<p>Perhaps people that are telling the OP that they have no chance for Harvard are attempting to get them to focus on the present & be more realistic. Perhaps they are aware that this student will never achieve the grades needed for colleges such as Harvard & follows a pattern of obsessing over very unrealistic goals. Without knowing more, it is difficult to say, but I’ve encountered a number of students over the years who have such an unrealistic view of themselves that it constantly hinders their growth. My D really loved Princeton (has an aunt that lives there) when she was young. We were talking about a girl she knows that is being very unrealistic about colleges, my D said “yeah, I realized in 8th grade that I was never getting into Princeton”. She has done very well at Cornell.</p>