<p>Hahalolk, trust me, most universities (Michigan included) will give preferential treatment to qualified URMs. The new law prevents universities from admitting unqualified applicants based on race, and universities must abide by that law because if they are audited and it is obvious that the university still admits students based primarily on race, the university will face serious legal ramifications. However, I can tell you that if an AdCom at any university is faced with a 3.5 / 1300 SAT / 30 ACT URM applicant and a 3.7 / 1400 SAT / 32 ACT non-URM applicant, most of the times, the URM will be chosen over the non-URM.</p>
<p>If there is a larger gap, then I agree that the non-URM would most likely be selected ove the URM. In that sense, I agree with you. Before the law was passed, Michigan would habitually admit URMs with 3.0-3.3 GPAs / 1000-1200 SAT / 22-25 ACT over non URM applicants with 3.7+ GPAs / 1400+ SATs / 32+ ACTs. Those days are indeed over.</p>
<p>But to say that race does not play a factor in admissions whatsoever is not true.</p>