This seems like a logical fallacy. If two students have nearly identical stats and extras, if one is “advantaged” the other is necessarily disadvantaged. If you know you are competing with many kids in your geographic area, at your socioeconomic level, and with similar stats, you really can’t afford to let other kids get “advantaged.”
Now, this really only applies at the very top selective programs. For many schools with reasonable admit rates, “suggested” probably does mean “suggested.”