Makeup of the Class

By David Freed and Idrees Kahloon

Harvard College’s Class of 2019 hails from a range of backgrounds racially, socioeconomically, and geographically, while at the same time remaining largely affluent overall. Sixteen percent of incoming freshmen surveyed by The Crimson in August, for example, have one or more parent who attended Harvard College, meaning they are considered legacies by the Admissions Office. Yet the same proportion of respondents reported that they are first-generation college students, meaning that their parents did not attend college at all. These respondents were more likely than their non-first-generation peers to hail from the West and receive financial aid from Harvard.

The Crimson's survey of more than 70 percent of incoming freshmen asked the College’s newest students about their backgrounds and expectations for life on campus. Read Part I of The Crimson's three-part series on the freshman survey here.

Demographics

  • Gender

    Women made up a slight majority of freshman respondents; 51 percent of survey respondents are female and 48 percent are male. This offsets an opposite gender dynamic in the Class of 2018, in which 53 percent of members surveyed last year were male.

  • Ethnicity

    Fifty-eight percent of respondents identify as white, compared to 62 percent of respondents to The Crimson’s 2014 survey of the Class of 2018. About 30 percent of respondents identify as Asian or South Asian; just more than 12 percent as Hispanic or Latino; 11 percent as black or African American; 1 percent as American Indian or Alaskan Native; and 1 percent as Pacific Islander.

  • Athletics

    More than a fifth of students surveyed intend to play a varsity sport at Harvard. Over 12 percent of respondents were recruited varsity athletes, while roughly 8 percent intend to walk-on to one of the varsity sport teams. Harvard does not offer athletic scholarships to recruited athletes or give out merit scholarships of any kind.

  • Recruited Athletes by Family Income

  • Sexuality

    Eighty-six percent of surveyed freshmen in the Class of 2019 identify as heterosexual. Five percent identify as homosexual and 5 percent as bisexual, and 3 percent said they are questioning. Male survey respondents were more likely to identify as homosexual, while female respondents were more likely to identify as bisexual.

  • Birth Order

  • Secondary School

    Before coming to Harvard, 63 percent of respondents attended public school, most of them non-charter, while 35 percent attended private school—26 percent non-denominational and 10 percent parochial.

  • Legacy by Community

  • Legacy by Family Income

    Of respondents who reported a household income of less than $40,000, only one person said one or both of their parents attended the College. Of respondents who reported a household income of $500,000 or more, 43 percent said one or both of their parents did. Additionally, 41 percent of respondents who are legacies according to the College said their parents’ combined annual income is $500,000 or more.

  • Legacy

    Sixteen percent of surveyed freshmen reported that one or more of their parents attended Harvard College, meaning they are considered legacies in the admissions process. More than a quarter of respondents—28 percent—said that they have a relative in their immediate or extended family who attended the College.

  • Legacy by Secondary School

    Thirty-three percent of students who attended non-denominational private school reported that one or more of their parents attended the College, while roughly half of surveyed legacies reported attending a non-denominational private school.

  • Transgender Students

    Six respondents, or about half a percent, in the Class of 2019 identify as transgender.

  • First Generation Students

  • First Generation Student Ethnicity

  • First Generation Students Receiving Financial Aid

  • First Generation Students' Family Income

Geography

    • 2017
      2018
      2019

    A plurality of Harvard’s Class of 2019 hails from the Northeast, at 38 percent, a decrease from the 43 percent of last year’s respondents. Nineteen percent of this year’s freshman respondents are from the West, and 11 percent are international students.

    Mouse over region to see data.

    41.1%
    of students are from the Northeast.

    73.4%
    of students plan to live there after college.

    88.7%
    of students from the Northeast expect to return after graduating.

    11.7%
    of students are from the Southeast.

    2.5%
    of students plan to live there after college.

    12.2%
    of students from the Southeast expect to return after graduating.

    13.8%
    of students are from the Midwest.

    2.6%
    of students plan to live there after college.

    18.6%
    of students from the Midwest expect to return after graduating.

    7.8%
    of students are from the Southwest.

    1.3%
    of students plan to live there after college.

    10.0%
    of students from the Southwest expect to return after graduating.

    14.5%
    of students are from the West.

    10.7%
    of students plan to live there after college.

    42.2%
    of students from the West expect to return after graduating.

