Lots of colleges do spring admissions because they have a structural imbalance between fall and spring registrations due to study abroad programs and early graduations. But even if that’s true at Harvard, it’s unlikely to affect Harvard’s first year students, and they are all housed separately from the rest of the undergraduates.
So, assuming this is true, does it mean (a) more students than usual failed to show up in September, or (b) Harvard predictably loses enough first year students during the fall semester to make spring admissions worthwhile?