哈佛大学今年亚裔美国学生增加，黑人、拉丁裔和国际学生减少

【中美创新时报2025年10月24日编译讯】（记者温友平编译）今年秋季，哈佛大学招收的新生中，黑人和拉丁裔学生减少，亚裔美国学生增加，这是在最高法院取消种族歧视招生政策两年后，精英大学的人口结构发生日益变化的一个迹象。《波士顿环球报》记者Diti Kohli and Neena Hagen 对此作了下述详细报道。

哈佛大学1675名新生中，黑人学生占8.9%，低于去年秋季的10.4%。此外，该校8.5%的新生为西班牙裔或拉丁裔，而去年同期这一比例为11.8%。 自去年秋季以来，亚裔美国学生的比例从27.4%上升至31.6%。该校并未明确公布白人学生的比例。

专家表示，尽管《波士顿环球报》的分析发现名校今年秋季公布入学数据的速度较慢，但​​这些数据还是初步表明了平权行动的结束对顶尖大学的多元化产生了怎样的影响。

“这种情况会随着时间的推移而恶化，”南加州大学教育学教授肖恩·哈珀说。他指出，1996年加州一项禁止大学招生时考虑种族因素的法律也产生了“同样的毁灭性影响。入学人数立刻下降。而且，这种情况持续的时间越长，情况就越糟糕。”

可能还有其他因素。这是新冠疫情爆发以来，哈佛大学首次要求申请者提交标准化考试成绩。一些高等教育观察人士质疑，这项考试要求是否会导致有色人种学生入学人数减少。

研究平权行动的塔夫茨大学社会学教授娜塔莎·瓦里库 (Natasha Warikoo) 表示，很难得出明确的人口统计结论，原因有几个，包括恢复考试要求；未报告种族的申请人数量增加；以及全国范围内白人和亚裔 18 岁青少年数量的增加。

她补充说，校园里有色人种学生的缺乏也会使新申请者望而却步。

“当黑人学生的比例变得如此之低时，其他黑人学生就不会想来你的大学了，”瓦里库说。“这是一个反馈循环。”

与此同时，哈佛大学第一代大学生的比例保持稳定，占新生总数的20%。尽管哈佛与白宫进行了长达数月的斗争，但其招生的选择性和声誉基本未受影响。白宫指责哈佛纵容反犹太主义，蔑视保守主义思想，并在招生过程中考虑种族因素以规避法律。目前，双方仍在就一项协议进行谈判，哈佛大学可能会调整招聘、招生和其他政策，以换取联邦政府的持续资助。

去年，约有4.8万名高中毕业生申请哈佛大学入学；其中约4%的录取率与往年持平。入学新生中，15%来自海外，低于去年的18%。

今年春季，特朗普政府曾威胁禁止哈佛大学招收国际学生，但这一举措后来被法院阻止。周四公布的数据仅涵盖了即将入学的一年级学生，并未反映哈佛大学研究生项目的情况，而研究生项目是招收国际学生最多的项目。

哈佛大学招生和财政援助主任威廉·菲茨西蒙斯在一份声明中表示：“2029届的学生来自世界各国，有大城市，有小城镇，有郊区，有农场。所有学生，无论来自哪里，在哪里上的高中，或者他们的个人情况如何，都被哈佛大学录取，因为他们都具有改变世界的非凡潜力。”

哈佛大学发布的招生数据并未将国际学生和隐瞒种族身份的学生纳入分析。《波士顿环球报》重新计算了数据，将这两类学生都纳入其中，以全面反映入学人数的人口变化。

来自全国 18 所精英大学的招生数据显示，自平权行动结束以来，这些学校也出现了类似的人口趋势。

包括哈佛大学在内的 11 所学校的黑人学生人数与 2024 年的平均水平相比有所下降。在同一时期，18 所大学中有 10 所的亚裔美国学生入学人数有所增加。

《波士顿环球报》发现，2024 年，马萨诸塞州竞争最激烈的学校中黑人一年级学生的比例与平权行动结束前的两年相比平均下降了 40% 。

“主要的趋势是，在精英院校，黑人入学率下降了。这种情况似乎仍然如此，”智库“教育改革现在”（Education Reform Now）的高等教育数据专家詹姆斯·墨菲（James Murphy）表示。“尽管有几个地方的入学率略有上升，但我们还没有看到任何大幅反弹。”

哈佛大学周四的声明正值大学招生办公室面临挑战之际。

今年8月，特朗普总统大幅扩大了全美1700所学校招生数据要求的范围，要求提供过去六年内约100项关于性别、种族、考试成绩、成绩以及录取学生和申请者毕业率的额外信息。联邦官员明确表示，他们打算利用这些数据来打击那些在招生中优先考虑种族而非学术水平的学校。

教育部在一份通知中写道，这些信息将提高透明度并“有助于揭露大学的非法行为”。

领导终止种族歧视招生运动的保守派活动家爱德华·布鲁姆 (Edward Blum) 表示，精英大学应该更进一步，向公众提供这些信息。

“为了证明他们的招生政策不存在歧视，哈佛大学和所有竞争激烈的大学都应该按种族公布新生数据，”他在 周四发给《波士顿环球报》的电子邮件中写道。“这应该包括标准化考试成绩、GPA、班级排名、校友子女状况和家庭收入。”

