<p>I think all of that is true. But in recent years, Harvard seems to have been content graduating about 10-15 Classics concentrators per year, as compared to, say 250 each of various types of Biology concentrators and Economics concentrators, and 100 math concentrators.</p>
<p>It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Harvard got 200-300 (or 400) applications a year from credible potential Classics concentrators, since in my corner of the world about 100% of credible potential Classics concentrators with good grades apply to Harvard (among other schools). Which means that, at the end of the day, potential Classics concentrators aren’t going to be beating the average odds by much, if at all. Sure, maybe they have to over-admit Classics people because lots of them will get seduced by Economics, Social Studies, or Physical Chemistry, but even taking that into account the chances that any particular applicant will be admitted remain horrible.</p>