University of Michigan recommendation letter

I am a synchronized ice skater and I will be going to the University of Michigan Wolverine Weekend (where you see what it would be like to skate on the team in college). It is a club sport. I was wondering if getting a letter of recommendation from their coach and having a platinum award (highest award in US figure skating) would help my application. Also how much does applying early action help? Any other tips on getting into U Mich or something that they really look at on the application?

For the Class of 2022, roughly 50% (7,500-8,000) of the acceptances were sent out in the EA round of admission decisions. Roughly 40,000 of the 65,000 applications were submitted EA.

Although most of those 40,000 EA applications were deferred into the RD round, I think a deferred EA app with a LOCI shows “demonstrated interest” in being Wolverine. I’d personally recommend submitting your app by 11/1 (EA) and not by 2/1 (RD).

Regarding your club sport, if you’re not a recruited athlete, then it’s just a great EC. What is far more important is your UWGPA and HS course rigor (two most important factors) along with your test scores and essays.

I doubt you will get a letter of recommendation just by doing a weekend program But because you have a national skating award that might help. I assume they know you are coming andy/or have been looked at. It makes you who you are and shows dedication and very hard work to get to that level. So yes it helps “after” the mentioned GPA and rigor. As stated apply early.

The positive thing in meeting the coach or a professor is that you can use that in your essay. “after researching Michigan and talking with Coach X I realized…” etc. This to me shows something a step beyond what a regular applicant would do.

I’ve heard two schools of thought on letters of recommendation:

  1. Use primarily AP and Honors teachers who can speak to your ability to do demanding college work.
  2. Choose people who think highly of you and who know you well enough to write about you with specificity.

My daughter followed the second strategy. None of her teacher-recommenders taught AP or Honors courses. But, each had spoken glowingly about her at parent-teacher conferences. One teacher, in particular, spoke in depth about her off-the-charts leadership abilities and the specifics of her leadership style. I think this was the way to go because although my daughter had done very well in her AP classes, she wasn’t one of the very top students. I believe the AP teacher recommendations would have been positive, but somewhat generic.

She also used a STEM scientist (and UM grad) who wrote about her having the passion and perseverance that were prerequisites for success in a STEM field. This was important because my daughter’s SAT score was in the ballpark, but on the low side of what UM accepts in prospective STEM majors. The letter - along with what her teachers had to say - communicated that she had the intangibles to succeed, even though other applicants may have had higher SAT scores.

So, my advice is that you ask yourself two questions: 1. Does this person know me well enough to talk about my specific strengths? 2. What do I want UM to know about me that isn’t in my essays and a factual account of my activities, grades and scores? Who can best communicate that?

One mom’s advice; others may feel differently!

Would U-M be recruiting figure skaters?

No . A LOR from the coach of a CLUB sport will not help. This is not a recruitable sport. And a LOR has to be from someone who knows you well.

That said, being an accomplished synchronized skater is an nice EC and an enhancement to your application. Having attended the weekend shows interest in the school that you can convey in your essay. Apply early action.

Hi! I’m also a synchronized skater, and I went to Wolverine Weekend earlier this year. Now I’m an incoming freshman at Michigan, and I’m going to tryouts at the end of this month! I definitely think that it’d be better to get a LOR from your current coach, especially because they know you better (this would be in addition to at least ONE LOR from a teacher). They’ll be able to speak to your character, and not just your work ethic; they’ll provide more better insight to your specific qualities as opposed to the generic “she’s great”. I also think that having a platinum award would help on all your college apps. Mention various positions you’ve held with your current team, any placements at sectionals or nationals, awards you’ve received (Include EVERYTHING). They like to see dedication and leadership (that goes for basically every college out there).

With regards to applying EA, I applied, got deferred, and then got in when regular decisions came out. Michigan defers everyone. I only know of a few people who got in EA. I’d encourage you to do it especially because it shows your interest in the school, and it helps them to know that it is a top choice. Also, after I got deferred, my parents made me write an email to the undergrad admissions rep for my region going into more depth about why I liked Michigan so much. Since I wrote it after I went to Wolverine Weekend, I mentioned the sense of community I felt and spoke to MY experience there, and the fun places in Ann Arbor, as well as a few academic things I didn’t include in my “Why UMich?” essay. (it was a pretty short, 8-10 sentence paragraph). The rep replied with a pretty short and generic response but it was good because they actually read it and saw my interest in the school.

Speaking of that, write a killer “Why UMich?” essay for the application: my main tip would be to be specific; mention extracurricular programs (like synchro), clubs, and other academic opportunities that are appealing to you. SHOW that you did your research. EXPLAIN WHY those would fit YOUR interests and/or needs; name dropping the programs isn’t enough. I went as far as to mention interesting classes I found on the course list. Also, write your essays well in advance; it really helps you manage the stress from 1st semester senior year, and college apps. I finished my common app essay before my senior year started so I could focus on the supplemental essays for each college during the school year. If you end up getting deferred, be sure to keep up the good work and don’t slack off (senioritis will hit HARD if it hasn’t already).

Good luck on the college application process and Go Blue!

^this is excellent advice from someone that was successful at it!

Thank you all, this helped so much!