October, 1896 - May, 1897

Helen is accepted as a pupil at the Cambridge School for Young Ladies, in preparation for attendance at Harvard's annex for women, Radcliffe College.  Helen's studies were advanced ... English history, English literature, German, Latin, arithmetic, Latin composition and occasional themes.  In her first year, she read three chapters of Caesar's Gallic War in Latin. In German she read Schiller's Lied von der Glocke and Taucher, Heine's Harzreise, Freytag's Aus dem Staat Friedrichs des Grossen, Riehl's Fluch Der Schönheit, Lessing's Minna von Barnhelm, and Goethe's Aus meinem Leben.  In English, she read Shakespeare's As You Like It, Burke's Speech on Conciliation with America, and Macaulay's Life of Samuel Johnson.

Helen's sister Mildred came to visit for Christmas and ended up staying the rest of the year and returning with Helen the next fall.

Fall, 1897

Helen studies mathematics principally. She took courses in physics, algebra, geometry, astronomy, Greek and Latin.  However, the headmaster at Cambridge, Dr. Gilman, starts to think Helen is overworked, and cuts back in her class load and schedule.  Originally, she was to attend Cambridge for two to three years, then go on to Radcliffe.  However, with the reduced workload, it looked as though Helen might not graduate for another three years.   At the midterm, her mother took her out of Cambridge and lined up a personal tutor, Mr. Mertin S. Keith.