Nothing about the current American education system is "meritocratic." By definition, if the middle class is facing structural barriers to entry, then the system is rigged to benefit and perpetuate the elite. Had raw scores been exclusive requirements for entry, then we'd see some semblance of meritocracy. Those in the middle and lower classes who could achieve those scores by virtue of raw talent would then be examples of meritocracy at work. As it stands with "holistic review" - we are completely in the dark about what goes on in admissions offices for undergrad and grad. This lack of transparency is what kills middle class hopes and opportunities.

There are a couple of other phenomena at work here. First, competition in the U.S. has become untenable for a variety of reasons. High school, technical and bachelor's degrees have been devalued. Too many people take the idea of "you can be whatever you want to be" literally when they should rather pursue the things at which they excel. Law appears to be glamorous for too many elites when it was considered on par with accounting only a few decades ago. And, lawyer is currently one of two professions (doctor being the other) that guarantees upward mobility for immigrants and those not in the upper class. Second, the American middle class has become impoverished under the burdens of taxes, regulations, and immense inflation. The economy no longer works for the middle class and so the middle class can no longer make the necessary expenditures to provide for its children's upward mobility.