<p>I know that at Harvard, Princeton, and Yale, the admissions process works in the following way:</p>
<p>Applications are sorted by region and are read by regional admissions officers. At Yale, the names of these admissions officers are readily available to students, but this isn’t the case at Harvard or Princeton (though the names of the former’s regional admissions officers become available on the admitted student site). Each regional admissions officer writes up a summary (including test scores, teacher recs, interview info, and everything else) of each file they read. They constitute the “first hurdle” and determine whether or not each application merits further consideration. If it does, the application is passed onto a second reader, who is often a higher ranking admissions officer. This admissions officer then also writes a summary of the application and decides whether the application merits a committee review. (Note that at Columbia, each application is read twice regardless of the impression of the first reader.)</p>
<p>Of course, admissions officers may deem some applications more likely for admission than others, and those that are especially promising may be admitted immediately (and applicants are notified via likely letter). </p>
<p>In the committee sessions, the summaries of the applications are read out to the entire admissions committee, and each file is discussed for a period of approximately 6-8 minutes. (Obviously, this doesn’t mean that they start a timer and once its up, they immediately go on to a vote. On average, though, each committee session lasts this long.) The two officers who read the application in question are able to field any questions from other admissions offers regarding the application, and, once all of this is finished, they move onto a vote. Princeton requires a majority vote to admit a student, while Yale and Harvard require unanimity. </p>
<p>Because they’re human, admissions officers always admit more kids than they have room for. After the committee sessions are finished, they sort through the applicants a final time to reduce their numbers. Though I don’t quite know how this process is done, I assume it’s closely tied to diversity. (They’ll look for applicants to reject among groups that are over-represented in their admit pile.)</p>
<p>(Source: speaking with admissions officers during admitted student days.)</p>