I'd recommend reading those that disagree with race-based admission (Jason Riley for example) as to why it tends to be a bad idea.
My take on the argument against what you are saying is that it is effectively lowering the standards for certain groups of people to get in. This can 1 of 2 effects:
(1) those that are admitted to a college where the standards expected of their students are higher will mean that these lower-performing people will fail out.
(2) the university either lowers the standards for all, or creates specific majors that are "easier" for people to attempt to be able to graduate.
Neither of these are good options.
Guess what? Life isn't fair. Kids that grew up in a family that promotes education and learning will perform better in these high-tier colleges (on average). The reason is that the kids were able to (or forced to) perform to certain standards much earlier on in life (see Tiger Moms). Kids with parents that don't have the time (or care) to focus on a child's education will obvious not have the same skills/training at 18 compared to some others. Does this make them less smart? Nope! These kids can still be served very well by lower-tier colleges where they can still learn a lot and develop their skills. They just aren't as prepped for certain universities.
If we want our society to continue to be a meritocracy, holistic review needs to DIAF.
I think I agree with most of what you wrote, especially race based administration.
But I have a hard time thinking that grades alone is the best determinant of who should get into university, but the moment you use anything other than straight up grades, you are back to a holistic process, which the OP claims is worse.
My take on the argument against what you are saying is that it is effectively lowering the standards for certain groups of people to get in. This can 1 of 2 effects:
(1) those that are admitted to a college where the standards expected of their students are higher will mean that these lower-performing people will fail out.
(2) the university either lowers the standards for all, or creates specific majors that are "easier" for people to attempt to be able to graduate.
Neither of these are good options.
Guess what? Life isn't fair. Kids that grew up in a family that promotes education and learning will perform better in these high-tier colleges (on average). The reason is that the kids were able to (or forced to) perform to certain standards much earlier on in life (see Tiger Moms). Kids with parents that don't have the time (or care) to focus on a child's education will obvious not have the same skills/training at 18 compared to some others. Does this make them less smart? Nope! These kids can still be served very well by lower-tier colleges where they can still learn a lot and develop their skills. They just aren't as prepped for certain universities.
If we want our society to continue to be a meritocracy, holistic review needs to DIAF.