I would have loved to have applied

Yes, like Fenya96 said, you wouldn't qualify since you are a Jr. Member in the making. As soon as you have the needed amount of Activity you will be upgraded.
...maybe a change of rules would do
I will consider lowering the activity requirement in the next round if i dont give out the set merits but for this round it will stay at 50+
since the lower rank users aren't interest in writing quality posts, the higher rank user who aren't receiving much merits should be considered.
I understand your concern. I took a look at your merit history and saw that many trustworthy and good members have given you merits which means that you are doing a good job otherwise some of them wouldn't have merited you. Just keep it up and more merits will certainly come your way.
hello sir please give me one merit...
RULE 44. No merit begging.
Dont beg for merits! I will still take a look at your posts but dont beg for them.