What kind of student will succeed at the University of Michigan?

You’ve undoubtedly come to this page to find out if you are admissible. While we certainly understand, please know that this process is only one part science. We don’t just plug your GPA and test scores into some calculator that will produce an instant decision.

We look at each student as a whole package, a combination of talents, interests, passions, and skills. In this way, we can look beyond grades and test scores to recruit the most dynamic group of students possible. A wide variety of backgrounds, intellectual passions, and interests make up the typical applicant. What they share is a drive to pursue academic excellence in a challenging and rewarding academic environment.

Before we review specific components of how to apply to the University, there are some big-picture elements we focus on in our selection process overview.

Admission to the University of Michigan is competitive. That’s why we employ an individualized, comprehensive process in reviewing each student’s application.

We know that there is great variation among our applicants’ personal circumstances, home communities, and high schools, including those schools’ course offerings and grading practices. As a result, our admissions process considers all aspects of your record and experience—we do not admit applicants solely on the basis of any single criterion. We value the whole record—excellent grades in rigorous courses, top ACT/SAT scores, participation in extracurricular activities, professional arts training, and evidence of leadership, awards, and service.

Now is the time to think about who you are and how you will define yourself at every stage of this process. What are the basics?

A Life of the Mind

Academic strength, certainly as an indicator of how thoroughly you’ve been prepared to succeed in a dynamic interdisciplinary environment, is key. To that end, the amount of intellectual challenge you’ve taken on based on what is offered in your educational environment will be highly important. It will be important to take a rigorous curriculum in which you succeed and can demonstrate your intellectual skills.

The Personal and the Social

In the real world you will graduate into, you will be called upon to perform many tasks, from critical thinking to working well with others. Michigan graduates demonstrate both so well they often rise to positions of leadership in the world.

Your extracurricular preparation speaks to what you’ve done beyond the classroom. How have you become a leader at your school and in your community? To what heights have you taken your training in music, art, or dance? What is your life like beyond your course of studies and how do you connect them?

Show us how the combination of course work and related activities inspired original thinking on your part. What you’ve done beyond simply taking AP courses is a very important consideration for admission. It speaks to what kind of person you are and how well you might do in a dynamic, multifaceted campus community.

We also look for students who will lend educational and cultural diversity to campus and who are curious about new ideas, people, and experiences. If success means more than material accomplishment, if you’re someone who pushes boundaries and is not content with status-quo answers, then the University of Michigan could be your next home.

Finding Your Voice

The personal and the academic—the point at which they come together in your admissions essays is the culminating factor in the U-M selection process. Your individual voice, in other words.

Sound complex? It is…which is why we’ve drawn your attention to it here. In the end, what we are looking at and deciding upon is the whole person each prospective student has become. We don’t, however, go through each student's essay, red pen in hand. Right now, the best thing you can do is take a breath and be honest.

　　什么类型的学生会在密歇根大学取得成功？

　　毫无疑问地，你会来到这一页查看自己是否被录取。这个过程只是录取的一部分。我们不会只是将你的GPA和分数塞进计算器而做出一个瞬间的决定。

　　我们把每个学生看作一个整体，一个由天赋、兴趣、激情、技能的组合体。这样，我们会超越等级和分数，尽可能去录取一些最具活力的学生。各种各样的背景，对知识的激情和兴趣造就了一个个极具个人风格的申请者。在这样一个充满挑战和奖励的学术氛围里，他们之间的相互分享是追求学术卓越的不竭动力。

　　在我们审视如何申请的具体要素之前，有一些宏观的要素需要注意。

　　密歇根大学招生录取的竞争很激烈。这就是为什么我们在审视每位申请者的时候，采用一种个性化、综合的录取程序的原因。

　　我们知道申请者由于自身条件、家庭社区环境、高中教育特点，包括学校课程设置和分级实践的不同而各不相同。由此，我们的录取过程会考虑到你的记录和经验的各个方面——我们不会单单基于任何一条原则而录取申请者，而是权衡申请者的整体情况——在严格的课程上取得优异成绩，在SAT/ACT考试上得高分，课外活动的参与度，专业艺术训练，和领导能力、获得的奖励以及服务社会方面的证明等。

　　现在是时候去仔细思考你是谁，以及在这个过程的每个阶段你怎样定义你自己。最基本的是什么呢？

　　精神生活

　　学术强度，作为你如何做好充足的准备，以图在一个动态的、跨学科环境里取得成功的重要指标，自然是关键。为了这个目的，基于所在教育环境能够提供的资源，你进行的智力挑战的数量是十分重要的。在一门严格的课程中取得成功是很重要的，并且这可以展示的你的智力技能。

　　个人和社会

　　在这个你将逐渐沦陷的真实世界，从批判性思考到与他人进行良好的合作，你会被要求承担和执行许多任务，。密歇根大学的毕业生的表现都十分出色，以至于他们当中经常有人跻身世界领导人的行列。

　　你的课外表现说明了你在教室之外做了些什么。你是怎样成为学校和社区的领导者的？你在音乐、艺术或者舞蹈等方面的训练达到了什么样的高度？在学习之外你的生活是什么样子的？你怎么将它们联系起来？

　　从你的角度向我们展示，课程学习和相关课外活动的结合是怎样激发你的创造性思维的。你在简单的AP课程学习之外都做了些什么，是考虑录取与否十分重要的因素。这会说明你是一个什么样子的人，以及你会在这样一个动态的，多元的校园社区里会有怎样好的表现。

　　我们也在寻找一些能够将教育和文化多样性赋予密歇根校园，以及那些对新观点，新面孔和新体验充满好奇的学生。如果成功不只意味着纸面上的成功，如果你是那种敢于撼动边界，不满现状的人，那么密歇根大学很可能是你下一个寄所。

　　在你的短文中，能够将个人和学术有机结合起来，将是在U-M选择招生过程中的重要因素。换句话说，我们需要听到你个人的声音。

　　听起来很复杂吗？这就是为什么我们能够吸引你的注意力。最后，我们寻找的和录取的依据是每个申请者的整个人，而不是像批阅作业一样阅览每个学生的申请短文。现在，你能做的最好的事情就是深呼吸和诚实应对。