Anonymous wrote:Slightly Off Topic, but Madison >>> Ann Arbor though obviously UM is a "better" school. But there is a lot of overlap for OOS applicants who want the big school experience. Just a lot of energy at both schools.

The overlap ends when it comes to choosing which school to attend from OOS when admitted to both. Michigan easily bests Wisconsin in that regard.

Anonymous wrote:Slightly Off Topic, but Madison >>> Ann Arbor though obviously UM is a "better" school. But there is a lot of overlap for OOS applicants who want the big school experience. Just a lot of energy at both schools.

I disagree. I like Madison and the lakefront, but I prefer the smaller town and close knit feel of Ann Arbor. The university is the city. Madison is much larger. It’s also more convenient to get to since it’s close to a major airport.

This is handing kids a the biggest softball question to allow them to talk about their leadership roles in school so far and their character. This one won’t be hard for kids who have the leadership roles. Harder for kids that don’t already have the roles in HS, but those may be the kids that knock the essay out of the park by talking about who they are and who they want to be at and for Michigan.

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Anonymous wrote:Michigan loves that long 550 word essay. There’s a reason why it is so long. It’s not a coincidence.

They expect you have to have a lot to say if there is an alignment with the ethos that is Michigan. Agree that that Michigan essay generally would not be used anywhere else.

How would you describe the Michigan “ethos”?

Leaders and Best.

Should an OOS applicant quote that in their "Why Michigan" essay, or would it seem too obvious or trite?

I have a grad degree from Michigan. I think it's a bit too obvious. They sing that phrase at the end of advertisements for the University of Michigan medical system. In-staters also have to be restrained from being too obvious in their essays.

Better is to summarize a coherent plan for accessing specific programs and resources that align with your goals.

And to make some heartfelt observations about why you'd like to attend. Hopefully the football fight song slogan isn't the biggest reason.

For those who want info on comments on admissions files, you can find kids on YouTube talking about their visits to review their files.

The Ross ones were pretty enlightening.

Holistically, the notes call out strong points of your app, show some ratings, and may note a few questions or less-strong things. Call you out on a bit of b.s. Note a gap. So they are paying attention. There's not a ton of commentary but sufficient care is taken.

We know a kid who got into Engineering off the waitlist in the month of May. His AO communicated to him some advice about maybe taking a class or two over the summer to catch up with science. Other than that, I haven't heard of individual outreach post-admission regarding the apps.

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Anonymous wrote:Michigan loves that long 550 word essay. There’s a reason why it is so long. It’s not a coincidence.

They expect you have to have a lot to say if there is an alignment with the ethos that is Michigan. Agree that that Michigan essay generally would not be used anywhere else.

How would you describe the Michigan “ethos”?

"Leaders and best" - they mean it! So much confidence, volume and energy at that school. My DD calls me every day as she walks to class and she's saying hello to everyone, so excited about her day, what she's learning, the game that weekend, meeting her friend at a new coffee shop on State Street, what her career advisor suggested for next summer, what her sorority is planning next week, etc. There's just a lot of life, a lot of smart, energized people, a lot going on. And a lot of kids of alumnae to keep it going for generations.

Thank you for being so specific! This sounds awesome - and completely consistent with what we picked up on our visit.

That said, I get that the energy at Michigan is A LOT - and not the right fit for every kid. Interestingly, it was the first school we toured, and it completely lit up our DD, who was surprised to love such a big school. The experience ended up changing the entire direction of her college search.

On that note, now that you see how happy your DD is at Michigan, where else do you think she'd have thrived? Wisconsin is already on our DD's list. Any other suggestions?

Thanks again!

I am another Michigan parent. Agree with Wisconsin. I would check out Indiana, MSU, and Pitt. Taking into account differences in academic units/relative strength of majors and preferred campus location.

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Anonymous wrote:How serious should it be? It talks about future plans? Are they referring to career goals?

Here's the prompt:

At the University of Michigan, we are focused on developing leaders and citizens who will challenge the present and enrich the future. In your essay, share with us how you are prepared to contribute to these goals. This could include the people, places, experiences, or aspirations that have shaped your journey and future plans. (Required for all applicants; 100 word minimum; 300 word maximum.)

Michigan gets like 90,000 applications.

They aren't reading the essays. It is mathematically impossible.

I've seen the job postings. Do you think they pay people to stare into space?

Maybe they aren't reading all of them.

I think that is precisely what a significant proportion of Michigan undergrads are doing as they sit in their cavernous auditorium classrooms.

And you're not there. So your opinions are worthless.

How do you know I’m not there? Thems some big classrooms: you need to do a more thorough search.

If you were that lazy and vacant, you would be sleeping in and reading the notes later. Duh. That, along with the wording of your original post, makes it clear that you are not an undergrad.

You are inadvertently indicting the writing ability of Michigan undergrads. At least a SLAC teaches kids to write!

12 pages of books written by alumni.

https://michigantoday.umich.edu/alumni/books/

Slightly Off Topic, but Madison >>> Ann Arbor though obviously UM is a "better" school. But there is a lot of overlap for OOS applicants who want the big school experience. Just a lot of energy at both schools.

Anonymous wrote:These schools know these essays are just a bunch of smoke being blown up their @sses, right? Why do 17 and 18 year olds have to all know exactly who they are, what they want to be, and have a 10-year plan to get there? Isn’t figuring out all of that what college is *for*?

