Blacks Entering Universities Approximate Population Mean

The national percentage of black students entering colleges is about equal to their representation in the total population, an official at the Census Bureau said yesterday.

Statistics compiled for 1974 show that blacks comprise 12.2 per cent of the college freshmen, and 11.4 per cent of the nation's total population.

The percentage of blacks entering Harvard, however, was significantly lower than the national average.

Figures obtained from David L. Evans, associate director of admissions, and Mary Anne Schwalbe, director of admissions, show the percentage of blacks entering Harvard in 1974 was 6.3 per cent and the percentage of blacks entering Radcliffe was about 10 per cent.

William R. Fitzsimmons '67, associate director of Admissions, said yesterday Harvard-Radcliffe "should be preparing students for the real world," and that an enrollment of blacks under their proportion to the nation's population is not a very good example of reality.

The influence that students of diverse backgrounds have on each other is "an important part of education," Fitzsimmons said.

However, he added that he thinks the new alumni recruiting plan will increase the number of minorities at Harvard-Radcliffe.