I think they will always have a legacy role to some degree. "That's where my father went to school." Other places like Howard or NC A&T are very complementary to the communities in which they reside, and are pretty good schools. I think one problem is that some big schools like UT are still over 85% white (though getting better or trying to). It's the state university and it should be fairly representative of the population in the State. I am not saying there should be quotas, but there are some disincentives for minorities in attending these schools -- none the least is the racial balance. It's a chicken and egg thing. Conversely, Ivy League schools are having trouble with the reverse issue where white, middle class kids are choosing smaller elite schools because of the perception that they are at an enrollment disadvantage. Schools like Lafayette, Bucknell, Reed etc. have track records of professional school admission as good as the Ivies, so why fight what is perceived as a tilted system full of Asians that grind, elite Northeastern white kids on legacy and blacks who are there to meet the "quotas?" Then there are tuition costs....

It's a pretty tough problem. Universities fret about it a lot.

True happiness is knowing you are a hypocrite. -- Ivor Cutler