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This strikes me as very true. I was brought up in a loving family that wasn't poor, but wasn't rich, and had zero connections (boundary between upper working and lower middle class). My main chance to succeed was through exams and merit. https://twitter.com/clairlemon/status/1341140454834724864
Exams and merit aren't everything - indeed academic prowess certainly isn't everything. And exams are not perfect by any means. But within that sphere, eliminating hard, clear measures like exams won't give rise to the egalitarian promised land. It will make things even worse
The different attitudes people had when they got to Cambridge were very striking. People from my sort of background worked hard (bloody hard) to get a good degree. We were the 'proletarian scholars scrambling for facts', because if we didn't succeed there was no fallback
Many well-connected and privileged people didn't really care that much, and coasted just enough to get a 2.1 or 2.2 (or worse tbh) because Daddy had a good job for them whatever. For them, Cambridge was a cross between a networking opportunity and a finishing school
Eliminating exams would take the last opportunity away from the bright but poorly connected people. It wouldn't help the less advantaged or less bright because it would just breed a culture of low-expectations. It would suit only those whose face already fits
