College Admissions Yield Highest in 23 Years

More than 78 percent of students admitted to the Class of 2000 have chosen to enroll, the highest yield since 1973, according to the Harvard-Radcliffe Admissions Office.

With final figures not yet available because of pending wait-list activity for a small number of students, the yield could go even higher and exceed the 78.9 percent for the 1972 admissions year.

Yield, the percentage of admitted candidates who decide to accept, is considered a measure of a school's competitiveness. This year's yield is, by a wide margin, the highest of the nation's selective colleges.

"The last class of the millennium was chosen from a record pool of applicants -- 18,190 -- eclipsing the record of 17,852 set the previous year," said Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William R. Fitzsimmons.

Applications increased for the sixth year in a row. This year, only 10.9 percent of the hopefuls could be admitted, the lowest admission rate in the history of the College. Women will make up about 45 percent of the Class.

"The academic strength of the pool was unprecedented," noted Director of Admissions Marlyn McGrath Lewis. "The number of students officially ranked in the top 10 percent of their high school classes rose from 12,539 to 12,677, and the number of valedictorians grew from 2,826 to 2,905." Both sets of statistics understate the high school grades of the applicants, since secondary schools increasingly have abandoned individual numerical ranks and abolished indications of relative academic achievement.

This year, the College Board introduced "recentering," in which SAT I (the traditional SAT verbal and math) and SAT II (formerly labeled "achievements") tests were recalibrated to an average of 500 points. That resulted in a rise of approximately 70 points in the verbal and 30 points in the math SAT scores. The SAT IIs were similarly elevated.

Comparisons to last year are thus inexact, but it is clear that the test scores of applicants to the Class of 2000 were impressive: Those averaging 1,400 or better on their combined SATs climbed from 6,099 (34 percent of the applicant pool) to 9,488 (52 percent); students with a perfect verbal SAT of 800 rose from 129 (0.7 percent) to 1,600 (8.8 percent); and applicants with an 800 math SAT increased from 951 (5.3 percent) to 1,925 (10.6 percent). There were 365 applicants with a perfect 1,600 combined SAT.

In addition, 14 of the 20 students recognized by USA TODAY as the top high school scholars in the nation plan to matriculate with the Class of 2000. Since that program began in 1987, 101 of the 199 scholars have come to the College; the next three colleges have enrolled 13, 12, and 10, respectively.

The Class of 2000 demonstrates an extraordinary range of extracurricular interests, including music, dance, theater, sports, journalism, and public service. For example, more than 30 percent predict music will be one of their principal extracurricular activities; 17 percent are inclined toward journalism; and 20 percent plan to devote their time to public service activities -- although past experience suggests that nearly 70 percent will eventually be involved in some aspect of social service here. More than 60 percent plan to be active in recreational activities.

Minority students did well in the admissions competition this year. According to Roger Banks, who directs minority recruitment efforts, Asian Americans comprise 17 percent of the class; African Americans represent 8.8 percent (after a 74.1 percent yield, the highest in two decades); students of Hispanic background are 7.7 percent; and Native Americans are 0.5 percent.

There were few shifts in the geographic composition of the class. There are, however, slightly more students from the Midwest, South, and Canada; slightly fewer from New England, the Pacific, and abroad.

The number of students planning to concentrate in the humanities rose once again. Two years ago, 21.5 percent were inclined toward the humanities. Last year the figure was 24 percent, and this year it is 27.3 percent, making it the most popular undergraduate choice.

Nationally, the number of humanities courses offered at the secondary-school level have been cut back, and a small share of the students taking the PSAT indicate humanities as an area of intended college concentration. Harvard officials have worked hard to make students and their families aware of the unsurpassed opportunities in the humanities here, and the school has continued to counter national trends in achieving such high levels of interest in the humanities among those admitted. Interest in biology declined slightly to 26.2 percent, and most other areas remained within a percentage point of the previous year.

Harvard undergraduates have continued to do well in various national competitions, Lewis observed. The freshman class of 1999, for example, included 368 National Merit Scholars, while the next four institutions enrolled 169, 158, 129, and 124, respectively. National Achievement Scholars (a similar competition recognizing outstanding African-American students) included 57 at Harvard, with 23, 20, 19, and 18 at the next four leading institutions.

"Our students were also well represented among the winners of such competitions as the Putnam mathematics contest, which Harvard has won 10 of the past 11 years, and the Rhodes and the Marshall scholarships," she said.

The strength of the financial aid program and the policy of need-blind admissions were once again crucial to the College's success in attracting students of unparalleled excellence, said Director of Financial Aid James S. Miller.

"The Financial Aid staff spent countless hours throughout the year counseling students and families about our financial aid program and its many options," he said.

This year, students will be offered more than $70 million in financial aid (scholarships, loans, and jobs), with scholarships alone totaling more than $40 million, over 92 percent of which will come from University resources. Approximately 46 percent of undergraduates this year will be on scholarship, an all-time high. About two-thirds of undergraduates will be eligible for some form of financial aid. Miller said the average grant will be $13,450, with a total aid package, including scholarships, loans, and jobs, of nearly $20,000.

The College Access Plan continues to ensure that students from all economic backgrounds, including middle-income families, will have access to a Harvard education. Other forms of financial assistance, such as the Faculty Aide Program and the Ford Program, continue to provide many outstanding undergraduates with the opportunity to pursue special research interests in close partnership with faculty members.