The Admissions Committee has to go through LOTS of applications which, in reality, have very few data points to help them make their decision. They want to let in 1) people who will succeed in the program, both academically and in the "extracurriculars", 2) people who will be get a good job out of the program, and 3) people who will become successful alumni, give back to the school, and represent the program throughout their career. It's hard to figure all of that out when you spend <1 hr. on each applicant.

So they use mental shortcuts to try to fill in the gaps. They read deeply into things that probably shouldn't matter. They miss things that would be important to consider. They try their best, and sometimes they get it right, but sometimes they get it wrong. One of those mental shortcuts that I've seen explicitly discussed by Ad. Comm. members is retaking the GMAT. They don't know the whole backstory about who studied hard or not the first time, who was taking care of their ailing mother and could only take it once, etc. Instead, they see someone who goes from a 660 to a 720 and their mental shortcut tells them: "works hard to improve and overcome adversity." They see someone who gets a 660 (a good, but definitely not *great* score) and doesn't take it again in the 18 months before applying and thinks: "unwilling to work to improve themselves." Fair or not, they use mental shortcuts to fill in the blanks. You might get the chance to explain yourself in your essays or interviews, but like I said, simply saying "I figured my 660 was good enough to get in" isn't an impressive answer.

Also keep in mind that the people in the Ad. Comm. usually don't have a business background. They probably don't have their MBA. They tend to be idealistic and value things like "resilience." They love hearing about someone who succeeded DESPITE the (perceived) odds against them, even over someone who succeeded even more but had a (perceived) easy path to that success.

*I'm not saying this to defend or necessarily criticize the process. But in order to be as successful as possible in applications, I think it's important to know your audience (Ad. Comm.) and how they think about it. With admissions, it doesn't really matter how good the product (e.g. candidate) is, it just matters how good the product is perceived.