Early entrance at Shimer College
Encyclopedia
The early entrance program at Shimer College, known at different times as the Early Entrant Program and Early Entrance Program, is a program that allows high school
students to go to college early. Early entrants at Shimer are admitted as regular college students after completing at least two years of high school, but before receiving a high school diploma or GED
. Begun with the conversion of Shimer to a Great Books
curriculum in 1950, this program is the longest-running college early entrance program in the United States.
Early entrants, who have historically made up about 20% of the student body, participate in the school's discussion-based Great Books
curriculum as equals with other students. Although for many years early entrants were governed by the same open admissions
policy as other Shimer applicants, currently they must show that they are in the top 25% according to at least one quantitative metric. Many of the school's most distinguished 20th-century alumni have been early entrants.
As of 2008, early entrants accounted for 16% of Shimer College enrollment.
Early entrants participate in the same courses, and are graded on the same scale, as all other Shimer students. All Shimer students go through a four-year core curriculum
of Great Books
discussion classes. No classes have more than 12 students. In addition, students take electives and tutorials, which are available both from Shimer faculty and from the three schools with which Shimer has an articulation agreement: Illinois Institute of Technology
, Vandercook College of Music
, and Harold Washington College
.
Early entrants also have equal access to the specialized curricular offerings of the college. These include the biennial study abroad program at Oxford University and a 6-year accelerated JD program
offered in cooperation with Chicago-Kent College of Law
.
In 1950, Shimer College adapted the Great Books
academic program of the College of the University of Chicago
, a program developed under the leadership of Robert Maynard Hutchins in the 1930s and 1940s. Shimer was then located in the small rural town of Mount Carroll, Illinois
. In introducing the Hutchins program at Shimer, it was hoped that parents of early entrants would be more willing to send their children to Mount Carroll than to the Hyde Park
neighborhood in Chicago.
In the decades prior to 1950, Shimer had been a women's four-year junior college
, catering to students from 11th grade through the second year of college. As a result, unlike other schools which introduced early entrance in the 1950s, Shimer had a faculty and administration who were used to dealing with students of high school age.
In 1951, Shimer was one of eleven colleges provided by the Fund for the Advancement of Education, an offshoot of the Ford Foundation
, with scholarship funding for early entrants. The Fund had been established at the initiative of Robert Maynard Hutchins, who had taken an executive position at the Ford Foundation after leaving the University of Chicago, and this initiative, like many others, reflected Hutchins' unorthodox educational priorities. The Fund's support allowed the school's enrollment and revenues to increase; during the mid-1950s, early entrants receiving Ford Foundation scholarships accounted for more than 80% of the student body. As the grant's expiration neared in 1956, the ensuing shortfall in funding nearly forced Shimer to close its doors.
Although very small in scale—only 1,350 students had been admitted across all twelve colleges through 1954—the Fund's "Early Admission Program" ignited a firestorm of controversy. The executive secretary of the National Association of Secondary-School Principals described it as "an 'A-bomb' dropped on secondary education." Many high-school principals refused to inform their students of the opportunity to participate. The program was an educational success, with students outperforming comparison groups, but because of the hostility from both high schools and university faculty, early entrance programs quickly fizzled out at most participating colleges other than Shimer.
Although full scholarships for early entrants were never again the norm after the expiration of the Fund for the Advancement of Education grant, Shimer has continued to the present day to offer a modest scholarship bearing Hutchins' name to all admitted early entrants. Funding to support early entrance has also been provided at times by the Carnegie
and SURDNA
Foundations.
in at least one of four metrics: SAT
, ACT, GPA, or class rank
. In addition, although Shimer generally does not require standardized test scores for admission, as a matter of principle, early entrants must take either the SAT or ACT.
For much of its history, the early entrance program at Shimer had no fixed entrance requirements. This was in accordance with the guiding philosophy of the Hutchins program, where students self-selected and worked at their own pace. This open-door policy contrasted with programs developed more recently, in the 1970s and 1980s, which targeted only the "gifted" or "exceptionally gifted". It was radical even in its time; among the twelve colleges participating in the Fund for the Advancement of Education program in the 1950s, Shimer was the only one to pursue a truly open admissions policy. Due to the mixed results of this initial experiment, however, the admissions requirements were subsequently tightened to be more similar to those of the other participating schools.
The 1978 Shimer catalog stated:
Graduates and former students of Shimer College who enrolled through early entrance include:
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
students to go to college early. Early entrants at Shimer are admitted as regular college students after completing at least two years of high school, but before receiving a high school diploma or GED
GED
General Educational Development tests are a group of five subject tests which, when passed, certify that the taker has American or Canadian high school-level academic skills...
. Begun with the conversion of Shimer to a Great Books
Great Books
Great Books refers primarily to a group of books that tradition, and various institutions and authorities, have regarded as constituting or best expressing the foundations of Western culture ; derivatively the term also refers to a curriculum or method of education based around a list of such books...
curriculum in 1950, this program is the longest-running college early entrance program in the United States.
