The problem with merit is that it's impossible to determine because the circumstances of people around the world are so vastly different. If you have, say, 1500

The problem with merit is that it's impossible to determine because the circumstances of people around the world are so vastly different. If you have, say, 1500 spots for a new class, it's going to be impossible to select the best 1500 students. Some elite universities you may even have more than 1500 valedictorians. So what to do? I say you just set a qualifying point to be considered and publicize it (as standardized as you can get, i.e SAT score or similar) and then put every qualifier in a hat and select at random until you fill your spots. Nothing else should matter. Of course this assumes that merit is actually the only thing universities care about, and I'd say that it's not.