The University of Michigan is one of the most famous public state universities in the country, and famed globally for offering an exceptional academic experience. There are 10 different undergraduate colleges at Michigan that first-year applicants can apply to focused on everything from architecture and engineering to dance and pharmacy. Most students, nearly 20,000, attend the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, or LSA, and it offers the most academically diverse opportunities.
LSA received over 57,000 applications for Fall 2025 admission, and accepted 18% of applicants. That acceptance rate is super misleading, though if you live anywhere other than Michigan. As a state school, Michigan prioritizes in-state applicants, and more than half of the undergraduate student body is from Michigan. The number of Michigan-based students who apply to the University of Michigan is much lower, however, than the cumulative total of students applying from all other places on the globe. So, the Michigan-based students get in at a higher rate (39% in 2023), and the other applicants (which may include you) face an acceptance rate of a top-tier private institution (14% in 2023).
There has been a marked drop in acceptance rate even for instate students, though, with the rate of admission falling from 55% to 39% over the course of the past decade. This is just one of the reasons why we discourage our students from using Reddit and other forums as a news source when it comes to college. Online, loads of blogs cite the current in-state acceptance rate as still being what it was over 10 years ago. The times have changed and it is much harder to get into Michigan even for in-state students.
If Michigan is your dream school, you need to have a strategy that is informed by this new, more competitive reality and that makes them say “yes!” to your application easy. Below, we’ll break down the different facets of a strong Michigan application and give you a peek into how we work with our students to ultimately get in.
If you want to skip the stress and get straight to a stellar application, get in touch.
Step 1: Ace Your Academics
Whether or not you are an in-state applicant, Michigan expects to see stellar grades and scores as part of any strong application. Michigan reports that 83% of incoming first-years is have a GPA of 3.9 or higher. Mich is far less interested in class rank than in how you stand alone. GPA distributions, then, are a useful place to see how you measure up.
| GPA Range | % of Accepted Students Who Submitted Scores |
|---|---|
| 4 | 39% |
| 3.75-3.99 | 54% |
| 3.50-3.74 | 6% |
| 3.25-3.49 | 1% |
| 3.00-3.24 | 0% |
| Total | 100.00% |
It is crucial to accept that, as an applicant to Michigan — but especially as an out-of-state applicant — you cannot fall into the lowest end of this range (anything below a 3.75) and expect to have any chance of getting in unless you are a top athletic recruit. And, if you are a top athletic recruit, chances are you aren’t reading this post.
One of the things that we work with our students on is that you absolutely can’t plan on being the exception. Instead, you need to build an application that makes the numbers work in your favor. This means excelling academically numerically, but also in difficulty. You need to be taking the hardest classes that you have access to, and not only in the subject area(s) that you are most interested in. Often, this means asking for support before you get a lower score. Advocating for yourself with your teachers, hiring a tutor, or taking advantage of extra credit opportunities are all ways of proactively improving your grades.
As you polish your transcript, you need to be preparing to take the SAT or ACT. Like with all Michigan stats, the numbers are misleading because they include in-state applicants who are held to different standards. This doesn’t mean that they aren’t exceptional, too, the pressure is just different. While the median ACT is 33 and the median SAT is a 1460, we counsel our students to be in the 99th percentile on either test, which would require an SAT in the 1500s or an ACT of 34 or above.
| Test | 25th Percentile | 50th Percentile | 75th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAT Composite | 1360 | 1460 | 1530 |
| ACT Composite | 31 | 33 | 34 |
When we work with students, we love the opportunity to begin charting these academic trajectories early in their high school career, helping pick courses and timing when to take certain APs. When deadlines are closer, there is still a lot that can be maneuvered, but the courses you took as a junior aren’t one of the levers we have at hand.
Step 2: Develop a Passion
If we say “passion” and something automatically jumps to mind and has an academic tie-in, that is awesome. For most students we work with, though, the jump from interest to passion is still developing when we start working together. This is exciting for us, as we are able to help them find opportunities that empower them to deepen into something that they truly come to love.
This can include identifying special programs and additional academic opportunities, securing internships, engaging with service, and even summer employment. There isn’t a structured ‘check list’, it’s really about vibes in the best way possible. It’s personal, not cookie cutter.
