I uploaded too many academic works as supplementary materials in Harvard’s portal (40, to be exact). These are research papers and analyses of certain topics. Did I just ruin my chances of getting in by overdoing it, even if the rest of my application is strong (#1 in my class, great essays, recs, extracurriculars, SAT score)? What will admissions officers think/do? I’m really worried.
Well, I think you can be pretty confident that they won’t be read.
Beyond that, I have no idea.
Who knows, but apply to other schools besides Harvard.
What’s done is done kiddo.
The most helpful hint is to apply to more than one school, with a list of reaches (Harvard is one for even the most perfect student,) matches, and safely-ins. (There’s always some risk.)
That said, while many schools like to see student interest, you should keep your desperation a secret if you can. Never let them see you sweat, especially not flop sweat!
Good luck and get over it.
Thanks everyone! 
Not trying to bash you, but your post is a gret reminder for other applicants. More doesn’t equal better. Harvard receives over 35,000 applications. There is literally no way they will read or even look at 40 pieces of supplemental information. Read this: https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/application-process/application-requirements/supplemental-application-materials
The first sentence is that the app itself usually provides ample info for them to make a decision. It goes on to say that an applicant may have TRULY EXCEPTIONAL talents or acheivements to share, and that they MAY review them at their discretion. Were all 40 of the items you uploaded truly exceptional?
We can’t say if you ruined your chances. You did show an inability to self-edit and be discriminating in what you chose to send them. The saying is “the thicker the file, the thicker the kid.” They might be very impressed by your supplements, or they might think it’s overkill. Bide your time, and exercise restraint in your other apps.
I’m not going to bash either, but am going to give a reality check. As @Lindagaf correctly points out, Harvard will receive ~35K applications. AO’s will spend 12-15 minutes at most reading each application. So sending 40 supplements does not mean that they will spend more time reading your application. They will still spend the 12-15 minutes, but will probably gloss over a part in your application that could have pushed the package to the accept pile.
Additionally, I will point out, an AO is unlikely to read any academic research supplement, because that is not their field of expertise. What AO’s generally do is, at their discretion, send supplements to experts for review. These experts are generally professors who are leaders in their field and whose primary job is not to read supplements. I doubt that your AO would consider imposing on a faculty member for a review of 40 papers.
Will it hurt you in the end? Nobody here knows for sure. But for other applicants, and for the OP if there are still applications to other colleges to send, it’s not a good idea, IMO.
@skieurope insight is confirmed by my son’s experience at Harvard. He submitted one supplemental abstract. The AO emailed requesting the full paper (as well as a supplemental recommendation from the mentor in the lab he worked in) and then forwarded the paper to a Harvard professor considered to be one of the top experts in the field. My takeaway from the experience at Harvard (also Yale and MIT) is that an abstract is enough. If they want more, they’ll ask for more.
This may or may not hurt, don’t want to speculate.
But I will say, for the sake of others and for your sake with other applications, the time to ask about this kind of thing is before the fact, not after
You can ask on this forum, but you can also call admissions and ask directly. Generally a sample of one extraordinary paper, perhaps one that has been published, would be the most appropriate.
The vast majority are accepted with a jaundiced eye -
yes, good to be involved in research. but most are stuck in the “muddling middle,” not attributed to either first or last authorship.
If you are first or last author in Nature or Science that’s a different kettle of fish.