Many schools have 1 or 2 readers.
A reader usually has 10 to 30 minutes to read through your...
Background Info, School Transcript, Extracurriculars, Essays, Awards & Honors, Test Scores, Interview Report, Letters of Rec
Each of 4-6 components is rated on a school-specific scale.
Stanford is on a 1 to 6 scale. They rate:
High School Rigor & Record
Testing
Extracurriculars
Support
Intellectual Vitality
Overall Rating
Your overall score is an eyeballed weighted average of the first 5
You must have at least a 3+ or 2- overall to move on (usually)
Usually over 75% of applicants' files can be rejected here.
Your reader will have about 1 minute to make a case to 3-4 of their colleagues on why you should be admitted.
A majority vote gets you in. Otherwise, you are likely rejected or waitlisted.