Parents of Harvard 2026

Are you able to comment on the categories and grading? I heard there were 4 categories, academics, athletics, ECs, and personal. And the rating was 1-4. One place said 1-6. Earlier someone posted a recruited athlete was a 2, which would mean a non athlete is a 4. Doesn’t seem that different. So someone with crappy ECs would be a 4 and pretty good ones are a 2? Since winning Math Olympiad or publishing a real paper is an academic 1, then pretty much everyone else if a 2. Since the bulk of the kids applying will have SAT in the top range, top grades 5.0 or 4.0 depending on your school. Then the bulk of applicants have a 2 in academics. Right? There isn’t much differentiation then except for personal, which would be the interview. So if the interview went south, you could get a 4? So a super star could get a 4, and worst case is 16? It would be hard to sift through the center.