I have read so much about Michigan - that they want to know it is your first choice. Besides visiting the school, how else can you demonstrate that Michigan is your absolute, hands down first choice?
Thank you for ideas!!!
Correct me if I’m mistaken, but I believe there’s a section on the Common App where you can list the colleges you are applying to in the order of first choice. I think Michigan looks at this to gauge your interest, so it’s best to place it as first. It can also help to demonstrate passion through the essays by mentioning professors or specific departments that you are interested in. Good luck!
Apply early, and talk to current students (if you can) about what they love about the school. Then pick the stuff that resonates with you, and include that in your supplement.
A big mistake people make when visiting their college of choice is that they only go to the generic planned campus tours.
In my essay, I made it very clear that I talked to a professor from the academic program i was interested in which further fueled my interest in the school. I specifically name-dropped him in the essay, but I highly doubt admission would actually call and check about me and our conversation. I also mentioned I could picture myself using their facilities such as the CAEN Labs to contribute to the MRacing Formula SAE by helping re-designing their vehicle chassis in the Wilson Center. Briefly mention your conversation with their student team members. I would even drop campus lingo such as Chez Betty or the UGLI/Dude( but don’t go too overboard though since admission might not know and get confused). Try to find the right balance between having good details and good essay flow, too many trivial details might distrupt your sentence fluency.
Basically, try to reveal to the admissions team that you know more than the average applicant who simply browses the basic info on umich.edu. Try to show you actually know them inside out.
It’s also not about how the university can benefit you, but also how you can give back to the university (eg. participating in biological research at the NCRC or expanding the environmental startup scene in Ann Arbor).