How to Get Into the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor)

Why Michigan admission works school-by-school

The University of Michigan is a large, selective public flagship in Ann Arbor with a substantial international student population. The single most important thing to understand before you apply is that you do not apply to "Michigan" in the abstract — you apply to a specific school or college within it, and that choice shapes your essays and your review.

The main undergraduate schools and colleges include the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA), the College of Engineering, the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, the School of Nursing, the School of Kinesiology, and several arts, music, and design schools. Each has its own curriculum and, in some cases, its own supplemental requirements.

Admission is competitive and uses an individualized, comprehensive (holistic) review. According to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, each application is assessed by multiple evaluators before a final decision is reached, and the same rigorous review applies regardless of which application plan you choose.

• You apply to a specific school/college, not to the university generically
• Review is holistic and read by multiple evaluators
• Your school/college choice drives your second supplemental essay

The application system: Common App plus U-M questions

Michigan uses the Common Application. On top of the standard Common App sections, you must complete the University of Michigan–specific questions, including U-M supplemental essays. Submitting the Common App is not enough on its own — the U-M questions are required.

Along with your application, your high school submits an official transcript and a teacher evaluation (recommendation) by the deadline. Michigan has been test-optional in recent cycles; the admissions office states that if you prefer Michigan not consider an SAT or ACT score, its process respects that decision and there is no need to report scores. Because a test policy can change year to year, confirm the current-cycle testing policy on the official U-M admissions website before you apply.

• Common App + required University of Michigan questions and essays
• Official transcript + a teacher evaluation from your school
• Test-optional in recent cycles — verify the current policy on admissions.umich.edu

The two U-M supplemental essays

Beyond the Common App personal statement, U-M requires two supplemental essays. One asks how you are prepared to contribute to the university's goal of developing leaders and citizens who challenge the present and enrich the future (a shorter response). The second asks you to 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, and how that curriculum would support your interests (a longer response).

The second essay is where your school/college choice matters most. A strong LSA essay reads differently from a strong Engineering or Ross essay because each names concrete programs, courses, or opportunities within that unit. Word limits and prompts are set each cycle, so copy the exact prompts and word counts from the official U-M essay-questions page rather than relying on last year's version.

• Essay 1: contributing to the community as a leader/citizen (shorter)
• Essay 2: why this specific U-M school/college and its curriculum
• Match the second essay to the exact unit you selected

Ross School of Business: first-year BBA admission and Preferred Admission

The Ross School of Business now admits students directly as first-year applicants (it became a first-year admitting unit in the 2024 cycle). If you want to start in the BBA program as a first-year student, you select Ross as your school on the Common App and complete two extra requirements beyond the U-M questions: additional business-focused essay content and the Ross Admissions Portfolio.

The Ross Admissions Portfolio, submitted through Ross's SlideRoom portal (with a small transaction fee), has two parts: a Business Case Discussion — choose a current event or community issue and discuss its business implications and a possible solution (around 500 words), where reviewers look for creativity, original connections, and clear reasoning — and an Artifact, an open-ended item that shows who you are and how you would fit the Ross community.

Michigan also offers a separate route called Preferred Admission. This is a dual-degree pathway: you apply to another first-year unit (such as LSA, Engineering, Kinesiology's Sport Management, Music/Theatre & Dance, or the Stamps School of Art & Design), indicate interest in Ross, and — if admitted with Preferred Admission — are guaranteed a place to enter Ross in your sophomore year provided you complete the required first-year prerequisites. Confirm the current first-year BBA requirements, the Preferred Admission units, and portfolio prompts on the official Michigan Ross BBA admissions pages.

• Ross admits first-year applicants directly (BBA) — select Ross + complete the Ross Admissions Portfolio
• Portfolio = Business Case Discussion (~500 words) + an Artifact — verify prompts on the official Ross pages
• Preferred Admission is a separate dual-degree route to enter Ross in sophomore year

Engineering, LSA, and dual-degree options

The College of Engineering and LSA are the two largest undergraduate units. Engineering applicants are reviewed for engineering directly; the college also offers dual-degree options such as an integrated business-and-engineering pathway. LSA is the broad liberal-arts-and-sciences college covering the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences, and it houses the LSA Honors Program that admitted students can apply to.

Because program structures, honors options, and dual-degree deadlines are set each cycle, check the specific college's admissions page for exact requirements. Choose the school or college that genuinely matches your intended path — your supplemental essay and any program-specific requirements follow from that choice.

• Engineering applicants are reviewed for engineering directly
• LSA is the broad liberal-arts-and-sciences college with its own Honors Program
• Dual-degree pathways exist — check the college page for deadlines

Application plans, deadlines, and international requirements

Michigan offers Early Decision (binding), Early Action (non-binding), and Regular Decision (non-binding). In recent cycles Early Decision and Early Action have shared an early-November deadline (with decisions around the end of December for ED and by late January for EA), and Regular Decision has had a February deadline. Early Decision is a newer, binding plan requiring a signed agreement. Deadlines and plan details can shift year to year, so confirm the exact dates for your cycle on the official requirements-and-deadlines page.

International applicants follow the same holistic review and, where English is not their first language or medium of instruction, must submit an accepted English-proficiency test (such as TOEFL, IELTS, or MET) as applicable. Verify the current accepted tests and any minimum expectations directly on the U-M admissions website. This is a guide, not admissions advice — official requirements always govern.

• Early Decision (binding), Early Action, and Regular Decision plans
• Confirm exact deadlines each cycle on admissions.umich.edu
• International applicants: submit English-proficiency scores as applicable