I was looking at old Harvard results thread and literally not one person with a GPA around this low got accepted. It made me actually really scared and pretty much hopeless. I can post my stats if someone requests it. I also recently got into Penn via a likely letter, but I know that Penn is a slightly different caliber than Harvard.
My younger son was accepted with a slightly lower GPA. My older son was accepted with roughly that GPA. It depends on what the GPA means.
If you’re at a school where there’s a bunch of kids with a 4.0, your application to Harvard may be in trouble with a 3.89. But if, like my sons’ high school, unweighted GPAs of 4.0 are very rare, then your GPA probably won’t be what keeps you out, especially if your curriculum was very rigorous in relations to what is typical at your school.
If you have the academic credentials to get into Penn, then you have the credentials for Harvard. Whether or not you get in is a different story, but if you do not, it will likely not be due to your GPA. Best of luck.
I don’t think that your UW GPA will hurt you if you have the ECs to back it up.
my weighted GPA was a 3.8 and I was admitted.
If you don’t get in, trust me, it won’t be because your GPA wasn’t high enough.