If you were waitlisted by Mich, that’s disappointing — but it shouldn’t be devastating. The University of Michigan is now one of the most sought after state-school acceptances in the country, and for good reason. The university is fabulous, and widely respected. As a state school, they highly prioritize in-state students and so the acceptance statistics for Mich are pretty misleading if you are from outside of the state of Michigan. It’s been reported that the in-state acceptance rate for Mich is as high as 40%, while the published overall acceptance rate for the Fall of 2023 was 17.9%, which tells us that the out-of-state acceptance rate is much lower than that. So, it’s hard to get into Mich. It’s easier to get onto the waitlist. That same year, for first years beginning in the fall of 2023, they offered a spot on the waitlist to more than 30% of applicants. That’s pretty crazy.
Mich maintains a deep waitlist. Like sort of absurdly deep. There is no world where they would ever need a waitlist as long as what they choose to maintain. The only logical reason is that it is a PR, communications, or marketing project. Perhaps students feel less bitter about being waitlisted and then rejected than they do about being rejected right away? Who knows, but we can see a world where Michigan admissions officials are sitting around a table talking about how to stay extremely popular, and the waitlist feels like a useful tool in working towards that goal. Whatever the reason is, the outcome is a little cruel. Tens of thousands of students like you are offered waitlist spots, and you can get off the waitlist — but it isn’t easy.
In this post, we’ll break down how to improve your chances with Mich, but we’ll also give you tools you absolutely need to do to ensure you have a strong start to your college experience. First, though, some more numbers.
For the fall of 2024, Mich accepted 973 of 18,793 candidates on the waitlist, or 5%. In the world of waitlists, that isn’t too shabby. It’s even a bit rosy! Let’s look further back to confirm it is a trend.
For the fall of 2023, Mich offered 26,898 applicants a spot on the waitlist and 18,575 accepted a spot. Again, about 5% were eventually admitted, or 983 applicants.
Neither of those are terrible acceptance rates from the waitlist as far as waitlists go, but we also can’t ever take two years as representative of the norm, and especially with Mich. This is because waitlist acceptances are tied to yield rate regardless of the name of the college or university. The number of students who get in off of the waitlist (not the percentage, but the number) depends on how many accepted students choose to attend. Some schools have a yield rate of 60% or more, especially among Ivy League and Ivy-adjacent universities. Mich, though, has a yield rate closer to 50%, meaning that one in two accepted students choose to attend.
If fewer students than expected pick them, that’s when Mich has to go to the waitlist. With that in mind, let’s look back further.
For the fall of 2022, Michigan offered 21,078 students a spot on the waitlist. 15,076 accepted the offer. 77 were eventually accepted, or .5%. That’s less hopeful. So, let’s go back another year.
For the fall of 2021, 17,805 students were offered a spot on the waitlist. 13,063 took them up on it. 68, or, again, .5%, were accepted.
So, this confirms that students do indeed get off the waitlist, but it’s a very small percentage, and sometimes a miniscule percentage. When you see that dozens or even hundreds of students are getting in, that sounds good. When you hear it’s .5%-5%, that’s not so good.
That said, this confirms that it is also not impossible to get in off the Michigan waitlist. Every year, for the past 4 years at least, we’ve had students pull it off. In this post, we break down what you need to do to improve your chances of being one of those few. We also guide you towards a successful college start wherever you end up in the fall.
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If you were waitlisted by the University of Michigan, there are four steps you absolutely must take to make sure your college future continues smoothly — whether or not you end up at Mich.
Step 1: Accept Your Spot on the Waitlist
The Michigan waitlist is not ranked, so don’t freak out if you haven’t claimed your spot yet. There aren’t bonus points for speedy respondents, but you also shouldn’t stall. If you are still interested in Mich, join the list. It isn’t binding, and there isn’t much you can do anyway (see step 3), so it’s really a low stakes situation. So, jump in the pool.
Step 2: Pick Another School
Mich is a firm maybe, and probably ultimately a no, so you need another plan. It’s absolutely mandatory that you commit to a college that you were accepted by so that you have a campus to pull into come orientation. This may be frustrating, or even painful, if you weren’t accepted by a school that you are excited for. That’s understandable, but it’s not a reason to skip this step. Reapplying next year is a bad plan. Seriously. You can, however, transfer. We can help with that.
After you’ve committed, it’s time to move to step 3.
Step 3: Write a “Letter”…kind of
Normally, step 3 is pretty straightforward. For most schools, you send an update to your application in the form of a Letter of Continued Interest. Many schools even have a form for you to fill out to do this. Mich doesn’t. They do have a form for deferred students, which you may have experienced previously, but they actually don’t want anything from you right now. That’s harsh, we know, but it’s also important to respect what they are saying. And they say, “We will not accept any additional documents from you unless specifically requested, as they will not impact your final decision.”
Ok, so no documents. That’s clear. But what else can you do?
First, we recommend asking your school college counselor to make an advocacy call on your behalf. This is not mandatory, and it’s not necessarily something your counselor will feel comfortable doing — but they may, so it’s worth asking.
Next, if you have previously communicated with admissions, you should send them a thank you in the form of an email. This should be super short, and basically reaffirm that Mich is your first choice, that you appreciate continued consideration of your application, and that you will attend if accepted. It should, at most, be 150-200 words.
If you haven’t previously communicated with admissions, you could send a similar note to your regional admissions representative. This is not mandatory, and not necessarily something we would recommend, but if you feel like you must do something remember the key points: Focus on gratitude, reaffirm interest, and keep it super short.
Step 4: Move On
This part is generally the hardest. Moving on from Mich when you don’t know what the firm answer is yet can be really difficult. You will not hear from Michigan until at least mid-May, and possibly well into summer. Keep your mind off of Mich by focusing on closing out your senior year strong and getting excited for what comes next.
As you navigate the University of Michigan waitlist, remember that the university does allow rejected students to reapply as a transfer. If that’s the route you decide to take, we can help.
Dealing with waitlist decisions is tough. We make it simple. Contact us to learn more.