  92 CELL BIOLOGY S-123  5 BIO-CHEM S-100  76 BIOLOGY S-1B  68 ECONOMICS S-10  65