Yes, I’m totally with you on acceptance by merit. Unfortunately, that’s not the system in the US and won’t be unless there is a huge change. It’s going the other way with SATs being optional and more emphasis on subjectivity.
Yep and there’s lot of diversity too right? Merit and diversity via merit based acceptance is not only possible but more probable. But try telling that to supporters of holistic admissions. They can’t see that diversity in humans is the norm.
One other thing, STEM majors have to reach a higher bar in many cases to be able to do the work. You can’t fudge most STEM subjects. While everyone takes English in high school not every kid takes AP physics or math that leads into STEM areas. So there is already a distinction.