America’s universities have a reputation for being liberal bastions — and America’s elite universities are rumored to be among the most liberal of the liberal institutions. But is there any truth to it? Are America’s universities, particularly the highly selective universities (the focus of Ivy Coach’s college admissions blog) truly as liberal as the rumors make it seem? We know, the vocal conservative readers of our blog are about to write in, “Of course they’re liberal, Ivy Coach. Is the sky blue?” But let’s look at some data.

Harvard is Overwhelmingly Liberal. Does It Represent All of Higher Education?

Harvard University’s student newspaper, The Crimson, recently surveyed Harvard faculty members; the survey results are rather definitive. As Meimei Xu reports for The Crimson in a piece entitled “More than 80 Percent of Surveyed Harvard Faculty Identify as Liberal,” “More than 80 percent of Harvard faculty respondents characterized their political leanings as ’liberal’ or ’very liberal,’ according to The Crimson’s annual survey of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences in April. A little over 37 percent of faculty respondents identified as ’very liberal’— a nearly 8 percent jump from last year. Only 1 percent of respondents stated they are ’conservative,’ and no respondents identified as ’very conservative.’”

So, yes, it appears that The Crimson got a survey back from Professor Alan Dershowitz. He’s the one! All kidding aside, we believe in balance at our nation’s elite universities. Thus, we hereby call on Harvard to recruit professors of all political leanings, not just liberal ones. For a deeper dive into the political leanings of Ivy League schools, check out our post on the subject.

Elite Colleges Aren’t as Politically Uniform as You Think

America’s elite universities value diversity in admissions — from diversity based on race, religion, geography, and, yes, even thought. And it doesn’t take a Ph.D. researcher to uncover examples of a healthy amount of diversity in thought at institutions across the United States.

Take the University of Chicago, famed for its history of left-wing student and faculty activism and its relatively conservative Economics department, which has furnished many a Republican presidency with advisers and experts. Or consider the rise of Vanderbilt, Emory, Duke, and Rice, a Southern contingent of schools housed in deeply red states that have experienced increased popularity and dwindling acceptance rates and have produced many staunch conservative voices in contemporary media. Or even a place as seemingly blue as Stanford, where an influx of venture funding from Silicon Valley has cemented the school’s reputation as a STEM-oriented hotspot for conservative entrepreneurs.

Sure, you’re bound to find fewer conservatives at fiercely liberal strongholds in blue states, such as UC Berkeley or NYU. There are plenty of left-leaning college towns that insulate colleges from the conservative culture of the home state at large, such as Chapel Hill, North Carolina, which houses the prestigious UNC. However, other schools, such as the University of Notre Dame or Princeton University, are just the opposite: more conservative than what might initially meet the eye!

Are Conservative Students At An Admissions Disadvantage?

Here’s a message to all conservative students out there intent on getting into a highly selective school, including Harvard: apply! Don’t let the school’s outward politics scare you away. You won’t be at an admissions disadvantage if you send in an application. In fact, the opposite will be true: admissions officers value ideological diversity and will respond to your unique perspective. Conservative views, if expressed with respect for the other side, are actually a plus to admissions officers, as they are not the norm for most college applicants.

A glance at our current representation in the federal government is enough to confirm this is true: the sitting (Republican) President and Vice President hold degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and Yale, respectively, the Senate Majority Whip (who is a Republican) attended Georgetown, and the right-wing Chief Justice of the Supreme Court went to the ever-liberal echo chamber that is Harvard!