As the White House moves to revoke Harvard University’s certification to enroll foreign students — escalating a battle between the administration and the oldest and wealthiest college in the U.S. — President Donald Trump is falsely claiming that Harvard offers “remedial mathematics” on topics such as simple addition.
He most recently took aim at the school’s math offerings during a swearing-in ceremony in the Oval Office on Wednesday for Interim U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C. Jeanine Pirro, a Fox News host who was formerly a county prosecutor and elected judge, in response to a question from a reporter about how the “confrontation” with Harvard will end.
Here’s a closer look at the facts.
CLAIM: “Harvard announced two weeks ago that they’re going to teach remedial mathematics, remedial, meaning they’re going to teach low grade mathematics like two plus two is four. How did these people get into Harvard? If they can’t, if they can’t do basic mathematics, how did they do it?”
THE FACTS: Harvard does not offer a remedial math class covering basic arithmetic. Asked whether Trump was referring to a specific class, a White House spokesperson provided information about Mathematics MA5, which was introduced in the fall of 2024 as a new format for an existing course that offers extra support in calculus. The original course — Mathematics MA — is still offered.
“Harvard College does not offer any so-called remedial math classes,” said James Chisholm, a spokesperson for the university’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, which encompasses its undergraduate program.
He added: “Math MA5 is a college-level calculus class. It is simply a new format of Math MA, the introductory freshman calculus course that has been taught at Harvard for decades.”
Students in Mathematics MA and MA5 have the exact same homework, exams and grading structure, according to Chisholm. The only difference is that the former meets three days a week and the latter five days a week. They are both prerequisites for higher-level math courses.
One question on a sample exam Chisholm provided asks students to write a formula for determining the total number of cases during a hypothetical epidemic after a certain amount of days.
The Harvard Crimson reported in September that Director of Introductory Math Brendan Kelly said Mathematics MA5 is “aimed at rectifying a lack of foundational algebra skills among students” created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A course description notes that its “extra support will target foundational skills in algebra, geometry, and quantitative reasoning.”
Harvard Extension School, the university’s continuing education program aimed at working adults, offers a precalculus course. Most students need only register to attend. Those who want to pursue a degree must first successfully complete two or three courses in their chosen field of study. Those earning a certificate or taking a single course must only meet certain enrollment requirements, such as English proficiency.
Harvard College undergraduates, who must apply to the university and be admitted under its rigorous admission standards, are not allowed to cross-register for Harvard Extension School classes.
“Harvard Extension School is 100% distinct from Harvard College and the two have nothing to do with each other in terms of curriculum or students,” said Chisholm.
Harvard’s Rising Scholars Program, an invite-only opportunity for incoming Harvard College students from “high schools that offered them limited college-level academic enrichment opportunities” offers a summer course for students who need an additional foundation on topics such as precalculus and algebra.
“The important point on Rising Scholars is it’s more about the incoming student’s high school than the individual student’s ability,” said Chisholm.
Harvard has also offered an Emerging Scholars Program to similarly support freshmen enrolled in introductory calculus who are interested in fields related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics, in an effort to “correct systemic inequalities in math and science K-12 education that have affected our college students for many years.”
The median math score for the most recently enrolled undergraduate class at Harvard College was 790 out of 800 on the SATs and 35 out of 36 on the ACTs. The average high school GPA was 4.2.
“There is no university in America that is as difficult to earn admission to as Harvard — no matter your demographics,” said Brian Taylor, managing partner at the college counseling service Ivy Coach. “President Trump’s math in this case simply doesn’t add up.”
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