School admissions should be reviewed like (some) conference papers, i.e. single-blind review. The name of the student is never known when considering him/her.
I had zero interest in extracurriculars or anything of the like, so I was never going to get into a competitive university. But I'm smart, and I have a near-photographic memory, so I aced most of my classes without having to study too much, so I was able to graduate in the top 10% and then went to UT Dallas, which is possibly the best tech school in the southwest. I'm really, really glad I went to UTD; I made lifelong friends there, the people I hung out with really helped shape my interests, I'm still running into UTD alumni everywhere I go, etc.