The University of Michigan is a top university in the United States and has a strong transfer program that attracts students from around the country. Unlike many other top schools, UMich has a robust transfer support ecosystem, including community college student support programs, that ensures that transfer students feel supported. The results are obvious, as over 89% of transfers graduate within 4 years.
If you’re considering transferring to the University of Michigan, we’re here to help. In this post, we’ll dive into applying for transfer to the two most common UMich colleges for transfer, which also conveniently share an application: the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts and the College of Engineering. If you are interested in transferring to another college at UMich, you’ll need to apply to them directly.
Before we dive into the transfer application essays, some fast facts. The median GPA for accepted transfer students is 3.8, and 72.2% came from four-year colleges (27.8% came from two-year colleges, including community and junior colleges). In 2021, 4,942 students applied to transfer to UMich and 2,051 were accepted, or 41.5%. This is a significantly higher acceptance rate than the first-year admission acceptance rate, which is only about 26%.
If you were eyeing the University of Michigan as a high school senior, but it felt out of reach, transferring may be a great way in!
THE ESSAYS
There are four core essays for the UMich transfer application.
The Common App Personal Essay (650 words)
First up, the Common App essay. Not all colleges have transfer applicants do the standard Common App essay, but UMich does. Lucky for you, we have broken down the Common App essay with a level of obsession that is probably unique to us. Check out this post where we outline ways to brainstorm an awesome Common App essay.
The Community Question
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. (1,500-character limit, about 250 words)
This is an opportunity to share a piece of yourself that goes deep into something that may not otherwise show up in your application. Instead of focusing on a community that is academic, athletic, or otherwise related to school, look outside of education to focus on a place or group where you feel truly grounded. Speak to what matters most to you, and tell a story. Essays for this prompt have worked best when the student went with their gut, and didn’t let self-consciousness get in their way.
The Curriculum Question
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? (2,750-character limit, about 350 words)
This is a crucial question, and it’s one that requires some research before you sit down to write. Do not try to answer this question until you’ve really dug into the program you want to pursue — especially the major — at UMich. Once you have your major picked, find a few courses you’d like to take, a professor you’d like to study under, and a program (such as a summer research opportunity). In this essay, you need to charge your course academically at UMich. Make it abundantly obvious not just that you want to be at UMich, but in particular the academic why.
The Transfer Question
Please provide a statement that addresses your reasons for transferring and the objectives you hope to achieve. (1,500-character limit, about 250 words)
You’ve written about what you want to pursue academically at UMich, but now they want to know why you’re considering jumping ship from your current school in the first place. This is not a place to beat around the bush nor should you be so diplomatic that the application readers won’t be able to tell what you’re talking about. Instead, respectfully, and specifically, outline the why behind your decision to transfer, and identify what you see as changing for you with a move to UMich.
In the previous essay, you addressed your specific academic goals, so this essay can take a more zoomed-out view on your objectives at UMich — and even what you see in your future after graduation.
The Covid Question
An optional essay related to the impact of COVID-19 on the applicant. We encourage students to share their specific circumstances, and will bring empathy and compassion to our holistic review process.
Ah, the most ubiquitous question of the 2nd decade of the 21st century (so far, at least). The COVID question has become a fixture of college applications, and for good reason. Billions of people have had their lives irrevocably changed because of COVID, and you may be one of them. This is the place to address that if it applies to you. The if is crucial here. Do not come up with something simply to be able to answer this question, and stretch your experience to fill the space. If you need to put something here, you know. If you are questioning it at all, you probably don’t.
WHAT COMES NEXT
As you pursue your transfer application for UMich, you should take a look at their Virtual Transfer Spotlight program, which offers applicants the opportunity to speak with current students about their experiences. You should also dive into the resources at the LSA UMich Transfer Student Center, which will show you just how much UMich loves transfers (they really, really do).
If you’re considering a transfer, send us an email. We help students like you defy transfer statistics to find their dream school.