McGrath said that Harvard does not keep statistics on the average age of entering freshmen, but she said she believes that the average age is just shy of 18. McGrath said that the College has even admitted students older than 60.
According to “Three Centuries of Harvard, 1636-1936” by Samuel E. Morison, Class of 1908, “The median age of entering freshmen rose from a low of little over fifteen years in 1741 to seventeen years in 1769, and stayed at about that point for the rest of the century.”
By 1869, the average age of a Harvard undergraduate entering the freshman class was 18, until President Charles W. Eliot, Class of 1853, raised that average to 19 in 1883, according to Morison’s book on Harvard’s history.
“The real issue is readiness to use Harvard well in all the normal ways, whatever someone’s age might be,” said William R. Fitzsimmons ’67, dean of admissions and financial aid.
GROWING UP AT HARVARD
Once admitted to the College, young students say that, for the most part, they’re able to fit in.
“Harvard ... treats me like any other freshman,” said Lelaina E. Vogel ’15, who turned 17 this past July and won’t turn 21 until after she graduates.
Some students said that before moving into their Harvard Yard dormitories, they were nervous about being among the youngest people on campus.
Martin A. Camacho ’14 said he felt apprehensive about fitting in socially; he was not sure if he’d be accepted because he was a couple years younger than everyone else. He entered the fifth grade at age five and matriculated to Harvard at 15.
High school had been difficult, he said, but fortunately his social experience here at Harvard has been a positive one.
“I think people are much more respectful,” Camacho said. “High school was very hard to fit in socially for the first couple of years. Everyone would recognize that I was younger than them.”
Ibraheem said she had a similar experience in high school, but when she arrived on campus many students simply didn’t realize that she was younger than they were.
“I feel like when they know I’m younger, it’s usually after they’ve already gotten to know me, so it doesn’t affect our relationship,” she said.
Camacho said he doesn’t really tell people his age because no one really asks. “If I do tell them, it’s because I know they’ll be fine with it,” he said.
For many of these students, being young is a piece of their identity.
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