Reinforcing the Harvard Stereotype

Generations of Harvard men and women may come, and generations of them may go, but one fact remains constant: admissions officers insist there is no such thing as a "typical Harvard student."

"There's not a `Harvard student' to find," says admissions officer Susie S. Chao '86.

"We really go case by case," says Dean of Admissions William R. Fitzsimmons '67 "It's not an individual process."

But the stated priority, goal and ideal of diversity--while upheld to a great extent in each year's full freshman class--falls short of reality in one persistent case--the case of the early action admissions pool.

Members of the 657 early admits who visited Harvard last week share a part in a disturbing pattern: While matriculating freshmen will become a model of Harvard's much touted "diversity," students admitted early are more homogoneous as a group. They are more male, more Northeastern, more prep school, more white and more rich, admissions officials say.

Admissions officials note many legitimate reasons that account for the differences, and most are corrected by the time each September rolls around.

But with early action applicants admitted at twice the rate of the regular action group--and more than 90 percent of those admitted early historically choosing to attend Harvard--the characteristics of the resulting third of each freshman class are not easily overlooked.

A glimpse at raw admissions data reveals a trend.

Approximately 30 percent of early action candidates are admitted, compared to 15 of all applicants in 1987. At the same time, admissions officials say, there are proportionally fewer students from outside New England and Mid-Atlantic states, fewer minorities besides Asian-Americans, fewer students from inner city areas and fewer athletes.

Of those admitted early, Mid-Atlantic and New England students account for more than half the total. Blacks, who make up 7 to 10 percent of the class as a whole, account for less than five percent of the early class, and number only 31 out of 657.

Taken as a whole, minorities besides Asian-Americans account only for 9.1 percent of the early group.

Meanwhile, the early applicant pool includes proportional overrepresentation of children of alumni, private school graduates and Asian-Americans, admissions officials say.

According to Fitzsimmons, the homogeneity of applicants comes from both a dearth of information about Harvard financial aid and socioeconomic factors.

Many students who would contribute "diversity" to a class--those from inner-city public high schools, poorer economic backrounds and foreign countries, and athletes--fail to apply early because counsellors cannot give them enough attention.

"The way our country is quite segregated economically means that early applicants tend to come from a more affluent socio-economic backround," Fitzsimmons says.

"We're missing lower and middle income students because they learn the cost of tuition, and they choose not to apply," says Chao. "It's our job to get the financial aid message out."

Instead, groups with better education, better early college counselling, and a greater sense that they can afford and compete at Harvard win the early action edge.

But it is unclear how cases of disproportionate representation affect regular action applicants. For example, Asian-Americans, who make up 21 percent of those accepted early, may be admitted at lower rates in March under admissions policies that promote diversity.

Similar cases can be drawn for non-minority private school students, who are also overrepresented in the early group.

Thus, while the class of '93 will lay claim to diversity in September as so many of its predecessors have, the early action pool is not where it will find it.