collageIn recent years, the University of Michigan has opened its doors to more and more out-of-state and international students than at any point in the school’s history. Today, roughly half of the undergraduate student population are non-Michigan residents. A decade ago, 64% were Michigan natives. The 30,000+ current Wolverine undergrads are a more high-achieving bunch than ever before, typically earning near-perfect GPAs in high school and SAT/ACT scores in at least the 85th percentile. If you aim to join this elite cohort, you’ll need to possess a solid understanding of how the Michigan admissions process works. To guide you, this article will help provide:
1) An understanding of how highly-selective the University of Michigan admissions process truly is.
2) Data that will help you better assess how you measure up to the competition.
3) How the Michigan admissions committee operates and what they look for in a successful candidate.
To accomplish these goals, we will touch on the following topics:
- Michigan’s Class of 2025 acceptance rate
- SAT, ACT, GPA and class rank of accepted Michigan applicants
- Admissions trends at the University of Michigan
- The demographics of current Michigan undergraduates
- Michigan’s yield rate
- How Michigan’s admissions officers evaluate candidates
- Tips for applying to Michigan
- How to assess whether applying to Michigan is even worth the $75 application fee (for you)
Let’s begin with an examination of the most recent admissions data.
Michigan: Acceptance Rate – Class of 2025
Michigan received 83,029 applications for a place in the 2021-22 freshman class and accepted 16,235 candidates for an 18.2% acceptance rate. This is lower than the mark for the Class of 2024 which saw 16,974 applicants offered admission from a pool of 65,021–an acceptance rate of 26%.
Michigan Admissions – SAT, ACT, GPA and Class Rank
Of those entering Michigan’s Class of 2025, the middle 50% range on the SAT was 1400-1540; the ACT range was 32-35. The median unweighted GPA was 3.9. Applicants to UMich are not required to submit a class rank but, typically, close to 80%+ place in the top 10% of their high school class.
Admissions Trends & Notes
- Applications rose from 65,021 to 83,029 in the 2020-21 admissions cycle.
- The in-state acceptance rate is far higher than the acceptance rate for non-residents—for the Class of 2024, 47.5% of state taxpayers’ children were accepted compared to 21.9% of out-of-state applicants.
- 14% of current undergraduates are first-generation college students.
- 19% of current undergrads are Pell Grant recipients.
- 17% of current undergraduates identify as LGBTQ+.
Who Actually Gets Into Michigan?
Let’s look at the demographics of Michigan undergraduates:
Geographically, the greatest number of Wolverines hail from the following states (in order):
- Michigan: 16,698
- New York: 2,075
- Illinois: 1,834
- California: 1,592
- Ohio: 591
- Florida: 562
- Massachusetts: 493
- Pennsylvania: 462
- Maryland: 433
Of course, it pays to be an applicant from a less-populated state since Michigan likes each class to be comprised of residents of all 50 U.S. States. The states with the fewest current UMich students are as follows:
- Idaho: 10
- Wyoming: 4
- North Dakota: 5
- South Dakota: 7
- Montana: 9
- Mississippi: 8
- West Virginia: 9
Looking at ethnic identity, the breakdown undergraduate students currently attending the university is as follows:
- Asian American: 16.3%
- Hispanic: 7.0%
- African American: 4.0%
- International: 7.4%
- Caucasian: 55.2%
The breakdown by gender of all current undergraduates reveals and equal number of men and women, a rarity in today’s postsecondary landscape (outside of engineering-heavy schools). Many institutions have more female students than males.
- Male: 49.6%
- Female: 50.4%
Some of the top public high schools in the state send massive numbers of students each year. One recent freshman class included representatives from the following schools:
- Oakland International Academy: 98
- Ann Arbor Pioneer High School: 87
- Northville High School: 78,
- Troy High School: 65
- Novi High School: 62
- Ann Arbor Skyline High School: 62
- Ann Arbor Huron High School: 55
- Bloomfield Hills High School: 51
- Saline High School: 49
- Rochester Adams High School: 46
University Of Michigan Ranking
United States
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
=24th
World University Rankings 2022
24th
US College Rankings 2022
16th
World Reputation Rankings 2021
ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN-ANN ARBOR
A public university founded in 1817, the University of Michigan had a rustic beginning. At its campus in Ann Arbor, west of Detroit, cows owned by the faculty once grazed, and as late as 1845, wheat was grown on site as part of a janitor’s remuneration.
By 1866, the university had become the largest in the country. Now, the University of Michigan is one of the biggest research universities in the United States. It boasts alumni including Gerald Ford, former US president; Larry Page, co-founder of Google; and actor James Earl Jones, the voice of Darth Vader.
The university’s sporting tradition began in 1865, and its sports teams, collectively known as the Michigan Wolverines, have won more than 50 national championships in 12 sports. Why the wolverine became the university’s mascot is a mystery, as although the nickname caught on in the middle of the 19th century, the first verified sighting of the animal in Michigan state did not occur until 2004.
Michigan’s mission is to serve the people of Michigan and the world through “preeminence in creating, communicating, preserving and applying knowledge, art, and academic values, and in developing leaders and citizens who will challenge the present and enrich the future”. It offers 250 undergraduate majors, 100 doctoral and 200 master’s programmes, as well as more than 1,400 student clubs.
The university has no shortage of bizarre traditions. On campus sits “The Cube”, a huge black object so finely balanced on one corner that students can spin it around despite its great weight. One myth is that the president gives it a push each morning in order to keep the campus running smoothly.
When students first arrive at Michigan they walk through a campus fountain to make them an “official wolverine”. After graduation, they walk the other way through the water, signifying their departure to join the professional world. And don’t step on the brass “M” at the centre of the campus, or exam failure awaits.
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