<p>Class of 2009 chosen from record 22,796 applicants
New Financial Aid Initiative creates most competitive and economically diverse class ever
Harvard's new Financial Aid Initiative (HFAI) has led to the largest applicant pool (22,796) and the most competitive admission rate (9.1 percent) in the history of the College. The Class of 2009 will also be Harvard's most economically diverse. </p>
<p>All applicants were notified of their admission decisions on Thursday, March 31. Nearly 88 percent requested an e-mail notification along with the traditional letter. The 2,074 admitted students have until just after May 1 to reply for September matriculation.</p>
<p>56 percent of the candidates scored 1400 or higher on SATs; almost 2,150 scored a perfect 800 on their SAT verbal test; more than 3,200 scored an 800 on the SAT math; and nearly 3,200 were valedictorians of their high school classes.</p>
<p>A record 10.5 percent of the admitted students are African American, while 17.8 percent are Asian American, 8.2 percent are Latino, and slightly more than 1 percent are Native American. Almost exactly 50% are male, and 50% female. </p>
<p>The number admitted - 2,074 - seems to contemplate a yield of about 79%, assuming a target class size of 1,640. Thus, the waitlist will be utilized only to the extent the yield falls below 79%. It was about 78% last year.</p>
<p>Actually, these are aggregate numbers that include the EA round. In the RD round, they admitted 1,189 students from an applicant pool, including EA deferrees, of 21,776. So the RD admission rate was about 5.5% (or to put it another way, the RD rejection rate was about 94.5%). At least those of you who end up not being admitted can take some comfort in the fact that you have lots of good company.</p>
<p>Based on recent history, the yield on African-American admits, conservatively, should be no less than 60-65%. It is lower than the overall yield, because the top URMs are always heavily contested, with offers of full-rides, "merit scholarships" etc.</p>
<p>I found this interesting. Presumably Harvard tries hard to get a diversity of countries represented, so internationals are at an advantage if they come from a place that doesn't have many students applying to Harvard. Funny. I don't think I've ever seen anyone complaining about this kind of preference in admissions.</p>
<p>"Geographical representation was quite similar to last year. More than 25 percent of the admitted students reside in the mid-Atlantic, 19 percent are from the Western and Mountain states, 17 percent from New England, 16 percent from the South, 12 percent from the Midwest, and nearly 10 percent from the U.S. territories and abroad. Foreign citizens number 175, compared to 177 for the Class of 2008. A significant number of incoming students will bring an international perspective, including Americans who have lived abroad, 97 U.S. dual citizens, and 73 U.S. permanent residents. Together, foreign citizens, U.S. duals, and U.S. permanent residents comprise 16.6 percent of the Class, compared with 16.3 percent last year. A total of 80 countries are represented in the Class of 2009. "</p>
<p>Question: How does Harvard tell if you're financially diverse? Do they ask the financial aid office? All they ask on the application is parent jobs and education, but you often can't tell from that. My best friend, his dad has no college education and a seemingly obscure business job - but he makes six figures.</p>
<p>Now that most schools have reported their app and admit numbers, we can project overall yield and RD yield rates, bsed on the following assumptions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>HYS get 90% yield on EA admits, and Princeton and Dartmouth get 100% yield on ED admits.</p></li>
<li><p>There are no subsequent admits to any of the schools from the waitlist (probably not a justified assumption).</p></li>
</ol>
<p>It sure looks like the Midwest is an "underrepresented" region in Harvard's admittee pool compared to its share of the United States national population. This is, of course, mostly because of self-selection: a lot of strong students from the Midwest attend their state flagship universities, or national LACs in the Midwest, or apply to Stanford rather than to Ivies. It's tough to get into Harvard from anywhere, but the local competition here looks bearable for the minority of college applicants who apply to Harvard at all.</p>
<p>Yes, the Princeton yield dropped a lot last year, and they are projecting similar numbers this year - bother overall and RD. The reason presumably has to do with a change in the terget group. </p>
<p>Under Hargadon, Princeton often seemed to shy away from some of the top students, academically speaking, rather than go head to head with some of its rivals for them. (The book "The Early Admissions Game" documented this phenomenon.) The new administration is less shy about going after the top kids, but understands there is a price to pay in terms of the yield rate.</p>
<p>Byerly: Base on allt he statistical models and the data you presented, i need to ask you a question. What is the probability of getting into Harvard if I am waitlisted?</p>
<p>Is the probability better at Yale or Harvard?</p>
<p>It is virtually impossible to answer this question, since:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The number on the waitlist varies from year to year,</p></li>
<li><p>The number admitted varires from year to year, and</p></li>
<li><p>Admission from the waitlist is not random, and</p></li>
<li><p>The waitlist is not ranked.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>This is true of Harvard, but it is also true of Yale. What CAN be said is that Harvard admitted more from the waitlist than Yale did last year, although that may be a totally irrelevant fact THIS year.</p>
<p>The number potentially admitted from the waitlist depends on how conservative schools are, when admitting people in April, in estimating their eventual yield rate. Harvard based admissions on a 79% yield rate, and Yale based admissions on a 79% yield rate. If either estimate was too high, then the resulting openings will be filled from the waitlist.</p>