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One of the reasons why residents get advantage is because their yield rate is significantly higher.
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<p>I may not entirely understand your meaning, but mathematically the relationship is the opposite. Because Michigan residents yield at a higher rate, Michigan can accept fewer of them to meet their target than they would if they were nonresidents.</p>
<p>Let's say Michigan is aiming to admit 100 more students. If yield is 50%, they admit 200 kids to get those 100. If yield is 100%, they admit 100 kids only. What this illustrates is that if one group has a higher yield, students from that group will see fewer "admits per spot."</p>
<p>The reason residency helps instate candidates is that Michigan is committed to enrolling a relatively large number of state residents. They aim to have a class that's roughly 2/3 in-state, so that means there are many more spots for residents.</p>
<p>Getting back to the original argument, if instate yield were half the rate it is, they'd admit twice as many residents each year, thereby making state residents' chances that much better,</p>