My dad’s pretty well-connected with UM & he donates regularly as an alum…
how will this affect my application?
It may not affect your application… but it could positively affect your admission. 
This will help you a lot, especially during the early decision round. You can almost be a shoo-in for the school depending on your grades/essays
University of michigan has no early decision…and I don’t think he plans on calling in any favors unless I get waitlisted/deferred…do ya’ll think just putting his name down be enough? will adcoms actually look him up or will it just be noted as a legacy?
The Common App will ask if and where your parents attended college. The UM supplement to the Common App will ask about grandparents. It will not ask about aunts and uncles. So, the short answer is yes, UM will know that you are a legacy. You are correct that UM does not have early decision (binding) admission, but it does have early action (non-binding) admission. From the UM website:
“Through the University of Michigan’s Early Action program, you can apply earlier in the admissions timeline—received by November 1 of your senior year in high school—and receive a decision on admission earlier on in the process. The Early Action decision will be one of three: admit; defer for a final decision by early April; or deny.”
Early Action decisions are released before Christmas and, typically, the Friday before (although not all decisions are necessarily released on the same day). For example, my son received his Early Action decision on Friday, December 19, 2014.
Good luck.
Legacy helps…a little. If you have the grades and SAT/ACT to get you in, legacy status could push you over the top. Of course, if your father is donating large sums to the University, then the advantage would be magnified! If that is the case, you should have your father contact the development office and speak to one of his friends about your application.
thanks guys! I think I’m stressing myself out a bit too much. Would you say there is an advantage in getting my app in by the end of August vs later in the semester, or would there be no effect on when I get my decision?
Based upon my experience (including a discussion with an admission officer), the sooner the better. The admissions officers have more time to review applications early on before the onslaught. If you receive any awards, honors, etc. after you submit your application, you can supplement your application. That supplement may also put it back to the top of the file for review.
Two years ago, the adcom did not even start downloading application until mid to late September. It would not make any difference id you submit far before they download anything.
Many public universities don’t consider legacy status, Michigan does. But I’d expect it to help only a little unless your Dad donates very large sums to the University. Generally your grades, test scores, HS curricular strength, essays, etc., need to be competitive with those of applicants who are otherwise admitted; then legacy status can be the kind of factor that can help push you over the top. If your Dad makes only small annual donations, I wouldn’t expect the donations themselves to add very much to any advantage you’d get just from being a legacy, though it certainly can’t hurt. Michigan has far more qualified applicants than it can admit, and it doesn’t need to sell seats at bargain-basement rates. But a history of giving on a consistent basis, including recent giving, would indicate that your Dad is not only an alum, but an alum who remains actively engaged with and supportive of the school, and that can only help. A history of very large donations could catch the eye of the admissions committee in a different way, especially if someone in the development office asks them to look out for and give careful consideration to your application.
I think that Michigan is also taking legacy status more into account as one factor to help improve the yield. My son was a sibling legacy this year and got in EA (with strong stats); but he knew another from his school with a 3.9-4.0UW, 36 ACT that was deferred (and eventually accepted). Anecdotal, but what is true is that many high stats kids were initially deferred and I’d bet the highest stat deferrals didn’t have a legacy hook.
Certainly the yield went up significantly this year and leveraging legacy may be one of the factors.
My stats are definitely in range for University of Michigan acceptances from my school, and I think my ECs show strong leadership/commitment (hopefully) - I was just hoping that legacy gives me a tiny bit more of an edge so I can relieve a bit of the anxiety I’m getting before the Common App opens haha.
Regardless, I still have a limited amount of control over my application & can only try my best to package myself as a student that Michigan would want.
Either way, thank you all so much for replying! I wish all of you or your children luck this coming senior year, because we all know how the admission game is pretty random.
Another thing -
Would you say legacy is more of an advantage for OOS or International Students than for in-state?
Legacy only helps a little and the admission office really doesn’t know who the bigger donors are - if you are related to a bigger donor then you need to have them contact the University to let them know you are applying and would love to attend. But minor donations won’t make a difference since the Umich alumni in general donate a lot of money.
I’ve had 2 of my kids get overlooked - an undergrad applicant wait listed and a grad applicant rejected - despite having grandparents who have established two scholarships. The grad app was really surprising - highly qualified and she is going to Penn instead. On both applications they just listed all the family alumni - great grand, grand and parents - no extra attention to their connection to the donations.