High-Ranking Colleges and Universities Report Increased Selectivity, And Some Post Record Numbers of Accepted Black Students

Harvard University accepted only 7.1 percent of the 27,462 students who applied this year. This was the lowest admittance rate in the nearly 400-year history of Harvard. The university reports that 11 percent, or about 215, of the 1,948 students admitted are black. Last year Harvard accepted 220 black students, but the overall number of accepted students was also higher.

At Dartmouth College, the overall admittance rate was also the lowest in the college’s history. Of the 2,190 students admitted, 224, or 10.2 percent, are African Americans.

At Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, a record number of applications were received for this fall’s entering class. A total of 929 students were accepted. Of these, it is good news that a whopping 15 percent are African Americans. Last year 14.4 percent of all accepted students at Swarthmore were black, but only 8.2 percent of the freshman students who matriculated were African Americans.

At Barnard College, 7 percent of the admitted students are black, slightly lower than the percentage from a year ago.