To be clear, I didn't mean to sneak in illegally. I meant that smart startups who really want to get in YC don't just write an application. They find people in (other startups in YC, mentors, investors) and network their way in. Obviously, if the startup is dumb or the application is really bad, it won't work.

Lots of current startups in YC are founded by first-employee of previous YC startups. Most YC founders I talked too knew people there before sending the application.

PG said that some startups joined YC with only the application. I trust him! But that doesn't mean that lots of others didn't networked hard. If you have a) A good application b) A good application + a previous positve experience talking with the team, who would you pick?