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Michigan can accept whoever it wants but its the students who actually enroll at the college that will be used by USWNR to rank the university. If a bunch of kids who are targeting the Ivies apply to Michigan for the heck of it with no intention of enrolling, then they would inflate the U’s total application figures but wouldn’t really improve the school’s selectivity since these kids will turn down their offer of admission and not be part of the entering class anyway</p>
<p>That’s why its so difficult for a school to improve its undergraduate reputation. Its a zero-sum game-if Michigan starts enrolling a lot more academic superstars than in years past, then this will come at the expense of another school that typically gobbled up those high stats students before.</p>