There have been a million threads on this topic. Someone posts this same question or a version of it at least once a week. No, it’s not a lottery. Your name does not randomly get pulled out of a hat. You need the grades and test scores, you need great recs, excellent ECs, you need to be hooked, or you need to be exceptional, you need to be likable, and a ton of other intangible qualities that are unique to each school. You need to get to the gate, and then the college decides if they open the gate to you based on their needs.
Read this thread, it discusses this same topic in a more analytical way: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1961675-question-about-institutional-priorities-and-chances-acceptances-p1.html