Harvard Maintains Its Level of Black Enrollments and Increases Its Number of Low-Income Students

Harvard College announced that African Americans will make up 9.3 percent of the freshman class that will enroll next fall. This is identical to the black percentage of the freshman class in the 2005-06 academic year, which established a record.

In addition, Harvard’s new financial aid program for low-income students appears to be having a major impact in increasing the economic diversity of students who come to Harvard. The new program eliminates the parental contribution for all families with incomes below $60,000 and reduces the amount of money that has to be paid by families with incomes in the $60,000 to $80,000 range.

Harvard reports that 85.3 percent of all students admitted who were eligible for the new financial aid program accepted the university’s offer of admission. The university estimates that 25 percent of the students in the incoming class will be eligible for funds under the new Harvard Financial Aid Initiative.

Copyright © 2006. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.