It really depends on the school and the applicant. Most schools as ucbalumnus says only use the gpa/tests to select the class. The selective schools will use it differently based on what kind of applicant you are, hooked, unhooked, legacy, athlete etc. In the case of athletes say, the coach picks the kids who will get in, not really the adcoms as long as they meet the school’s standards (which could be higher than ncaa). So there the essay may just get read for red flags, if at all and ecs outside of your sport will not matter. If your parents are going to give a million to fund a wing of the library or your parents are politically connected, the recommendations won’t get read.
Where the essays, ecs and recs are scrutinized are in the unhooked applicants that are fighting for the spots not taken up by athletes, legacies, donors, urms, first-gen.