There was an article written like 5 years back and mentioned Michigan and other schools that considered legacy. Doesn’t seem that is the case in the last few years. My son was accepted and my wife went to Michigan. Never gave them money other then tuition. ??. Did it help? Have no clue. He had the stats without it.
There are a few interesting articles about legacy and Michigan but keep getting flagged since I didn’t notice they have a comment section so do a search if interested.
Legacy helps, especially when applying EA, because data show that legacies are more likely to yield.
Ethnicity is no help at all. It is illegal in the state of Michigan for public universities to consider race or ethnicity in college admissions (just as in California).
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/23/us/supreme-court-michigan-affirmative-action-ban.html
Thanks. Was just reading this. May help her at the private schools.
On the other hand (legacy-wise), my in-state son was admitted EA even though his parents are alumni of THE Ohio State University. ?
^^^^Congrats! You must be so proud. Everyone wants their children to do better than they did. ??
Ha ha very funny @rjkofnovi!
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Another source of funding for Michigan is for R&D. Michigan’s R&D expenditures were over $1.5 billion in 2017, second among US universities, behind Johns Hopkins. https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/profiles/site?method=rankingBySource&ds=herd
The National Science Foundation ranked Michigan 3rd in earned doctorates in 2017, behind Texas and Wisconsin, and first in total doctorate students. These statistics are for science, engineering, and health.
Hmmmm… thinking about how Michigan is considered ‘weak’, I believe it is an AMAZING school in too many ways to count, but I do believe that there are a few things that make it ‘weaker’ than it could be. For example, the weather can make the school seem unattractive to prospective applicants, which is of course a negative quality of going to school in Michigan. This could be negative, but it could be positive, as it could attract applicants who prefer colder weather all-year long.
I know it’s not the first snow this season, but it’s snowing today and the area looks pretty today out there. My kid sent me a pic from the “frozen tundra.”
Of course, the high today here my locale in CA is 75. 
Here’s something that may be a weakness to some: Lack of focus on residential life.