Harvard sees drop in Black, Hispanic student admissions, rise in Asian Americans

Harvard College has released admissions data for the class of 2029 showing a decrease in Black and Hispanic students while the share of Asian American students at the university has gone up.

The class of 2029 has 11.5 percent Black students, 11 percent Hispanic and 41 percent Asian American. In the class of 2028, 14 percent of students were Black, 16 percent were Hispanic and 37 percent were Asian American.

For Black students, the slide has been consistent since the 2023 Supreme Court decision that outlawed affirmative action in higher education. Before the decision, Black students made up 18 percent of Harvard’s student population.

Hispanic students saw an increase in student population after the court’s decision before the decrease in this year’s admission data.

Harvard did not release demographic data for white students.

Experts had worried the Supreme Court decision would disadvantage certain student groups, while the Trump administration has accused universities of still not following the high court’s ruling.

And Harvard has been one of President Trump’s main targets.

The Trump administration pulled billions of dollars in funding and attempted to block Harvard’s enrollment of international students, both moves ruled illegal by the courts.

The number of international students has also gone down from 16 percent to 15 percent.

The attacks have done some damage as Harvard has implemented hiring freezes and is shrinking its number of Ph.D. student admission decisions. The university had an operating loss of $113 million in its fiscal 2025 report, its first budget deficit since 2020.

An estimated 21 percent of Harvard’s class of 2029 is eligible for Pell Grants, 45 percent are attending tuition free and 26 percent are attending completely for free.