Harvard is one of the most prestigious universities in the world.

The Cambridge, Massachusetts, school accepted just 5.2% of roughly 39,000 applications for its class of 2020. As Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust said in 2014, "We could fill our class twice over with valedictorians."

The school seeks out students who not only have high grades, but also have outstanding achievements under their belts — from overcoming homelessness to starting their own nonprofits. The students who manage to catch the attention of admissions officers overcome exceptional odds, but they should maintain some perspective.

Many things in life — like landing a job at some Wal-Mart locations — are harder to achieve than getting into that prestigious university.

Ben Winsor and Christina Sterbenz also contributed to this story.