Early entrants, who have historically made up about 20% of the student body, participate in the school's discussion-based Great Books
Great Books
Great Books refers primarily to a group of books that tradition, and various institutions and authorities, have regarded as constituting or best expressing the foundations of Western culture ; derivatively the term also refers to a curriculum or method of education based around a list of such books...
curriculum as equals with other students. Although for many years early entrants were governed by the same open admissions
Open admissions
Open admissions is a type of unselective and non-competitive college admissions process in the United States in which the only criterion for entrance is a high school diploma or a General Educational Development certificate.This form of "inclusive" admissions is used by many public junior...
policy as other Shimer applicants, currently they must show that they are in the top 25% according to at least one quantitative metric. Many of the school's most distinguished 20th-century alumni have been early entrants.
As of 2008, early entrants accounted for 16% of Shimer College enrollment.
Academics
See also: Shimer College#AcademicsEarly entrants participate in the same courses, and are graded on the same scale, as all other Shimer students. All Shimer students go through a four-year core curriculum
Core Curriculum
The Core Curriculum was originally developed as the main curriculum used by Columbia University's Columbia College. It began in 1919 with "Contemporary Civilization," about the origins of western civilization. It became the framework for many similar educational models throughout the United States...
of Great Books
Great Books
Great Books refers primarily to a group of books that tradition, and various institutions and authorities, have regarded as constituting or best expressing the foundations of Western culture ; derivatively the term also refers to a curriculum or method of education based around a list of such books...
discussion classes. No classes have more than 12 students. In addition, students take electives and tutorials, which are available both from Shimer faculty and from the three schools with which Shimer has an articulation agreement: Illinois Institute of Technology
Illinois Institute of Technology
Illinois Institute of Technology, commonly called Illinois Tech or IIT, is a private Ph.D.-granting university located in Chicago, Illinois, with programs in engineering, science, psychology, architecture, business, communications, industrial technology, information technology, design, and law...
, Vandercook College of Music
Vandercook College of Music
VanderCook College of Music is a private, liberal arts college in Chicago, Illinois, and is the only college in the country solely specializing in the training of music educators. Students may pursue a Bachelor of Music in Education , Master of Music in Education , and Master of Music in Education...
, and Harold Washington College
Harold Washington College
Harold Washington College is a community college within the City Colleges of Chicago system of Chicago, Illinois. It is located in the Loop at 30 E Lake St...
.
Early entrants also have equal access to the specialized curricular offerings of the college. These include the biennial study abroad program at Oxford University and a 6-year accelerated JD program
Accelerated JD program
In United States legal education, an accelerated JD program is a program in which students combine certain requirements of a bachelor's degree with the requirements of the juris doctor degree. Students thus usually receive their bachelor's degree after completing the first year of law school...
offered in cooperation with Chicago-Kent College of Law
Chicago-Kent College of Law
Chicago–Kent College of Law, the law school affiliated with Illinois Institute of Technology, is nationally recognized for the scholarship and accomplishments of its faculty and student body. It is the second oldest law school in the state of Illinois. Many of the applications of technology in the...
.
History
See also: History of Shimer CollegeHistory of Shimer College
The history of Shimer College begins in 1853, and has involved a series of crises and profound changes. Because of this, the college is often symbolized by a phoenix which is reborn from its own ashes...
In 1950, Shimer College adapted the Great Books
Great Books
Great Books refers primarily to a group of books that tradition, and various institutions and authorities, have regarded as constituting or best expressing the foundations of Western culture ; derivatively the term also refers to a curriculum or method of education based around a list of such books...
academic program of the College of the University of Chicago
College of the University of Chicago
The College is the sole undergraduate institution and one of the oldest components of the University of Chicago, emerging contemporaneously with the university at large in 1892...
, a program developed under the leadership of Robert Maynard Hutchins in the 1930s and 1940s. Shimer was then located in the small rural town of Mount Carroll, Illinois
Mount Carroll, Illinois
Mount Carroll is a city in Carroll County, Illinois, United States-History:Shimer College was established in Mt. Carroll in 1853, but mounting debts forced a move to Waukegan, Illinois in 1979. The campus now is home to several organizations, most notably the Campbell Center for Historic...
. In introducing the Hutchins program at Shimer, it was hoped that parents of early entrants would be more willing to send their children to Mount Carroll than to the Hyde Park
Hyde Park, Chicago
Hyde Park, located on the South Side of the City of Chicago, in Cook County, Illinois, United States and seven miles south of the Chicago Loop, is a Chicago neighborhood and one of 77 Chicago community areas. It is home to the University of Chicago, the Hyde Park Art Center, the Museum of Science...
neighborhood in Chicago.
In the decades prior to 1950, Shimer had been a women's four-year junior college
Junior college
The term junior college refers to different educational institutions in different countries.-India:In India, most states provide schooling through 12th grade...
, catering to students from 11th grade through the second year of college. As a result, unlike other schools which introduced early entrance in the 1950s, Shimer had a faculty and administration who were used to dealing with students of high school age.
