Earlier quoted context omitted.
> They overview the different criteria but don't go into how each factor contributes to the overall score Applicants are graded 1 - 6, so an applicant getting 'tipped' doesn't necessarily bump their score. The way I've seen it work elsewhere is just that applicants who are flagged get their entire applications reviewed, so that way someone actually reads the essays instead of just tossing it after spending 30 seconds…
The 1-6 grading I haven't read before this article but since there is no information on how that contributes to the overall application outside of 1 (strong admit) and 6 (strong deny), it doesn't really tell us much. Also, they never mentioned "quotas", just that they try to "looks at factors like parental occupation, which Mr. Fitzsimmons said offer clues about financial hardship, and intended major, to avoid having…
There isn't a quota in the sense that there is a permanent fixed number, it's all just politics. So you've got situations like someone who donated $100 million to the school had the kid they wrote a recommendation for rejected last year, and now they're pissed so the development office wants to make sure whoever they recommend this year gets in. But then the rowing coach is considering going to another school where they're promised 12 recruits instead of 8, so now you have the AD and the head of development both lobbying the head of admissions to get more slots for their department. And exactly how many each actually gets each year is going to depend partly on how the admissions process is structured, but also on the facts of the situation, who owes who favors, where different people are in their careers and how much they've been contributing to the overall mission and prestige of the university, etc. As well as what the admitted class looks like so far, which can be vastly different a few days or even hours apart.