The key, we’ve found, is to go all in. When you’ve found a passion, you need to commit. That doesn’t mean pushing everything else that you care about to the side, but more than half of your activities list on the Common App will most likely be related to your passion — and it should be. Remember, this is your primary focus. We work with our students to approach it from a variety of angles.
Step 3: Niche Down
Say you really like political science. You can take whatever class(es) your school offers, pursue additional learning opportunities outside of the classroom, and maybe undertake some independent research. After you’ve exhausted those options, though, you are going to need to (and want to) niche down. This means identifying a specific area within a subject to explore.
We work with our students to identify their niche early so that we have lots of runway to develop their specific corner of the subject they love. Going back to political science, this could be an interest in town governance, state races, or city infrastructure. It could be anything really, that can also be linked to an internship and the development of a mentor/mentee relationship.
Step 4: Developing Extracurriculars
Steps two and three link closely (and partially) fulfill step four, but it’s important to address extracurriculars separate from your academic passion, too. If all that you do on your activities list is academic and focused on a particular area of study, you actually come off as very one-note and boring.
We work with our students to address three core areas through their extracurriculars:
Teamwork
Leadership
Care for Your Community
These three buckets aren’t weighted equally for most students. You may have more teamwork, or have a heavy strength in service to others. What we work with our students on is making sure that we hit all three in meaningful ways. Throwaway one-off experiences are just that, throwaway.
We also like for our students to hit more than half (usually all!) of the types of activities below:
Research
Internships
Outside classes
Summer programs
Clubs at school
Sports
Jobs
Volunteer work
Michigan says that having a job or even service isn’t “important” to them, except where it illustrates your character. For Michigan, doing what excites you matters a lot, alongside hitting those three main categories of teamwork, leadership, and care for your community.
| Nonacademic Factors | Very Important | Important | Considered | Not Considered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interview | X | |||
| Extracurricular activities | X | |||
| Talent/ability | X | |||
| Character/personal qualities | X | |||
| First generation | X | |||
| Alumni/ae relation | X | |||
| Geographical residence | X | |||
| State residency | X | |||
| Religious affiliation/commitment | X | |||
| Volunteer work | X | |||
| Work experience | X | |||
| Level of applicant’s interest | X |
At TKG, we work to find opportunities that aren’t offered at your school and that aren’t easy to find with an internet search, but that will set your application apart. Then, we lean into them and develop writing around them, resulting in compelling supplements grounded in what you care about most.
Step 5: Apply!
The University of Michigan only offered Early Action and Regular Decision application options until they introduced Early Decision in the 2026 undergraduate admissions cycle. Now, you have the choice between Early Action or Early Decision.
The change is so recent that there is not data to show the difference in efficacy between the three admissions options, but if Mich follows the model of other top schools with their early admission offerings than it is a major advantage to apply Early Decision over Early Action, and both are better than going RD. This is especially true for out-of-state applicants.
When we work with students, choosing where to use your binding ED option (or nonbinding REA if applicable) is more than simply picking a favorite school. There is a large amount of strategy involved, as choosing your early options right is your most powerful tool towards a top-tier acceptance. Waste your Early Decision on a school you aren’t a strong candidate for — even if it is a dream school — and you’ve tanked your opportunities.
Starting early with students helps ensure that they have all their options open as deadlines approach, and we counsel our students on their clearest path to the best school for them, including Mich.
We’ll be breaking down your next step for your Mich application, the supplemental, in a future post. For now, give the questions some thought:
At the University of Michigan, we are focused on developing leaders and citizens who will challenge the present and enrich the future. In your essay, share with us how you are prepared to contribute to these goals. This could include the people, places, experiences, or aspirations that have shaped your journey and future plans. (Required for all applicants; 100 word minimum; 300 word maximum.)
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; 100 word minimum; 550 word maximum.)
Each year, we help students who are out-of-state break into Michigan. For many, they weren’t sure it was even possible before we started working together. By the time the acceptance email arrives, though, they are confident and clear in their sense of purpose. All of the pieces of the puzzle came together, just like they should.
Conclusion
After helping with thousands of applications, we’ve come to believe that applying to college is logistically simple, all you have to do is take some tests, send some forms, and answer some questions. Emotionally and strategically, though, it can be a roller coaster. We smooth the bumps and make it simple to get into a dream school.
If you want to craft the perfect application for The University of Michigan, reach out to us today.