Why is U of M so inconsistent with admissions and what do I need to get in?

Hello everyone,
I am an instate Michigan student who is planning to apply to U of M
I go to a top 100 national U.S. high school (top 5 in the state). It is an IB diploma school). Have a 33 ACT (32.75 comp) and a 3.946 GPA (4.3 weighted). I’ve pretty much have done every IB class I can in my school. President of MSA. Normally I would feel comfortable with my app.

But not for UM.

Thing is, I know people who have gotten in from the same high school with as low as a 1380 SAT yet other people with as high as a 1570 have been deferred (or rejected i dont remember).

So it seems to me that GPA and SAT/ACT are NOT a major factor in deciding admission. Rather it looks as if U of M has a specific cutoff and after that they are looking at something else.

My main question is what is that other thing(s) they are looking for?
If anyone has any experience then please let me know because I am really unsure of how I want to craft my application. It seems that visiting the campus for a tour (even though I already did in 8th grade and I already look UM) would be a good idea. If anyone has suggestions to getting lmk. I’m guessing they want people who are greatly interested in going to UM and will attend after being admitted. Tbh my attendance is heavily based on cost of attendance but I dont clearly find out how much it will be until I submit my fafsa.

Thank you for your time and lmk what you think!

What school are you looking to apply to (LSA, engineering, etc.)? Does your school use Naviance? If so, how do historical acceptance patterns look at your GPA/Test score combo?

The CDS says that GPA and rigor are the most important factors in admission. You can see all the factors in section C7 https://obp.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/pubdata/cds/cds_2018-2019_umaa.pdf

UMich considers applicant interest…visit, meet with the AO at your HS, reach out to the AO with any questions that can’t be answered with info on the website.

Make sure to read this info to understand what UM is looking for in students: https://admissions.umich.edu/apply/freshmen-applicants/selection-process

UMich meets full need (as calculated by them) for in-state students provided you meet all deadlines…you can get an estimate of your cost at UM by completing their NPC https://npc.collegeboard.org/app/umich. Note the NPC may not be accurate if your parents are divorced, own a business or property beyond a main residence.

Academics are just one part of an application. Be sure the rest of your application components (ex. ECs, recommendations, essays) are also very well done. This is not only for UM but for any college you apply to with holistic admissions.

Get an estimate here: https://finaid.umich.edu/estimate-college-costs-with-u-m-net-price-calculator/

UM isn’t going to take all of it’s students from just the top 5 high schools in the state. That would tick off the other 1,800+ high schools and the taxpayers assigned to attend them. They have multiple colleges/departments to fill, and not all of them are equally competitive for admissions. Those are just a couple of the possible reasons why stats may vary a bit more than you’d expect.

If you haven’t visited since 8th grade, go back if you get the chance. Tours and info sessions are great ways to learn about what the college is looking for. You can also read through the CC threads and check out the Fiske Guide as well as UM’s web pages.

IME, UM is big on demonstrated interest and doesn’t like being a somewhat safety for very high-stat applicants. Only one anecdote, but I know a freshman very well at Harvard (who got in to all of her top colleges: Duke, Brown, Cornell, UCB, etc.) but was wait-listed at UM. She didn’t visit the campus and “give a lot of love” which was the reason she didn’t get an outright acceptance.

Take a look at the CDS. The two most important factors, listed as “Very Important,” are GPA and course rigor. The next most important factors are: essays, test scores, LOR’s, character and first gen students.

IMO, the other factor is the yield from your HS. Being a top in-state Michigan HS, I’m assuming your HS produces a lot of high caliber students. Since UMich is one of the top public schools, they may yield protect with those top Michigan students whose schools also matriculate many students to the Ivy League or Ivy League-caliber colleges (Williams, MIT, Amherst, Duke, NU, etc).

So this might not get a popular opinion but my son went to the top school in our state that has good luck at just about every school out there.
They drove home to get to know your AO in at least Junior Year and especially for Michigan. So shake their hand and ask a question or two. Take their card and follow up with a thank you and find something to ask a question. Use that as a LOI (letter of intent) not a Loci(letter of continued intent). When you get deferred that will be your second touch to them. If they do a regional event in your area then go. Go visit campus regardless when you did it. Nice thing to let the AO know… If you visit I recommend meeting with a professor or faculty of a Department. They will give you great insight you can’t get from the website plus its a nice thing to add to your Michigan application
“When visiting campus and speaking with Professor X I learned…”
Research programs /activities /classes
A good friend of mine who works at University of Chicago suggests using their catalog and putting that in the essay “while I was researching my interests I came across X that seemed interesting”.

Schools want to know you took the time to learn about them.
Even something non academic is fine "if I am accepted, I can’t wait to go to Pizza Bob’s on State street to get a hot fudge chocolate chip shake (yes, their awesome?),after the football games.
But if you do anything end with your thank you for their time and a Go Blue! It’s on just about every correspondence with them.

Also, your major really matters. Some are much harder to get into than others.

You don’t apply by major. Just by school (business, LSA, engineering, etc.).

If you are in state, just make sure you make it very clear that Michigan is your first choice and that you will enroll if admitted. Use the Net Price Calculator to get an estimate of what you would be expected to pay.
https://finaid.umich.edu/estimate-college-costs-with-u-m-net-price-calculator/

I also went to a top 5 in Michigan IB diploma school, and they most definitely look at your gpa/act/etc. The IB program is great because it lends itself to creating well rounded students due to the requirements… however that won’t make up for bad stats, and the first and foremost thing to remember when writing your essays is that you need to convince the admissions officer that out of the hundreds of kids just like you and tens of thousands of kids with different areas of interests and stats, some of which will be better than yours, that they should want you on this campus above all others. You need to make them like you and see that you’re a good fit, not that your parents went here or you like football. It’s not an exact science, but good stats and the above certainly help.

Apply Early Action.