<p>I was just wondering - I've been researching and stalking a lot of the Ivy and top 20 colleges - and I found University of Michigan to be different. How and why is the acceptance rate so high for a top 20 college? And, is UMich often looked at as a backup school if one gets rejected from the other top 20's?</p>
<p>Well, 51% was the admit rate in 2010. In the past few years, the amount of applications has increased thus making it more competitive. Still, some of the best go to UMich.</p>
<ol>
<li>Admissions rates don’t make a quality education. </li>
<li>UM’s admission rate last year was about 39%, and this year is expected to be between 30% and 33%</li>
</ol>
<p>“I was just wondering - I’ve been researching…”</p>
<p>Grade F on research.</p>
<p>Acceptance rate doesn’t correlate to how good a college is. Florida Memorial University has a 10% acceptance rate, but that doesn’t it’s necessarily good (or bad either). To be honest, I think it’s nonsensical to put into an order of best to worst. The quality of a college can’t be defined as a single dimension variable. Different studies list colleges differently anyways.</p>
<p>Actually, UM32194 and rjkofnovi are fools. UMich accepts 50% of applicants.</p>
<p>Straight from the school website:</p>
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</p>
<p>Though, I do agree that acceptance rate bares almost no correlation to academic quality.</p>
<p>Actually, you’re a fool. That statistic is a year old. This is 2011, not 2010. People who applied for admission FOR Fall 2010 applied IN the fall of 2009.</p>
<p>Yes, it was about 40% for the class entering in the Fall of 2011 (it had been about 50% for the class entering in the Fall of 2010):</p>
<p>[About</a> Our Applicants | University of Michigan Office of Admissions](<a href=“http://www.admissions.umich.edu/drupal/about-our-applicants]About”>http://www.admissions.umich.edu/drupal/about-our-applicants)</p>
<p>Old statistics. Applications have spiked a lot recently, the acceptance rate this year will be in the low 30’s.</p>
<p>Especially since they only started using Common App in the past couple of years, if I recall correctly.</p>
<p>Last year it was around 40%, but once again, admissions aren’t the only factor of a school’s value. Michigan can also afford to accept many more applicants because it has many more spots to fill and is a bigger school. If Michigan was the same size as Harvard or Yale, the acceptance rate would be around 20% probably. Size matters too, Harvard would admit more people if they added 4 new dorms and staff to acommadate the new students. It still however, would be just as good a school as before.</p>
<p>
novi was right on – Grade F on research. That goes for you too.</p>
<p>Straight from the school website:
[About</a> Our Applicants | University of Michigan Office of Admissions](<a href=“http://www.admissions.umich.edu/drupal/about-our-applicants]About”>http://www.admissions.umich.edu/drupal/about-our-applicants)</p>
<p>"Admitted Student Profile
2011 Freshman Class Profile</p>
<p>38,976 Applications
15,559 Admitted"</p>
<p>^ tell that to all the 3.8+, 32+ people getting deferred…
EDIT: person above me who said “admissions is way easier” apparently deleted post…</p>
<p>“Just got into Umich and was wondering this as well. It’s kind of why I used it as a safety. Decent school, but admissions is way easier compared to the other top 25 schools. Their admitted class profile is lower than the enrolled class profile of the top 20 private schools. Still, college is more than admissions. It’s what you do with the education.”</p>
<p>Depends on if your in-state or OOS. If in-state and assuming your a potential Ivy League kid, then yeah, UM could possibly serve as your “safety”. However I doubt Mich is ever a true safety for any OOS kid, who should generally be in the top 75% of previously admitted Mich kids if they aspire to have good chances of admission.</p>
<p>^this isnt true. U mich can obviously be a safety to strong Ivy league candidates OOS or even just above average candidates. Michigan is known to be the public university that cares the LEAST about instate vs. out of state, and gives the least advantage to instaters.</p>
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<p>Not necessarily doubting this by any means. But why do comparable schools (both in academics and size) like Berkeley (21.5%), UCLA (22.7%), boast significantly lower acceptance rates?</p>
<p>If we have a Common Michigan application like the UC’s, you will see admission rates drop by at least 10%.</p>
<p>If everyone applying to other state universities in Michigan can just check a box and pay an extra $60 to apply also to UofM, I bet we will get a lot more in-state applications.</p>
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<p>I’ll defer to your knowledge about the IS vs OOS matter since I’m pretty naive admittee regarding this matter. Though I think my idea of a clear cut safety simply differs from yours (i.e. my notion of a safety school for a 3.8/2300+ SAT applicant would be a school like BU).</p>
<p>As there are a lot of people who judge a college the way the OP does by the acceptance rate, UM is expecting a substantial increase in the number of applications it receives over the first 5 years of using the common app. The first year (class of 2011) it increased by about 20% just because it was easier to apply, knocking the acceptance rate down from 50% to 40%. The second year UM expects another 20% increase both because more students will apply through the common app., but also because some people like the OP that will not apply to a school that accepts 50%, will apply to a school that only accepts 40%. That effect is expected to snowball over the next four year or so (students who won’t apply to a school that accepts 40%, will apply to a school that accepts 30%), at which time UM expects its acceptance rate to level out between 20% and 25%.</p>
<p>askjeeves, Berkeley and UCLA have significantly lower acceptances for numerous reasons. These include 1.better weather, 2.as an in state kid you can apply to all UCs with one application, 3. very large amount of transfers from community colleges each year. I’m sure there are even more but these are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.</p>