MIT, Harvard, and Penn were famously in the news for having their presidents lambasted at a Congressional hearing for alleged anti semitism on their campuses. In the past, negative attention in the press on campus conditions such as crime or sexual misconduct has led to temporary declines in applications, which result in higher admission rates. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-02-02/jewish-students-skip-harvard-penn-applications-after-hamas-israel-controversy
This market is about whether each of the undergraduate schools will have a lower NUMBER OF APPLICANTS than reported in 2023.
MIT: 26,914 applications in 2023 https://mitadmissions.org/apply/process/stats/
Penn: 59,465 applications https://www.thedp.com/article/2023/12/penn-early-decision-results-class-of-2028#:~:text=At%20a%20Board%20of%20Trustees,48%20states%20and%2097%20countries.
Harvard: 56,937 applications https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2023/3/31/admissions-decisions-2027/#:~:text=Harvard%20College%20admitted%203.41%20percent,cycle%20at%207%20p.m.%20Thursday
I may add more schools if there’s enough interest. They don’t need to be necessarily Israel/Palestine related, just if people expect a substantial difference from last year.
See also