>merit (judged by demonstrated academic performance) That isn't the definition of "merit" that these colleges are looking for. Demonstrated academic performanc

>merit (judged by demonstrated academic performance) That isn't the definition of "merit" that these colleges are looking for. Demonstrated academic performance is a part of it, to be sure, but it's not the ballgame. e.g. https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/apply/what-we-look https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/apply/what-we-look