A Rough Guide To Merit

James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal ^ | Jan 29, 2026 | Zev van Zanten

[karpov]

Placed prominently within President Trump’s controversial “compact” for higher education was a call to center merit in admissions. The president’s offer to universities, which followed more than a decade of battles over what factors to consider in admissions, has sparked new debates about the meaning and value of merit.

In particular, some college-admissions officials have pushed back on the idea that merit exists or have said that they have more meritorious individuals than spots. The second claim is partially true, but the first is not. Many selective colleges offer even more selective merit-based scholarships, which shows that they have at least some understanding of the term. And if they have a way of selecting individuals for those, surely it could be used for the rest of the class.

For admissions purposes, academic merit should mean the capacity to learn and grow through independent thought, sustained effort, and readiness—or the demonstrated ability to become ready—for rigorous study. For colleges seeking to measure such things, I think that three factors, relative grades, tests, and essays, are great metrics, though the choice of grade or test should vary by school. These may not be perfect gauges for merit, but, when navigating unfamiliar territory, a map you trust (and acknowledge is a map) is better than nothing.

Before diving into why that is, it is worth acknowledging why colleges sometimes consider non-merit factors and why merit should still matter despite these reasons. Colleges want student bodies they feel will enrich the university, which at least theoretically requires students with a wide variety of backgrounds. They also often want to admit legacies or the children of celebrities.

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TOPICS: Education
KEYWORDS: college; collegeadmissions

[ComputerGuy]

Race is the most important thing.

[MtnClimber]

No admission for you, but gunga galunga.

[PeterPrinciple]

merit requires judging with a certain set of standards.

Two words there: Judging and standards

https://learntocarry.com/files/On-Sheep-Wolves-And-Sheepdogs.pdf

I mark up and hand out the above to many men I meet. I underline what speaks to me and it reenforces my thinking by repetition and it makes it personal to them if they read it.

I have given them a test. Then I observe the response.

Merit is not a measurement, it is a judgement, a personal judgement. If I remember right to apply for college at one time you had to write a personal letter of application to the college and someone read it. I think that is still true at Hillsdale?

[HIDEK6]

The education racket wants to control access and distribution of all disciplines.

Verbiage is a tool used to obfuscate its motives.

[PeterPrinciple]

I also remember personal stories of successful business men who who would judge the quality of potential employees by where there shoes were shined or not. Attention to little things in their eyes was correlated with merit.

I just let go my financial manager because he was 15 minutes late for my appointment and then gave me 3 DIFFERENT excuses on why he was late. I communicated the problem and hope he and the company learned something.

[PeterPrinciple]

The admissions essay allows people to display their ability to write, think, and communicate. Of course, it is unfortunately much more susceptible to wealth-related inequities than are grades, as the wealthy can and do pay for expensive college consultants to help them shape their prose. But essays also offer people a chance to showcase the merit that may not have shown up in their grades. Furthermore, it is arguably less susceptible to financial pressures than are clubs and other extracurriculars.

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On 2nd reading the essays are referenced. But these days AI could write them or a friend. Not the tool it used to be but it is still a tool.

Then the personal interview.

A person can still tell what is written and said from the heart but it does take some skill.