Assuming that a merit-based system is appropriate for admissions, can we remove race & name (so race can't be derived) from the admission forms? Then have a th

Assuming that a merit-based system is appropriate for admissions, can we remove race & name (so race can't be derived) from the admission forms? Then have a third party verify the student's ranking at how the student performed via local peer group (could be a derivative of their neighborhood, school, county, state, etc). The local peer group rank calculation could influence the decision without revealing any advantage/disadvantage (perhaps a statistician could discuss the mechanics of how to make this most appropriate) Example admission summary: Candidate XYZ graduated top 12% from their school, top 10% from their county, and top 24% from their state. Candidate played no sports, but participated in two academic societies, and accumulated 200 hours of volunteer service. The candidate was employed for 3 years before applying for university.