International Student Numbers at Harvard College Increase For Third Year in a Row

Harvard College has witnessed an increase in international students for the third consecutive year. Statistics released by the prestigious institution, highlight a 32 percent increase for the Class of 2027, compared to the Class of 2024.

Data indicate that international students account for 15.6 percent of all students admitted to the Class of 2027, up from 11.8 percent for the Class of 2024, Erudera.com reports.

According to a report by the Harvard Crimson, the university’s student newspaper, the geographical diversity among Harvard students has expanded significantly over the years. The number of countries represented among students enrolled at the college has increased from 92 in the Class of 2024 to 102 in the Class of 2027.

Other Ivy League institutions, such as Yale and Princeton University, have also seen changes in their international student enrollment.

Yale University's Office of International Students and Scholars reported a slight decrease in the number of international students during the 2020 academic year. However, the same reported that student enrollment had recovered after the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the 2022/23 academic year, international students accounted for 11 percent of the total student population at Yale College.

On the other hand, Princeton University, like Harvard, experienced an increase in international enrollment, with international students representing nearly 13.5 percent of the enrolled in the Class of 2027. Brown University follows closely, with international students making up nearly 12 percent of all students.

Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania have overtaken Harvard in this regard, enrolling a slightly larger proportion of international students, 17 and 16 percent, respectively.

Dartmouth College and Cornell University have yet to release data on the number of first-year students they enroll.

“In general, we have seen a bounce back — a kind of a low point in international enrollment that was experienced during the pandemic,” Michael T. Nietzel, a president emeritus of Missouri State University, told the Harvard Crimson.

Harvard College, the oldest institution in the United States, admitted 3.4 percent of students for the Class of 2027. That was a drop from 4.9 percent of students admitted for the Class of 2024, recording the second-lowest admissions rate in the college’s history.

A total of 56,937 students applied to the college for the Class of 2027, of which 1,966 were admitted. The majority of students (53.6 percent) receiving offers from the college are women.

Harvard College was founded in 1636, and today, it has 25,266 students, including undergraduates and graduates, 19,639 faculty and staff, and over 400,000 alumni around the world.