College Admission Yield Is Nearly 80%

Highest in 25 years

Nearly 80 percent of students admitted to the Class of 2002 have chosen to enroll, the highest yield since the early 1970s, according to the Undergraduate Admissions Office. This yield is the best in more than 25 years.

Yield, the percentage of admitted candidates who decide to accept an offer of admission, is considered a measure of a school's competitiveness. Harvard's yield is again, by a wide margin, the highest of the nation's selective colleges. When the final figures are available, the yield could go even higher -- it is already well above last year's yield of 76.3 percent.

The 2,073 students admitted to the Class of 2002 were selected from a pool of 16,819 applicants. For the seventh time in eight years, applications for admission to Harvard and Radcliffe have risen. Last year, 16,597 students applied for the 1,650 places in the entering class.

The substantial rise in the yield means that the Class of 2002 is now full, and it will probably be impossible to admit anyone from the waiting list. In more typical years, the College has been able to admit between 50 and 100 from the waiting list.

"We are extremely pleased that the College has again attracted so many extraordinarily talented students this year," said William R. Fitzsimmons '67, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid. "With many leading American and international universities recently announcing changes in their financial aid programs designed to compete more aggressively for top students, the leadership of Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Jeremy Knowles and President Neil Rudenstine allowed Harvard to extend its best welcome to prospective members of the Class of 2002."

The Dean and President reemphasized their unwavering commitment to a strong need-based financial aid program and to the policy of admitting the best students without regard to their financial circumstances. With nearly 70 percent of all undergraduates on financial aid, and with scholarship grants of $45 million, Harvard has always been a leader in financial aid.

Dean Knowles stated in February, "We shall set no limit on the financial resources necessary to make Harvard College fully accessible to all students of promise. . . Students who are admitted to next fall's entering class will receive competitively supportive offers, and financial aid will be tailored flexibly and individually."

James S. Miller, director of financial aid, and his staff were available weekdays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and several Saturdays for the month of April, and talked with an unprecedented number of students and parents about their financial aid awards. "Jim and his staff worked extremely hard to make it possible for students and their families to afford a Harvard education," said Fitzsimmons. "They deserve the gratitude of everyone in our community."

Current undergraduates also played a critical role. Students in the Undergraduate Minority Recruiting Program assisted by Roger Banks, director of minority recruiting, devoted many hours to telephoning all admitted students and encouraging them to attend. Members of the Undergraduate Admissions Council also called admitted students, and assisted in other ways as well. Crimson Key members gave many tours, and numerous students hosted a record number of "pre-frosh" who visited throughout the month of April. Admissions Officer Macy Hale Lenox coordinated the successful Visiting Program of April 25-27 and introduced a number of innovations, such as regional meetings, which helped students decide whether to matriculate at Harvard. Other admissions officers contributed by writing special letters to students from the areas they covered, by calling admitted students, and by assisting with the many logistical requirements for the Visiting Program.

Alumnae and alumni hosted local receptions throughout the United States and abroad. They also called and wrote to students admitted from their local areas. Minnesota alumni contributed mightily to recruiting efforts by creating a video about life at the College that was viewed extensively during the month of April by admitted students, both here and across the country. The 16-minute video, inspired and paid for by the friends of long-time alumni leader Don Peddie '41 and produced by Jon Carlson '72, was received with great enthusiasm.

Members of the teaching faculty telephoned admitted students, served on several panels during the visiting weekend, and were an invaluable source of advice for prospective students as they made their final college choices.

"Faculty members have been an integral part of the recruitment and selection process for the Class of 2002," Fitzsimmons continued. "Their accessibility throughout the year to prospective applicants helps to ensure the future strength of the College."

"We are particularly grateful to our Faculty Committee, and this year they were called upon more than ever before to assist in the difficult task of making the final admissions decisions," said Director of Admissions Marlyn McGrath Lewis. Members of the faculty serving on the Admissions Committee are: Benedict Gross, J. Woodland Hastings, Richard Holm, Harry Lewis, Richard Marius, Douglas Melton, Irwin Shapiro, Werner Sollors, Nancy Sommers, Peter Stevens, Howard Stone, William Todd, Helen Vendler, and Robert Woollacott.

"The excellence of the applicant pool was remarkable even by the standards set by the outstanding classes of the past few years," said Fitzsimmons. "We had room to admit only 12.3 percent of the candidates, and the Admissions Committee felt at the end of its deliberations that it had never been faced with more difficult decisions."

By all the standard measures of academic talent, including test scores and academic performance in school, this year's applicant was extremely impressive. For example, 53 percent of the candidates averaged 1400 or higher on the SATs, nearly 1,900 scored a perfect 800 on their SAT math tests, and almost 2,700 were valedictorians of their high school classes.

Lewis said applicants continue to respond favorably to the excellence of the Harvard faculty, to the many academic opportunities (including "cutting-edge" facilities for research and scholarly inquiry), and to the presence of other outstanding undergraduates. She noted that a variety of recruiting methods encouraged students to apply, including broader and earlier staff travel, the strategic use of College Board-based search mailings, and the personal efforts of alumni and alumnae.

Women did extremely well in the admissions competition once again. "Nearly 47 percent of the admitted group are female, and we are gratified to see that years of special outreach efforts, including the use of the College Board Search Service, are succeeding," said Lewis. The 769 women in the Class of 2002 constitute the second largest number of women in the history of the College, just behind last year's 782.

Areas of academic interest remained much the same as those of the Class of 2001. The humanities led the way, with over 27 percent of the class planning to concentrate in this area. Twenty-four percent list biological sciences as their prospective area of concentration, 21 percent lean toward the social sciences, almost 10 percent are interested in the physical sciences, 7 percent in math, 6 percent in engineering, 3 percent in computer science, and 1 percent are undecided.

Asian Americans comprise 19 percent of the matriculants; African Americans, 8.9 percent; Hispanic Americans, 3.9 percent; Mexican Americans, 2.4 percent; Puerto Ricans, 1.6 percent; and Native Americans, 0.7 percent. "This year's admitted group is wonderfully talented, and we are very pleased with the results of our recruitment efforts for the Class of 2002," said director of Undergraduate Minority Recruiting Banks.

Director of Financial Aid Miller reports that his office expects to distribute more than $85 million of financial aid next year to undergraduate students in the form of scholarships, loans, and jobs.

Approximately 46 percent of undergraduates this year will receive scholarship support, close to an all-time high. Almost $45 million will be devoted to scholarship aid, 93 percent of which comes from university resources. More than two-thirds of undergraduates will be eligible for some form of financial aid. The average grant will be over $14,500, with a total aid package (including scholarships and jobs) of more than $21,000.

Miller said the College Access Plan continues to ensure that students from all economic backgrounds, including low and middle-income families, will have access to a Harvard education. The plan offers a wide range of scholarships, loans, jobs, and payment options, including the opportunity to prepay tuition at current rates or to extend payments for up to 20 years.

"Other forms of financial assistance, such as the Faculty Aide Program and the Harvard College Research Program, enable undergraduates to pursue special research interests in close partnership with faculty members," Miller said.

"Our policy of need-blind admissions combined with need-based aid is the foundation on which our recruitment program rests. It remains the critical ingredient in assembling classes of unsurpassed excellence," added Miller.

As Dean Knowles stated in February, "In the coming months, we shall review our programs and our practices to ensure that Harvard College remains accessible, affordable, and attractive to every one of the students whom we admit."