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<p>It’s not unknowable if you just listed the inputs; you clearly know them. And even if there were a list of mystery criteria of which the applicant isn’t aware, the fact that these criteria exist means that it’s not random but simply appears that way to ignorant outsiders like us. It may very well be “uncontrollable by the applicant,” but so are many things on the application. That doesn’t make it random.</p>
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<p>Being “random” is not relative; it is either random or not random. If there is a difference between the outside perspective and the inside perspective, it is that we as outsiders are ignorant of the decisions being made and so to us it seems random, especially if we frustrated with a system in which we are emotionally invested. That doesn’t make it actually random in reality.</p>