<p>I think UMich is my first choice because of its world class reputation as one of the best for political science. However, this school doesn’t have ED so I’m going to apply EA. I just wanted to know how helpful EA is especially for an international applicant like myself. </p>
<p>In addition, does anyone know how rigorous the curriculum is for Poli sci - is it hard to get a 4.0 GPA? Also, is UMich a major feeder school to top notch prestigious law schools, such as Harvard?</p>
<p>I liked EA because, if they’re on the fence about you, you can be deferred rather than outright rejected in the first round of decisions. It can really make or break you if you’re one of those “maybe” situations.</p>
<p>Applying EA will not enhance your chances, but applying RD will pretty much kill your chances. Most international students are admitted in the EA stages.</p>
<p>It is not easy to maintain a 4.0 GPA at Michigan. A 3.3 is fairly easy, a 3.7 requires hard work and anything over a 3.8 will require both hard work and a degree of natural academic ability.</p>
<p>Michigan is definitely a feeder into top law schools. For one, Michigan Law School is itself one of the top 10 Law schools in the US. According to legal scholars, judges and “Big Law” firms, Michigan Law is among the top 5, on par with Chicago, Columbia, NYU and UVa. Each year, Michigan Law school will admit a large number of Michigan undergraduate students and alums (over 70), of which roughly 45-50 will enrol. In addition, Michigan places another 60-70 alums in other top Law schools, including Harvard (usually 10 or so Michigan alums end up enrolling in Harvard Law School annually). Annually, between 100 and 150 Michigan graduates enrol in T14 Law schools. Few universities (Harvard, Yale and perhaps Cornell) place more than 100 of their graduates into top T14 Law schools annually, so in terms of absolute numbers, Michigan is the 4th or 5th largest feeder into top Law schools. </p>
<p>There are currently 11 Michigan alums enrolled at Yale Law School, which is pretty good, considering that only a handful of universities have 20 or more alums currently enrolled in that program. Major undergraduate institutions like Carnegie Mellon, Emory, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Rice, Tufts, Vanderbilt and Washington University-St Louis currently have between 1 and 3 students enrolled at Yale Law School.</p>
<p><a href=“Welcome | Office of the University Printer”>Welcome | Office of the University Printer;
<p>You may find this link interesting:
[Statistics</a> | Newnan Advising Center | University of Michigan](<a href=“http://www.lsa.umich.edu/advising/academicplanning/prelaw/statistics]Statistics”>http://www.lsa.umich.edu/advising/academicplanning/prelaw/statistics)</p>
<p>One of my student graduated from UMich 2 years ago went to Harvard Law School.</p>
<p>Is Michigan really your top choice? Quick browsing through your other threads show that you seem more interested in other schools…</p>
<p>Well, I am applying ED to Cornell, partly because Michigan doesn’t use the ED program.</p>
<p>And by “interest in other schools” referring to my other threads, I am simply asking others which school has a better department for political science for comparison’s sake.</p>
<p>What Alexandre said…although I have a feeling that the very strong apps. survive RD, because who else would? So as long as you’re creme of the crop your chances may be OK. However, not really worth the risk
unless you are too tied up with other stuff and UM no longer becomes a priority. </p>
<p>But if Michigan really is your first choice over Cornell, I’d say be careful.
