<p>As Michele Hernandez describes it at Dartmouth (and the Director of Admissions she worked for only recently retired), very few applicants go to a committee. Most are clear admits or rejections after 2-3 readers. The committees are somewhat ad hoc, consisting of 5 or 6 admissions staff.
From what I read, at Brown every applicant goes to committee. As a result there is seldom any discussion, and the regional head effectively makes the call.
Does anyone actually imagine that one large committee talks about each of 20,000 or so applicants?</p>