I submitted my application for early action as an OOS resident with a 26 composite ACT with writing and found out today that I was deferred. However today I just received my new ACT score without writing from the December testing and my score went up 4 points to a composite of 30. Right away I sent my new score to UMich through the ACT website, is there any chance it will help me get accepted? My semester grades will show steady grades as well.
I’d say the increase in score will definitely help. Improvement is improvement, and that’s what they’re looking for in deferred students.
@oliviae Do you know if the chances are low for admittance of deferred students or not?
Congratulations on the improvement in your ACT score! You are definitely in range for Michigan if a) the remainder of your application is strong and b) you are not applying to engineering or Ross.
Deferral means that you are put into the RD pool. It is actually pretty common, especially for in-state, and there are lots of admissions from deferred applicants. It is definitely not a polite rejection. Make sure that you let the admission office know that you are still interested and that you will attend if you are offered a place. That makes a huge difference because Michigan, like other schools, is looking to increase its yield. Since Michigan does not offer ED, it defers a lot of applicants who it believes are unlikely to attend (or have weaker applications).
Part of the reason is that in-state applicants have a yield of 80%, and OOS yield is closer to 25%. For in-state, those are Harvard like numbers, and much of it is because of the relatively low tuition, high quality, and proximity to home make it an excellent choice for Michigan residents. For OOS, Michigan is often used as a backup school to (especially) Ivy leagues and NE LACs, though that is changing. OOS students more often have ED/closer choices and voluntarily withdraw their applications, and therefore do not affect yield.
Many families from the tri-state/NYC area (especially Jewish ones) have been matriculating at Michigan for close to a century. I see the same trend starting with Asian families now, and for the same reasons -Ivy league racial and religious discrimination - which Michigan does not do. Michigan knows that OOS legacy students are more likely to attend if offered a place, and admits them more often (also like many other schools).