Agree, it’s such ludicrous performative BS

Having gone to both Michigan and Cornell, the schools are so similar. It's true that when Cornell was founded it was in part influenced by the Michigan model. I will admit though Ann Arbor >>> Ithaca. The Michigan campus is much more seamlessly integrated with the city. Also, I hated navigating the hills in Ithaca during the winter (fell on my behind multiple times, you literally need snow shoes 😂)

My Cornell kid was choosing btw Michigan, Cornell and UCLA.

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Anonymous wrote:Michigan loves that long 550 word essay. There’s a reason why it is so long. It’s not a coincidence.

They expect you have to have a lot to say if there is an alignment with the ethos that is Michigan. Agree that that Michigan essay generally would not be used anywhere else.

How would you describe the Michigan “ethos”?

"Leaders and best" - they mean it! So much confidence, volume and energy at that school. My DD calls me every day as she walks to class and she's saying hello to everyone, so excited about her day, what she's learning, the game that weekend, meeting her friend at a new coffee shop on State Street, what her career advisor suggested for next summer, what her sorority is planning next week, etc. There's just a lot of life, a lot of smart, energized people, a lot going on. And a lot of kids of alumnae to keep it going for generations.

Thank you for being so specific! This sounds awesome - and completely consistent with what we picked up on our visit.

That said, I get that the energy at Michigan is A LOT - and not the right fit for every kid. Interestingly, it was the first school we toured, and it completely lit up our DD, who was surprised to love such a big school. The experience ended up changing the entire direction of her college search.

On that note, now that you see how happy your DD is at Michigan, where else do you think she'd have thrived? Wisconsin is already on our DD's list. Any other suggestions?

Thanks again!

My DC that loves Michigan is applying to Wisconsin, Cornell, BC, Georgia, Florida, Indiana, & UCLA.

Also, USC (Univ. of Southern California).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Michigan loves that long 550 word essay. There’s a reason why it is so long. It’s not a coincidence.

They expect you have to have a lot to say if there is an alignment with the ethos that is Michigan. Agree that that Michigan essay generally would not be used anywhere else.

How would you describe the Michigan “ethos”?

"Leaders and best" - they mean it! So much confidence, volume and energy at that school. My DD calls me every day as she walks to class and she's saying hello to everyone, so excited about her day, what she's learning, the game that weekend, meeting her friend at a new coffee shop on State Street, what her career advisor suggested for next summer, what her sorority is planning next week, etc. There's just a lot of life, a lot of smart, energized people, a lot going on. And a lot of kids of alumnae to keep it going for generations.

Thank you for being so specific! This sounds awesome - and completely consistent with what we picked up on our visit.

That said, I get that the energy at Michigan is A LOT - and not the right fit for every kid. Interestingly, it was the first school we toured, and it completely lit up our DD, who was surprised to love such a big school. The experience ended up changing the entire direction of her college search.

On that note, now that you see how happy your DD is at Michigan, where else do you think she'd have thrived? Wisconsin is already on our DD's list. Any other suggestions?

Thanks again!

My DC that loves Michigan is applying to Wisconsin, Cornell, BC, Georgia, Florida, Indiana, & UCLA.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Michigan loves that long 550 word essay. There’s a reason why it is so long. It’s not a coincidence.

They expect you have to have a lot to say if there is an alignment with the ethos that is Michigan. Agree that that Michigan essay generally would not be used anywhere else.

How would you describe the Michigan “ethos”?

"Leaders and best" - they mean it! So much confidence, volume and energy at that school. My DD calls me every day as she walks to class and she's saying hello to everyone, so excited about her day, what she's learning, the game that weekend, meeting her friend at a new coffee shop on State Street, what her career advisor suggested for next summer, what her sorority is planning next week, etc. There's just a lot of life, a lot of smart, energized people, a lot going on. And a lot of kids of alumnae to keep it going for generations.

Thank you for being so specific! This sounds awesome - and completely consistent with what we picked up on our visit.

That said, I get that the energy at Michigan is A LOT - and not the right fit for every kid. Interestingly, it was the first school we toured, and it completely lit up our DD, who was surprised to love such a big school. The experience ended up changing the entire direction of her college search.

On that note, now that you see how happy your DD is at Michigan, where else do you think she'd have thrived? Wisconsin is already on our DD's list. Any other suggestions?

Thanks again!

Michigan Mom here - yes, Wisconsin, Maryland or other big flagships, Cornell was another big draw, BC.
And you're right it's not for everyone - second kid is NOT interested and currently applying to tiny SLACs!

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Michigan loves that long 550 word essay. There’s a reason why it is so long. It’s not a coincidence.

They expect you have to have a lot to say if there is an alignment with the ethos that is Michigan. Agree that that Michigan essay generally would not be used anywhere else.

How would you describe the Michigan “ethos”?

Leaders and Best.

Should an OOS applicant quote that in their "Why Michigan" essay, or would it seem too obvious or trite?

Do a little digging about this online. You’ll find something.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Michigan loves that long 550 word essay. There’s a reason why it is so long. It’s not a coincidence.

They expect you have to have a lot to say if there is an alignment with the ethos that is Michigan. Agree that that Michigan essay generally would not be used anywhere else.

How would you describe the Michigan “ethos”?

Leaders and Best.

Should an OOS applicant quote that in their "Why Michigan" essay, or would it seem too obvious or trite?