Placed prominently within President Trump's controversialfor higher education was a call to center merit in admissions. But these are departures from merit, not redefinitions of what merit means.A successful society is one that rewards effort and ability, not aristocratic notions of birth and blood.Merit still matters. Colleges seeking to cultivate the next generation of leaders and scholars need to identify individuals with some level of merit. For the majority of colleges, GPAs seem to be the better predictor of success and are less related to income. But essays also offer people a chance to showcase the merit that may not have shown up in their grades.