Harvard College Class of 2018 Yield Remains 82 Percent

With early-action acceptances high, few chances for wait-listed applicants

Harvard College announced today that nearly 82 percent of the 2,023 candidates offered admission to the class of 2018 had accepted—meaning that the waiting list will again go essentially untapped, with just 15 to 20 applicants ultimately admitted. The “yield” was 82 percent last year, and 81 percent the prior year: historically high figures, reflecting, in part, the reinstatement of early-action admissions. Typically, early-action applicants are thought to be very strongly inclined to attend the institution to which they apply; as reported last December, 992 applicants using the early-action deadline were offered admission to the class of 2018, likely filling well more than half the cohort expected to enter the College this coming August.

According to the news release, "The class will have a record number of African-Americans (177) and Latinos (185), as well as the second-largest number of Asian-Americans (351) in Harvard’s history."

Read the release here.

You might also like

Government Seeks More Harvard Admissions Data

Justice Department says it needs proof that Harvard is complying with a 2023 Supreme Court ruling.

Harvard’s Productivity Trap

What happened to doing things for the sake of enjoyment?

Harvard Faculty Group Proposes Limits on A Grades

The grade inflation measure requires a full faculty vote, expected in the spring.

Most popular

The True Cost of Grade Inflation at Harvard

How an abundance of A’s created “the most stressed-out world of all.”

What Bonobos Teach Us about Female Power and Cooperation

A Harvard scientist expands our understanding of our closest living relatives.

Readers Respond to Our ‘Law in a Lifeboat’ Survey

A sampling of answers about a moral dilemma

Explore More From Current Issue

Illustration of a person sitting on a large cresting wave, writing, with a sunset and ocean waves in vibrant colors.

How Stories Help Us Cope with Climate Change

The growing genre of climate fiction offers a way to process reality—and our anxieties.

A close-up of a beetle on the textured surface of a cycad cone and cycad cones seen in infrared silhouette.

Research in Brief

Cutting-edge discoveries, distilled