Steps of college admission process?

Applying to College
1

So this is my understanding, feel free to correct me if I’m wrong:

  1. Initial reading begins with your specific regional admission officer and makes some notes on his/her impression of your app.
  2. A second reader goes through your app with the same ideal process.
  3. If your app is admit from both, then your admitted. Vice-versa for denial. But if one says “maybe” or “wait list”, then your app goes to a third reader.
  4. The third reader makes the final call, but if he/she says “maybe” or “wait list”, then it gets passed to the committee…? (not sure).
  5. The committee then makes the ultimate and final decision.

So my question is, is the second/third reader a random other officer or will I be able to know who?
(i.e I’m from CA, so my 1st reader would be the CA regional officer. But how bout my 2nd and possibly 3rd?)
Also, if my app does reach the committee, then will they be able to read my essays (the committee people could just have notes that the individual readers have made) or are the individual readers the only ones to read my essays?

2

Are you asking about the UCs? CSUs?

3

UCs and privates (but I’m assuming that privates have their own ways of doing it as well, but it should generally be similar)

4

http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/how-applications-reviewed/index.html

5

There is no uniform way that apps are read at the privates. Even among the Ivies there are differences. Some have regional officers, others do not. Some have one large committee that approves all of the decisions, others may have a smaller committee for the tougher cases.