>Maybe a kid managing to struggle through a shitty school has to work harder

It sounds like you think admissions should be based on how hard people think they worked relative to others.

Maybe they should be based on a range of factors that influence how successful the university thinks the candidate will be as an undergraduate? Not just exam results?

It means I think admissions officers sometimes know there’s more to a human than their raw test scores. They likely also know that a decent result at some schools requires more work than a great result at others.

I’ve met smart people who do poorly on exams. I’ve met dumb people who do well on them.