They can accomplish a lot just by being human. If the applicant can sell himself to them despite his poor academic achievement, then he can sell poor products

They can accomplish a lot just by being human. If the applicant can sell himself to them despite his poor academic achievement, then he can sell poor products to customers, keep employees faithful at crappy jobs, and attract investment dollars to underperforming companies. If he can't, maybe he can get a series of promotions anyway. By acting as "charisma detectors" and "bullshit quality meters" (i.e., normal human beings) admission officers can spot people who have a future, people whom it will be beneficial to have the college brand on and who might donate to the university later.