In 1951, Shimer was one of eleven colleges provided by the Fund for the Advancement of Education, an offshoot of the Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
, with scholarship funding for early entrants. The Fund had been established at the initiative of Robert Maynard Hutchins, who had taken an executive position at the Ford Foundation after leaving the University of Chicago, and this initiative, like many others, reflected Hutchins' unorthodox educational priorities. The Fund's support allowed the school's enrollment and revenues to increase; during the mid-1950s, early entrants receiving Ford Foundation scholarships accounted for more than 80% of the student body. As the grant's expiration neared in 1956, the ensuing shortfall in funding nearly forced Shimer to close its doors.
Although very small in scale—only 1,350 students had been admitted across all twelve colleges through 1954—the Fund's "Early Admission Program" ignited a firestorm of controversy. The executive secretary of the National Association of Secondary-School Principals described it as "an 'A-bomb' dropped on secondary education." Many high-school principals refused to inform their students of the opportunity to participate. The program was an educational success, with students outperforming comparison groups, but because of the hostility from both high schools and university faculty, early entrance programs quickly fizzled out at most participating colleges other than Shimer.
Although full scholarships for early entrants were never again the norm after the expiration of the Fund for the Advancement of Education grant, Shimer has continued to the present day to offer a modest scholarship bearing Hutchins' name to all admitted early entrants. Funding to support early entrance has also been provided at times by the Carnegie
Carnegie Foundation
The Carnegie Foundation is an organization based in The Hague, Netherlands. It was founded in 1903 by Andrew Carnegie in order to manage his donation of US$1.5 million, which was used for the construction, management and maintenance of the Peace Palace...
and SURDNA
SURDNA Foundation
The SURDNA Foundation was established as a charitable foundation in 1917 by John Emory Andrus to pursue a range of philanthropic purposes.-History:...
Foundations.
Entrance requirements
As of 2010, applicants for early entrance must place in at least the top quartileQuartile
In descriptive statistics, the quartiles of a set of values are the three points that divide the data set into four equal groups, each representing a fourth of the population being sampled...
in at least one of four metrics: SAT
SAT
The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...
, ACT, GPA, or class rank
Class rank
Class rank is a measure of how a student's performance compares to other students in his or her class. It is commonly also expressed as a percentile. For instance, a student may have a GPA better than 750 of his or her classmates in a graduating class of 800...
. In addition, although Shimer generally does not require standardized test scores for admission, as a matter of principle, early entrants must take either the SAT or ACT.
For much of its history, the early entrance program at Shimer had no fixed entrance requirements. This was in accordance with the guiding philosophy of the Hutchins program, where students self-selected and worked at their own pace. This open-door policy contrasted with programs developed more recently, in the 1970s and 1980s, which targeted only the "gifted" or "exceptionally gifted". It was radical even in its time; among the twelve colleges participating in the Fund for the Advancement of Education program in the 1950s, Shimer was the only one to pursue a truly open admissions policy. Due to the mixed results of this initial experiment, however, the admissions requirements were subsequently tightened to be more similar to those of the other participating schools.
The 1978 Shimer catalog stated:
- Because each applicant is considered individually, no rigid standards are imposed on the program. Instead, the college prefers to read the application of any student who is intrigued with the idea of starting college at the end of his or her sophomore or junior year of high school, or after a period of absence from an academic environment. Shimer considers a student's sincere interest and desire to be one of the major contributing factors to his or her success.
Alumni
See also: List of Shimer College peopleGraduates and former students of Shimer College who enrolled through early entrance include:
- Peter CooleyPeter CooleyPeter Cooley is an American poet and Professor of English in the Department of English at Tulane University. He also directs Tulane’s Creative Writing Program...
, 1962, poet - Steve Heller, 1971, programmer and author
- Robert KeohaneRobert KeohaneRobert O. Keohane is an American academic, who, following the publication of his influential book After Hegemony , became widely associated with the theory of neoliberal institutionalism in international relations...
, 1961, international relations theorist - Kenneth Knabb, 1965, writer and translator
- Laurie SpiegelLaurie SpiegelLaurie Spiegel is an American composer. She has worked at Bell Laboratories, in computer graphics, and is known primarily for her electronic-music compositions and her algorithmic composition software Music Mouse...
, 1967, electronic composer - Sydney SpieselSydney SpieselDr. Sydney Z. Spiesel is a pediatrician specializing in adolescent medicine on the clinical faculty of the Yale University School of Medicine.Spiesel is the inventor of a shampoo that makes lice eggs fluoresce under ultraviolet light, so making them more visible.Spiesel is a regular commentator...
, 1961, pediatrician and clinical professor - Elizabeth VandiverElizabeth VandiverElizabeth Vandiver is a noted professor of classics. She is currently Associate Professor of classics at Whitman College, having previously taught at the University of Maryland, College Park. She received the prestigious Excellence in Teaching Award from the American Philological Association in 1998...
, 1976, professor of classics - Catherine YronwodeCatherine yronwodeCatherine "Cat" Yronwode is an American writer, editor, graphic designer, typesetter, publisher, and practitioner of folk magic with an extensive career in the comic book industry....
, 1965, writer and editor