这项新指令引发了大学领导层的报复担忧，他们担心公布黑人或国际学生的人数可能会让他们陷入特朗普政府的攻击范围。

美国教育委员会负责政府关系的高级副总裁乔恩·范史密斯表示：“学校在分享什么内容和何时分享方面已经有些纠结了。现在他们不想出错。”

范史密斯补充道，如果他们这么做，“负面风险巨大。如果出现任何错误——这在仓促的流程中肯定会出现——大学就会被指责试图逃避透明度或隐瞒信息。或者这些信息可能会被误解或被用来对付你。”

在两家高等教育专业组织进行的一项调查中，84% 的大学领导表示，考虑到扩大的要求，他们的学校没有足够的资源来收集和处理数据；大多数人表示，这将需要 250 到 499 个小时的额外工作。

如今，许多学校甚至放慢了公布新生人口统计数据的速度，即便是像新生人口统计数据这样看似常规的信息。《波士顿环球报》的一篇评论发现，截至去年同期，全美排名前50的大学中至少有30所——包括麻省理工学院和波士顿大学——已经公布了人口统计数据。而今年迄今为止，只有18所这样的学校公布了数据。

联邦政府的新要求并未迫使所有院校改变做法。史密斯学院和马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校等院校已经发布了数据，哈佛大学的数据发布时间比去年秋季晚了一个月。高等教育专家推测，一些大学今年可能根本不会发布公开数据。

常春藤盟校中，耶鲁大学、普林斯顿大学、哥伦比亚大学、康奈尔大学以及哈佛大学都公布了2025年的入学人数；达特茅斯学院、布朗大学和宾夕法尼亚大学则尚未公布。

四月份的一次集会敦促哈佛大学管理人员拒绝白宫改变一系列大学政策的要求。

一些专家表示，精英大学中有色人种学生数量的下降与联邦政府对高等教育的改革愿景相一致， 而要求提供更多数据可能会给白宫提供更多弹药来迫使学校屈服于其意志。

“本届政府正试图打击那些主要招收黑人和棕色人种学生的院校，”美国大学招生咨询协会宣传总监肖恩·罗宾斯（Sean Robins）表示。新的入学数据要求是“反DEI运动的一部分”。

尽管如此，五分之一的哈佛新生是家中第一个上大学的人，这一比例与去年基本持平。而且，哈佛大学几乎一半的新生免学费，这是该校今年3月向家庭年收入低于20万美元的学生做出的承诺的一部分。

“即使在经济现实瞬息万变的情况下，我们对学生入学机会的承诺依然坚定不移。近一半的学生将免学费就读哈佛大学，这让我感到无比自豪，并对他们将参与塑造的未来充满乐观，”文理学院院长霍皮·胡克斯特拉在一份声明中表示。

题图：今年，哈佛大学非裔和拉丁裔新生数量有所下降，而亚裔美国学生数量有所增加。Craig F. Walker/《波士顿环球报》记者

附原英文报道：

At Harvard this year, fewer Black, Latino, and international students, more Asian Americans

Amid steep new reporting requirements, many universities are slower to release enrollment data this year.

By Diti Kohli and Neena Hagen Globe Staff,Updated October 23, 2025

The number of incoming Black and Latino students at Harvard University declined this year, while the number of Asian-American students increased. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff

Harvard University enrolled fewer Black and Latino freshmen — and more Asian American students — in its incoming class this fall, a sign of a growing demographic shift at elite colleges two years after the Supreme Court scuttled race-conscious admissions.

Black students make up 8.9 percent of Harvard’s 1,675 first-year students, down from 10.4 percent last fall. Another 8.5 percent of the class is Hispanic or Latino, compared to 11.8 percent a year ago. The number of Asian American students rose from 27.4 to 31.6 percent since last fall. It did not explicitly list its percentage of white students.

The numbers give an early indicator of how the end of affirmative action is affecting diversity at top colleges, experts said, even as a Globe analysis found that prestigious schools have been slower to publish enrollment data this fall.

“This will worsen over time,” said Shaun Harper, an education professor at the University of Southern California. He noted that a 1996 California law that banned race in university admissions had the “same devastating effect. The enrollment decreased right away. Then the longer it went on, the worse it got.”

There may be other factors as well. This was the first year since the COVID-19 pandemic that Harvard required applicants to submit standardized test scores. Some higher education watchers have questioned whether the testing requirement will lead to fewer students of color enrolling.

Natasha Warikoo, a Tufts University sociology professor who researches affirmative action, said it is tough to make definitive demographic conclusions for several reasons, including the return of the test requirement; the uptick in applicants who do not report their race; and an increase in the number of white and Asian 18-year-olds nationwide.

A dearth of students of color on campus, she added, can also keep newer applicants away.

“When your percentage of Black students gets so low, other Black students are not going to want to come to your college,” Warikoo said. “It’s a feedback loop.”

