Harvard's minimal admissions standards are very low compared to the actual difficulty of getting in. Harvard invented the SAT with the idea in mind that 550 meant "probably sufficient to be admitted to Harvard" and 600 meant "conclusively good enough". Re-centering changed the numbers a bit: it's a difference of about 80 points on the verbal (i.e. a 700 now would have been 620 then). So, 1280 (or 1920 on the 2400 scale) is conclusively smart enough to attend Harvard. And the average student with a 1280, while he's not going to be an academic star, is good enough to pass through Harvard with acceptable grades.

However, if Harvard dropped its admissions criteria to that level, it'd be forced to take in several times as many students as it does. Consequently, you're not getting in with a 1250-1400 unless your parents are very well-established.

I don't think it's worth it for people to get bent out of shape about the difficulty of getting into elite colleges. It's just supply and demand. There's nothing personal about it, and the idea that bleary-eyed admissions officers making quick judgments at 7:45 pm after a string of 14-hour days can make meaningfully "holisitic" assessments of a person's character and future prospects for success, well... that's just laughable. Besides, an elite degree may have made a person set for life at one time, but that era ended a long time ago.