    43.1%
    of students are from the Northeast.

    70.7%
    of students plan to live there after college.

    34.7%
    of students from the Northeast have a relative that went to Harvard College.

    10.6%
    of students are from the Southeast.

    2.6%
    of students plan to live there after college.

    20.3%
    of students from the Southeast have a relative that went to Harvard College.

    11.0%
    of students are from the Midwest.

    2.3%
    of students plan to live there after college.

    22.8%
    of students from the Midwest have a relative that went to Harvard College.

    6.8%
    of students are from the Southwest.

    2.4%
    of students plan to live there after college.

    21.8%
    of students from the Southwest have a relative that went to Harvard College.

    16.9%
    of students are from the West.

    14.2%
    of students plan to live there after college.

    24.6%
    of students from the West have a relative that went to Harvard College.

    11.6%
    of students are from outide the US.

    7.8%
    of students plan to live there after college.

    14.9%
    of students from outside the US have a relative that went to Harvard College.

    38.3%
    of students are from the Northeast.

    70.8%
    of students plan to live there after college.

    35.9%
    of students from the Northeast have a relative that went to Harvard College.

    12.5%
    of students are from the Southeast.

    1.4%
    of students plan to live there after college.

    26.6%
    of students from the Southeast have a relative that went to Harvard College.

    12.3%
    of students are from the Midwest.

    2.5%
    of students plan to live there after college.

    23.6%
    of students from the Midwest have a relative that went to Harvard College.

    7.0%
    of students are from the Southwest.

    1.1%
    of students plan to live there after college.

    13.6%
    of students from the Southwest have a relative that went to Harvard College.

    18.5%
    of students are from the West.

    13.7%
    of students plan to live there after college.

    28.6%
    of students from the West have a relative that went to Harvard College.

    11.2%
    of students are from outide the US.

    10.2%
    of students plan to live there after college.

    14.0%
    of students from outside the US have a relative that went to Harvard College.

  • Community Type

    Most surveyed students—63 percent—live in the suburbs. Just 9 percent of respondents are from rural areas.

Employment

  • Anticipated Starting Salary

  • Anticipated Starting Salary by Gender

  • Anticipated Employment Field by Gender

  • Anticipated Post-Graduate Occupation by Secondary School Type

The Application

  • GPA vs. SAT Score

  • Average SAT Scores by Ethnicity

    Respondents who identify as Asian, but not including South Asian, reported higher overall SAT scores on average, with an overall best score of 2300 out of a possible 2400. The average best overall SAT score reported by white respondents was 2218; 2174 for respondents who are Hispanic or Latino; and 2149 for respondents who are black or African American.

  • Average SAT Scores by Gender

    Female respondents reported slightly higher overall SAT scores on average than male respondents—2235 and about 2225, respectively.

  • Average SAT Scores by School Type

    Surveyed students from private non-denominational schools reported slightly higher overall SAT scores—2250 on average—than students from public non-charter schools, who on average said they received 2225 on the test.

  • Average SAT Scores by Legacy

    The average SAT score reported by legacy respondents was 2296, compared to a 2237 average for non-legacy students.

College Costs

  • Harvard Financial Aid Recipients

    About 56 percent of freshman respondents reported receiving financial aid from Harvard.

  • Family Income Distribution

  • Financial Aid by Community Type

  • College Counseling

  • Private Admissions Counseling by Income Bracket

College Acceptances

  • Applications and Acceptances

  • Early Action

    Fifty-five percent of surveyed freshman reported that they were admitted to Harvard through the College’s single-choice early action program.

  • Legacy Admission

  • Legacy Diversity

  • Was Harvard Your Top Choice?

  • Early Action Top Choice

  • Early Admission by Income Bracket

    The proportion of students who reported that they were accepted early to Harvard tended to increase with increases in income bracket.

  • Early Admission by School Type

    Sixty percent of respondents admitted early come to Harvard from public high school and 39 percent from private school.

Athletics

  • Recruited Athletes

    More than a fifth of students surveyed intend to play a varsity sport at Harvard. Over 12 percent of respondents were recruited varsity athletes, while roughly 8 percent intend to walk-on to one of the varsity sport teams. Harvard does not offer athletic scholarships to recruited athletes or give out merit scholarships of any kind.

  • SAT Scores by Recruitment Status