Harvard Accepts 8.74% of Early Applicants to Class of 2028 in First Admissions Cycle After SCOTUS Ruling

Harvard admitted 8.74 percent of early applicants to the Class of 2028, the first admissions cycle after the Supreme Court declared affirmative action unconstitutional in a landmark ruling against Harvard over the summer.

The University did not release data on the racial demographics of early admits to the Class of 2028, a stark change from previous years which comes as a direct response to the Court’s ruling in late June.

This year’s early admissions cycle marks the first in which race was not considered in Harvard’s admissions process.

William R. Fitzsimmons ’67, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, said he had “no information” about changes in racial demographics to the Class of 2028 in a Thursday interview with The Crimson.

Harvard will still report data on race and ethnicity, but the figures will not be released until the Class of 2028 makes their final decision to accept a spot at the College, according to Fitzsimmons. Admitted students have until May 1 to accept their offer of admission.

Fitzsimmons also said that admissions officers will not have access to data on race and ethnicity during the process of admitting the Class of 2028, another change to Harvard’s admissions practices as the University seeks to comply with the Court’s ruling.

“Based on advice of counsel,” Fitzsimmons said, “admission officers will not have access to data on race or ethnicity until the admissions process is entirely over.”

The College notified 692 early applicants out of a total pool of 7,921 that they were accepted to the Class of 2028 on Thursday at 7 p.m. The acceptance rate increased by more than one percentage point from last year’s 7.56 early action acceptance rate.

This year’s acceptance rate marks the highest since 2019, when the College admitted 13.9 percent of applicants to the Class of 2024 under the restrictive early action cycle. Though the acceptance rate increased this year, it still marks the fourth-lowest early admission acceptance rate in the College’s history.

The acceptance rate for the Class of 2025 — at 7.41 percent — remains the record-low, followed by the 7.56 percent acceptance rate for the Class of 2027 and the 7.87 percent acceptance rate for the Class of 2026.

Fitzsimmons described the early admits to the Class of 2028 as “pretty amazing.”

“I think there are more inspirational stories in the past two or three or four classes at Harvard, and that has not ended,” he said.

Of the total applications received, approximately 83.06 percent were deferred and 7.70 percent were denied admission. Forty applicants withdrew their applications.

Among the applicants who were admitted early, 53.1 percent were women while 46.9 percent were men.

The largest percentage of admitted students came from New England, with the College accepting 22.3 percent of applicants from the region. Students from the mid-Atlantic comprised 20.8 percent of early admits, with 17.2 percent from the West, 14.5 percent from the South, and 8.4 percent from the Midwest.

Following the trend of previous early admission cycles, the percentage of international students admitted continued to climb. International students represent nearly 17 percent of early admits, a significant jump from 14.1 percent in the Class of 2027 and 12.6 in the Class of 2026.

Of those admitted to the Class of 2028, approximately 15.5 percent are first-generation college students.

The deadline to apply for Harvard’s regular decision cycle is January 1. Applicants applying for the regular decision cycle — as well as those deferred from the early round — will receive their decision in late March or early April.

—Staff writer Michelle N. Amponsah can be reached at michelle.amponsah@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X at @mnamponsah.

—Staff writer Emma H. Haidar can be reached at emma.haidar@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @HaidarEmma.