<p>Most elite institutions generally want to recruit and increase their yield of academically qualified URM students. There’s a reason why they’re “underrepresented” – the pool is so small that elite institutions are often competing for the same students.</p>
<p>When I applied to Michigan in the pre-Gratz/Grutter era, it was not uncommon for many academically qualified Michigan URM natives to attend out-of-state schools. Most of my URM classmates matriculated to schools such as Columbia, Duke, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Morehouse, Northwestern, Penn, Spelman, etc. Recently, I learned a URM from my high school is going to Harvard, and another URM at my aunt’s school is going to MIT. A few years ago, I spoke with another URM alum (Detroit native, friend of the family) who graduated from Columbia and Harvard Business School. </p>
<p>Another factor is financial aid. URM students generally do not come from wealthy families. They follow the money; elite privates are more likely to have better financial aid packages. Univ of Michigan is competing against these kinds of odds.</p>