Harvard University’s newest first-year class shows a decline in the number of Black, Latino, and international students while Asian American enrollment continues to rise. According to The New York Times, the change reflects the broader impact of the 2023 Supreme Court decision that ended affirmative action in college admissions.

This fall, 11.5% of Harvard’s incoming class identified as Black, down from 14% last year and 18% in 2023, the final year before the court’s ruling took effect. Latino enrollment also fell sharply, to 11% from 16% in 2024. At the same time, Asian American representation increased to 41% of the class, the highest figure in school history.

The university did not disclose updated percentages for white students but confirmed that the class of 2029 includes 1,675 students from all 50 states and 92 countries. International students now make up 15% of the class, compared with 16% a year earlier.

As BET reported, the Supreme Court’s 6-3 and 6-2 rulings in cases involving Harvard University and the University of North Carolina prohibited any consideration of race in admissions. Those cases were brought by Students for Fair Admissions, which claimed that Harvard’s policies disadvantaged Asian American applicants while benefiting Black and Hispanic candidates. The decision dismantled decades of precedent permitting limited use of race as one factor among higher-education admissions.

Harvard’s data mirrors a national pattern at highly selective institutions. Princeton University, for example, reported that Black enrollment in its first-year class dropped to 5% this year, the lowest since 1968, while Asian American enrollment rose to 27%. Education policy experts say these early numbers suggest the Supreme Court’s ruling has begun to reshape access at top universities long considered gateways to influence in American society.

The changes also coincide with Harvard reinstating its standardized-testing requirement for the first time since the pandemic, which university officials said contributed to a smaller applicant pool. Even so, applications remain 10% higher than before testing requirements were suspended.

Hopi Hoekstra, dean of Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, said in a statement that the school’s commitment to access and opportunity “remains unwavering” despite shifting circumstances. About 21% of this year’s class are low-income students eligible for Pell Grants, and 45% will attend tuition-free under Harvard’s expanded financial-aid program.

Universities across the country have been slower this year to release detailed demographic information amid increased federal scrutiny. Fewer than 20 elite institutions have shared full enrollment data so far, compared with more than 30 at this point last year.