It is tough I think for very high stats kids from states with excellent schools. They are bombarded with stuff. My older kid in Virginia , although about 10 years ago, right before more of the financial aid reforms for less wealthy families, got so much info from some Ivy schools, places like Vanderbilt, Duke, and USC. But we got really no outreach at the time from UVa, his preferred instate option, although he had strong interest in attending. It can be tough for a 17 or 18 year old kid to realize that their instate option like Michigan may be the best when they think their peers, teachers, think they could be reaching higher. Many of them want the love. Has Michigan reached out to your son? We were always good with helping to fund the equivalent of an instate education but made it clear that more than that was on them. Some people are willing to sacrifice anything for their kids’ education and I admire that but we were not able or willing to do so. If you are wealthy or can get good financial aid or merit aid, college options definitely open up for a child.
You did what we did in terms of what we said-we would help fund instate costs but would have to consider what to do beyond that. We were upfront that he would probably have to take more financial stake in financing a private education. He opted for UVa early and did not apply to any expensive privates. He had some athletic interest from some top schools but they gave no merit aid or athletic scholarships. We are fairly frugal and had a younger child to consider. It’s a very personal choice, given family finances and how far the money needs to stretch. All the best.