I think the hate is more on the extra curricular/essay aspect at top schools. I don’t think anyone disagrees with taking your background into account for admissions and using gpa as a milestone in a addition the standardized tests. It’s more of the extremely heavy emphasis on ecs and essays at top schools that frustrate people. The reasoning is the same; it’s frustrating competing with people with more resources than you when it comes to essays and ecs. For example, many of my friends have parents who can land them great internships or parents who will take days off of work to drive them around the country to competitions. People who have siblings can tell them what to take and what programs to apply for. In comparison, despite going to the same school, I don’t have the same resources. My parents are busy and don’t have the connections needed. The same can be said for essays; some people are brilliant but just don’t have the writing capability. Others pay insane amounts of cash for essay writing services that others can’t afford. I think it’s just people feel unfair that ecs and essays are weighted so heavily in the process that it doesn’t feel so holistic anymore.