Meet the Class of 2020

“Scroll through the interactive graphs and charts on the following pages for a visual representation of the Class of 2020. The data was collected in an email survey conducted by The Crimson during the month of August. More than 70 percent of the class responded. The Crimson did not adjust the data for any possible self-selection bias.” …

http://features.thecrimson.com/2016/freshman-survey/

I was a bit surprised by the high % of atheists/agnostics at 40%. And which I wouldn’t have expected a huge amount of conservative students, was surprised that the number was so low and that the moderate category was not larger

I was even more surprised that nearly 80% use iPhones.

Looks as if diversity of political views isn’t a priority!

I’m not sure why these things should surprise.

Most colleges campuses, Harvard included, are bastions of tolerance that value liberalism, pluralism, inclusiveness and diversity of opinions. For example, look how many religious faiths are represented by Harvard’s chaplain’s office: http://chaplains.harvard.edu/people

In addition, according to The Pew Religious Landscape survey, 22.8% of the U.S. population is religiously unaffiliated, so it’s not surprising that on a liberal college campus, such as Harvard, you would find more atheists/agnostics than in the general population.

In terms of politics, although conservatives do exist at Harvard, those students are indeed in the minority on campus:http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2013/2/28/do-not-enroll/

And the iPhone, which has an overall market share in the US of close to 50%, can be easily explained: It’s still very much a status symbol of the wealthy – and 40% of Harvard students are from families wealthy enough to pay the full-fare. And, in many people’s opinions, the iPhone is just better than an Android and worth the price. Full Disclosure: Both my kids received very generous financial aid when they attended HY, and both had iPhones (not the top of the line ones mind you, and both were on Virgin Mobile, the lowest cost service carrier plan you can purchase.)