<p>OK, put Harvard’s student body in perspective. Harvard students didn’t just get As in HS. They got As while compiling lists of other accomplishments and honors that emboldened them to enter a worldwide competition with other ultra-accomplished A students for limited slots in a class chosen for its potential to make a significant impact in the world. Out of that pool, only seven of every 100 got selected. Those individuals’ drive for achievement and almost unbelievable patterns of accomplishment are what makes Harvard unique. So, if over half of those students then failed to make As in college, we’d have to question what Harvard was doing wrong to keep them from continuing to be the highest possible achievers.</p>
<p>SM, my older daughter is a junior at H this fall, and came from a rural, public HS with limited resources. Despite a very strong HS record and test scores, she found during her freshman year that she had a lot of catching up to do, and had to work harder than she ever had before. As is typical for H students, she worked equally hard at extracurriculars, a cappella, theatre, study abroad, a campus job, a social life, etc. I asked where she found the hours in the day, to do everything and she said that when you’re in the midst of that culture, it doesn’t seem that daunting - it’s what everyone is doing. I don’t frankly know how they manage it, but thriving seems to be the campus norm.</p>