Yup, I completely agree with you @Osserpusser.
“However, the fact that the school defers so many overqualified applicants is proof enough that the school wants to keep its admissions rate low, as that directly influences their national rankings.”
sgballsta, is there such a thing as an “overqualified” applicant at Michigan? Not really. The top 25% of admitted students have perfect 4.0 GPAs taking a curriculum made up almost entirely of AP classes their last two years and score over 2250/34 on the SAT/ACT. And although it is true that many students with perfect grades and test scores were deferred while applicants with less than stellar credentials were admitted, the acceptance rate for stellar students was still significantly higher than the acceptance rate for students with more standard credentials.
“I don’t really plan on going to UMich, so maybe my deferral was a good thing, as I wasn’t truly committed and someone who was dedicated to the school got in instead of me.”
That’s the point many of us have made. At the EA stage, Michigan gauges interest more closely than at the RD stage. Michigan’s two essays are fairly specific, one regarding a community you belong to and the other about Michigan. Only students who are really passionate about the school will make the time and effort to write convincing essays.
@fdizzle I was rejected from my #1 school so I’m still in the process of shifting my priorities. I love UMich but am still waiting to hear back from other schools. I’d say there’s a solid chance I’ll attend but I’m not certain
Nice! I’m sure we’ll meet on campus someday if you decide to attend! Good luck with your other colleges!
Those are are saying it is difficult to transfer from LSA to the CoE are incorrect. It is in fact easy, if you are good in mathematics and science. A 3.0+ GPA in the core Engineering courses (Math 115, 116, Chem 130 with lab 125/126, Physics 140 with lab 141, Engineering 100 and 101) usually almost guarantees a transfer to the CoE from LSA. A student capable of handling Engineering material should have no trouble taking the 6 courses and two labs listed above their first year at Michigan. In fact, most students who are able to handle the Engineering core have taken advanced classes in high school (AP, A Level, HL IB etc…) and can skip half of the core requirements listed above.
Because of my AP scores, I can pretty much skip pretty most of those classes.
Okay, so say it is not too difficult to transfer from LSA to the CoE. Would it then be advantageous for me to change my college of choice to LSA? Again, I am afraid that the RD application pool for LSA could be as strong or even stronger than the RD application pool for CoE given the apparent number of deferrals this year.
@alexandre please don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m very much interested in this exact topic and I’m wondering what expertise you have in this particular subject that people on this thread can follow your advice. I myself have been wondering if I should change my application to LSA from CoE as my application was deferred and I believe I would have a much stronger chance of admittance to LSA
lialex14, I am not sure if switching your application from Engineering to LSA is wise, regardless of which college is harder to get into. The switch itself could raise a red flag, and that is not something you want to do, especially that you main essay for Michigan is about LSA, not CoE.
nosyla, I have known many students who switched from LSA to Engineering over the years. For those who have completed the core with satisfactory grades, it was, in most cases anyway, merely a formality. In this regard, Michigan is no different from other elite universities, where switching majors is easy thanks to unlimited resources.
The only program that is restricted at Michigan is Ross.
You may find this link helpful. If you scroll to the bottom of the page, the minimum GPA is listed for each major. As you can see, a 3.0 GPA is sufficient for all majors save BME, where a 3.2 GPA is required. Unlike transfer from another university, the minimum GPA requested for a cross-campus transfer usually guarantees the transfer.
http://www.engin.umich.edu/college/admissions/undergrad/cross-campus/requirements
Happy New Year! May 2015 bring many college acceptances! 
@Alexandre re: @lilalex14 You’re missing the point. While I still disagree that transferring cross campus to COE from LAS is “easy” (it is a competitive application process with minimum requirements that even if met does NOT guarantee admission), the point here is that she should not switch her deferred EA application to LSA. That is a huge red flag for the admissions committee, who will know exactly what she’s doing. It would be a near impossibility (and a lie) to convince them you’ve had a complete change of heart about CoE And now want LSA. I strongly advise against it.
@Alexandre I would also love to know your connection to Michigan. You are a Super Moderator and seem very very knowledgeable about UM. You often refer to seeing things “happen over the years”, so are you staff? Hey, you outright predicted Harbaugh as coach!!! You must have some great connection! FYI, I am a current parent.
Happy New Year all!
I agree Osserpusser, switching the application from CoE to LSA is unwise. It will definitely draw unwanted attention.
But I disagree about cross-campus transfers from LSA to the CoE. It definitely requires some effort academically. Getting a 3.0 in the core classes is not a walk in the park. And then there is the inevitable administrative work. But if one does well in the core courses, transferring is pretty straightforward. There are no guarantees mind you, but it is highly unusual for a cross-campus transfer to be denied if the student meets the requirements.
