Prof Jiang’s Predictive History and other lectures Secret History #7: Death by Meritocracy
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Feb 5, 2026 A deep dive into how meritocratic admissions evolved, from religious colleges to the SAT and holistic reviews. Stories explore elite social clubs, secret networks, and why institutions favor risky, high‑ambition candidates. Discussion covers the culture inside top schools, parenting that fuels competition, broader inequality effects, and whether public control or real learning can counter credentialism.
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How Holistic Admissions Protect Institutional Power
- The US college admissions system became unusually holistic to serve institutional power rather than pure academic merit.
- Mr./Prof. Jiang traces this from Harvard's shift to scholarships and the SAT toward character-based discretion to preserve alumni influence.
Harvard's Historical Shift To Character Filters
- Mr./Prof. Jiang describes Harvard creating holistic criteria to exclude groups like Jews and later Asians by privileging 'character' and athleticism.
- He links that history to current essay, activity, and recommendation evaluation meant to filter ethnicity and background.
Universities Behave Like Venture Capital Firms
- Elite universities act like venture capitalists choosing a small number of high-variance, world-changing candidates over many steady performers.
- Jiang argues they prefer a few spectacular successes to many modestly successful graduates because fame amplifies institutional brand.