Sure, but there are at least 4 other colleges that are about as prestigious and selective as Harvard for STEM. Back in my day I think it was something like 1000

Sure, but there are at least 4 other colleges that are about as prestigious and selective as Harvard for STEM. Back in my day I think it was something like 1000 kids a year got perfect scores between the two standardized tests, and the class sizes at all of these places is about 1600 (except Caltech which was like 250). I agree it is about more than grades and test scores, and I did have other stuff too, but that's beside the point. Arguing about that is missing the point of what I intended - what I meant is that if you are one of the better applicants, which I do think I was quantitatively (obviously not good enough lol), you don't need to go to Harvard. Whereas for some of the people getting in who might not have without affirmative action, getting into Harvard is actually life changing.