@sidthekid7 VERY few (if any) kids are rejected EA from UMich. So there is definitely a much, much greater volume of deferrals.
Does anyone know if it’s true that UofM defers “overqualified” applicants? (In order to protect yield rates, ostensibly)
@majorkey101, @gabidecost, @RugbyDude6 All EA deferral and those applied for RD will be reviewed together. The first round of RD rolling is usually announced in late January. Those applied EA originally and got admitted before February but after Dec 24 are still eligible to merit aids. Two years ago, they could not finish reviewing all EA application by the deadline (due to the two week extension of deadline after glitches at CommonApp) and they did have some late EA announcement in January too. Other than that, those admitted after the holidays should be considered RD rolling admission.
@theleenbean There is no such thing as “overqualified” applicants at UMich anymore. At least 25% of admitted students have ACT 34 or higher (even more so in CoE). There are plenty of ACT 35 and 36 students enrolled with GPA 4.0 at UMich. It would be more important to keep the yield rate at the expected range rather than raising it. The yield rate at UMich has been increasing in the last decade and the rate has accelerated. Because of that, they have over-enrollment in the last few years. Last year, they intentionally admitted ~10% less students and planned to use the waitlist to fill the seats at the end to avoid over-enrollment again. It turned out the yield rate went up further that they did not even need to use the waitlist at the end. So a higher yield rate would actually cause them more trouble while a lower yield rate can always be rescued by admission from the waitlist. I don’t believe there is Tufts syndrome at UMich. Very often, the students may underestimate the importance of the essay or show the lack of good fit with UMich. If the admission officer thinks the applicant is treating UMich as a “safety”, it will show in the application. So the deferral is NOT due to “over-qualification” but something else.
I also got deferred 
I really want to go to UMich so I hope I get accepted. Before I even submitted my application, I received a large packet in the mail saying I was being offered the new HAIL scholarship which will cover all of my tuition if I am admitted.
I’ll definitely be sending a letter of interest to my admissions counselor sometime in January.
It’s speculated that it’s not just a matter of high stats, it’s that these high stat applicants sometimes (maybe often) treat Michigan as a safety, and it shows in their apps.
So it’s not the mere stats that gets them deferred, it’s the tendency for these high stat applicants to give off a “not incredibly interested” vibe.
I really don’t think this has anything to do with maintaining a balance of some sort.
umich is not my first choice, but it’s still one of my top choices.
what am I supposed to say on the letter of interest?
Wondering if the EA deferred applicants are looked at in the same light as RD applicants? I just hope they don’t favor the new RD students over the deferred ones
@sunbeams I think for most of the applicants they would note the level of interest the applicant had shown by applying early, but I’m not sure about those with the letter stating that they would not be reviewed again until after the Feb. 1 deadline.
@whizkid98 this is the letter:
Thank you for your application to the University of Michigan College of Engineering for Fall 2016. We are pleased that you have applied and are impressed with your achievements. However, our high application volume, coupled with the very strong credentials of our applicants in recent years, has contributed to an increasingly competitive admissions process. As a result, we are writing to inform you that your application is currently being deferred for further review.
While this is not the answer that you were hoping to hear, your application remains under consideration. All final admissions decisions of admit, deny, or waitlist will be made no later than early April, 2016.
Strong fall semester or trimester grades may improve your status in the deferred pool of applicants. Therefore, please ask your high school counselor to forward them when they become available. Beyond that, we are confident that the information you have given us is more than sufficient for a final decision. The most successful candidates send us only what we require. Please refer to the website https://umich.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2080 for FAQ’s about the admission process and what to do next.
@sunbeams That’s the one I received too, for LSA. With this letter I think there’s a chance of being accepted in late Jan. or early Feb. before the RD pool, which I think would still give us full scholarship consideration like EA. It’s all speculation, but I do think that it’s the best deferral letter to receive.
@whizkid98 Thanks for the info. Let’s hope we hear great news in late Jan or early Feb 2016!
so y’all might have discussed this in the earlier pages but im not really feelin like going through all those pages to find an answer.
so my friend tells me that there are different versions of the deferral letter?! He says that your version will determine when you receive your decision. my letter basically said that “you’re very qualified but due to high applicant volumes, we are deferring you. please send us your 7th semester grades but beyond that we are confident you have given us all that we need. you will receive a decision by early april.” my friend tells me that with this one i’ll be getting a decision by february instead.
so did anyone receive anything different than that? or is my friend just **** me? clarification plz thanks!
never mind thank you!
Hey guys, when exactly do we send the letter of interest to the office?
@Rohitmohit From what I gathered, some already sent and some are waiting to send it first week of January.
Our S sent his letter that next day
I did hear that it was better to send in January, but now I’m not so sure. I’ll send it a week into January most likely.
Merry Christmas! Just popping in. I’ll probably be sending my letter of interest right after break. Is UMich all of your top choices?
Do you send the letter of intent as a direct reply to the deferral email? Or do you send it in a more formal way like attached as a word doc? I’m probably over thinking this lol but I want to I make sure I do everything correctly and conveniently for them :-S
@Sam2443 I believe you send the email to your regional counselor. My S wrote a short and sweet one, informal. Just letting them know he is still very interested and will send mid year report in mid January. That’s pretty much what the content was.