There are plenty of schools where a student can be accepted based on purely academic achievement…they just aren’t the highly rejectives. Part of the problem IMO is that students/parents think they/their kid ‘deserves’ to go to a highly rejective college.
I don’t understand what is unfair? It’s not for you or any of us to determine what’s fair.
The holistic evaluation is from the perspective of the college…they weight factors/credentials in a way that makes best serves their goals and determine which applicants they want in their class. Hooked applicants are preferenced because they have some quality/qualities that are highly valued by the college. Sure this process could be more transparent, but again, if transparency is the priority, there are schools that post their admission formula on their websites.
OP…Did you apply to UMN EA1? I also agree with the poster who raised the issue of your budget…it’s unclear if you will get enough need based aid to make some of these schools affordable. Have you run their net price calculators?