Generation Y ca. 1979– Class of 2001

While a number of 1990s Yale graduates have begun to make their marks on the world, it was beyond the Yale Alumni Magazine’s talents to choose one to join the 29 other august alumni before them. So here instead is a look at the pool from which the next generation of Yale leaders will emerge.

Today’s student body would shock its homogeneous founders. Students hail from all 50 states and more than 50 foreign countries. About 8 percent of College studentsand about 30 percent of Graduate School studentsare from outside the U.S. Some 14 percent of University students are Asian, 7 percent are African American, and 6 percent are Latino.

In Yale College 42 percent major in arts and humanities fields, but social sciences are at 33 percent and gaining rapidly. 24 percent major in “hard” sciences. History is still among the most popular majors, but economics and political science have moved ahead of English in recent years.

As to their futures, the Old Campus polled the Class of 2001 as incoming freshmen four years ago and asked them to finish the sentence “In 20 years, I want to be.” Four percent wanted to be president of the United States. Three percent wanted to be President of Yale. And 43 percent wanted to be happy.