Ellie Park, Senior Photographer

Yale’s class of 2029, the second one to be admitted after the fall of affirmative action, reflects both stability and subtle shifts in racial and ethnic demographics.

It also marked the first admissions cycle with Yale College’s “test flexible” policy. Yale reported ranges for standardized test scores for the first time since fall 2020.

According to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions’ first-year class profile, 12 percent of the 2029 class identifies as African American, 30 percent as Asian American, 13 percent as Hispanic or Latino, 3 percent as Native American, 44 percent as white and 10 percent as international.

Compared to the class of 2028, the class of 2029 saw a 6 percent increase in Asian American students, a 6 percent decrease in Hispanic or Latino students and a 2 percent decrease in African American as well as white students. The percentage of Native American students remains the same.

The class of 2028 was the first class to be admitted after the Supreme Court ruled race-conscious affirmative action policies unconstitutional. The office published two breakdowns of the class of 2029, one that counts multiracial students as a unique category and another that includes them in multiple racial groups.

The class profile relies on self-reported data from students during the application process regarding their racial and ethnic backgrounds. Last year’s class profile states that domestic first years who indicated two or more races or ethnicities were represented in multiple categories, with 23 percent selecting two or more races or ethnicities.

This year’s profile does not stipulate its methodology surrounding domestic first years who indicated two or more races or ethnicities and their inclusion in categories. However, the document notes that 21 percent of domestic first years selected two or more races or ethnicities.

This class was the first to experience the college’s “text flexible” policy, which requires students to submit any standardized test score among the SAT, ACT, Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate. 

Among the first years who submitted ACT scores, 87 percent scored between 32 and 36. For the class of 2029 students who chose to submit the SAT, 49 percent scored between 760 and 800 for the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section, while 64 percent scored between 760 and 800 for the math section.

The number of enrolled first years increased by 86 students, compared to the 2028 class.

The increase is consistent with a February announcement from Yale College Dean Pericles University Lewis and Provost Scott Strobel that undergraduate enrollment would expand by 100 students. Yale College would enroll an increased class size of 1,650, starting with the class of 2029.

“We figured that being able to admit an additional 100 students a year over time means 10,000 more students in the next century,” Lewis told the News at the time. “I’d like the idea of 10,000 more people graduating from Yale in the next century.”

The geographical distribution of the 2029 class’ residents remained relatively unchanged, with students from the Northeast representing the greatest percentage, at 32 percent.

The percentage of first years described as coming from an international background remained relatively stable at 10 percent for the class of 2029, compared to 11 percent for the class of 2028, according to the admissions office’s class profile data.

The percentage of first-year students receiving a Yale need-based financial aid award decreased from 58 percent for the class of 2028, now sophomores, to 54 percent for the first years. The average amount awarded to financial aid recipients was $75,854, and 23 percent of the class were Pell Grant recipients.

Sixteen U.S. military veterans are among the first-year class of 1,640 students.

Aiden Zhou contributed reporting.