Harvard: The acceptance rate at Harvard just hit a new low

4/13/21 7:00PM

One of the hardest universities to get into, Harvard, just got even harder. Harvard College has just released its admission statistics for the class of 2025, which reveals that just 1,968 applicants have been offered places, from a pool of more than 57,000 — which works out to an acceptance rate of just 3.4%. That's the lowest acceptance rate in Harvard's history.

The increase in applications is partly down to the removal of mandatory standardized testing (the SAT and ACT). The Wall Street Journal reports that over 1,600 four-year colleges did not require applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores, leading to an increase in applications.

While the 2020 numbers might be exaggerated because of the testing changes, it's certainly true that acceptance rates at highly-selective institutions have been going down. Rightly or wrongly a (good) college or university education has become a pre-requisite for many jobs and industries, and competition for places has only become more intense — and a lot more expensive.

J. Edward Moreno11/4/25

Starbucks sells control of China business for $4 billion

Starbucks disclosed on Monday evening in a regulatory filing that it will sell control of its ailing China business to Boyu Capital for about $4 billion.

Under the agreement, Boyu will own a 60% stake in the China segment, which will become a joint venture between Boyu and Starbucks. The coffee chain will retain a 40% interest in the entity and will continue to own and license the brand and intellectual property.

Bloomberg reported earlier this year that the company was looking to sell its China segment. The American coffee giant has struggled to succeed in China, its second-largest market after the US.

Tom Jones

10/6/25

OPEC and others are boosting oil production as the race to catch up with the US goes on

This month’s 137,000-barrel-a-day boost is a little more modest than some expected.

Millie Giles

RED FLAG, GREEN FLAG

9/25/25

China, the world’s largest carbon polluter, has pledged to cut emissions for the first time

President Xi Jinping has announced that China is aiming to slash carbon emissions by up to 10% in the next decade.

solar power station on the rooftop of the factory

Claire Yubin Oh9/19/25

John Wayne Airport in Orange County tops the list of North America’s favorite airports

Despite a record year of passenger numbers, flight cancellations, and delays, a new survey has revealed that flyers have been increasingly satisfied about their experiences in North American airports.

According to this year’s North America Airport Satisfaction Study from data analysts at J.D. Power, overall passenger satisfaction scores were up 10 points (on a 1,000-point scale), largely from “improvements in food, beverage and retail and ease of travel through the airport.” The annual survey measures overall traveler satisfaction across the region’s airports in seven categories (in order of importance): ease of travel, level of trust, terminal facilities, airport staff, airport departure experience, food and retail, and airport arrival experience.

Here are the region’s favorites:

Millie Giles

DOT-COM BUBBLE

9/12/25

More than 40% of American adults now report being online “almost constantly”

While a new survey showed Japan has the greatest share of perpetually online people, there was a significant number reporting not using the internet at all.

Harvard: The acceptance rate at Harvard just hit a new low

More World

Starbucks sells control of China business for $4 billion

John Wayne Airport in Orange County tops the list of North America’s favorite airports

Latest Stories