X-posting what I said on the penn forum:
First things first, a confession: I wasn’t actually into Harvard when I made this post. I was just deciding whether I wanted to pursue the waitlist or not. I recently got off the waitlist, but for the class of '22.
Second, a conclusion: I decided to go to Duke instead! I loved my visit (hadn’t visited when I started this thread), even more than I loved Penn (which I did). My heart was never set on Harvard, and a gap year does not interest me, so I’ve decided to go to Duke. I still have the option of going to Harvard, so if anyone has a case they’d like to make for it, feel free, but I’m pretty much set on Duke.
Thanks for all the analysis in this thread!