A gap year is now normalized. Not just Harvard. My son took one. I urged my daughter to, but she elected not to. My nephew is on a gap year before attending college in Canada. My niece on the other side of my family also did one, I think. My business partner’s three kids all did gap years. My son applied during his gap year. Some were admitted and deferred. Some were admitted under the condition they do a worthwhile gap year.
I think the extra maturation and experience can be valuable, either with an enrichment gap year or a financial gap year, especially for kids who might not be emotionally ready for college or are burned out a bit from HS.
I entered college at age 16, worked incredibly hard (strong academics, minor varsity sport, serious research experience, part-time employment writing software and then doing research) and got into the best grad school in the world in my field. But, I was really burned out by the time I got there and in hindsight, if gap years had been a thing, I would have been much better off taking one.