As parents prepare to send their children back to school, I thought it might interesting to look through some of the Historical Society of Montgomery County’s school related collection. In our box of items from Ursinus College I found a bill for tuition from 1887. Belonging to Jay Francis, he was apparently in the preparatory program, at $20 a semester or $40 a year. In addition, he paid for a room. With incidentals, the total bill came to $25.70. How many minutes of a class would that pay for today?
Four years later, we can see that Jay Francis graduated with a B.A.
Ursinus was founded in 1869 and began admitting women in 1880. From the above graduation program, it’s clear that the women received a different degree from the men. The men’s B.A and B.S are familiar, but I haven’t discover what a B.L. is. Literature? Liberal Arts? If anyone knows, please share in the comments.