Harvard Reports Record Number of Applicants: Black Applications Also Surge

Harvard University reports a record number of applicants for the class that will enter college in the fall of 2009. More than 29,000 students applied to the university this year, up from 27,462 applicants a year ago. In 2007 there were 22,955 applicants to Harvard College.

The university believes that Harvard’s attractive financial aid program is the main reason for the surge in applications. Harvard requires no parental contribution for students who come from families with incomes below $60,000 a year. And students whose families have income up to $180,000 a year pay no more than $18,000 each year to attend Harvard.

In most years, Harvard does not publicize the number of applications from blacks. But the university does report that the number of black applicants has exceeded last year’s total by a significant margin.

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