The master of the school, John Lowell, found a nice solution. Since John was well trained in Lexington, Lowell moved him up to third grade.

             John was neither Lowell"s favorite nor his worst student. By his fifth year, he was ready to begin studying Latin. He translated from Caesar"s Commentaries, Cicero"s Orations , and the Aeneid. The major purpose of the Boston Latin School was to prepare students in the liberal arts so he can follow the same path at college. The foundation of the school was classical languages, but with his mastery of the ancients, he also acquired knowledge of history, philosophy , and religion.

             By the time spring came around in 1750, John was finishing his Latin studies. He had completed the school"s curriculum and was preparing for college. Of course the choice was Harvard. He was armed with a conspicuous heredity, money, and recommendations from Master Lowell. John didn"t have any trouble getting into Harvard.

             In the fall of 1750, John, entered Harvard College. At the age of thirteen and a half, he was the second youngest boy in his class, and he was ranked fifth out of the twenty in his class. .

             College work for Hancock was practically a continuation of his work in Latin. The emphasis in college was still languages (Latin, Greek, Hebrew), but also he got the chance to study geography, geometry, arithmetic, and astronomy. Besides John"s good work in school, he also had fun, as many did in college. In late August of his sophomore year, John and two of his friends went to a local tavern. They began a drinking exhibition, but during this display, they got a black servant so drunk that they "endangered his life." This act was not well accepted by the administration and they were in a lot of trouble. Punishment for this act could have been varied. A decision came and Hancock"s punishment was that he would be moved down in class rank four places. The other two were moved down seven places.