How To Answer UMich's Supplemental Essays 2024/2025

While working as an admissions officer at the University of Michigan, I found that a large percentage of students didn’t answer all of the components of the supplemental essay prompts. Those who did write a compelling and thorough response stood out from the other candidates.

The best way to write a stand-out essay is to learn from the best — then do better! So let's review the supplemental essays of four students who were admitted. These are already solid essays, but to make sure you’re writing the perfect one, let's go through each one together and provide tips to help you to write a polished, stand-out essay.

University of Michigan's Supplemental Essays in 2024/2025

Michigan is a pretty competitive university. For the Class of 2027, only about 18% of applicants got accepted. Every aspect of your application needs to be excellent - including the essays.

Besides the Common App and Coalition App essays, Michigan asks you to answer the two additional prompts below. These prompts are still the same as last year's and haven't been changed.

Let’s get right to business: how should you answer each Michigan prompt, and what mistakes should you avoid?

How To Answer University of Michigan’s Supplemental Essays

As I’ve mentioned earlier, what I’ll do here is go through 4 essays of students who got accepted.

I’m going to highlight what they did well — and more importantly, what could have been done differently. That way, you’re looking at the best ones, and then taking it a step further to write an amazing essay!

Prompt 1 Essay Examples

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. (Required for all applicants; minimum 100 words/maximum 300 words)

What They Did Well:

1. Memorable Topic

The reason Michigan gives so many examples in the prompt is to give students a range of ideas as to what they might consider a community.

Community itself usually means the people you’re around or the people you live with, but community can actually mean any group of people with whom you share an interest.

So even though they give all of these examples, it is unusual for a student to write about something that’s not in the prompt. The prompt says “among other things” - It doesn’t say “choose one of the communities listed.” Remember that unique topics are always interesting to admissions officers.

Though this student  chose one of the  topics listed (religion), they approached it in an unconventional way. The way they described their  upbringing caught my attention. It was interesting that this person didn’t have a religious background, yet went to a Korean church, even though they weren’t Korean.

The way the student approached the topic was unique and this was something that literally only this student could have written about.

2. Authentic Voice

I can hear the student’s authentic voice through their sentence structure and choice of words When the student says “I found myself moved by the community’s genuine warmth and the sanctuary it provided from my usual crowded, busy, and tech-driven life.” I got a sense of how they actually felt in the community.

Strive to show your true authentic self within the context of your essay - it always leaves an impression.

What Could Have Been Done Differently:

1. Translate Better to the Community at Michigan

This prompt is deceptively simple - and many students miss the nuance of the prompt.

When reading this essay, admissions officers are trying to determine  how you behave within a specific community and get an idea of the  activities of this community.

The assumption is that if you are this type of person in one community, you will be a positive, contributing member of the Michigan community as well.

The way this essay ended is also not very memorable. The ending should be specific as opposed to broad. A great way to end an essay to this prompt is by drawing my attention back to the main point. The connection between the community and how you will engage in/contribute to the community at Michigan  needs to be clear.

Remember that the admissions officer reads essays very quickly, within 15-30 seconds. You’ll need to pull everything together succinctly to make your role in the community clear.

2. Refer to the University Correctly

This one applies to all the blogs we’re going to be looking at! The Student referred to the university as “UMichigan” - try to avoid this. You’ll leave a much better impression if you refer to the university the way the website refers to it: “University of Michigan” or “Michigan” or even “U-M.”

If you are unsure, look at the admissions website for the university. It will be very clear how the administration refers to the university and you should follow suit.

Likewise, if you are referring to a specific school or college (Michigan has both!), be sure you use the terminology correctly. For example, the College of Literature, Science and the Arts is referred to LSA everywhere and the School of Nursing is commonly referred to as UMSN.

What They Did Well:

1. Demonstrate Maturity

The way the student highlighted the camaraderie of working with others signaled the student maturity, which is a good quality to highlight. The quality of this student’s writing is such that the student showed their maturity as opposed to just stating that they are mature.

2. Translated Well to the Community at Michigan

The writer made it clear that this community was based on an intellectual shared interest or passion.

I liked the phrasing that the writer used in the line “became a bonding experience worth skipping lunches and making daily trips to Home Depot.” This line highlights the student’s character and the voice sounds real.

What Could Have Been Done Differently:

1. Keep the Prompt in Mind

The second paragraph had a bit too much many details of the engineering team, all of which were not  necessary. More specifics about the  community itself would have more impact.

The student also stated that this is their purpose in life, which is quite a heavy phrase for a 17 year old. The question is asking you about community, no one is expecting you to talk about your purpose in life yet. This essay could have been improved if the student kept the prompt top of mind.

Prompt 2 Essay Examples

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; minimum 100 words /maximum 550 words)

What They Did Well:

1. Specificity

The student talked about very specific resources such as the CoLab’ program which offers collaboration with composers and he connects it clearly to his interests. Understanding what  the university offers is important for this prompt. 

The student also focused on his passion for jazz and his connection to that environment through the interaction he had with the bassoon professor. 

What Could Have Been Done Differently:

1. Accolades and History

Many students make the mistake of restating information from the website about the university’s top programs or world-renowned faculty. All admissions officers are very familiar with the content on the website and sometimes they even wrote the content themselves.

A better choice is to replace any general information that can be found on the university website with writing that adds value to your essay, connecting what you want with what the university has.

Praise for the university does not tell the admissions officer about you, which is what they really want to know from your essays. 

What They Did Well:

1. Specificity

They were specific with their connection to what's offered at Michigan. They pulled in research projects and assistance from the business engagement center. 

They identified their major and how what's offered can help The student understands that Michigan prides itself on the diversity of the students that go there and in the final paragraph, they talk about their upbringing and their diversity of it, similar to how UMich is diverse. 

The student shows the admissions officer that they would both fit in and connect with the culture and community at Michigan.

What Could Have Been Done Differently:

1. Word Choice 

Choose your words wisely and make sure every choice furthers the message you’re trying to get across. 

For example, the student used “regurgitate” in this essay. The word  “regurgitate” implies that someone is repeating what they heard by just throwing the information back instead of taking in the knowledge, understanding and synthesizing it, and using it. Vocabulary matters.

2. Relevancy

A good essay is one that’s cohesive and tells a narrative. In this essay, the disability aid topic was not strongly connected to the rest of the essay. 

So in other words, don't select a random topic to include unless there's something that's actually connected to what you've done or what you're interested in, and that's clear someplace else in your essay or application.

Final Thoughts

You'll spend a lot of time staring at your responses. Sometimes you won't even see the obvious grammatical errors.

After you finish writing, don't look at the essays for a day or two. Then look at the essays again. You might see something you missed before.

Finally, ask someone you trust to review your responses for clarity and structure. Make your final edits and turn them in with the rest of your application.

While grades, a good GPA, and test scores are important, the University of Michigan takes a holistic look at applications. Your supplemental essays matter more than you may think! They allow you to show your enthusiasm for the school and why the University of Michigan is the best school for you.

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