Admissions to college is not fair. So of course quoting yield protection is a cope to that unfairness. And of course yield protection occurs - although it’s far less at public schools than privates overtly as there are too many admissions applications to give that kind of thought.
Accepting to what the school is about is more what is practiced at large publics and and the end result of that can be yield protection. Fit to University goals because the higher the yield the less you spend on getting students to attend.
And guess what - you will find yourself admitted to a school over someone more qualified by you and you’ll not be admitted somewhere you are more qualified objectively on the stats you share on here. But we only focus where we are not admitted on our perceived comparative grievances.
It’s all coping to quote the essay was the reason, nobody comes from my high school, the ECs were mid or yield protection or any other reason as to why someone objectively qualified is not admitted. Because it aint fair so we find reasons. Which is fine, cope as you wish.
Basis For Selection section (p. 5) was interesting. Record and Academic GPA are only thing listed as “Very Important.” Test Scores, Essays, Recs, Character/personal qualities and 1st Gen were “Important.” Everything else (talent, geography, ECs, Volunteer work, job, etc.) were all “considered.” Under SAT/ACT policies, they recommended ACT/SAT. MY OOS-D was accepted and excelled at the objective stats that are very important and submitted a strong ACT score. Obviously, there are those postponed that are similarly qualified, so no guarantee, but interesting that she was also accepted EA to a school that required all tests taken be submitted. Maybe she found her fits?
I never said college admissions was or was not fair. Simply that yield protection is a thing. And it could very well be what explains some of the results posted here (not to mention in many of the other school threads on the board, public and private).
As for “too many admissions applications to give that kind of thought” the entire point of the very sophisticated models is that not a lot of thought needs to be given. Or more specifically how they’re used in practice, the process is iterative with the model being confirmative - in the aggregate - of who the AOs prefer.
I would again recommend empathy. How something is said is an important as what is said.
Similar story to yours. My son was class of 2015. We lived in MA, at a top, but small public school with no recent graduates attending UMich. His best friend was like your son, a top student with almost perfect SAT scores, 4.8w/4.0uw gpa, Eagle Scout, 3 sport captain including state champion lacrosse team. He was accepted EA to Harvard but postponed by Michigan. He was also later accepted RD to Stanford. Our son was a good student, but not the credentials of his friend. Michigan was our son’s first choice, so our guidance counselor relayed that to the regional coordinator. He was accepted about a month later in the second wave of post postponed students.
Only one anecdotal story, but it appeared that UMich was yield protecting.
Our daughter is applying this year, and like our son was postponed, but given our experience, we were expecting it. I liken UMich EA process as more like rolling admissions with initial results coming at an early date if that makes sense.
So don’t lose hope. Given your son’s credentials and demonstrated interest, I’d guess he has a great shot of getting in.
100%. And the existence of yield protection isn’t mutually exclusive with the notion that all accepted applicants belong. Deserving students get postponed AND accepted student earned their spot. It’s a hard topic to discuss because believing in either theory has the appearance of negativity directed one group or the other. Sensitivity is required, indeed.
Does anyone know the ACTUAL benefit to filling out the application for scholarships? Everything on their website indicates consideration is automatic, yet they still provide the opportunity to apply separately. Is it a way to show interest or is it just to provide piece of mind that a student is actually under consideration? I know merit aid for OOS is an unrealistic expectation, but curious if anyone has heard an AO speak in this topic.
No - Michigan is very strict about qualifying for in-state. I have a friend who moved here (to MI) at the beginning of DD’s junior year of HS. For her to be considered in-state, they had to submit reams of paperwork including proof that they sold their house in the state they previously lived, purchase documents for new home, tax returns, and more. This is for a girl who has gone to HS in MI for 2 years!
Not at all trying to be argumentative but understand what you mean. Are you saying on the side of yield protection that we believe if you saw the admit application of a very high qualified student that it might read something like: Over-qualified, likely to attend Ivy League, recommend postponement? Or do we believe that the Admissions supervisor takes the iterative formula from the AO review of applications and overrides admit recommendation to postponement after formula kicks out the answer of likely to attend elsewhere? Because we assume high stat student would be admitted if not for yield protection.
