It takes a few hours to drive to New Haven from Cambridge, but both schools are Northeast campuses. The reported geographical origins of respondents, similar in both surveys, reflect that fact.

Forty-three percent of surveyed Harvard freshmen hail from the Northeast, compared with 41 percent of their Yale counterparts; 17 percent of surveyed freshmen came to New Haven from the Tri-state area specifically. Twelve percent of both groups reported coming to college from abroad.

A majority of respondents from both schools said they came from suburban hometowns—64 percent of Harvard respondents and 63 percent from Yale. Similarly, a comparable proportion of Harvard and Yale respondents reported coming from urban areas, at 28 percent and 29 percent, respectively. Eight percent of surveyed freshmen from both schools reported living in rural communities.  

Fifty-five percent of Yale respondents attended public high school, compared with 60 percent at Harvard. Thirty-one percent of surveyed Yale freshmen came to college from a private non-denominational high school, while 29 percent of Harvard respondents did.

IN COLLEGE, DIFFERENT GOALS

Yale respondents differed somewhat from their Harvard peers in how they plan to spend their time in and out of the classroom.

A plurality of surveyed Yale freshmen favored studies in STEM—science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—with 39 percent reporting that their intended major falls within those fields, a smaller proportion than Harvard respondents. Fifteen percent of surveyed Yale freshmen said they intend to study the humanities, compared to 9 percent of their Harvard counterparts.

Surveyed Yale freshmen indicated relatively lesser interest in Greek life, with just 18 percent reporting plans to participate. Interest in single-sex social organizations was greater among Harvard respondents, 45 percent of whom said they were very or somewhat interested in joining a fraternity, sorority, or final club.

Fourteen percent of surveyed Yale freshmen intend to play a varsity sport at Yale, and 10 percent said they were unsure. Meanwhile, 11 percent of Harvard respondents identified as recruited athletes, and of the students who did not identify as recruited athletes, 9 percent said they intend to walk on to a varsity team.

—Staff writer Madeline R. Conway can be reached at mconway@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @MadelineRConway.