That's very useful information - I didn't realize some institutions worked that way. Do you have any insights with regards to getting the attention of a specific prof?
I also made sure I wasn't wasting my time applying to work with professors who were going on sabbatical or not accepting new graduate students.
Of course, this was for a history Ph.D., but I suspect the same advice holds elsewhere.
I got accepted at every school I applied to, but my application itself was pretty strong, so it's hard to say if the outreach 'worked' vs. another aspect of the application.