<p>What is misleading about this is that it implies that Harvard admits people almost purely based on passion. This is true to the extent that most Harvard students are passionate–they’re passionate about being successful and intellectual. </p>
<p>Most of Harvard’s students are incredibly hard-working type-A’s. Almost all of them studied extremely hard in high school and scored very well on SATs, etc. And most of them are just really smart to begin with. </p>
<p>“Making the absolute most out of a situation” is not enough–though a lovely idea. Plenty of average people have “passion” and “make the most out of a situation,” but they aren’t all going to get in.</p>
<p>It’s hard to be accepted into Harvard, and rigorous admission standards–a lot of very qualified applicants won’t get in–is part of what makes Harvard an elite school.</p>
<p>Just “loving life” and being “passionate,” and happy, and “living life to the fullest” is a nice idea, but Harvard admits its students to be successful, not to be happy (not to say that Harvard students are unhappy!!!).</p>