Given your stats, I say you have a very very good chance at Cornell, ESPECIALLY ED. Be sure you won’t be disappointed if admitted. Not sure which school within Cornell you are considering, but if you haven’t already, I’d look into the ILR school. Sounds perfect for you, and I think it does have an edge on Michigan for getting into Law School, but that’s really just a guess; however, considering that ILR is as pre-law as it gets, I can’t see how it wouldn’t give you an advantage, especially with the ivy league brand. GL</p>
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<p>I don’t think undergrad major or the nameplate of the undergrad institution matter one whit for law school admission. What matters is undergrad GPA and LSAT scores. Period. The law schools themselves say so, as does every website devoted to law school admissions. The law schools are living under the tyranny of the US News rankings, far more so than undergraduate admissions offices are. The top law schools can’t afford to do anything to jeopardize their US News rankings, and their admission stats–especially undergrad GPA and LSAT scores of their entering class–figure so prominently in that, they feel they have no choice but to make those factors decisive. At the very top of the heap, Yale and Stanford are exceptions, but only because they get so many extremely qualified applicants for such a small class that they can be more ‘holistic.’ Even Harvard, with a much bigger class to fill, has to play the numbers game.</p>
<p>That said, Michigan grads do just fine in the competition. You just need a high GPA and a strong LSAT score. You don’t need to be a poli sci major; that’s fine if that’s where your interests lie, but statistically, math, philosophy, and even Classics majors have a better track record of gaining admission to top law schools, possibly because math and philosophy teach you to think logically and rigorously, and philosophy and Classics train you to read obscure texts carefully and critically, developing skills that may allow you to do better on the LSAT. But ultimately it’s your GPA and LSAT score, not your major, that will matter.</p>
<p>While you make a good point cakebatter, for international students, Michigan is as selective as Cornell. I have seen two students get into Cornell (one of them RD the other ED) last year from Dubai, and both were rejected by Michigan (and they applied EA). If he likes Cornell almost as much as Michigan, I think ED to Cornell and EA to Michigan is the way to go. Either way, he gets a great college experience at one of the best universities in the country. Of course, if the OP prefers Michigan over Cornell by a significant margin, then I agree that he should not apply ED.</p>
<p>bclintonk, I am not sure I agree that law schools do not care for undergraduate institutions attended. There is too much evidence to support the opposite. Close to 80% of Yale’s class attended top 1% colleges and universities. That is very concrete evidence that law schools do in fact care for undergraduate institution attended. I agree that it is not the only criteria. GPA and LSAT obviously count for more, but if two applicants have similar academic records, and there is a significant difference in the quality of the undergraduate institution attended, I am confident that law schools will typically accept the student from the better university or college. Law schools will not admit that because they want to encourage students from all universities to apply.</p>
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<p>I think that’s mostly a function of LSAT scores which closely correlate with the SAT/ACT scores that got those students into top 1% colleges and universities in the first place. But notice I also said Yale and Stanford Law Schools are exceptions: they have such tiny entering classes and get so many applications from uber-qualified candidates (and have such high yields) that they can afford to be more ‘holistic’ than other top law schools, which might well translate into a preference for applicants from “name-brand” schools. But you still need a top GPA and LSAT score to be in that pool that is evaluated holistically. The other top 15 or top 20 law schools don’t much care about the undergrad institution because they’re locked into such a fierce competition to maintain their rankings.</p>
<p>I do think Michigan Law gives some preferential treatment to Michigan undergrads, however, which is a positive about attending Michigan as an undergrad if you’re contemplating law school.</p>
<p>They say right on their website. Early action doesn’t mean they’ll give your app any more review or any special treatment</p>
<p>Yeah…right! LOL! Only a very naive person would believe a university that says that ED/EA applicants are not given preference. Don’t get me wrong, most universities have an obligation to say that they do not give preference to any one type of applicant, be it ED/EA, wealthy (not requiring FA), URM etc… There are legal implications to making such an admission. However, in an age when all universities are protecting the yield, trying to outdo other universities in terms of selectivity, facing public scrutiny and watching the bottom line, evaluating an applicant’s interest in their institution is definitely a priority. In some cases, like Chicago or Georgetown, EA does not seem to give an advantage to applicants. I also think that Michigan residents do not benefit much from applying EA to Michigan for obvious reasons (low cost of attendance and limited number of applicants for a large number of places). But given the intense competition for the rapidly growing OOS and international applicant pools, and the lower yield for such applicants, EA makes a very real difference for non-residents.</p>