| In all honesty, most people don't look at Michigan as a safety school and certainly don't see Michigan as a school that sufferes from Tufts Syndrome. The reason all of these qualified kids are getting waitlisted is simply because Michigan accepts a HUGE amount of kids early on in the admissions process, starting as early as September. Many of these students are less qualified (sometimes significantly less qualified) than the ones who apply later on and get waitlisted, and Michigan just doesn't have the space to take everyone deserving of admission. So their pool of admitted students isn't based as much on the most deserving students, or even the ones who want to go there the most, as it is at most other schools of its caliber. To an extent, it's understandable given the school's large size, which makes it harder to predict numbers of who will attend and who won't. But the reality is that there is going to be a lot of ill-will towards Michigan because many qualified students who had it as a first choice won't get accepted while some less qualifed than them will, a phenomenon that you won't see as much at other top 25 universities.
Getting into Michigan is as much based on luck and timing as it is being a qualified student. It's sad, but true, and it's the reason why I am forced to attend Emory next year instead of Michigan. |