America is facing a new frontier between meritocracy, where only the bright and highly motivated are educated, and social egalitarianism's universal education. Studies of student flow, the changing clientele of higher education, the distribution and differentiation of youth, lifestyle differences, and stabilizing enrollments indicate that universal higher education is unlikely. However, efforts toward the lesser goal of universal access merely support a new kind of meritocracy, which is reinforced by master plans resulting in the poor and uneducated attending certain institutions while the bright and affluent attend others. Selective admissions increase these inequities and poor interinstitutional articulation thwarts the mobility needed for full educational development. Until recently, achievement levels in postsecondary education demonstrated the compatibility of equality of opportunity and excellence in higher education. A decline in these levels has shaken the nation's confidence in the desirability of continued expansion of the college world. A period of assessment and reform is essential in the areas of institutional management and allocation of resources; post-secondary educational purpose; new approaches to equity; affirmation of the primacy of teaching and student development; and creation of educational alternatives. Subsequent to these reforms, a positive kind of meritocracy, which would affirm the merit of all persons, will be possible. (DD)