What I think you and a lot of fellow commenters are missing is the history of higher education in the US. In many countries in Europe, universities were establi

What I think you and a lot of fellow commenters are missing is the history of higher education in the US. In many countries in Europe, universities were established by the state and the state promotes its values through admission criteria. The imperial Chinese civil service exam system started in 650, and so they have also been working with the idea of outside examination for educational advancement for a long time (longer than Europe). In the US, a solid majority of colleges -- including the Ivies -- were established first as religious institutions. Harvard and Yale were established to educate clergy (first) and also civil servants maybe. All these colleges in the Midwest that collectively provide a substantial portion of college education: established by religious groups, often along ethnic lines. Bible colleges were the first colleges in America. At their founding, these colleges were not interested in just educating the 'smartest'. They were founded to pass on values within certain communities. Protestant colleges and Catholic colleges were not interchangeable. Lutheran colleges and Presbyterian colleges were not interchangeable. Swedish Lutheran and Norwegian Lutheran colleges are not quite interchangeable! While many of these colleges have left religion in their pasts, others have not. I taught for two years at a Lutheran college and interviewed at a Catholic college for a tenure-track position, and have spent time at two R1 land-grant institutions. All these institutions have explicitly different goals. Using the SAT/ACT and GPA to admit students to a Lutheran institution that still has a service every day and starts events with prayer just doesn't work for anyone, while the land-grant institution has a particular focus on economic and academic development for the geographic region.