The Graduating
Class of

2019

by the numbers

by Joshua J. Florence, Mia C. Karr, Claire E. Parker, Kenton K. Shimozaki, Alison W. Steinbach, Sarah Wu, Phelan Yu, Hannah Natanson, and Derek G. Xiao
produced by Nenya A. Edjah

After weathering a bevy of campus controversies, Harvard’s Class of 2019 will leave Cambridge behind and enter a world of tumultuous politics most seniors view with an increasing sense of doom.

Well over half of survey respondents — 68 percent — believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, and an overwhelming majority (92 percent) view President Donald Trump unfavorably. More than half of graduating seniors believe the president should be impeached. When it comes to hot-button Harvard issues, meanwhile, students largely support Harvard’s race-conscious admissions system, currently the target of a high-profile lawsuit alleging racial discrimination. A majority of respondents also oppose the College’s controversial social group sanctions and want Harvard to divest its endowment from fossil fuels.

Each year, The Crimson conducts a survey of Harvard’s graduating class of seniors, collecting data about where the class is headed next, how they spent their time at Harvard, and what they think of the College and the nation. This year’s edition drew 717 responses, representing roughly half the class. The survey, emailed to each senior, remained open from May 1 to May 18 and was anonymous. The Crimson adjusted the results by ethnicity and gender to account for non-response bias (see “Methodology” section for more).

Though seniors may be pessimistic about the world they’re entering, and while some are dissatisfied with Harvard’s management of various campus crises, the vast majority of respondents indicated they feel upbeat about at least one thing: Close to 90 percent said that, given the chance, they would choose Harvard again.

Compare this year’s results to the Class of 2018.

Academics
Lifestyle
After Harvard
Favorability
Campus Politics
National Politics
Methodology