^^ @sansculottes: I suppose it depends on why a student was rejected and how far into the process their application went.
From everything I’ve read, after a student presses the submit button their application is downloaded by a file room clerk, who puts their application together, along with a one-page reader sheet that summarizes the applicant’s GPA, course rigor, test scores and EC’s.
The file clerk then sends the student’s application to the local Admissions Officer who oversee’s that particular high school or region. The local Admissions Officer, plus at least one other officer – a minimum of two officers – read each student’s file. In this way, one officer’s “mood” does not affect a student’s application. Each regional officers must agree that the student is exemplary for the application to move forward. I imagine many student’s do not get past the initial reading of at least two officers.
If a student’s application is thought to be exemplary, their file is bumped up to the Regional Director, who reads applications from a broader group of student’s. The Regional Director, along with his or her staff of officers, read all the top-applications from their region and must agree that a student is indeed one-of-the-best for that student to move to the Full Committee. I imagine many student’s do not get past the Regional Admissions Directors’s Office, as the Regional Director, like a lawyer, must advocate for each applicant in the Full Committee meetings. And they don’t want to waste the Full Committee’s time by presenting applicants who are less than stellar.
Harvard’s Full Committee is comprised of over 40 Admissions staff and faculty – and it’s one-person-one-vote. To gain acceptance to Harvard, a student must garner more than 51% of the Full Committee’s vote.
While the applications process is selective, it is far from arbitrary. When a student has been rejected and reapplies, I imagine the local and regional Admissions Officers consult the student’s prior application to understand why he or she was rejected in their prior application to the college.
If the student’s prior application didn’t make the first cut because of lackluster grades, mediocre test scores, weak teacher recommendations, lackluster essays or tepid EC’s, I highly doubt the student would be successful in their re-application. Ditto for not making the second cut to the Full Committee.
If a student made it to the Full Committee and was rejected, I imagine there might be a slight chance that their reapplication would be successful depending upon the competition. However, my guess is that only 10% of all applications – about 3,000 students – actually make it to the Full Committee. As most student’s are rejected prior to the Full Committee meeting, that would suggest that most student’s are not going to be successful upon re-application unless something dramatic in their application has changed.