[4] In regard to the meaning the terms 'College' and 'Hall,' it may be said that (except in Oxford) the 'Hall' provides residence only; the 'College' provides teaching, and arranges for admission into the University, while it may, or may not, also provide residence.
Discipline varies from one University to another—from the comparatively strict discipline necessitated in old Universities with a long tradition of obedience and convention; or in smaller Universities which are the centre of interest in small towns such as Reading and Aberystwyth; to the freedom of the great civic University, compelled to accord almost complete social liberty to the large numbers of men and women living in their own homes; and comfortably sheltered from censorious criticism among the many more exciting attractions existing in every great city. In some Universities men and women students may not converse together in the streets; in others they may freely meet, walk, take meals, and study together.
In all Universities and Colleges there is much Social Intercourse and gaiety. Dancing is very frequent; dramatic performances, debates (for one sex only, or mixed) are common; and almost every Honours School or Department has its Society for the encouragement of its special subject, and the promotion of social intercourse among its members. Even in Oxford and Cambridge some of these Societies include both men and women.
Residential Colleges and Halls usually provide "Common" (or "Combination") Rooms where staff or students can meet each other; and the mixed Universities set apart rooms, usually separate for men and for women, for the hours of the day not devoted to study. These may be simply sitting-rooms with restaurant attached, as in the smaller institutions, or may be, in the more established modern Universities, large, well-furnished Union Buildings or club-houses, as provided in Edinburgh, Liverpool, or Manchester. The management of these Unions, as to both finance and discipline, is usually in the hands of the students themselves. In no University, however, does the accommodation for women compare in dignity, commodiousness, or spaciousness with that provided in many American institutions. With the exception of some of the oldest Universities, where the provision for men is ample and beautiful, University and College buildings in Great Britain are upon a wholly different scale from those in the United States. While laboratories are often excellently equipped, libraries and lecture-rooms are not infrequently inadequate, and the provision for recreation, physical well-being, and social intercourse is sometimes seriously wanting. Nothing exists in our modern Universities at all comparable with the magnificent buildings, the extensive grounds, woods and lakes, the immense gymnasiums and swimming baths, provided for women students in the United States. And in the older of our civic Universities, the cramped conditions of existence in the midst of an immense city are responsible for the absence of many social amenities. In the smaller, younger Universities an attempt is being made to secure more space for future development before it is too late; but the standards even there are far below those known in the United States. English girls of aristocratic or wealthy parentage do not as yet go to the University in large numbers; most of the students come from homes of limited means, and their demands, except in the matter of education pure and simple, are modest. At the same time, one never hears of students, as in American Colleges, paying their expenses by giving personal service; it would, in fact, be very difficult for the average student to spare sufficient time from her studies, which are exacting enough to leave her only the minimum amount of leisure essential for recreation.
Finance is a matter for serious concern in our Universities, largely dependent as they are upon small public grants and private benefactions; and in Women's Colleges and Halls this question is still more pressing. It should be remembered that the numbers in our Women's Colleges are small; all the five Women's Colleges together in Oxford do not number 700 students. Moreover, though the generous benefactor exists in this country, his gifts are on a comparatively modest scale, and institutions specially for women do not attract the largest.
Libraries.—The most complete collections of books are those of the privileged libraries, the British Museum Library, the Bodleian (Oxford), the Cambridge University Library, the Advocates' Library (Edinburgh), the Trinity College Library (Dublin), and, more recently, the National Library of Wales. Each of these is privileged to receive a copy of every book published in Great Britain. Other valuable libraries are those of the London School of Economics, and the School of Oriental Studies (London). In Manchester a rich storehouse of early printed books, mediaeval manuscripts, and general literature is provided by the lavishly endowed John Rylands Library, the ancient Chetham Library, the University (Christie) Library, and the Municipal Reference Library.
Expenses.—University education in Great Britain is not free, as in some countries; although in the case of a certain number of students, Government grants or local scholarships cover the expenses more or less completely. It is extremely difficult to give any figures as to the cost of a University training, on account of the great difference in the fees and the general absence of any inclusive charge. It is, moreover, to be noted that, where the University includes several Colleges, there are often both College fees and University fees. The fees for residence in College, again, may or may not include also the fees for tuition and lectures. Life at Cambridge is, for women, rather more expensive than in other Universities; but in Oxford it is less expensive to be a member of the Society of Home Students than to reside in a College, and in Cambridge the small number of older students permitted by the Colleges to be "out-students" can live more cheaply. Again, the extreme brevity of the terms in Cambridge and Oxford entails heavy vacation expenses for the foreign student.
At Oxford and Cambridge the cost of board, lodging and tuition for the session, consisting of three terms of eight to nine weeks each, varies from £135 to £150.
Next in order of expense comes London, where the fees for residence in College, apart from tuition, are £90 to £100. In the larger University cities of England, residence costs about £70; in the smaller places, in Wales and in Scotland, it is lower (£40 to £50).