2000 Yield May Pass Record

Members of the Harvard community are repeatedly reminded of their elite status. But members of the Class of 2000, the most selective class in Harvard's history, are perhaps the most elite the College has seen yet.

As usual, administrators said the Class of 2000 is the best class ever to be admitted. And the numbers seem to back their claim.

Only 10.9 percent of 18,190 applicants were accepted this year, marking both the lowest admissions rate and the highest applicant rate ever.

Applications were up from 17,852 last year, and this two percent rise follows six straight years of rising application numbers, beginning with 12,189 in 1990, according to the Admissions Office.

The growing number of binding early decision programs at selective colleges such as Stanford, Yale and Princeton, however, is starting to curb the growth in application numbers, said William R. Fitzsimmons '67 dean of admissions and financial aid.

"When more students apply to early decision programs, then a fair number of people will be out of the applicant pools of other colleges," he said.

Women will make up 45 percent of the class, down slightly from 45.7 percent last year. And the number of minority students and students on financial aid essentially mirrors the Class of 1999.

Asian Americans make up 17 percent of the class, African Americans 8.8 percent, Hispanics 7.7 percent and Native Americans 0.5 percent.

James S. Miller, director of financial aid, estimates that 46 percent of undergraduates will be on scholarship, while more than two-thirds of the class will be eligible for financial aid. The average grant will be $13,450.

The academic direction of the Class of 2000 is one of its most notable characteristics. More than 27 percent of new admits are inclined towards humanities at the College. This is up from 21.5 percent two years ago and bucks a national trend of declining interest.

Although final figures are still pending due to admits from the waiting list, the matriculation rate this year has climbed to over 78 percent, second only to the high of 78.9 percent in 1972.

And officials at the Office of Admissions said that this year's yield could surpass the current record, climbing to almost 80 percent.