Widget, many of us have experience with admissions, one way or another, some current, some in the past, and some over many years.
Just as many seasoned posters try to express to kids and families that there is no one formula, similarly there is no one admissions experience that’s definitive. Different colleges can view (and forgive) in different lights. And it can shift, depending on the individual kid/app.
I suspect Costco girl had a strong enough full package that the essay mattered a bit less. Her geo may have mattered very much. No one should read more into this based on selective media articles.