University of Michigan Deferral Thread EA 2020

@james1998iq For sure…well, we still have one more week…let’s keep our heads up!

@jpa0115 What state are you from? Wondering if my daughter has the same counselor.

@michmich01 I’m applying from abroad, so definitely a different counselor…

My son emailed our regional counselor in CT and never got a response. He had tried to get in touch in September just to make contact, express his interest, etc…

I feel like applicants shouldn’t be discouraged at this point. Aren’t they sending out the vast majority of their decisions at the end of the month?

@choirsandstages Not sure how parallel STMD’s admissions timeline is to STAMPS’s, but, when I called in, I was told that I’d be hearing about merit scholarships “within the next week.” STMD is probably finalizing their scholarships as we speak.

aaahhhh thank you @MandomeLife. I’m just going nuts waiting, so I hope that’s the case.

I just posted this on the ea 2020 thread but I figured I should post it here too because I was deferred initially.

I just went through the 2020 thread and the 2019 thread to make this… I hope it is accurate and helps people next year!

This is a comparison of the larger waves from 2015/16 and 2014/15 I believe that stamps and smtd may vary from this to some extent. It also doesn’t factor in honors/ross pre admits. This year compared to last year is actually not that different. It may seem like waves are smaller, but not everyone who gets in posts about it or is on CC.

2015/16 (class of 2020)
Friday, December 18
Friday, February 5
Friday, February 26
Friday, March 4
Predicted Final: Friday, March 25

I also suppose the final this year could be on Friday, April 1. Last year’s final wave was on the fourth Friday of March, so I think it will be on the fourth Friday this year too.

2014/15 (class of 2019)
Friday, December 19
Friday, February 6
Friday, February 27
Friday, March 6 kind of (according to a post on CC, there was a umich admissions tumblr post that stated only a few individual decisions may be released, but there will be no large batch this week)
Final: Friday, March 27

Stay positive!! I know it easier said then done, but I know people who got accepted in the final wave. They ended up attending and absolutely loving it, even though waiting for their decision was terrible. I know that it feels discouraging after waiting this long, but if it is the right school for you, I think it will be worth the wait.

@ProudDad26 Have read your posts and feel your pain. We are in the same boat. Discouraging to say the least.
I feel badly that this process has overtaken senior year. What should have been a time filled with memories of final days with long time friends along with studies has become a bitter experience filled with dread for fear that another classmate got the spot you so hoped. The EA experience was a disappointment. In our building it was quite literally last app in - first person contacted back. Additionally, when I hear that the number of applicants is staggering, I have to wonder, how effectively are these applications screened? Why are so many undecided as whether to attend?, How can oos students not realize that the tuition is almost triple of instate?. And why the need to charge close to $100 per application?. The sheer volume of app money collected may explain why I have noticed such an uptick in school sponsored college fairs.

To those thinking “sour grapes” it’s not really - anymore - anyways. Quite simply, these are the questions that help to rationalize why you didn’t get in when you had more than what it took. Of course if you make it in, you never ask.

@gottaknwnow. I agree with you. I have an attending junior and we have been waiting since late Oct to see if her sister will join her next year. She basically has the same stats. I wish UM had an early decision to flush out the 100% committeds. Is it wrong to think that kids who apply regular decision do not have it as their top school? Yet they receive admission over other as qualified students-- I personally cannot wait until this is all over so I don’t have to think about it anymore!

Can’t delete my post, but regret that is sounds like “sour grapes” as you mentioned. Of course many RD applicants have it as their first choice. Just worn down by this…

I so understand your frustration about having to wait for a desicion so long, but you shouldn’t blame it on students that are undecided if they will attend or not. For example, my daughter applied to UMich and MIT Early Action and was accepted to both. Since my daughter needs financial Aid and we are MI residents we figured UMich would be the cheaper option, but of course we needed to wait for the financial aid awards which we received this week. Surprisingly our EFC at MIT is less than half of UMich’s EFC so my daughter will probably choose MIT, but she can’t be sure until she visits MIT on the 7th of April. You might say that she should have visited MIT earlier but our financials just don’t allow to fly to a school that we are not even sure she would be admitted to or would be affordable. So she has to wait until CPW to make her final decision.

@anitram I totally get it. It is no student’s fault for the way this all works. It is my own impatience, and I wish I could have deleted that post.

@michmich01 Your post sounds fine! Stop fretting. If you are the one in that situation - of waiting in “radio silence” - these are the honest feeling. It no way do these feelings diminish the achievements of any other applicant. It is the process that everyone is forced to endure that is the root of this problem.

@anitram wonderful achievement to your daughter, honestly! I wish her the best. Your are an exception to what we’ve experienced. In your case it’s finance based , understandable, it’s the student that applies to UM as a safety - as if that’s not hilarious - gets EA accepted and then goes on to wait it out. Unfortunately, Lots of that is happening.

@gottaknwnow Yeah, no sour grapes here. Just a little surprised. My daughter is still holding out and is hopeful. But, I would be surprised of a positive response at this point. Oh well, she has many great options already and will be hearing from a few more this week. In any case, it will all be forgotten in a few months.

Should’ve posted here much much sooner. I was deferred back in December and got in like 2 days after the RD application deadline in Feb, it was really crazy I’m not exaggerating. I learned that they are accepting deferred students on a rolling basis. I am an example that a deferral definitely does NOT kill you, best of luck!

The students that have not decided yet has nothing to do with the remaining RD admission. Even if they decline the admission, they would only affect the yield rate. The admission office would not know how many students will attend until May 1. At this moment, they just need to meet their admission goal from the application review.

Thx @billcsho - Well, that is encouraging. In that such stress is placed on the students to not contact the admissions office, and students truly fear possible negative consequences, the workings of admissions is never really understood. I read an article in the Michigan Daily yesterday that noted that the 2020 class will be the smallest size freshman class compared to past years - administrators are concerned with recent over admission rates - figures.

How many people that were initially deferred and haven’t heard anything back actually get good news on the April 1st date? Trying to decide if I should just not care anymore. Michigan was my #1 for a long time but this waiting process has made me less reliant on it, as well as getting into several other really great schools. Did anyone personally have a similar situation and still get an acceptance in April?

I re-read my and @billcsho’s post, tried to edit - wouldn’t let me, this is my complete revision after thinking about yield rates…
So then doesn’t extending a set number of offers, thereby meeting a goal number, lock the total number of admissions for RD?

PS @billcsho, I’ve read your posts in the past. You seem well versed in the goings on of the admissions process. If you are indeed familiar with Michigan’s process, how well are those student applications reviewed?
I am curious as to how the initial process begins. Who specifically reads/reviews the application first?
This is the question that stays with me.
And then I “have got to get a life”.