> This particular firm has twice as many Seattle U. grads as Harvard grads, so clearly being a local carries substantial weight.

You can't come to that conclusion unless they have an equal number of Seattle U applicants as Harvard applicants AND that they are somehow measured as being equally qualified.

A company located in Seattle having more graduates from a Seattle schools than outside schools seems pretty normal? I think you could replace Seattle with practically any city with a decent university and it would still be true except maybe super prestigious companies who only hire from top N colleges.