HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE, CORONAVIRUS EDITION: 20% Of Harvard’s First-Year Class Has Deferred. “Using estimates from Harvard’s reported class of 2023 – which counted 1,650 matriculates – this means that roughly 20% of first-year students have deferred from the top-ranked university in the country. Harvard had also anticipated 40% of their undergraduate population choosing to live on campus; they now expect only 25% based on the number of students who have accepted the invitation to do so. If these are the numbers for Harvard, it’s going to be a wild roller-coaster ride for higher education this year.”