Asian-Americans in Harvard’s Incoming Class More Than Double, to 43.2 Percent

Newly released data on the Harvard College class of 2030 say the class is 43.2 percent Asian-American, a record high and more than double the level when Students for Fair Admissions first sued Harvard alleging racial discrimination in admissions.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that Harvard was unlawfully using race as a factor in admissions. Since then, the numbers of Hispanic and black students in the incoming Harvard classes have dipped, while the numbers of Asian-Americans have soared.

Even the 43.2 percent figure undercounts the number of Asians on campus. It only reflects "U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents who chose to report their race/ethnicity." Some additional Asians may not box-check, and others may be foreigners, among the 15 percent of the incoming class that Harvard categorizes as "international students."

The president of Students for Fair Admissions, Edward Blum, told the Washington Free Beacon, "In 2014, the year Students for Fair Admissions sued Harvard, Asian-American students accounted for approximately 19% of its entering freshman class. Today, following the Supreme Court's 2023 decision prohibiting race-based admissions, that figure has more than doubled to 43%. This is powerful evidence that Harvard used race as a primary factor in its admission decisions for decades."