I was trying to make my point that they weigh things that no applicant can control, like race, gender, ethnicity, income, standard/size of school, geography, parent’s education, legacy, access to aid or wealth, eligibility for underprivileged summer programs or affordability for elite programs, having dedicated college consultants or overworked GC, exposure to athletics, parents who aren’t first generation college but know nothing about American educational system.
If a bum doesn’t make an effort to pay, his kid gets aid and support to make it to best school he can get in, if an upper middle class parent denies paying, a middle class kid has no choice but to go to whichever school offers merit, even if he is way more qualified and worked even harder to get to a good school. Not saying that kids who have bum parents shouldn’t get support, just reflecting light on unsung issues of middle class kids.