I too have read about the deferrals for highly qualified EA applicants. It could happen to my kid and would be really hurtful. Clearly, this “game” is being played by both sides. When applicants are treated poorly like this, they are less likely to attend even if a MI acceptance comes later, even if it might be somewhat preferred to other options in hand. It is unfortunate that acceptance decisions are being ruled by the US News ranking system that penalizes lower yield. Everybody has stretches and safety schools - any student who has a great high school record who yearns for the Ivy League has to realize that he is is yearning for a stretch school because acceptance rates at Ivy League schools are so low that they are nearly random, unless daddy makes, say, a 2.5 million dollar donation. I understand where Michigan is coming from but really, the school ends up treating an entire category of applicant badly and there ARE other options, if the dream schools don’t come through. Students who apply to Ivy League schools are just as worthy of consideration by Michigan as all other applicants. Often times, unfortunately, the negative treatment makes them feel as though they are being punished for having worked so hard in high school. What is the answer? I don’t know! But if they do it again this year, I hope that they lose those students forever.
I’m sure that UMich also gets a lot of EA applicants who want to apply to multiple schools early, but due to the SCEA or REA policy of many top schools, applicants can only apply to their dream school and U Mich. for example, Princeton and many other Ivies have “no other private school” policies. UMich is highly ranked and public, so you can technically apply there early and still apply to a reach school.
Just to add my 2 cents…
My son was accepted EA to CoE at UMich as a male International Asian.
U Mich was his second choice ( M &T program at Upenn was his first)). He received his EA acceptance on DEC 21 or 22 , just before XMas if my memory is correct.
He had a 4.0 GPA, topper among 200 students at a reputed international school. Only one student from his school was accepted to UMICh CoE though 10 applied.
2 were accepted to Georgiatech, 4 to UCLA and 5 to UIUC, 10 to UT Austin, none to Berkley, CMU and the Ivies
SAT 2330 ( super scored) with 800 on Math
SAT Subject test _ Math 800, Physics 750, Chem 800 and Bio 760
Had already 10 Aps at the time of application- 5s on Stat, BC calculus, Microeco, Psychology, English
4s on Macro Eco, Env Studies, Comp science, Biology
3’s on Human geography
Senior year: 5s Physics 1 & 2, Chem.
4’s Eng lit and French
3 on US history
ECs:
School Govt head
Attended 2 prestigious summer programs in the US
Co authored a book for Univ students
Currently attending U-M CoE
Team leader for national level competitions.
Did volunteer work ( 3 yrs)
Certificates for Public speaking, debates etc,
Also accepted to: Georgia tech, UCLA, UIUC, UCSD and in UK to Imperial College London, University College London, U of Southhamptom
Waitlisted at: Cambridge Univ, UPENN, CMU, Berkley.
We were pretty bumped initially but Umich is a great school so everything happens for a reason I suppose.
@ProudDad26 I don’t think umich should switch to an ED option, unless they still kept the EA option. therefore people who want to wait on their financial aid packages but still want to put their best foot forward can apply EA, and those who are 100% sure of themselves and their ability to pay can apply ED.
@guitar321 I think there is zero chance that Michigan will switch to ED since there current system serves them well. They’ve been able to select increasingly talented and diverse student bodies. That said, Michigan’s system may be less desirable from an applicant’s perspective as it is unlikely you will be firmly rejected under its EA program unless you are a demonstrably weak candidate.
Have any CoE applicants heard from their alumni interviewers?
Yes mine emailed me to set up a meeting place and date.
My kid is a C of E applicant and has an interview scheduled. Onward and upward.
I got a phone interview
My high school is located less than an hour from Umich (so there should be no shortage of alumni in our area) and of the 4 people that I know of that applied to CoE, only 3 of us (including me) got an invitation for the HAIL program and none of us have been contacted by our interviewers despite contacting them first on Friday/Saturday.
@APlennox Do you all have the same interviewer? When did you receive the HAIL invitation?
@Clareesi We all got the invitation on November 2nd and all got different interviewers. That’s why I thought it was strange that the all 3 of us haven’t been contacted.
@as1799 I can’t remember what the breakdown was between EA deferral and rejection. I’m not sure that the CC reports would necessarily be accurate anyway. In the end, you do the best you can and plan from there.
@profdad2021 it is unfortunate for qualified candidates who really want UMICH as their top choice. This was my daughter’s situation. Time does provide perspective. Our family was a bit peeved about the results last year. But, it was her first choice. Eventually, she did attend and now is a fan of the UMICH football team in their best season in many years. So, we all tend to forget these bumps in the road. Good luck to everyone. I remember this was a particularly stressful time for all of us.
I’ll just add that as we moved into the spring and she remained uninformed about the UMICH decision, our daughter fell in love with Wisconsin. It was a very close second choice and VERY worthy of consideration. Most beautiful campus we saw ANYWHERE. Good luck!
@APlennox According to the HAIL Student Guidebook they linked to us in their email, “If your interviewer
does not contact you in a reasonable timeframe, please alert us via email or phone.” Considering their interview window for the fall closes Dec. 11, I think it would be a good idea to reach out to the admissions office. Also check your spam mailbox just in case.
I’m a fan of EA…speaking as the person that will be writing the checks. We couldn’t risk the potential financial burden to do ED anywhere…too many stories of of ED families getting shafted.
My son’s HAIL interview invitation went to spam folder. The deadline to schedule HAIL interview was Nov 7. Is it too late to request another interview ? how does it affect EA decision. Thanks guys. I have been absorbing lot of information here.
If they request an additional document from you after Nov 1st, are you still qualified for EA?
I’ve done the HAIL interview and everything else was turned in before Nov 1.
Sorry if this has been covered before, but what exactly is the HAIL interview?
Thanks a bunch in advance
Just got “Early Action-Qualified!”
@Clareesi My interviewer finally got back to me
@Yogidad You could probably explain that it got sent to your spam folder and request one. Worst case scenario you don’t get an interview but it doesn’t affect your son’s decision.
@AAloneOrchid If they request documents after Nov 1st I’m not sure you qualify for EA. They might be generous if you were only missing one document and submitted it in a timely manner, but I would probably bet against it.