<p>Has anyone been accepted to Harvard though they did not have near-perfect SAT scores or GPAs?
I heard a theory that students make up for their SAT or GPAs by submitting stellar APPLICATIONS and by showing good character/personality- they recieved thick envolopes.
Has it been like this for anyone?</p>
<p>Wow, great question. Everyone is so hyper-focused on numbers on this site. If I posted my stats I would be told to give up now and not bother wasting the application fee because of my standardized test scores. I'm not a URM or from a devastatingly poor background...just a white girl who can't seem to test well. But I'm going to try to infuse my application with the character and personality that I believe will allow me to excel at Harvard. I'm sick of seeing people with incredible credentials being told they don't have a shot unless they 'raise that SAT.' </p>
<p>I think Harvard really does take everything into account. There are some people with less-than-perfect scores who are equally, if not more, qualified to succeed at Harvard than some of those 2400's out there, and I hope the committee agrees.</p>
<p>It would be interesting to hear some examples of what the OP is looking for.</p>
<p>If it were simply a matter of toting up stats and comparing them, Harvard would not seek letters of recommendation and require - to greater extent than any school - personal interviews through its far-flung alumni network. </p>
<p>The intangibles are extremely important - particularly since there are enough valadictorian applicants to fill the class twice over, and, similarly, enough 800 scorers in verbal and math to nearly fill the class twice over in each case.</p>
<p>Call it "character", leadership skills, "passion" or other personal qualities, Harvard is looking for such traits in addition to a strong academic record.</p>