High school seniors' interest in applying for early admission to Harvard University hit its lowest level in four years.
According to figures recently published by the educational institution, 7,921 people submitted their applications under the Early Action Program to be part of the class of 2028. Of which 692 were accepted.
The number of applications is 17% lower than last year, thus marking the lowest level recorded in the last four years, as reported by Business Insider.
This reduction in early applications comes amid multiple criticisms the institution has received for the way it has handled anti-Semitism on campus.
Harvard not only faced criticism for its initial response to the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7th, but tensions on campus have also increased since then, and the situation worsened when Harvard President Claudine Gay became embroiled in controversy after stating before Congress that anti-Semitism could be tolerated "depending on the context."
Although it has not been determined what exactly affected the number of early admission applications, the owner of college counseling service Admissions Village, Aly Beaumont, revealed that she is aware of two prominent students who removed Harvard from their application lists due to the handling of events after October 7th.
It's the first admissions cycle since the Supreme Court ruled affirmative action was unconstitutional.https://t.co/nu5nD0kj7G
— Business Insider (@BusinessInsider) December 16, 2023
Law firm distances itself from Harvard after anti-Semitic testimony
Recently, major law firm Edelson PC announced it would no longer hire on Harvard's campus precisely because of Gay's comments before Congress.
"We have no intention of returning to on-campus recruiting unless there is a sea change. The easiest solution would be for Harvard to simply remove Dr. Gay but would, in many ways, just gloss over the core problem," the firm said in a letter addressed to the director of recruiting and operations at Harvard Law.
Harvard loses millions of dollars in donations
Following Gay's testimony, Harvard University lost more than $1 billion in donations.
"President Gay's failures have led to billions of dollars of canceled, paused, and withdrawn donations to the university," billionaire Bill Ackman reported via X.
