“What I am trying to say is that a deliberate policy of one-factor selection might produce in our student body not more students of first-rate intellectual power, but fewer,” Bender said.

In the same report, Bender warned that if Harvard failed to improve its economic diversity, the school would become an antiquated university. Over the years, the College’s admission policies have evolved and Bender’s goals were realized, at least in part.

“We’re getting talent from all over America that was not even close in the classes of the 1960s,” Fitzsimmons said.

GOING FORWARD

While education experts acknowledge the improvements Harvard has made, they say there is room for growth.

“Harvard has made substantial progress on socioeconomic diversity, but still has a long way to go. It’s clear that the students eligible for Pell grants have increased,” said Kahlenberg, from The Century Foundation.

A letter sent to the New York Times by Fitzsimmons and Director of Financial Aid Sarah C. Donahue said that 16.8 percent of students at the College are eligible for Pell Grants, which are given to students in the approximate bottom half of the income spectrum.

Kahlenberg said that studies suggest that the percentage could be higher without diminishing the quality of the student population.

Fitzsimmons does not deny that there is room for progress.

“We know there are still plenty of very talented students out there from poor and modest economic backgrounds,” he said. “Just because we made progress over the past five to six years is no indication about whether we can make progress in the next five to six to seven years.”

—Staff writer Justin C. Worland can be reached at jworland@college.harvard.edu.