<p>I respectfully disagree with you on both counts CCRunner. </p>
<p>First of all, I did not say that there would be many "significantly less qualified" students, just some that were clearly not as qualified as these kids with 4.0 GPAs and SAT scores above 2100 who are getting waitlisted. And the admissions statistics will not be able to help anyone in this agument because they do not break them down by the date of application. However, from personal experience I can tell you that students in my school got in who applied early response with lower SAT scores and equal GPAs than those who got waitlisted.</p>
<p>I also disagree with your notion that the people who want to go to Michigan the most are the people who got the application in the earliest. Keep in mind that an applicant's date of submission is very much dependent on outside factors such as how quickly a guidance department sends in transcripts and recommendations. Personally, my first choice was Michigan and my application was submitted in the second half of November (about 2-3 weeks after early response ended), and had better numbers than students I know who applied in August and were accepted in September. Not every student is going to apply early, even if it's their first choice, if the school comes out and says that early response will not give you an admissions advantage. For many people such as myself, it's just not always practical. While I understand that admission is not just about statistics, some of my teachers and peers have had stunned reactions when I have told them the names of some of the students who were accpeted over me early on. </p>
<p>My main beef with Michigan is that they lied to sudents by claiming they do not change admissions standards for students who do not apply early response. They have every right to change the standards later in the process if they so choose, however they do not have the right to lie and be misleading about it. I have lost a considerable amount of respect for the school due to the way the admissions office has handled their decisions this year, particularly in regard to their notification process (or lack thereof) for deferred (and apparently rejected) students. The mid-April release date also makes no sense to me, considering every other school releases by around April 1, and that it only leaves 2 weeks for students to make a final decision.</p>
<p>I realize I sound bitter, and I guess maybe I am. I really just need to vent. I had considered Michigan my top choice school since sophomore year when I spent 4 weeks on campus, and have been a longtime Wolverines football fan. Getting waitlisted by this school really hurts, and while I know the college admissions process will never be fair, I honestly feel like I got jobbed and probably will never look at the school the same way again.</p>
<p>None of these posts explains the preponderance of OOS EA deferrals late in December with kids who had above 3.7 GPA's and stellar ACT/SAT...It couldn't be explained back then, and now that they were all waitlisted, it can't be explained now....These were kids who had their apps in by the Oct. deadline....This will be my last post on a UMich thread; nothing made sense then and nothing makes sense now.....Good Luck to all who were accepted!</p>
<p>We are all very well qualified (some of us are overqualified!) for UMich...it's because they do the whole rolling admissions crap that we got screwed.</p>
<p>There is no such thing as "overqualified" for Michigan. But I agree that many of you are qualified. And that's the problem. There was a time when almost all qualified applicants would get accepted by Michigan. Pople have gotten used to it. Whether applicants admit it or not, many truly felt that Michigan was a very safe bet. Those days are slipping away. Michigan's acceptance rate has dropped from 60% a few years ago to roughly 40% today. The acceptance rate should continue dropping. More and more people are applying to Michigan each year, and Michigan isn't resorting to any gimmick or marketing tool to attract those applicants. In other words, Michigan's applicant pool growth is natural...it is made up of applicants who are typically qualified and genuinely interested in the University of Michigan.Don't be too surprised if Michigan's admit rate drops to 35% next year and top well under 30% in the next 3-4 years. Gradually, qualified applicants are going to be turned away at a far greater rate then they will be admitted.</p>
<p>AH! This thread scares me so much. I'm applying next fall and Michigan is my top choice. But my UM GPA is much lower than most of yours...3.3-3.5ish (will rise after this semester, but still). And next year is supposed to be even harder for admissions...gah</p>
<p>I am an alumnus and D was deferred back in December only to be rejected last week. Or should I say, we will find out by mail..... Very excited to receive the letter, hopefully this year! (-:</p>
<p>As much as I love Michigan I have to agree they did a poor job with this year application. I would say it was disrespectful to keep the kids on the wait for so long and then waitlist them as they did to the majority of the deferred. On my case, I think D got what I read to be the "polite deferral", meaning they don't reject a legacy right away, rather extending the agony.</p>
<p>Alexandre, I know you are the moderator but you are being extremely partial on your comments. It is hard not to agree our UofM did mismanage the process this year. And as far as the numbers for Michigan getting even tighter, according to many articles, 2008 is the peak of high school graduation. The number of graduating seniors are expected to decrease beginning next year so I think overall acceptance rates will start to increase slightly next year.</p>
<p>I don't think so vptd. Although the overall number of students applying to colleges will decrease, the number of students applying the elite universities like the Ivy League, MIT, Stanford, Chicago, Duke, Michigan etc... will continue to rise.</p>
<p>And although Michigan didn't approach the entire admissions process as well as it should have, I don't think "mismanage" is an appropriate term to use. Let us face it, close to 100% of applicants heard back from Michigan by April 1. Only a small fraction heard back between April 10 and April 15. I think Michigan should make it clear to all applicants that they will not hear back until early April and suprise the majority of admitted applicants when they get their acceptances before April 1. That way, nobody's expectations will be dashed.</p>
<p>
[quote]
On my case, I think D got what I read to be the "polite deferral", meaning they don't reject a legacy right away
[/quote]
I think you are giving them too much credit, lol... consideration for legacy counts very little in the process. My S was rejected promptly back in 2003...within a month including time for snail-mail... and we have double legacy.</p>
<p>
[quote]
@CCrunner123
Why do you think there will be so many this year?
[/quote]
Since CC hasn't replied, I'll give it a try. (Disclaimer: This is pure speculation on my part.)</p>
<p>2006-07 was the year Michigan took 525 off the waitlist. This is abnormal as historically Michigan takes only a few if any each year.</p>
<p>The target freshman class is around 5500. For two years in a row before 2006, Michigan over-admitted by 500 or more due to unexpected rise in yield. In 2005, 6115 freshman enrolled. The school had to scramble to house the extra students on campus.</p>
<p>I believe Michigan adcoms were more conservative in 2006 and they ended up having to dip into the waitlist. Freshman class size in 2006 was 5399.</p>
<p>In 2007, none was taken from waitlist as they over-admitted again with 5992 freshman enrolling.</p>
<p>I'm guessing that admission this year was on the conservative side ... which partially explains why they extended the decision for the final batches into April as they tried to get a better read on the matriculation rate.</p>
[quote]
Let us face it, close to 100% of applicants heard back from Michigan by April 1. Only a small fraction heard back between April 10 and April 15.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Sorry, that is plain wrong. You pulled that 100% guess out of thin air. I will agree that a majority heard before the final week, but there's no way it was even close to 100%. Any student who was deferred did not hear back until April 10 or later. Do you know how many students Michigan defers? It's in the thousands.</p>
<p>Accepting the waitlist IS NOT BINDING. It just says yes, you'd like to be considered if they have room. If they end up offering you admission, you will have a decision to make: go where you intended to go (and presumably sent a deposit already), or change those plans and come to Michigan. But you are NOT bound to say yes. </p>
<p>if you say "no" to the waitlist, then that's obvious--it means you don't want to be contacted if room opens up. You're done with Michigan, are happy to be going somewhere else, and don't want to go even if they end up going to the waitlist.</p>
<p>In response to alexandre, yes I heard back before april first, the first time I got deferred. I just now got my official waitlist letter today. I found out a few days ago on my weblogin account, though. If I'm apart of a non-existent percentage (assuming 100% heard before april first) then I truly feel honored to be that obscure.</p>