<p>I partly agree with you. My sister is a UMich alum, and even though she never experienced any direct hostility, she said she was always conscious of her identity being different than others . I also have a lot of family who went to Howard, and who absolutely loved it. I think that lends credence to what the Black alum you talk to says.</p>
<p>From my experience though, a lot of people from my area choose MSU (or similar schools) over UofM for a few reasons. For one, those schools are more accessible to their friends. UofM tends to be lax for students from poor “educational environments”, but it will generally only take the best of those students. UofM also requires the Summer Bridge Program for a lot of its minority students. I know students of color from private schools who’ve been bridged. I don’t believe many other schools do this do this.</p>