Something is wrong with the USNews data, since there was a report from the Crimson on 04/01/2008, claiming Harvard's acceptance rate is 7.1% this year, rather than 9%:
Harvard’s College Admissions Rate Drops to 7.1% (http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=522754 )
Harvard accepted 1,948 high school seniors will receive big envelopes from the admissions office—110 fewer than last year. The admitted students were selected from a pool of 27,462 applicants, reflecting an 18-percent increase from 22,955 last year. After Harvard’s applicant pool soared to a record high in December, the College’s acceptance rate plummeted to a record low yesterday. 7.1 percent of applicants were accepted to the Class of 2012, according to figures the Admissions Office released yesterday. Just under 9 percent were admitted last year.
