Early admission to Harvard University was seen by many as the pinnacle of achievement for a high school senior.
But, as Harvard has come under fire for embracing antisemitism on its campus and for its University’s President’s embarrassing testimony in front of the House Education Committee, students seem to be rejecting the Ivy League school unwilling to be associated with the stigma of antisemitism.
Harvard reported a 17% drop in early admissions applications compared to last year.
During her testimony, President Claudine Gay dismissed the suggestion that calls for genocide against the Jews were a violation of the school’s code of conduct.
Gay was directly asked by Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., about calls of “intifada” during pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
Stefanik asked Gay, “You understand that the use of the term intifada in the context of the Israeli-Arab conflict is indeed a call for violent armed resistance against the State of Israel, including violence against civilians and the genocide of Jews… And there have been multiple marches at Harvard with students chanting quote ‘There is only one solution, intifada revolution’ and quote ‘Globalize the intifada.’ Is that correct?”
Gay responded, “I’ve heard that thoughtless, reckless, and hateful language on our campus, yes,” calling it “abhorrent” and “hateful speech.”
When specifically pressed on whether calls for “intifada,” direct support for the genocide of Jewish people, violated Harvard’s code of conduct, Gay weakly replied that it “depends on the context.”
Fox News spoke with a College Admissions consultant who said it is the first time he has seen students reject early admissions offers to Harvard.
“Virtually every student I’ve ever worked with who got into Harvard early pretty much stopped [looking elsewhere],” Christopher Rim, CEO of New York and Miami-based Command Education, said Wednesday on “FOX & Friends First.”
“This is the first time and first application season where I’ve seen a student who got into Harvard early that I’ve worked with for almost three and a half, four years now, starting in ninth grade — we’re seeing them say, ‘You know what? I want to apply to other schools because what if I graduate and this stigma and this reputation of Harvard stays the same?’ That’s their true concern.”
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This is the first time this has happened,” he continued. “Normally, my student will get into Harvard or a top-tier school, and then that’ll be it. We’re done. So congratulations. We’ve finished the process, but now we’re seeing students say, ‘You know what? Let me double think this. Let me think about other options.’”
Rim added that reputation remains a chief factor in determining where students wish to go to college, but they are beginning to realize that Ivy League schools are not the only options for a great education, and are turning to institutions like Vanderbilt or Duke instead.
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Statements from billionaire Bill Ackman and other potential employers promising not to hire Harvard grads may have also spooked applicants.
