@ProudDad26 that’s an interesting take on EA, thanks. I can’t imagine what that “some sort of formula” for determining who uses it for safety would be, given how awesome all these kids are! One moment I don’t think my kid will get in with solid stats, the next I think well, what else is required, a pint of blood? My spouse and I were grad students at Michigan, so we know what a great place it is and thus my kid does too. I wonder if admissions even blinks when they see secondary legacy, given the sheer numbers of secondary legacies. It just feels like a crapshoot, especially for OOS. I would be so terrible as an admissions officer; I would want everybody haha.
@ProudDad26 @binky17 After only a few minutes of searching on the UM website, I found EXACTLY how they evaluate applications. There’s no “secret formula” that they plug your stats into. Three different people review the application without stating their opinions to the next reader. They then give the application a rating. There’s even a PDF of the template they use here: " https://admissions.umich.edu/apply/freshmen-applicants/selection-process " . Please stop guessing without doing research. It’s discouraging to concerned students who read your posts and think their fate comes down to a formula.
@binky17 I think legacy means a lot when it comes to admissions. It means that an applicant understands the school at some level and is committed in ways that others are not. Our daughter was OOS (non legascy) and had very good stats. She waited until April to get her EA response. As a result, she wound up having to look at a number of “second choice” schools that turned out to be similarly awesome (i.e. Wisconsin, Texas, USC). Despite those acceptances, she is now a freshman in Ann Arbor this year - great school, big school, sometimes tough-to-negotiate school. She could have been happy at any of those, but UMICH was a great choice for her. Good luck to your son/daughter. Sometimes, I think we forget that our children are the consumers at these schools and really are the most important ingredient to the academic center success. Without your son/daughter the school would cease to exist. UMICH should feel privileged to have our kids.
@prouddad26 Again, look at the Common Data Set to see how much UM cares about legacy status.
@as1799 where do you find that in the common data set?
@ProudDad26 page 5 of the PDF. Alumni relation is “considered”.
@as1799 that level makes sense. Would you really expect a public university to state that it was “important” or “very important”? But, I do think it makes a difference between two qualified candidates in the EA process.
How long does it take to get the email that you’re being considered EA? My status was updated on Wolverine Access was updated the 23rd or 24th, I believe.
@as1799 I am sorry if you thought that’s what I meant. Perhaps I wasn’t clear. I was referring to the impossibility of admissions officers knowing the intent of students using Michigan as a safety school (and thereby deferring them). No one could truly know that, obviously. I certainly wouldn’t want to discourage anyone, so I am sorry for responding to @ProudDad26’s reply to me in a way that seemed demoralizing. I do think the admissions does a great job and I wish you success.
@ProudDad26 Yes to “tough-to-negotiate” and big – but I was always impressed with the way undergraduates handled it when I was there. Good luck to your daughter.
Does anyone know of any historical pattern with the release date? I’ve heard that if you don’t have an acceptance letter by first day or so, you’re deferred…
@jed2020 The WA portal is most likely going to start being updated on December 16th around 3 PM EST. This is just speculation but from reading the 2020 EA thread, everyone that was accepted heard by 7 pm or 8 pm. The email follows your portal update by about half an hour. If your portal has a Decision, then you got accepted since they don’t deny during EA. If you get deferred, you just get an email and no portal update.
@APlennox are you sure they don’t deny EA? I thought you could get rejected still.
Just want clarification 
@c011e9e UMich does deny early action! https://admissions.umich.edu/explore-visit/blog/ea-or-regular-decision-which-best-you
@edegops @c011e9e I think @APlennox meant that they aren’t likely to deny. This is potentially skewed since the only reliable data we have is from the past decision threads
Nevertheless, December 16th can’t come soon enough! I created a timer for any other anxious potential Wolverines: https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20161216T15&p0=784&msg=UMich+EA+Decisions%21&font=cursive&csz=1
We are going to drive ourselves crazy during these next 18 days!!
I have a junior at UM and just wanted to share the EA pattern I’ve seen emerge with my own child as well as those of friends over the past 3 years. My child attended a highly competitive public HS (OOS) which has traditionally been a strong feeder school for UM. Each year at least 50 students apply, almost all EA. For the past 3 years, the only students accepted during the initial release of EA decisions in December were legacy, with very few exceptions. My child’s senior year 10 students were accepted upfront (all primary legacy) then another 5, including my own, received acceptances between late January and early March. It can’t be sheer coincidence that for the past 3 years only legacy students were accepted with the first release of notifications. UM clearly places enormous emphasis on alumni ties and students with legacy possessing academic qualifications meeting their standards, will be the first offered admission.
In addition, decisions tend to be released on Fridays as my thoughts are Admissions does not want to be bombarded with calls or inquiries from those who have not heard. In-state students tend to hear before OOS and with the last day of finals scheduled for December 22nd, its likely initial rounds will be released on the 23rd or 24th right before school closes for vacation.
@10isMOM I’m sure they treat feeder schools differently. UM won’t accept an average applicant from a school with traditionally strong applicants and ties. If it, in fact, was the case that only legacies got in from the school, it would most likely be from a stronger application (push from the parents). There’s absolutely no way that EVERY student that was accepted was because they were a legacy. Yes, it probably helped them, but it’s not the sole reason for their acceptance. Again, look at the Common Data Set before just saying what you believe. Alumni relations are “considered”. I highly doubt that they accept legacies first and then everybody else because that would NOT be a fair and holistic review process.
From reading past EA threads on this website, it is also obvious that decisions will most likely start to be released on 12/16, not 12/24.
Good luck to everyone. It is important to remember that some highly qualified candidates may be differed in the first round of EA decisions. Don’t let that demoralize you. Last year it took until April before some EA applicants were accepted. Be patient, be hopeful, and don’t let the process occupy all of your waking hours.