<p>Michigan is in a different position than most other state flagship universities. Michigan State is also a large state university, so Michigan has always had the opportunity to take the students with better GPAs and test scores, and those who did not get in could still go to a large state university (MSU)</p>
<p>UMich isn’t in a “different position” than other states’ flagships. Many states have a flagship plus another big univ (often the ag/state/a&m school). UT/TAMU, IU/Purdue, Cal/UCLA, UNC/NCSU, PSU/UPitt, UAz/ASU, USC/Clemson, UGa,GT, Iowa/Iowa St, UFlorida/FSU, and so forth…</p>
<p>UMich gets about 40,000 apps…it admits about 16,000 and puts about 15,000 on the waitlist, so not many are actually rejected. It has to fill about 6200 seats in its frosh class…that’s typically a LOT more than other top privates. </p>
<p>46% of the frosh class has an ACT between 18 - 29. You won’t see that at a top private. That is a strong indication that as a public, it does feel that its mission is to educate “the masses”. (80% of its frosh submit ACT scores).</p>
<p>Very Important</p>
<p>Academic GPA
Rigor of secondary school record</p>
<p>Important</p>
<p>Application Essay
Character/Personal Qualities
First generation college student
Recommendations
Standardized Test Scores</p>
<p>Like many state schools, GPA is considered more heavily than test scores. That is done so that their schools aren’t mostly filled with upper-middle class/privileged students. Giving more weight to GPA allows them to accept the student with a 3.8 GPA and a 24 ACT from a school in a disadvantaged area. </p>
<p>Private schools can use any criteria they want for admittance. Publics tend to have to set up something objective otherwise they can be taken to court…so they give more weight to GPA.</p>