I have no official connection to Michigan, other than being an alumnus (LSA, class of '96). But I am definitely passionate about Michigan and have taken the time to know as much as possible about the University.
As for Harbaugh, I simply noticed that all the naysayers were tied to the NFL and had no appreciation for the Michigan tradition. Once I separated myself from that, it became clear that Michigan was in fact a very plausible and appealing option for Harbaugh, especially considering his experience with the 49ers.
I would hope that people reading this would know to trust Alexandre’s words over most anyone else here, but I want to make sure to corroborate what he says regarding LSA-to-CoE transfers as being relatively easy and straightforward. Is it as easy as snap and you’re done? No, but as a current student I know multiple people who have tried to make the transfer, all did so successfully with comparatively little effort and no issues. I’m honestly not sure why and how Osserpusser as a parent can disagree so confidently with what Alexandre has said (it is not a competitive process in the sense that your “transfer application” is not really being thrown into a pool like how Ross does it, and meeting the minimum GPA requirement does essentially guarantee admission barring extreme circumstances).
I would definitely agree that you shouldn’t change your current application at this point, but that is even supported further by how easy it is transfer once you’re admitted to Michigan and attending.
@nosyla @sgballsta @desie1
It was her overall SAT score. I have no idea how well-written her essay was but she wrote about being pretty much the only girl in the school’s engineering/computer programming classes (and it’s a school of 3000+ kids). Her ECs are pretty average; they’re mostly engineering-related or school-sponsored though. My friend also comes from a significant amount of money (due to both her parents being chemists at Lilly and her family’s ownersgip of a treefarm), so UMich could see it as getting her OOS money. Unfortunately, she probably will not go blue. I talked with her this weekend and she will most likely attend rose-hulman.
I am not sure it is unfortunate umichmaybe. I question your friend’s ability to cope with the rigors of Michigan Engineering. 3.7 GPA with 24 ACT does not scream CoE material. At least at RH, she will have a lot of support from the professors. At Michigan, like at any major research university, it is, to a large extent, sink or swim. So in her case, RH, which is equally awesome in Engineering mind you, makes sense.
@umichmaybe - I have two daughters in engineering, a freshman at U Mich and a senior at RHIT. Feel free to message me if your friend has any specific questions and I will do my best to answer.
@khaleesi79 i dont know, but sometimes i wonder the same thing. some people are just lucky, and luck will take them far. others work hard but still fail and get no recognition. i guess its something u just have to live with
When are we going to hear from them? I just sent my mid-year report and wish for the best…
Last year some results started being released on January 31st.
Decision: Deferred
Applied to which school/college: Engineering for Comp Sci
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2310 (710 CR)
SAT II: 800 both Math II and Chem
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.85
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 24 of about 300
AP (place score in parenthesis): Human Geo (5), Bio (2012 version, 5), Euro (4), Chem (5), Physics C Mechanics (5), Comp Sci (5), Calc BC (5, AB subs core - 5)
Senior Year Course Load: AP US Gov, AP Macro, AP Physics C EM (our school separates Mech and EM), AP Latin, AP Stats, Accelerated English, Honors PLTW Engineering course
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): FBLA for 4 years, Math Olympiad for 4 years (co prez), Science Olympiad for 2 years (VP), Comp Sci Club for 2 years, Video Game Production Club (founder), High School Swim team for 4 years (varsity all years), Club swimming for 10 years
Job/Work Experience: Lifeguard at local YMCA
Volunteer/Community service: Swim team at Y (a couple of times a year), local hospital (4 hours weekly since Sept. 2013), FBLA (maybe 80 hours total in 4 years)
Summer Activities: work (LG)
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Summary: Taking AP Bio freshman year was quite the adventure, but it taught me how hard classes could actually be. I think 10/10.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): First teacher: math (BC), also sponsors
Teacher Rec #1: Math Olympiad, I think 9 or 10 of 10 because she knew me as a club member, officer, and a student.
Teacher Rec #2: Comp Sci, taught me twice (also intro course), knew I sometimes slacked but still got work done, did well on his tests so 7 or 8 of 10
Counselor Rec: meh probably generic so 5 or 6 of 10
Additional Rec: none
Interview: none
Other
State (if domestic applicant): PA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: male
Income Bracket: large enough (no aid)
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none
Reflection
Strengths: SAT score
Weaknesses: Awards - wish I had some better ones (FBLA Nationals)
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: SAT score definitely helped, I think my essay was vital to my application.
Where else was I accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted at Penn State, Pitt, Case Western
FYI - contacted University of Michigan via chat about correcting info on the common app (S mistakenly checked box for financial aid needed) - was told that it had no bearing on admissions but also gave me an e-mail to send the correction to - which I did. Not sure if that’s the truth or not.