University of Michigan Questions

1. 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. (Required for all applicants; minimum 100 words/maximum 300 words

2. Describe the unique qualities that attract you to the specific undergraduate College or School (including preferred admission and dual degree programs) to which you are applying at the University of Michigan. How would that curriculum support your interests? (Required for all applicants; minimum 100 words /maximum 550 words)

Before we dive into these questions, let’s look at UMich’s writing advice for these essays:

"As students consider how they will contribute to the University of Michigan campus community and respond to question and essay prompts, they may wish to highlight things that had an impact on them such as: their involvement in clubs, competing as a student-athlete, studying abroad, going on a mission trip, being engaged in debate, participating in the performing or visual arts, having alumni ties to the institution, making a difference in their community, serving in a leadership capacity, being an entrepreneur, and many others." 

So, what do we take away from this advice? Well at first glance at the prompts, which are about a community you belong to (and your place in it), and how the UMich program you’re applying to supports your interests, you could write one essay about a community you’re part of, and the other about UMich. 

And what they’re saying here is… don’t do that. Yes, of course, DO tell them about the community and how UMich serves your needs! But ultimately, you should ground each essay in THINGS YOU HAVE DONE. They want to learn about YOU, at the end of the day!

Now let’s look at each prompt individually:

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. (Required for all applicants; minimum 100 words/maximum 300 words)

Cool, so for starters, make a list of all the ‘communities and/or groups’ that you belong to. The community and your story may span two or more of the commonalities listed above (e.g., both ethnicity and cuisine, or both geography and income, or both religion and intellectual heritage, etc.). List the key commonalities next to each community. Construe community in the way that serves your story the best.

Next, list your place in that community. Again, this is your canvas and you’re the painter. Make connections. Maybe you perform with a dance troupe as part of your cultural heritage. Or your experience on a mission trip with a religious group inspired you to start a nonprofit. It’s all good if you’re involved in X subcommunity/group within the broader Y community, or X led you to take Z action. 

Keep in mind, UMich has nearly 35,000 undergraduates and about 1600 student groups. There are infinite ways to get involved in the community there. Don’t make the essay about U of M, but do connect your backstory to a specific way or ways you want to engage in the student community there. 

Your best story will hopefully do all of the following: a) demonstrate a way that you’ll add to the diversity (broadly construed) of the U of Michigan community; b) highlight a way you took meaningful action or held a significant role within a community; and c) connect to a way you want to get involved in the Michigan community. Don’t shy away from highlighting your strengths and accomplishments – this is your moment to stand in the spotlight!

Onto the next prompt...

Describe the unique qualities that attract you to the specific undergraduate College or School (including preferred admission and dual degree programs) to which you are applying at the University of Michigan. How would that curriculum support your interests? (Required for all applicants; minimum 100 words /maximum 550 words)

So, this is both a ‘Why Michigan, academically?’ and ‘why this particular program at Michigan?’ essay. 

Take a look at this overview of the school selection process while applying to Michigan as an undergraduate, from the school’s website:

"At Michigan, you don’t apply to the university overall or a specific major – you apply to one of our seven freshman admitting undergraduate schools and colleges: Architecture & Urban Planning; Art & Design; Engineering; Kinesiology; Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA); Music, Theater & Dance; and Nursing. The Ross School of Business is additionally considered a freshman enrolling unit, as they do make admission offers to incoming freshmen who have both applied and been admitted to either LSA; Engineering; Kinesiology (Sport Management); School of Music, Theater & Dance; or Stamps School of Art and Design."

So again, at first glance, the prompt seems to be asking one thing… tell us about why you want to go to Michigan – specifically THIS program at Michigan – and how it supports your interests. But reading between the lines – as well as UMich’s explicit advice – we’d strongly urge you to anchor this essay in specific things you’ve already done. 

So, let’s start with the school you’re applying to, and work back from there. Reflect on how you came to know you wanted to study field A? Make a list of your experiences that have contributed to this knowledge. Let’s look back at Michigan’s language on what you might include: “things that had an impact on them such as: their involvement in clubs, competing as a student-athlete, studying abroad, going on a mission trip, being engaged in debate, participating in the performing or visual arts, having alumni ties to the institution, making a difference in their community, serving in a leadership capacity, being an entrepreneur, and many others.”

You can even think about it as an equation. If you’re applying to the Kinesiology program, and you haven’t had specific Kinesiology experience, that’s A-OK! It can sometimes even make for a better story. Your equation might be:

[That season you were the starting QB on the football team then got injured and benched for the season but learned soooooo much about yourself and your body and what it means to be part of a team] + [your experience volunteering at a nursing home and feeling the fulfillment of helping others directly] = KINESIOLOGY ALL THE WAY!

That piece will be about 70% of your essay… the final key piece is, why the [Kinesiology] department AT MICHIGAN is better than departments at other schools. Its deep connection to their top sports teams? The faculty’s research? The community? Dig in, get to know the program, and connect specifics of UMich’s program to specifics of your experience. You don’t need to overdo the connection, but you do want the reader to feel like there’s an easy-to-follow thread about how you got from point A (not knowing what you wanted to do, or thinking you wanted to do something else, or whatever your starting point was) to point B (knowing what you wanted to do AND WHERE – namely, Michigan). 

If you’re applying to two programs simultaneously – continuing with our example, let’s say you’re applying to Kinesiology AND the Ross Business School – make sure you explain WHY you need the business education to do what you want to do in your career. Don’t assume that more is better, when it comes to majors—make a clear case for why EACH program is a necessary piece of your whole course of study. 

One more thing: the word count range is 100-500 words, which is a BIG spread. While there are surely exceptions to this generalization, 100 words is probably too short to include your interest, your experience, and why Michigan. 

That said, the 500 word limit isn’t an invitation to get verbose. Keep it pithy. Edit with the rigor you’d bring to a 250-300 word essay. If your essay is longer than 300 words, make there’s enough content to merit the longer essay. If you’ve visited the department, spoken with current students or alums, etc., and can share meaningful takeaways from those experiences, definitely include them!