Merit and the Case for Immigration

In a country with widespread use of quotas, preferences and set-asides, we seldom see unadulterated merit, especially in academics. As board members of a foundation that awards scholarships based on merit and financial need, we have seen what merit looks like. The findings are important enough to share.

- Phil Gramm And Robert Topel

Finis Welch, our late friend and economics colleague at Texas A&M University and UCLA, grew up in a poor Texas family and was paralyzed from the waist down in an accident when he was 18. That setback fueled his determination to succeed.

Finis became a prominent academic economist and made a fortune in statistical software, economic consulting and ranching. He left that fortune to award four-year college scholarships to promising students from Texas families of modest means. Students, in other words, like him.

The Finis Welch Foundation supports more than 40 students a year at Texas A&M and the University of Texas, with plans to expand to as many as 250 scholarships a year.

Both universities provide the foundation with roughly 300 of their top applications from students seeking financial aid. Our scholarships cover tuition, room and board and provide services, such as mentoring and business contacts, that prosperous parents might give their children.

The foundation offers instruction in everything from table manners and etiquette to career and life advice and has staff who are there when our scholars need help.

When awarding scholarships, the foundation ignores applicants' race and sex. We review high-school transcripts, but given the level of grade inflation, for all practical purposes, our applicants have near-perfect grades and have taken many advanced-placement courses. So transcripts and grades are of limited use in choosing among candidates.