Minorities to make up majority of Harvard's incoming class

For the first time in its 380-year history, Harvard University's incoming class will not be majority white.

The Ivy League institution, which has made concerted efforts to diversify its applicant pool in recent years, confirmed admission statistics showing that 50.9 percent of its class of 2021 is non-white.

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"To become leaders in our diverse society, students must have the ability to work with people from different backgrounds, life experiences, and perspectives," Harvard spokeswoman Rachael Dane said in a statement to The Boston Globe. "Harvard remains committed to enrolling diverse classes of students."

"Harvard's admissions process considers each applicant as a whole person, and we review many factors, consistent with the legal standards established by the U.S. Supreme Court."

Among the students from minority groups admitted to Harvard this fall, 22.2 percent are Asian, 14.6 percent are African American, 11.6 percent are Latino and the remaining 2.5 percent is comprised of Native American and Pacific Islander students.

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Harvard's numbers are a far leap from the previous year's statistics when only 47.3 percent of the incoming freshman class was nonwhite.

Dane told the Globe that recruiters cast their nets nationwide to meet with viable candidates across 150 different U.S. communities.