It is interesting that you would rank UMich above USC. We are talking about undergraduates here. USC acceptance rate is 16% while UMich is 28%. The difference is substantial. In my opinion they are not in the same league. It is true that UMich may have better graduate school reputation. But we are talking about undergraduate education here. The reason people want to go to selective schools, in addition to the prestige, is because of potential peers. It is safe to say that peers of selective schools are more intellectually competitive. USC did have a “rich kids” school reputation, most of that rumors came out of UCLA. But USC is more selective than UCLA now (16% vs 18% in acceptance rate).