Details on Harvard’s Class of 2024

Curious to meet the Harvard University Class of 2024? As our readers may remember, we previously detailed the breakdown of Harvard’s incoming class — by gender, race, geography, first-generation college student status, etc. — but, hey, we know our readers are always craving more details. And The Harvard Crimson‘s recent survey of Harvard’s latest incoming class is chock full of juicy details. So wonder no more about the students who will be studying at Harvard this fall…from their childhood bedrooms of course!

Harvard Admits Largest Cohort of Asian Americans in History

As The Harvard Crimson reports, “As in years past, they come from overwhelmingly wealthy backgrounds compared to the country at large. Nearly 30 percent of members of the Class of 2024 who answered a question about parental income in The Crimson’s survey of freshmen said their families make $250,000 or more per year — earnings higher than 95 percent of American households. The racial demographics of the class, however, changed from last year’s incoming class; numbers of Asian American and Black or African American students both reached all-time highs.” Yes, in the months following Harvard’s victory over Students for Fair Admissions in which the school was accused of anti-Asian American bias in admissions and with the eyes of the world scrutinizing their every move, the school admitted the largest cohort of Asian American students in its history. Not so surprising, right?

Majority of Class of 2024 Hail from Suburbia

In any case — back to the juicy details. As the newspaper reports, with respect to sexual orientation, “Of those who responded to a question about sexual orientation, 78.0 percent indicated they identify as straight, 9.6 percent as bisexual, 5.9 percent as gay or lesbian. Roughly 2.7 percent of students said they are questioning their sexuality.” And how about the urban / suburban / rural breakdown? “About 7.7 percent of surveyed freshmen said they come from rural communities, while a majority — 63.3 percent — indicated suburban origins. The remaining 29.0 percent of these students come from urban areas.”

Harvard Was Their First Choice College

But Ivy Coach, we want more! Alright, alright. So was Harvard the first choice of the vast majority of these students? Of course! As the newspaper reports, “Harvard was the top-choice school for a substantial majority — 80.6 percent — of surveyed freshmen. 38.3 percent of respondents also applied to Yale. Among these students, 39.8 percent were also accepted at the New Haven-based school. Harvard accepted 50.1 percent of survey-takers through its early action process. Of those students, just 4.6 percent said that Harvard was not their top choice.”

20% of Harvard’s Class of 2024 Acknowledge Receiving Help of Private College Counselor

And did many of these students have help with their applications? Of course! As the paper reports, “About a fifth of respondents reported receiving help preparing college applications from a privately-hired counselor. Of these students, 42.9 percent of those who disclosed their parents’ financial status reported a combined family income of $250,000 or more; 8.2 percent reported a parental income of less than $40,000.” Oh and just remember…these are only the students who admitted having help. Imagine the percentage of students who actually received the assistance of a private college counselor!