So i called the scholarship office to ask this question. She said that removing the application was a last minute change this year / that is why it is still up. I asked explicitly how it would be viewed when considering awarding merit and she said not at all. She actually said she would tell kids to not waste their time on application as they all probably have much better ways to spend their time!
I believe universities prefer to call it “yield management.”
As I said above, I’ve been on this forum for too many years, and I’ve witnessed high stat students get accepted, rejected and deferred in EA. And that includes my D18 who was accepted in EA.
Your welcome. I listened to it on my way to work. A few things that stood out and this was the year my son started Michigan 2017. How many times did she say something about continued interest from her reviewers or interest in the school? Like 4 times at least. So regardless what the common data set says we all have known for years that Michigan loves interest in their school and there are many ways to show that without visiting. Also. She was a top student at her average (her words) high school in Michigan. She took APs, challenged herself. When writing essays I tell students to look at the schools mission and moto. What are their values? For Michigan we all have heard of" Leaders and Best". You don’t have to say those words but some should be reflected in the Application. If you hear what she did on her Ecs, clubs, activities she clearly reflected that. She also worked. This is probably the best EC that you can have on your application. She also stated she was looked at just from the kids at her school. Very important. This is why her 1380 actually stood out. At her school this could be a very high score. Even if it’s below Michigan’s threshold.
So being a top student means so many different things.
I have also been asked to read essays on CC this year for students. Very fun and a learning experience for me. I have read some very high Stat kids and some not so much. I will tell you that not all high Stat kids write well. Engineering students tend to be less so into English. I had the pleasure to recently read one for RD Michigan. Not a super high stat kid but a fantastic essay. Also read the Ross one. Really well done.
So there are many, many reason why one gets selected and one doesn’t.
Also Michigan only takes 38%/4.0 unweighted students. 54%-3.75-3.9 and 6.4%-3.5-3.7
I think that was reflected in the acceptances. Remember CC seems to skew high stat wise. This is just a microcosm of the real world.
I have no idea how UMICH implements a yield curve. What I’m saying is UMICH has more qualified applicants than they can accept. Those that are accepted are qualified and deserving. While I don’t have any actual knowledge about yield protection, I would think there are also students being deferred who are also qualified and deserving. My point was that both can be true and it’s important not to marginalize either group of students.
Pre-Covid, EA decisions were in December, with additional waves starting in January.
Post-Covid, they release EA decisions in January and (mostly) have one RD decision date around March 31/April 1. There are a few programs or very small in-state announcements that could drop in the interim, but overall RD and EA deferred applicants should expect to hear in 2 months from now.
So what you are saying is very true. Michigan could make another school just out of the RD and wait listed students and would have a rather impressive roster of students. Many schools can say this also. All my sons friends at Michigan were all pretty active in high school and all were that kid from their schools it seemed. They all were very very active on Michigan’s campus also. So being active in high school might mean you will continue that once you get on campus. They all achieved great things on campus and got early internships and job offers. I will promise you this. Michigan has a clue what their doing. All really really good kids that I have met also. With all the apps out there you can’t take everyone. So I think there is some “luck” to this process as well. All the people I have known that got accepted felt they deserved it but they all mention how lucky they are to be there. It’s more of a priviledge then an expectation.
Idk, as an OOS admitted student who really wants to go to UMICH as it’s their top choice, I am still going to fill it out. The LSA 4 year renewable scholarship is lengthy but anything that I can do to maybe get some money is what I’m going to do! Also I called UMICH financial aid yesterday and they’re estimating to release the financial aid/reward letters late February but now that the FAFSA is delayed i have no idea:smiling_face_with_tear: I just wanna know how much going there is going to be so I can make a decision
OOS Daughter accepted EA
LSA - Residential College (Math)
4.0 UW/5.26 W
1480 SAT
8 AP’S plus two college classes
Light EC’s
Only leadership was captain of chess team
Excellent essay
to this process as well. All the people I have known that got accepted felt they deserved it but they all mention how lucky they are to be there. It’s more of a priviledge then an expectation.
I just wanna know how much going there is going to be so I can make a decision