could someone explain what a HAIL interview is? i never got an email about one so i am assuming that’s a rejection for me?
it’s only for college of engineering, I believe.
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gotcha, thank you!
No rejection. They only have so many people to give interviews. It’s picked randomly by location. All informational. Doesn’t hurt you if you don’t get one.
You left out the part right after your quote:
“The Early Action decision will be one of three: admit; postpone for a final decision by early April; or deny.”
This is stated plain as day and I noticed it missing from your post calling them disingenuous right away, as I read their site multiple times over months, lol, so it was ingrained in my brain.
DD22 applied EA, she was extremely fortunate to have been admitted and they were very quick and generous on their financial aid package as well.
We have never expected more than what they have stated and had she been deferred or denied, still would have been within their stated timeframe. I will say I do feel badly for those that will need exceptional aid in the form of some scholarships etc as they are upfront that it’s more of a first come first serve basis, therefore obviously the later in the process you are accepted, the later you are able to apply for some scholarships. That does hurt my heart for those “kids” who have their heart set on UMich and after waiting on a decision for months, may be accepted only to realize they still won’t be able to attend.
However, they have been pretty clear about everything in my opinion, even when it is hard to wait or unfortunately, end up ultimately still knocking them out as an option for some late admits.
Someone asked about Michigan State University…ours applied same day as she submitted UMich app and theres was more of a rolling basis. D22 was admitted in an average time frame, then a bit later an honors invite and invitation to their competitive scholarship testing, we are still waiting on results and their financial aid package/offer though at this point it’s just mostly out of curiosity since she has always loved UMich. State is a great school and I have little doubt that whoever attends will succeed in whatever they hope to achieve!
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I got an invitation for a HAIL interview. The span of interviews ends on March 20th, so I don’t think it would make much sense for them to release before that? What would the point of an interview be if you already received your decision?
I’ll respectfully disagree. 
In my mind, “postpone for a final decision by early April” is not the same as being told “there is one wave in early April,” which is what the context of this discussion has been about, at least to me.
Also, if you’re being dropped in from 30,000 feet with no knowledge of Michigan’s past history, and without the benefit of that phone call with admissions, then their original website statement is fine.
But as anyone who invests knows, “past performance is no guarantee of future results.” However, if one wave in early April is the methodology this cycle, then Michigan should state that so there’s absolutely no confusion. It’s not as clear as one might think. We know and they know that there have been waves in the past.
ETA: I’ve spent too much time on this topic and will move on. I offer my sincere apologies to everyone here.
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If someone quotes only certain aspects of their page but leaves out the part right in between which proves they are not disingenuous but then call them disingenuous, that doesn’t seem to me like a fair statement.
So are you saying that UMich has publically stated that not all decisions will be known by the beginning of April now? It still appears to say on their site what it has this entire process but I’m not privy to if people are receiving letters to the contrary now?
Ross had about 6,000 applicants last year. Does that number include those who applied to Ross but were ultimately denied from LSA? or is that the number of applicants who got in thru LSA, CoE, etc. and have a Ross application
This question gets asked a lot. The most compelling answer I’ve read pulls together numbers to prove that the 6000+ apps are pre-LSA/COE acceptance so the odds for Ross acceptance are higher once you are in LS.
The basic premise for this reasoning is that 6000 would constitute too large a fraction of the LSA class and I’ve heard it bandied about that only 10% LSA applicants want ross.
See here - only 4k LSA students 1st year.
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According to Michigan’s website, there were 8,328 applications to Ross.
https://michiganross.umich.edu/undergraduate/bba/admissions/first-year-applicants
And I agree with above, the 8,328 number includes all applicants to Ross, from any home school specified by the applicant, LSA or otherwise.
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To be fair, while I didn’t quote that part, I said “While they do acknowledge that the decision could be postponed past late January…”
But, you are correct that I should have included that quote. Because that’s the most disingenuous thing that they say! Postponement is NOT a decision. Just because they say that it is doesn’t actually make it so.
Do you think that postponed applicants believe that they were given a decision early in the process? Can you tell us what their guaranteed decision date is? How does this enable better planning for these applicants? None of the things they claim Early Action will provide is actually true for the vast majority of people who applied EA.
If postponement was actually a decision, then why did they tell those applicants “We have decided to postpone making a decision on your application at this time”?
Disingenuous.
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A deferral is often a part of the process for most highly sought after schools, that’s what I’ve always witnessed, so I never expected differently, especially given that they specifically say it is.
Listen, I’d love for every kid to be happy and get in wherever they have their heart set on, early with no stress, in plenty of time to prepare and further, have it funded. Unfortunately that’s never the case.
We went into this from the beginning taking everything into account from what it says on their site to including ridiculously high numbers of applications, so many going test “optional” and how if they were going to give each applicant the review I would hope my child would receive…that it was highly unlikely she would be anything other than deferred for EA. And further that the schools she applies to with extremely small admit rates, including ivies, If she receives a rejection it’s not that she isn’t “good enough”, most of the applicants are! But it simply comes down to common sense and what they feel they need to fill their extremely small number of slots with. That’s it. So to hope for the best, prepare for the worst. 
To me if she were deferred I’d be thrilled to find out there may be sooner “waves” and if not, well I never set my sights on sooner than beginning of April anyways. If they’ve changed that to be later, I have not seen that?
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I think you can argue semantics about what they said. But the spirit of their message is that applying early gives you all of these benefits. And, if that’s only true for a small fraction of the people, it is definitely misleading.
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It’s disingenous on their part, and we all also knew there was a possibility that their “decision” would be to postpone. Many or even most of us are still waiting to hear from more selective schools or for prestigious scholarships, financial aid offers, etc. If they wait until April, those still waiting to hear may be largely composed of 1) those for whom Michigan has and was always their top choice, or 2) those who are happy to be accepted to Michigan in April if the other better for them options they were still waiting on didn’t pan out in March. It might be the ultimate form of yield protection, if those who choose a different school along the way actually withdraw their application before Michigan makes an actual final decision.
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I have a hard time to understand the high number of deferrals. It they carefully reviewed every early applicants (50k), they should already have an idea on how most of the applicants stand in the pool. Then reject most if they don’t see fit. Why defer so many? and for what?
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In the registration confirmation of HAIL interview, it stated:
"You will now be assigned to an alum interviewer. That person will receive your name on February 18. They will contact you any time within the interview window, which is Feb 18 - March 20.
It is possible that you could receive your final admission decision before your HAIL interview takes place. In that case, it is no longer necessary that you complete the HAIL process."
So some decisions may be sent out a month before April 1, at least for deferred EAs.
So they probably are still doing waves like our veteran UM posters have contended …
Thanks for posting this!
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On the interview manual:
February - April
Admission decisions released on a rolling basis.
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LOL … I guess that’s the answer!