Class of 2029 yield tops 83%, with international students at 90%

A Harvard gate.

Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer

October 23, 2025 3 min read

Nearly half will pay no tuition

Harvard College on Thursday released data and demographics for the Class of 2029. This is the first class of undergraduates admitted since the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) reinstated standardized test scores as a required part of the application process.

The College offered admission to 2,003 applicants, with 1,675 accepting, for a yield rate of 83.6 percent. This is the College’s fifth consecutive admissions cycle with a yield above 83 percent. Harvard received 47,893 applications, a 10 percent increase from the most recent admissions cycle (Class of 2023) for which it required applicants to submit standardized test scores.

“The Class of 2029 reflects everything that makes Harvard College extraordinary,” said Edgerley Family Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Hopi Hoekstra. “These remarkable students come to us from across the country and around the globe with boundless curiosity and eagerness to join a community that challenges them to learn deeply, listen generously, and expand their understanding of themselves and the world around them. Even amid shifting economic realities, our commitment to access and opportunity remains unwavering. That nearly half of this class will attend Harvard tuition-free fills me with immense pride and optimism for the future they will help shape.”

The class is made up of students from 92 countries and all 50 states. International students make up 15 percent of the class. The yield rate for international students was 90.3 percent, with only eight choosing to defer their admission.

“The Class of 2029 was drawn from big cities and small towns, suburbs and farms, and from nations around the world, and all students, no matter where they’re from, where they went to high school, or what their personal circumstances might be, were admitted to Harvard because they share the extraordinary potential to change the world,” said William Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions and financial aid. “Amid several seismic shifts in higher education admissions over the past few years, as well as the effects of COVID, the Class of 2029 enters Harvard as worthy successors to the generations of students who’ve come before them.”

Of students in the class who self-identified their race, 11.5 percent identified as African American or Black, 41 percent identified as Asian American, 11 percent identified as Hispanic or Latino, and nearly 2 percent identified as Native American, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander. Eight percent of the class did not disclose race or ethnicity. Applicants who self-selected more than one race are reflected in the percentages for each of their respective identified races. Racial demographics are accessible only after the admissions process is complete.

First-generation students represent 20 percent of the class. Twenty-one percent are estimated to be eligible for federal Pell Grants. In this first admitted class since the FAS announced a significant undergraduate financial aid expansion in March 2025, 45 percent are attending the College tuition-free. More than half of those students qualified for a free Harvard education with financial aid covering all expenses, including tuition, fees, food, and housing.

The class includes 16 veterans. Twelve transfer students joined the class, and 75 students were admitted from the wait-list.

Among U.S. students, geographical representation is as follows: New England, 17.8 percent; Middle Atlantic, 20.6 percent; Southern U.S., 15.9 percent. The Midwest is represented by 10 percent of the class; the Central region, 1.6 percent; the Mountain region, 3.2 percent; and the Pacific region, 13.6 percent.