Director of Admissions said this...OMG

<p>So I was at a college fair at school today and UMich was there and a presentation was given by the director (or assistant director..one of those) of Admissions at Umich. She said this fact about Umich:
"There were around 40,000 or so applications sent to the University of Michigan on our first year of the Common App. I printed this off this morning and this is what the statistics are SO FAR. 50,000 applications are in progress and 6,000 of them are already submitted. These numbers will go up SUBSTANTIALLY in the next couple of weeks, even months".</p>

<p>WHOAH WHOAH. 50,000 SO FAR? compared to 40,000 total last year? I mean there is still a long time left..how high will the numbers go up? What will be the acceptance rate?</p>

<p>O dear..</p>

<p>EDIT: (to clear things up)
Last year’s class profile: 40,000 applications in TOTAL.
THIS YEAR so far: 50,000 (and counting)</p>

<p>-____-</p>

<p>Well UMich will accept approximately the same amount of students they accepted last year. However, the admission rate will go down because the higher the # of apps, the lower its acceptance rate. For example, if Harvard accepted 2000 app out of 20000, acceptance rate is 10%. But if 40000 apps applied the following year and they accepted only 2000, the rate would go down to 5%.</p>

<p>wow… you sure you guys want to go to Michigan? I mean… I think we get how acceptance rates work and what the AD said haha</p>

<p>but yeah, sucks for you guys. Unless you are IS. Then everything is handed to you on a silver platter.</p>

<p>50,000 applications in progress does not mean that all 50,000 will be submitted. The common app creates statistics based on the number of students who list the school as one of their colleges even if the application is not completed.</p>

<p>Thank you res ipsa for clearing that up</p>

<p>But you should be very worried!!!</p>

<p>I am not expecting all 50,000 to complete and submit they applications, but at the same time, I also think many applicants that have not yet “in progress” will eventually apply, so all said, 50,000 sounds about right. I was conservatively estimating 48,000. Either way, Michigan’s acceptance rate will drop to 30% next year. </p>

<p>This is not surprising though. Joining the common application has that effect on universities. Chicago’s acceptance rate before they joined the Common App 6 years ago was 40%. It is now 15%! I suspect Michigan’s acceptance rate will eventually settle at 20%-25%? If Hoke wins us a national championship, that number could drop into the teens! ;)</p>

<p>Uof M still needs to yield a target freshman class that will enroll and attend. How many of those 50,000 are from kids that a) don’t understand what it costs b) really have no intention of attending? No matter what they have to figure out how many acceptances to send out to yield the enrolling freshman class.</p>

<p>Curious as to whether they will be back to normal levels for their freshman class size - anyone know? My understanding is that they over-enrolled for fall of 2010 so they took fewer for fall of 2011. Hoping that means there will be more accepted this time…</p>

<p>momofthreeboys, the yield last year dropped from 41% to 40%. The applicant pool is growing, but the appeal of the university is remaining stable. </p>

<p>Shanghaimom, Michigan over-enrolled in 2010 AND 2011. Of course, the extent was much greater in 2010, when Michigan over-enrolled close to 1,000 students while last year, only around 300 students. This year, Michigan is going to be very cautious and accept a smaller class than usual, probably around 5,600.</p>

<p>Yeah! Go class of 2014. Taking up your spots.</p>

<p>I hope the class is smaller next year. Bursely-Baits bus will be less crowded.</p>

<p>And Alexandre, I know you were probably joking, but has an improved football team every really affected the acceptance rate at a college? I mean, I guess it could, but just by having people that have no business applying apply</p>

<p>^^^^^Don’t discount football. It is what made Notre Dame a great school.</p>

<p>I was serious PDM. The year Michigan won the NC back in 1997 saw the largest increase in applications in Michigan history until last year.Why do you think USC had such a drastic change in selectivity in the past decade? In the 80s and 90s, USC football was only so-so. The return to form in the late 90s and 00s really increased the popularity of the school. Same with Duke and UNC Basketball. Never discount success on the field!</p>

<p>Makes sense. So Hoke needs to not only worry about improving our football team, but the entire school.</p>

<p>Seltivity will not improve the university, but it will make it more appealing to superficial and insecure 18 year olds.</p>

<p>I think it will improve the university over time</p>

<p>“Seltivity will not improve the university, but it will make it more appealing to superficial and insecure 18 year olds.”</p>

<p>…and quite a few older posters on this site!</p>

<p>I just think having a higher quality freshman class each year will improve the university over time</p>

<p>PDM, it is hard for Michigan to improve. The academics, the facilities, the faculty, the reputation etc… are all top notch. In that regard, Michigan is already a top 10 university. Michigan could benefit from a larger endowment (even though the endowment is the 6th largest in the US), but a lower acceptance rate will not really change much. If Michigan could invest serious money in building a kick-@ss careers facility for LSA. By kick-@ss, I am talking world-class facility with the right people in place to help attract the best recruiters and help our students with their graduate school and fellowship applications. We already have such a facility for Engineering and Ross, but LSA could use some serious help.</p>