College Yield Drops 3 Percent During COVID-19

Some students have deferred their enrollment to next year. 

Entrance to the Harvard Office of Admissions and Financial Aid

The Office of Admissions and Financial Aid 
Photograph by Lydia Carmichael/Harvard Magazine

The College’s yield for the class of 2024, or the share of admitted students who indicated that they will attend Harvard, has dropped from 84 percent on May 1 to 81 percent, according to a University announcement made today. Some students have deferred their enrollment until next fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which accounts for the drop. 

Last year’s yield was 82.1 percent; the 84 percent yield earlier this year was the highest since the early 1970s. 

First-generation college students make up 18.7 percent of the incoming class, and 22.4 percent of them qualify for the Harvard Financial Aid Initiative’s policy of making the College tuition-free for students whose families earn less than $65,000. The class’s racial makeup is similar to what was already reported about the admitted class in March: 24.6 percent are Asian-American; 13.9 percent are African-American; 11.8 percent are Latinx; and 2 percent are Native American or Native Hawaiian. 

Find more of Harvard Magazine’s reporting on what the fall semester will look like here and here

Read more articles by Marina N. Bolotnikova

You might also like

Trump Administration Expands Harvard Student Visa Vetting

State Department tells officials to screen social media, flag private accounts as suspicious.  

News in Brief

Physician-authors address Commencement and Alumni Day, new School of Education Dean, and more

Bill Gates on AI and Innovation

At Harvard, the Microsoft co-founder discusses his biography—and artificial intelligence. 

Most popular

House Committee Subpoenas Harvard Over Tuition Costs

The University must turn over all requested materials related to tuition and financial aid by mid-July. 

Global Reach

A new center in Shanghai reflects Harvard’s growing engagement with the People’s Republic.

The New Gender Gaps

What to do as men and boys fall behind

Explore More From Current Issue

Saluting the 2025 Centennial Medalists

Four alumni of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences are honored.

Harvard Medalists

Four people honored for exceptional service to the University