<p>Hi everyone, this is my first time here. I'm wondering if anyone else hasn't heard from UMich.. ? I'm a violin major.</p>
<p>Welcome. If you look on the acceptances thread you will see that there are a number of acceptances to U Michigan. Most are vocal, there are some composition, oboe and piano. Didn’t see any violinists. You might give the admissions office a call since it’s mid April.</p>
<p>When did you audition? No news isn’t necessarily bad news. They may still be finishing up. Last year, they were making scholarship offers as late as the last week in April. This year, the school overall had more than 30,000 applications to process, so they seem to be running late on regular admissions, and since their scholarships also consider your FA package, it could to some degree slow down the final round of acceptances. I’ve noticed that Wolverine updates a lot on Thursday mornings so you might hear tomorrow. Otherwise, I would call them just to check. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks POTO Mom and kmccrindle… </p>
<p>I did call them up, and they said i’d hear in 2 days time… but that was… 3 days ago I believe. This is so nervewrecking… :X I auditioned via DVD… so I’m just gonna keep my fingers crossed that I’d hear back from them soon… currently my wolverine status reads " Available links will vary based on application"… Hmm.</p>
<p>That’s standard. When your status changes, it will say “View Decision” and then will either give you a direct acceptance link or tell you that your decision is in the mail.</p>
<p>wow thank you so much! you’re really knowledgeable! 
much appreciated!</p>
<p>an update!</p>
<p>After volleying of emails and some additional phonecalls, i was told that apparently there was a problem playing my dvd and that a replacement might be needed (very strange, cos a prof had emailed me beforehand to tell me that he was impressed with my recording, unless the email got sent to the wrong person?)… and subsequently, i got the email from someone else to notify me that i’d been rejected… no further explanations given… and at this point, i’m too lazy to go and ask why… suffice to say, i blew yet another 100bucks on sch application fees. </p>
<p>in any case, it makes my decision on where to go, so much easier! i don’t think i’d be able to put up with a school that has bad administration… the admin office sounds like a mess. i had initially sent in my dvd , which reached the office before the 1st Dec deadline, and in march, i got an email:
“You have indicated that you planned to submit a recording to serve as your audition; however, we have not yet received that recording. If you would like to be considered for Fall 2010 admission, please submit your recorded audition as soon as possible.” </p>
<p>After sending out an email cc-ing the relevant heads of departments and deans, i got a reply within an hr saying that it has been found. no apology whatsoever. Tsk! </p>
<p>so anyway, to cut the long story short, just my 2 cents worth for people who want to apply to umich, think carefully if you want to put yourself through all this. i am sure the teachers there are great, but bad admin can make your life a living hell.</p>
<p>Can I make a suggestion? Sit down and write a letter (not an e-mail, a letter) and send it to the dean of admissions and the head of the school. You don’t want to be nasty (won’t accomplish anything), you simply should document, as clearly and straightforwardly as you can, what happened to you during the admissions process. Include it all, the lost DVD, the claim they couldn’t play it (if they couldn’t, why didn’t they call you for another one or why did the prof e-mail that he liked your playing), make it simple and professional. </p>
<p>Why bother? Well, for one, getting it all out might bring closure to what probably is bothering you and you may even get some kind of response (maybe not, some places seem to delight in bureaucratic indifference), and maybe even an apology. I doubt it will change anything else, but it might feel better to do so, if you feel you have been wronged you have the right.</p>
<p>More importantly, maybe, just maybe, it will help some other kid not have to go through what you did.Screw ups happen, and college bureaucracies are not known for their efficiency in the first place, but maybe by letting them know someone else might catch a break down the road.</p>
<p>I wish you well, I wish you hadn’t of gone through this, and hope it all works out in the end.</p>
<p>I too am sorry you had this experience and invite you to document it. It does not reflect the experience we had with a different department, but the department we dealt with is very accustomed to tracking portfolios, as 3/4 of its applicants are by portfolio and interview. That said, UMich is a large music school and they are phenomenally busy during audition season, and I can see where it is possible applying by DVD for performance may put one at an unintended disadvantage in terms of the paperwork. It sounds like your DVD did indeed get heard but that the paper trail somehow evaporated.</p>
<p>One thing that future students reading this thread may wish to do is when fedexing DVDs to the school is to track the signature, and fax the confirmation to the admissions office saying “Please confirm that the appropriate department has received this.” My son and I periodically checked in by quick email to ensure his portfolio made it to the appropriate places. Staff was more than gracious with us.</p>
<p>Best wishes to the OP.</p>
<p>This was a tip I learned too late, posted elsewhere on these forums. When applying to colleges, include a self-addressed, stamped postcard - the blank kind you buy at the post office. On the blank side, write “Application received by ‘name of school’”. Attach a Post-it to the card, requesting that it be dropped in the mail when the application is received.</p>
<p>This card could also be included with CDs or DVDs, or other portions of an application. An easy way to keep track of materials received. (No guarantee that everyone would send it back, I guess, but the folks who have used this method did so with great success.)</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! </p>
<p>I’d bear that in mind if/when I decide to apply for summer programmes etc next time. I applied to all my schools via DVD cos I’m an international student… and unfortunately, UMich was the school that gave me the most problems. I guess it’s a blessing in disguise as well that I didn’t get in… it makes my decision on where to go so much easier.</p>
<p>One thing we tried to do on our college trips was make friends with the admissions office staff. We always found out who the faces were behind the email addresses. We brought small gifts for the staff (food works well). Have no idea if this will help us when application time comes around but at least for us it might make the process more “human”.</p>
<p>ZQ sorry about your experience. I will hope for great things in your future!</p>
<p>I really think providing feedback (nice, helpful, even if unsolicited) is useful to admissions people in planning for the future. As I have mentioned before, we had one absolutely horrendously organized audition, and feedback I provided after that audition season (after admission results) really did seem to fix some of the most egregious errors for future auditioners the next year. Feedback can’t hurt, as long as it is not provided in an angry “sour grapes” way, but in a way that is truly supposed to be helpful to the staff in the future.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>