It may be relevant that she got admitted as a grad student rather than undergrad. There are about twice as many grad students, and they get admitted by departme

It may be relevant that she got admitted as a grad student rather than undergrad. There are about twice as many grad students, and they get admitted by department rather than by the main admissions office. When I complained to my undergraduate advisor about how much work there was in a particular upper-level course, he scoffed: "The other students in that course went to undergrad elsewhere; you should be fine if you apply yourself." This professor certainly perceived a difference between the application processes of the two different groups.