The Harvard Crimson | Class of 2024 By the Numbers

Covid

Members of the Class of 2024 spent their senior springs in quarantine, had their high school proms called off, and attended socially-distanced graduation ceremonies conducted from high school parking lots. Even so, they haven’t allowed the coronavirus to rob them of a new beginning in college: 83 percent have journeyed to Cambridge, Mass. to live in Harvard’s dorms this semester.

Of survey respondents, about 80 percent indicated they favorably view Harvard’s decision to invite 40 percent of undergraduates — including all freshmen — back to campus. They were less pleased with Harvard’s decision to charge full tuition: only around six percent of freshmen had a favorable view of the College’s decision to charge full tuition and fees — $53,968, not including room and board — for a year of entirely remote learning.

Consistent with nationwide trends, students at Harvard who come from the lowest-income families were more than eight times as likely to have a parent who was furloughed from or lost their job during the pandemic-induced economic recession compared to their wealthiest peers.

Black students were more than three times as likely to know a family member or acquaintance who died from complications related to COVID-19 than their white classmates; Hispanic students were more than twice as likely. Though many freshmen reported that the pandemic disrupted their families’ lives, almost all indicated that they had not tested positive for coronavirus themselves. Only 2.3 percent reported positive test results.

Overall, freshmen reported that they expect themselves and their peers to abide by the administration’s stringent public health guidelines on campus this semester.

Freshmen indicated they are more confident that they themselves will follow the rules than their peers, and female students reported a greater willingness to follow the rules than their male classmates. Out of all of the guidelines, students were least likely to say they will adhere to the College’s mandate barring them from having a guest in their room — though over 50 percent of students still said they would comply. Students were split on whether they intend to inform administrators if they catch their peers breaking the rules.

Of 1,420 students comprising the Class of 2024, 1,083 freshmen responded. The Crimson did not account for potential selection bias in its analysis of the results. Due to rounding, reported statistics may not total exactly 100 percent.

This final installment of The Crimson’s survey of the Class of 2024 examines how students have experienced the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, their views on Harvard’s reopening plans, and their expectations for a socially-distanced and unprecedented first semester of college.

Impact

COVID-19 has had a disproportionate impact on members of the Class of 2024 along ethnic and socioeconomic lines.

For Black and African American students, 16.1 percent said they have had a family member or personal contact die from COVID-19, compared to 12.5 percent of Hispanic and Latinx students, 5.1 percent of white students, and 2.4 percent of Asian and Asian American students.

Of students whose parents earn less than $40,000 each year, 37.4 percent said they had a family member who was furloughed or lost their job due to COVID-19. In contrast, only 4.3 percent of students with parents earning over $500,000 annually said they had a family member who lost their job during the pandemic.

Students whose parents’ annual income exceeds $500,000 were more than twice as likely to have traveled out of state during the pandemic than students whose parents make less than $40,000 per year. Of students who reported traveling, 10.4 percent of students from families earning more than $500,000 traveled to second homes.
Students from the Southeast reported the highest rates of testing positive for the coronavirus at 4.9 percent, followed by students from the Southwest at 3.9 percent. A substantial majority — 66.7 percent — of students said they wear a mask in public at all times.
A substantial majority — 66.7 percent — of students said they wear a mask in public at all times.
A smaller percentage of students who always wore masks in public caught the virus — 2.2 percent — compared to students who wore masks most of the time — 3.6 percent — and those who wore masks some of the time — 6.7 percent. Additionally, fewer students who wore masks in public all the time — 4.3 percent — had a family member who caught the virus than those who wore masks some of the time — 13.3 percent.
Of students with family incomes over $500,000 per year, 7.8 percent reported having family members who contracted coronavirus — a higher figure than any other income group.

Students' Fall Plans

A majority of the incoming class will be spending their fall on campus, with 83.3 percent reporting they will be living in Harvard dorms. Of students who will not be on campus, 78 percent indicated they would be spending the semester at home, with 7.6 percent living in a rental, and 1.7 percent living with other family members. 93.6 percent of students whose parents earn $500,000 or more annually will be living on campus, compared to 86.3 percent of students with parents earning between $80,000 and $124,999 and 74.3 percent of students with parents earning less than $40,000 annually.

Of those who reported they would be living in a rental, 92.1 percent said they would be renting outside of the Boston area.
Students who attended public schools were more likely to live on campus (86.6 percent) than students who attended charter or private schools (78.6 percent).
Students coming from urban areas were less likely to live on campus (75.9 percent) than those coming from suburban (86.3 percent) and rural areas (84.7 percent).

Following Harvard Rules

Despite the extensive rules and regulations the incoming class will have to follow due to the coronavirus, most of them report feeling up to the job. At least 75 percent of freshman respondents reported they would be very likely to follow university procedures if they test positive for COVID-19, to participate in mandated wellness checks, and to regularly clean residential spaces. The Class of 2024 was less enthusiastic about University policies related to interacting with other students – 54.0 percent noted that they would be very likely to refrain from inviting guests to their suites, while 54.7 percent said they would be very likely to stay out of other residential buildings.

A larger percentage of female students said they are very likely to follow Harvard regulations compared to male students. In the starkest difference between female and male students, 57.3 percent of female students reported they would be very likely to not have guests in their dorms, compared to 50.3 percent of male students.
Students were more confident in their own abilities to follow Harvard regulations than their peers’. A minority of respondents — 32.9 percent — felt their peers would be unlikely to keep guests out of their suites, and 35.7 percent of respondents thought their peers would be very likely to wear facial coverings outside of their suites.

Reporting to Admin

Despite their similarities in some respects, freshmen were split on the idea of informing Harvard administrators about behavior that would violate social distancing rules. 47.7 percent reported they would be likely to inform administrators about such actions, while 25.5 percent reported they would be unlikely to do so and 24.9 percent would be neither likely nor unlikely.

Students who were dissatisfied with Harvard’s recent decisions regarding online classes and tuition were more likely to be averse to the idea of informing Harvard administrators about behavior violating university policies. 25 percent of students with a strongly unfavorable view toward Harvard’s decision to hold online fall classes said they would be likely to do so, compared to 59.6 percent of students with a strongly favorable view toward the decision.
Students identifying as very liberal were more likely — 48.7 percent — than those identifying as very conservative — 15.4 percent — to say they would report such behaviors to Harvard administrators.
Exposure to COVID-19 may also have played a role in students’ willingness to act as informants for Harvard administrators. Just 28 percent of students who have tested positive for COVID-19 said they would be likely to do so, compared to 46.9 percent of students who have not tested positive for the virus. Additionally, students with household members who had coronavirus said they are less likely to inform Harvard administrators at 31.1 percent, compared to those without household members who caught the virus at 47.5 percent.