My D22 didn’t say that in any of her essays…what she did do was allow them to see what’s important to her and therefore the more “unique and personal” ways she felt each school she very carefully chose would best fit her passions and how she was going to use those passions to engage and entrench herself into their particular school. What a fit each would be and how it would benefit her in particular and hopefully she could bring something as well. They want to KNOW you as best as they can within a very limited time and truly know why, beyond very basic “this is my top choice and dream school” sentences.
She also only applied to seven schools, three various safeties and four match/reach schools, not 17 as was stated earlier.
This ^^^^^. I tell families to write the essay correctly it should be personal,interesting and unique!! Very hard to do and throw in some passion for what you want to do. I really wish I could share some of them. They stand out right away and grab your attention. Just one piece of the puzzle I guess.
Thanks @Knowsstuff. I agree with many of your other points.
That’s really a key point people need to keep in mind. Competitive schools like UMich get far more applications than they can admit and in many many cases there are nearly identical applicants (on a holistic basis). And then the admissions office has to make hard decisions and many times they simply have to pick one over the other. That doesn’t make the postponed app any less worthy. So when people say stuff like “my kid wrote a fantastic Why Mich? essay and that’s why s/he got in” that ignores the fact that another kid may also have written a similarly fantastic essay and maybe had a very similar profile but perhaps is coming from a high school that doesn’t have a high enrollment rate so the AOs want to wait and see.
My daughter applied to 8 schools and only said one was her first choice because it really is her first choice and would enroll in a heart beat. My older daughter applied to the same amount and was likewise very careful to say that Michigan was her first choice. My older daughter gave the deposit to Michigan on the same day she was accepted and couldn’t sleep for a week bc she was so excited. And fortunately, UM has been beyond her expectations and loves it.
One thing people are forgetting is that UM LOVES, LOVES, LOVES what has happened to applications over the past few years and would be crazy to do anything to quell the tide. They’ll all mention how it is somewhat overwhelming to go through each app meticulously…but the last thing they want to do is go backwards in terms of total apps. A good football team, basketball team, and many applications is great for UM!
And they have readers who read a lot of the essays and score them. So the aggregate that the AO ultimately looks at is a series of scores across different essays, recs etc that yields an overall app score.
My daughter’s “Why Michigan” essay made none of those suggested statements. She also had no legacy or in state connection to tout.
My understanding is that merely mentioning classes, professors, clubs, sports, flags on walls, or anything that could easily be gleaned from a school’s website will not meet the expectations of top schools. Colleges want to see evidence of a much deeper understanding of where an applicant’s intellectual curiosities and other goals and the school’s ethos intersect.
To write a “Why Us” essay, my daughter did deep dives into colleges’ mission statements and stated philosophies, read administrators’ commencement addresses, and read/watched presidents’ speeches to really understand how one college was different than another.
Most colleges have clubs, professors, and classes that could meet an applicant’s needs. Applicants need to articulate why a certain college is uniquely able to do so, and the applicant also needs to show how he or she will contribute to that school’s campus community in ways that other students might not.
Regurgitating easily obtained information without really going through a a thoughtful analysis of the school and how the applicant will contribute will be an insufficient “Why Us” at any competitive college and a “I will enroll if accepted” statement will ring hollow to an AO.
Agreed. As long as the overall feeling of ill will to the process does not mean that the best students somehow think the UM method is less fair, transparent etc.
The best companies in the world conduct themselves such that every job candidate and every person who transacts with that company in any context wants to come back again and do more business the next day.
The things that saves this process from being overhauled:
The colleges have all of the power and the best colleges have the most power
The kids / parents do this once and then do not have to do every year. So we complain, feel it is unfair and then move on.
specific references of professors and lectures or papers they have written
specific inference that you understand the ethos and heart of the school
This is not rocket science obviously. My only point, is weave in that other comment. If you have done all of the other BS in the essay, the other point can not hurt if done correctly and subtly.
Unless you have morals and do not believe you should tell more than one person you love them more than all others!!
True. People move on. I have a few more kids to go, and I hope I stick to my guns. Not too many schools. Focus on the targets and reaches and be very happy with the safeties.
Yes, but you guys have had a decent run here. Hope it continues!
Please know, and I am sure you do, that there are 4.0 kids with strong scores and great ECs etc, that are being deferred from safeties. These families will leave this process armed for bear with kid 2 and kid 3!!!
Trust me. I came in to my kid’s room last night and saw her looking at overseas schools in Spain and Germany!
She then said, “Dad, do adults know that you can not possibly have a 4.0, play three varsity sports, do internships, volunteer with kids, start companies and lead school clubs? There are simply not enough hours in the day.”
Both my kids (one not at Michigan) actually had meetings with professors and used that in their essays. So did other’s I know. It wasn’t just to do that. They had very solid reasons for doing so. Did that help? Hope so…
Make an appointment. Email. Call and set one up. Visit in person if you can. We didn’t have any special connection except using the internet and phone technology. All were more then happy to meet.
I think that is crazy. There are 80,000 applications and a pandemic. If professors are meeting with random prospective students I am literally astonished and disappointed.
Hey @Iamw1lly. Sorry, a bit confused about these two posts because they seem to contradict each other. The first implies you got feedback from an inside source privy to your daughter’s app - the second implies it wasn’t a reliable source.
Which is it? Additional clarity may help many of us here.
Thanks
