By Leah J. Teichholtz and Meimei Xu

The Class of 2024’s time at the College was bookended by fierce national elections and political polarization. Graduating seniors navigated Harvard as the country grappled with its approach to the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the fall of affirmative action, and the Israel-Hamas war, among other charged issues.

On the whole, surveyed members of this year’s graduating class identify as less progressive than last year’s class, and their views on various national issues are overall less liberal-leaning than those of the Class of 2023. Still, the Class of 2024 overwhelmingly disapproves of former President Donald Trump, and the majority said they would vote for President Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential election, though they are lukewarm on Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris overall.

Political Allegiances

The majority of respondents to the senior survey, or 59 percent, described their views as progressive or very progressive prior to coming to Harvard. Seniors roughly maintained their political views through graduation, with approximately 55 percent identifying as progressive or very progressive when they responded to the survey.

The portion of the class that reported conservative or very conservative views remained stable, at 13 percent prior to entering Harvard and at graduation. The number of surveyed students identifying as moderate expanded from 21 percent to 25 percent over the course of the class’s time at Harvard. Female respondents were more likely to be progressive than male respondents, aligning with recent national trends.

Overall, surveyed seniors from the Class of 2024 were less progressive than the Class of 2023. Around 65 percent of respondents to last year’s survey identified as progressive or very progressive, 10 percentage points higher than this year’s class. Approximately 22 percent of Class of 2023 respondents identified as moderates, 3 percentage points lower than the Class of 2024. Still, the percentage of self-identified conservatives between the Class of 2023 and 2024 remained relatively similar — 12 and 13 percent, respectively.

Respondents said that they mostly aligned with their friends on political views. Thirteen percent of respondents said they shared political perspectives with all their friends, and 52 percent said the statement was true for most of them. Only 2 percent of respondents said they shared political outlooks with none of their friends. Conservatives were less likely to share political views with at least some of their friends than progressives, though respondents who described themselves as very conservative were the most likely to share political views with all of their friends.

For many members of the Class of 2024, these political alignments would also impact their dating choices. Forty-seven percent of respondents said they would not consider entering a serious romantic relationship with someone who supported the nominee of the opposite party, while around a third said they would. The remaining 21 percent of respondents were unsure. Conservatives were much more likely to consider dating someone who supported a nominee of the opposite party than progressives, with 72 percent of respondents identifying as conservative reacting positively to the statement versus 21 percent of respondents identifying as progressive.

Around half of survey-takers, or 49 percent, said they are registered Democrats. A greater proportion are registered Independents than Republicans, at 13 percent versus 9 percent, respectively. More than a quarter of respondents are not registered members of any party, and 77 percent of respondents are registered to vote in the 2024 U.S. elections this November, with another 12 percent reporting plans to register in time to vote.

Policy Perspectives

Ahead of November’s elections, the majority of surveyed Harvard seniors — 62 percent — said they would vote for President Joe Biden if the presidential elections were held the day they took the survey. Around 11 percent of the Class of 2024 said they were undecided, 6 percent said they would vote for former Harvard professor Cornel West ’74, 6 percent said former President Donald Trump, 3 percent said independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ’76, and 3 percent said they do not plan to vote.

A smaller percentage of the Class of 2024 reported favorable views of Biden than the percentage who said they would vote for him, but the total with favorable views roughly corresponded with the percentage of registered Democrats in the class. Biden received a favorability rating of 49 percent from respondents, while 39 percent of the class said they viewed him unfavorably. Biden’s favorability rating barely changed from last year’s questionnaire, but his unfavorability rating increased by almost 8 percentage points. In this year’s survey, only 9 and 2 percent said they had no opinion or didn’t have enough information about the President, respectively.

Favorability ratings for Vice President Kamala Harris were lower, at 36 percent. Around 40 percent of respondents from the Class of 2024 said they disapprove of the vice president, while 19 and 6 percent said they have no opinion or not enough information, respectively. Around 45 percent of those surveyed approve of the Democratic Party, while 41 percent disapprove.

An overwhelming majority of surveyed Harvard seniors — 90 percent — disapprove of Trump, with only 5 percent of respondents saying they view him favorably. Around 83 percent have an unfavorable opinion of the Republican Party, while just 7 percent approve of the party.

A plurality of Harvard seniors who took the survey viewed U.S. aid to Israel amid the war in Gaza unfavorably: 48 percent disapproved, and 37 percent approved. Around 41 percent disapproved of the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divest, Sanctions movement, and 31 percent approved.

Around 68 percent of respondents approved of U.S. aid to Ukraine during the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, with 10 percent disapproving.

Compared to the Class of 2023, a smaller percentage of respondents from the Class of 2024 approve of the #MeToo movement — from 77 percent in 2023 to 66 percent in 2024, while disapproval percentages increased from 7 percent to 12 percent. A greater proportion of respondents who identify as male disapprove of the movement: Of male respondents, 55 percent approve and 18 percent disapprove, while 77 percent approve and 7 percent disapprove among female respondents.

A smaller percentage of the Class of 2024 disapproves of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to overturn the constitutional right to an abortion than did the Class of 2023 — from 79 percent in 2023 to 71 percent in 2024. Around 11 percent of this year’s surveyed seniors approve of the decision, while 9 percent last year said they approved. Among male respondents, 15 percent viewed the decision positively and 67 percent negatively, and among female respondents, 8 percent viewed the decision positively and 76 percent negatively.