Exaggerating here for ease of description: it used to be that if you had 2 spots and these 3 applicants - applicant A: average grades, average SAT, no sports

Exaggerating here for ease of description: it used to be that if you had 2 spots and these 3 applicants - applicant A: average grades, average SAT, no sports - applicant B: great grades, no SAT, great sports - applicant C: great grades, great SAT, great sports then B wasn't even considered. Now, B will probably get in over A.