Meet the Class of

2022

Belief and Lifestyles at Harvard and Yale

By Shera S. Avi-Yonah and Delano R. Franklin

This year's crop of Yale freshmen appear to be having even more trouble getting laid than their Harvard peers.

Though the incoming classes of freshmen at Yale and Harvard are demographically and academically similar, survey data collected by the Yale Daily News, Yale’s student newspaper, indicates that the newest Yalies are marginally more innocent than their peers in Cambridge. A slightly higher percentage of Yale freshmen said they have never had sex, drank alcohol, used tobacco, or smoked weed prior to coming to college.

  • Sixty-three percent of Yale freshmen reported they are virgins, compared to 61 percent of Harvardians. Among those Yalies who reported having sex, 11.4 percent said they lost their virginity in 12th grade while 10.6 percent said they did the deed in 11th grade.
  • Thirty-seven percent of Yale freshmen said they have never consumed alcohol, compared to 33.5 percent of Harvard respondents. Just 12.4 percent said they drank once a week or more often than that during high school.
  • Yale respondents’ vice of choice appears to be marijuana. Over 90 percent of Yale freshmen said they have never used tobacco, while 83.5 percent and 71.6 percent said have never vaped or smoked marijuana, respectively.
  • Yale freshmen are even more left-leaning than their Harvard peers. Seventy-three percent of Yale survey-takers said they are either somewhat or very liberal. Just 10.5 percent identified as conservative. Fifteen percent of Yale respondents said they are centrist.
  • Yale freshmen broadly disapprove of President Trump. Roughly 64 percent said they “strongly oppose” the former reality TV star.