At the same time, the school’s share of first-generation college students remained steady, at 20 percent of its incoming class. And Harvard’s selectivity and prestige remain mostly unscathed amid its months-long battle with the White House, which has accused the school of tolerating antisemitism, scorning conservative ideas, and skirting the law by considering race in admissions. Negotiations for a deal where Harvard could potentially alter hiring, admissions, and other policies in exchange for continued federal funding are ongoing.

Roughly 48,000 high school seniors applied for admissions last year; Harvard accepted about 4 percent of them, in line with years past. And 15 percent of the first-year students enrolled are from abroad, down from 18 percent last year.

A gate at Harvard University. Roughly 4 percent of applicants were admitted to the school’s first-year class this year.

In the spring, the Trump administration threatened to ban international students from Harvard, though the effort was later blocked in court. The figures released Thursday only account for incoming first-year students and do not reflect Harvard’s graduate programs, where the bulk of international students are enrolled.

“The Class of 2029 were drawn from big cities and small towns, suburbs and farms, and from nations around the world, and all students no matter where they’re from, where they went to high school or what their personal circumstances might be, were admitted to Harvard because they share the extraordinary potential to change the world,” William Fitzsimmons, Harvard dean of admissions and financial aid, said in a statement.

Harvard released its admissions data without including international students and students who withheld their racial identity in its analysis. The Globe recalculated the figures to include both populations to fully capture the demographic changes in enrollment.

Admissions data available from 18 elite colleges nationwide shows that such schools are witnessing similar demographic trends since affirmative action ended.

Eleven schools, including Harvard, saw their Black student populations decline compared with averages from 2024. Ten of the 18 colleges saw increases in Asian American enrollment in the same period.

In 2024, the share of Black first-year students at Massachusetts’ most competitive schools dropped 40 percent on average compared to two years prior, before the end of affirmative action, the Globe found.

“The main trend line [is] that Black enrollment dropped at highly selective institutions. That seems to still be the case,” said James Murphy, a higher education data expert who works at the think tank Education Reform Now. “We haven’t seen any huge rebounds, despite a couple of places that ticked up a negligible amount.”

Harvard’s Thursday announcement comes at a challenging time for university admissions offices.

In August, President Trump dramatically expanded the scope of admissions data required of 1,700 schools across the country, asking for roughly 100 additional details on sex, race, test scores, grades, and graduation rates for accepted students and applicants alike over the last six years. And federal officials have said explicitly that they intend to use the data to clamp down on schools that give preference to race over academics in admissions.

The Education Department wrote in a notice that the information would increase transparency and “help to expose unlawful practices″ at universities.

Edward Blum, the conservative activist who led the movement to end race-conscious admissions, said elite colleges should go a step further by providing that information to the public.

“In order to prove their admission policies are not discriminatory, Harvard and all competitive colleges should release their incoming class data by race,” he wrote in an email to the Globe Thursday. “This should include standardized test scores, GPAs, class ranking, legacy status and family income.”

The new directive has spurred a fear of retribution among those in college leadership, who worry that sharing the number of Black or international students could throw them in the line of fire of the Trump administration.

“Schools already struggle a little bit with what to share and when,” said Jon Fansmith, senior vice president for government relations at the American Council on Education. “Now they don’t want to step wrong.”

If they do, Fansmith added, “the downside risk is enormous. If there are any errors, which there surely will be in a rushed process, colleges will be accused of trying to evade transparency or hide information. Or it may be misinterpreted or used against you.”

In a survey conducted by two higher education professional organizations, 84 percent of the college leaders said their school does not have the resources to collect and process the data considering the expanded requirements; most said it would take between 250 and 499 hours of additional work.

Now many schools have slowed reporting details even as seemingly routine as the demographics of their freshman class. By this time last year, at least 30 of the nation’s top 50 universities — including MIT and Boston University — had published demographic data, a Globe review found. So far this year, just 18 of those schools have.

The new federal requirements have not pushed every institution to alter course. Smith College and the University of Massachusetts Amherst are among the schools that released data already, and Harvard published its figures a month later than last fall. Some universities may not post public data at all this year, higher education experts theorized.

Within the Ivy League, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Cornell, and now Harvard have published their 2025 enrollment figures; Dartmouth, Brown, and the University of Pennsylvania have not.

The downturn in students of color among elite colleges aligns with the federal government’s reformist vision for higher education, some experts say, and mandating more data could give the White House more ammunition to bend schools to its will.

“This administration is trying to go after institutions that for the most part are enrolling more Black and brown students,” said Sean Robins, director of advocacy at the National Association for College Admission Counseling. The new enrollment data requirements are “a part of that anti-DEI campaign.”

Despite that, one in five Harvard freshmen are the first in their family to attend college, basically the same share as last year. And almost half of Harvard’s newest class is attending tuition-free, part of a commitment the university made in March for students whose families earn below $200,000 annually.

“Even amid shifting economic realities, our commitment to access and opportunity remains unwavering. That nearly half of this class will attend Harvard tuition-free fills me with immense pride and optimism for the future they will help shape,” Hopi Hoekstra, dean of the faculty of arts and sciences, said in a statement.