Overview
- Harvard’s Class of 2029 is 11.5% Black, 11% Hispanic, and 41% Asian American, with no white share released and 8% of students not reporting race.
- An Associated Press review of 20 selective colleges shows Black freshmen now make up a smaller share on almost all campuses than in 2023, with Princeton falling to 5%, its lowest since 1968.
- Fewer schools are publishing disaggregated figures this year, with one tracker finding 16 releases by Oct. 16 versus 34 a year earlier, and a Globe review counting 18 of the top 50 universities sharing data so far.
- The Education Department in August ordered roughly 100 additional admissions data points to probe compliance with the affirmative action ruling, creating heavy reporting burdens and escalation risks for institutions.
- Experts caution against declaring long-term trends from one or two cycles, noting complications such as test-score requirements returning, smaller applicant pools, and Harvard’s shift in how it calculates racial shares.