This week in college admissions, Harvard changes guidelines for alumni interviewers, demographic data is released for Harvard’s freshman class, Indiana alumni pull donations, and Tulane places a Colorado high school on early-decision suspension.
Harvard has changed its guidelines for alumni interviewers, instructing them not to include any information that could tip off admissions officers to applicants’ race, ethnicity, or national origin in their interview reports. Interviewers have been told to refer to “affinity groups” and “faith activities,” rather than making specific references to applicants’ cultural background or religion.
Also at Harvard, according to demographic data the university released last week, this year’s freshman class has experienced a five percent decline in Hispanic student enrollment compared to last year, while Black student enrollment has also fallen by 2.5 percent. Asian American student enrollment has increased by four percentage points, and Asian American students now make up 41 percent of the freshman class.
Some alumni of Indiana University are withdrawing or cancelling planned donations, following controversy over the university’s decision to stop publishing the print edition of its daily newspaper, the Indiana Daily Student. The university also recently fired its student media director. Alums cite concerns about censorship, while university officials argue that the decisions were made for financial reasons.
A high school senior backed out of an early decision agreement with Tulane last year, and in response, Tulane has placed the student’s entire school on a one-year early-decision suspension. Students from Colorado Academy will be banned from applying early decision to Tulane for this year’s admissions cycle. In a statement, Tulane said they hoped the ban would encourage counselors to ensure “their students fully understand the binding nature of early-decision agreements before signing them.”
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