Harvard early applications plummet as campus rocked by antisemitism, plagiarism

Early admission applications to Harvard College plummeted, with 17% fewer applications from high school seniors this year than last year as the Ivy League school struggles with antisemitism and plagiarism scandals.

Harvard said last week that it accepted 692 students to the class of 2028 under its early action program from a pool of 7,921 applicants, putting its acceptance rate at 8.7%. Meanwhile, in 2022, Harvard accepted 722 early applicants for the class of 2027 from a pool of 9,553, putting the acceptance rate at about 7.6%.

Like the class of 2027, applicants for Harvard's class of 2028 did not need to provide standardized test scores, such as the SAT and ACT, but the newest class is the first to apply since the Supreme Court overturned race-based higher education admissions.

The 17% drop in applications comes as Harvard has been under scrutiny for its response, or rather lack thereof, to antisemitism after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel that killed 1,200 people, including more than 30 U.S. citizens. Meanwhile, Harvard President Claudine Gay was accused of plagiarizing parts of her Ph.D. thesis, but the school's board said it investigated the allegations and found she did not violate the school's misconduct standards and she would remain president of the school.

In a notable congressional hearing this month, Gay came under fire after she said it depended "on the context" as to whether calling for the genocide of Jews violated Harvard's code of conduct. 

Meanwhile, some companies and businesspeople have refused to recruit from or hire Harvard graduates due to the antisemitism controversy on campus. 

For example, last week, Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy, who is Jewish, said he would "never hire a Harvard Grad again." 

Edelson PC, a major law firm, said it is pulling out of upcoming Harvard recruiting events due to Gay's comments regarding antisemitism, Reuters reported.

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