It\u2019s test time\u2014everyone, pick up your pencils! How did the kingship come to an end in Rome? What are isothermal lines? Can you name the four leading breeds of dairy cattle and their characteristics? How would you travel by water from Malta to Glasgow? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oh, and while you\u2019re at it: find two numbers whose sum added to the difference of their squares is 330, and whose difference added to the sum of their squares is 510.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"1903](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/11\/IMG_0588-A-683x1024.jpg\")
Now, imagine several days of this sort of testing, mainly comprising essays and show-your-work questions in math and science. (No multiple choice!) <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That gives you a sense of what entrance examinations were like for prospective Cornell students in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similar to other elite universities at the time, Cornell\u2019s exams reflected what a high school education prioritized\u2014from a working knowledge of Latin and Greek to ancient history, classical literature, and mathematics, plus a deep dive into the sciences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI used to spend an entire class giving students the entrance exam from 1874,\u201d says Carol Kammen, who spent 24 years on the Hill as a senior lecturer in history. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was exceedingly revealing of what was expected of students at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A favorite exam question Kammen posed to her classes was this head-scratcher: If one were to travel from Helsinki to Istanbul, what countries would one pass, in sequence, on one\u2019s left?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt allowed me to get them to understand how their education is different; it\u2019s not dependent on memorization,\u201d she explains\u2014noting that, for example, the only maps available to students in the 1800s were likely the ones on their schoolroom walls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe question I would ask them today about a trip from Helsinki to Istanbul is more dependent on thought: why<\/em> might you go? But the 1874 test was asking the specifics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ancient history:<\/strong> For what notable achievements are the following remembered: Hammurabi, Ramses II, Saul, Nebuchadnezzar, and Cyrus?<\/p>\n\n\n\n English: <\/strong>Compare Macbeth\u2019s first and second interview with the witches, stating in each case the occasion, his frame of mind, the prophesies, and the influence on his subsequent conduct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Geography:<\/strong> If you wished to go as rapidly as possible round the earth by traveling east from New York City, describe the route you would take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n American history:<\/strong> Give the origin of the name and the date of the first settlement of each of the 13 original colonies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Agriculture:<\/strong> Mention the different forms of choking in the ox, and state particularly how they can be prevented and how relieved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Math:<\/strong> Find the square root of 17.3056, and give the reasoning in full. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking for answers? So are we! Sadly, the answer keys have been lost.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n For decades, the exams were held just days before the fall semester started\u2014determining not only whether students would be accepted (the vast majority reportedly passed), but also for which classes they could register.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Requirements and procedures varied. Individual colleges asked their own questions within specific subject areas; in some years, recipients of Regents diplomas didn\u2019t need to take the exams; some tests were given specifically to those seeking state scholarships. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The exams were generally given on the Ithaca campus, though they were sometimes offered in other locations around New York State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n University Archivist Evan Earle \u201902, MS \u201914, finds the difficulty and subject range of the tests remarkable, especially from a modern perspective. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThose exams are pretty neat, and amazingly hard,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen you think of the breadth and specificity of the questions\u2014everything from African river history to hygiene, and how students needed to answer them without easy access to a library and certainly without Wikipedia\u2014you can see how rigorous it was.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those exams are pretty neat, and amazingly hard.<\/p>University Archivist Evan Earle \u201902, MS \u201914<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The use of individual entrance exams by universities began to decline in the first half of the 20th century, as the College Entrance Examination Board (of which Cornell was a founding member in 1899) worked to develop uniform tests that would measure students\u2019 aptitude for university-level work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Even the early College Board exams, however, required five days to complete\u2014 assessing knowledge in nine subjects, from Greek and Latin to physics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n College Board tests evolved and were eventually rolled out nationally. In 1926, the organization administered the first Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)\u2014and by 1942, the essay portions had been phased out completely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Could you have gotten in? Try your luck with our quiz!<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\nsample questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n