The University of Michigan, or UMich, is a large, public research university in Ann Arbor, MI. Michigan is a hard to get into school, with a first-year acceptance rate of around 18%, but out-of-state is much lower. However! If you’re interested in transferring, you picked a pretty transfer-friendly school. They have around a 40% transfer acceptance rate, but that doesn’t mean it’s the easiest school in the world to get into. Admission as a transfer is still highly competitive and requires you to have good grades and strong engagement with your current school’s culture.
Michigan has a lot of requirements, specifics, and essays for their transfer applicants, and they vary from school to school. Let’s jump right in and talk about what you need to be a competitive applicant to Michigan.
Requirements
Here’s Michigan’s definition of a transfer:
“If you have attended any institution of higher education (on any basis, for any length of time) following graduation from high school, you will need to apply as a transfer applicant and submit official transcripts from all of the colleges that you have attended. If you are admitted to U-M, you can choose whether to use your previous colleges' credit to satisfy graduation requirements from the University of Michigan.”
Another important thing to note is that other colleges within Michigan, namely Ross, have their own separate admissions process:
“The University of Michigan Office of Undergraduate Admissions handles transfers for the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts and the College of Engineering. For information about transferring to other U-M schools and colleges, please contact their Admissions representatives directly.”
Michigan has a lot of in terms of what you need, logistically, to apply. Make sure to double and triple check these for your school.
In general, though, you’ll need:
High school transcript + proof of graduation
College transcript
List of all current and future courses
Common App
Essays
Application fee ($75)
Other things you might need:
Standardized test scores (they only accept scores from high school
Instructor recommendation
College report
Midyear report
Writing
Michigan asks a lot of questions. We will cover those required for all applicants, but again, they have so many school-specific things, so please double- and triple-check what other colleges within Michigan might require of you.
The first two questions are the same as their first-year admissions questions: a community essay and a why essay. Then, you have a transfer essay, and then you have what is, essentially, a Common App essay. Let’s get into it.
Essay #1 (Required for all applicants.)
Everyone belongs to many different communities and/or groups defined by (among other things) shared geography, religion, ethnicity, income, cuisine, interest, race, ideology, or intellectual heritage. Choose one of the communities to which you belong, and describe that community and your place within it.
This is a classic community essay. They’re not even asking you to connect this community to Michigan. Easy!
What Michigan wants here is for you to tell them a story. While it can be about a marginalized community you are a part of, we want you to know that you’re not required to talk about those things just to get into college. Community can be a ton of different things, from organized and sanctioned groups or clubs, to something like your family or neighbors or the people you play chess with at the park sometimes. Because it’s so broad, you may want to start by thinking of personality traits, values, or experiences that they couldn’t know about by reading other parts of your application.
For an extremely detailed guide on how to brainstorm, write, and edit this kind of community essay, check our guide.
Essay #2 (Required for all applicants.)
Describe the unique qualities that attract you to the specific undergraduate College or School to which you are applying at the University of Michigan. How would that curriculum support your interests?
Michigan throws another classic into the mix! It’s the why essay, the most common prompt we see.
A good “Why” essay has the following ingredients:
Origin story, or why you want to study what you say you want to study
Declare Major
2-3 Upper-level courses you want to take
And why!
1-2 professors you want to work with
And why!
1-2 academic extracurriculars that fit into your stated goals
Michigan’s why essay is long. That doesn’t mean you should spend 300 words on your origin story. This essay is about telling Michigan that you’ve done the research and know that they’re offering you the best of the best. More on the Why essay here.
Please provide a statement that addresses your reasons for transferring and the objectives you hope to achieve.
Another standard essay. Michigan loves the classics! Now, you have a slight dilemma with this one, because you also just answered a Why essay and you don’t want to repeat yourself. In this essay, instead of focusing on the classes/professors angles, we encourage you to talk about other opportunities, resources, or even the culture stuff that makes you interested in Michigan. Maybe it’s access to a certain lab or research facility, a partnership with a certain museum or other colleges, or a study abroad opportunity you couldn’t have at your current school.
As you start, you want to highlight what you want to change. But be warned! Don’t bash your current school. Instead, focus on what Michigan has that your school doesn’t have – and don’t just go off of vibes. Maybe they’ve got a dope telescope or something, or a major your current school doesn’t offer.
You can also talk about the cultural elements of Michigan. Maybe you’re at a small liberal arts school or community college and you really, really want to go to a school with a lot of school spirit and football games and tailgates. That’s absolutely okay to talk about – especially because they’re proud of that part of the school – just don’t make it the focal point of your essay.
The personal statement helps you distinguish yourself in your own voice. What do you want admissions readers to know about you that is not reflected elsewhere in your application? Choose the option that best helps you answer that question and write an essay using the prompt to inspire and structure your response (1,250 - 3,250 characters, approx. 250 - 650 words).
This is the Common App essay. The “options” they lay out are just the Common App essay prompts. If you applied to Michigan before, do not reuse your Common App essay. You probably shouldn’t reuse your Common App essay in general, because we’re betting it’s not a 91Ě˝»¨ approved Common App essay.
We could write 10000000 words on how to write the Common App essay (and we probably have, all words combined), but it’s mostly a brainstorming exercise. We are Prompt 7 stans, but there are creative and unique ways to answer every single prompt of the Common App.
(Optional): Please use this space to provide a description of how you used your time during any gaps in your education (such as taking a gap year, working, travel, internships, etc).
If this applies to you, you don’t need to answer this one with a story or a flourish. Instead, write a straightforward description of how you spent your time if you took a semester off school or something.
Now… wait
Once you submit, make sure you got everything they need, check that your recommenders have submitted their letters, and now… we wait. You should hear back by late spring at the latest.
Best of luck!
If you need help with your transfer applications, reach out to us today.