<p>Oh, and by the way, Yale’s previous admissions director used the same 5,000 unqualified number back in 2004 when they were getting 20,000 applications per year. I doubt that all of the increase in applications has been highly qualified applicants. I think the stock speech – that’s probably what you were getting – about how many qualified applicants they have is meant to express an idea, not to convey reliable numbers.</p>
<p>JHS,</p>
<p>Here’s an article from Harvard Magazine from last year that addresses the question a little more precisely:</p>
<p><a href=“http://harvardmagazine.com/2013/06/reinvigorating-the-humanities”>http://harvardmagazine.com/2013/06/reinvigorating-the-humanities</a></p>
<p>Here’s a chart that breaks it out according to Harvard’s definitions (I’m unsure of the date, but the data goes through 2011):</p>
<p><a href=“http://harvardmagazine.com/375th/concentrations-chart-humanities”>http://harvardmagazine.com/375th/concentrations-chart-humanities</a></p>
<p>In Harvard’s opinion, humanities comprise 17% of the current undergraduate student body (or at least, through 2012 or thereabouts), although, if one throws history in with the humanities (Harvard counts it as a social science), then humanities concentrators comprise about 20%:</p>
<p>“Among the data-driven findings: the percentage of humanities concentrators fell during the last 60 years from 24 to 17 percent, dropping between 2003 and 2012 from 21 to 17 percent. When history concentrators are factored in (history is considered part of the humanities, although at Harvard it is technically in the division of social sciences), the decline in concentrators since 1954 is even more precipitous, falling from 36 to 20 percent of undergraduates.”</p>
<p>Social conditions in recent decades have changed people’s attitudes so much. When I chose to major in English in 1980, and people of my parents’ generation asked, “What’re you going to do with that?”, I answered with a straight face, “I think I’ll go to grad school and live like a Bohemian till I’m 30.” I think the most negative responses I got were “Oh” and “Well, it’s your life.” Today, I think a student who says that would more likely hear, “Are you out of your mind???”</p>
<p>It my not be that history (or some humanities) has so much “lost pull.” But that more kids, from an earlier age (hs) are thinking toward STEM. And that most kids don’t get a real high school workout in econ or govt/public policy, come to college and develop that focus. And, according to my historian friends, right now there may be an ebb in what new projects a history major could undertake (ie, ground breaking research, after the basics.) As one put it, for his sub field, “Right now, all that can be freshly said, has been researched and said.” So the most ardent go interdisciplinary. In some of his own work/teaching, DH moved into some social sci perspective and some natural sciences.</p>
<p>And, it’s not enough to say, they have this % or this number in humanities- in some cases, the drive is to get male humanities kids who will stick.</p>
<p>As for the 5000 remark re: Yale. We’d have to know what that 5k means- totally unqualified, dreamers, incomplete apps, etc? Because, I don’t think, out of 30k apps, 25k make it past first cut. Not all apps from kids who seem to have the stats, have the true, more complete, holistic attributes a most-selective can demand.</p>