The number seemed way high to me, too. But it occurs to me that there’s a good possibility that the purpose of the “presidential read” was not so much potentially to admit the candidate as to allow the relevant development staff to tell the parent that they were so important the university president had read their kid’s application, but he had regretfully decided against admission. There might even be a letter from the president to that effect. Probably more effective in preserving a relationship than a mere courtesy waitlist. And it takes the heat off the admissions staff.
In other words, this may not have been undermining the admissions office. It may have been backing them up.