to read the essays would probably want to disagree.
My dad was the AVP in charge of admissions for a while (it’s been a few years) and he used to talk about this process occasionally.
He said that many students (and parents) have a misguided idea about what “leadership experience” means. BYU isn’t looking for sports captains or student government experience. They are looking for evidence of people who do what’s right and stand up for what they believe in regardless of what others think, say, or do.
Clearly, I have no idea what caused Hoss’s child to get denied. I would be disappointed and upset too. But I know that there are people who put a lot of work into evaluating those essays; it’s definitely not a lottery