One of the weird things about U Mich’s supplemental essays isn’t really the essays themselves. Rather, here at PenningPapers, we noticed no one gives comprehensive details on how to ACTUALLY write the essay questions. All writing advice, not just for U Mich essays, must tell you how to ACTUALLY approach the essays. Unfortunately, most advice is just too vague.

Take U Mich’s second supplemental essay prompt for instance.

Prompt: “Why do you want to attend the University of Michigan?”

Answer: “To answer this question, you must show why you want to attend U Mich. Just talk about why you want to go! Maybe you have a major that fits their needs. Cool!”

“To answer this question, you must show why you want to attend U Mich. Just talk about why you want to go! Maybe you have a major that fits their needs. Cool!”

U Mich boasts an acceptance rate of 23% and a median unweighted GPA of 3.9. So, obviously, advice like this doesn’t really need to be said.

If you’re striving to attend a school like this, you probably know basic reading comprehension. So, real advice would be a deconstruction of the essay question and how to approach the University of Michigan supplemental essays in a smart way!

Also, if you’re reading this article to figure out how to write the U Mich essays, you probably are wondering how to write the essays for other schools too.

Some of this advice is applicable to other highly competitive schools too such as Dartmouth, Cornell, Duke, etc. As a side note, you should be looking for articles that deconstruct the questions like I am doing below, and not just giving lazy advice!

Table of Contents

1. U Mich Community Essay Question
2. U Mich “Why Us” Essay Question
3. Optional U Mich COVID Question
4. U Mich School of Education Essay Question

U Mich Community Essay Question

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)

U Mich Undergrad Website

Alright, a few rules here.

You can write about belonging to practically any community unless it demonstrates major red flags. Here’s an example: people who fall under the ENTJ personality trait of the MBTI personality test are part of the “commander personality” community. This is healthy, and they’re good answers. People who harbor resentment for the opposite sex such as the Red Pill, the Pink Pill, and the Incel community have a history of red flags. These are not healthy, and they’re bad answers.

Maybe you as an individual are a good person. It doesn’t matter. From a college admissions strategy perspective, you don’t want to risk compromising your admissions chances because of a community’s bad reputation.

Here are a couple of other good examples of healthy communities to write about in your University of Michigan essay:

1. Your personal Dungeons and Dragons community
2. The anime community (This can be tricky, but it’s also very interesting. I helped a lot of Asian American students in the SoCal area with these essays. (I also have a guide on this that you should probably check out here.)
3. The Kpop community
4. Ethnic community
5. Religious community
6. Atheist community
7. Video game community
8. Political ideology
9. The fanbase for certain people
10. Entrepreneurship community
11. You and your circle of friends

Okay, once you’ve chosen a community you belong to, you want to achieve these two things.

1. Open up to the admissions officers so they can understand you more.
2. Demonstrate a character trait that they can see as valuable.

When you’re writing about your community, you’re showing something personal to the admissions officers. This is something that can be quite hard. Obviously, you don’t have to write everything embarrassing about yourself in the University of Michigan essays to get accepted. That’s not what they’re asking. They just want a deeper look into your life as a whole to better understand you.

You can’t do that by just telling them about the surface level of what your community is like. You do this by getting into detail about the intricacies of your experience in your community.

Here are a few examples. Can you differentiate which one gives the admissions officers a better look at the applicant’s community?

“My community is my Future Business Leaders of America club. In the club, my role is the president. I enjoy leading my team and showing everyone the power of entrepenuership, business, and leadership. We host workshops every other day, and we also host weekly lectures talking about the different monetization methods for people who want to start their own business. Our club has 50 students in it. It is very inspiring to see all of them work so hard to aim for their dreams and aspirations. I hope to do the same at the University of Michigan.”

U Mich Essay Example Except 1

“It’s Monday morning. Among other things that commonly accompany Monday mornings, other than cold weather and fantasties of the weekend ahead, is my eccentric Vice President: Joe O’Conner. We were walking to the FBLA club meeting early to get the powerpoint set up and print out worksheets.

Despite being the President, my thin frame and I barely kept up with the winter wrath. My Vice President on the other hand had the stoic Irish blood keeping him from shivering in the cold.

‘You and me, Dylan! We’re the most iconic duo! We both love the hustle, we live and breathe the grind. The grind never ends! It’s all about that mindset! The grind! The grindset! The…’

Joe was always like that, and I loved him like a brother for it. He was one of those guys who always seemed to be enthusiastic to work on anything. To drive the FBLA stereotype furhter, he had one of those toothy ‘my dad works at JP Morgan’ smiles. In some ways, we’re very different. Joe is much more talkative and extroverted than I. I am much more straightforward and aggressive in startup growth strategies than he is. Nonetheless, we both share a passion for the business and startup ‘hustle’.

‘Dylan, cold as ice. Joe, warm as the sun. They make a great gay couple.’ It’s what our entire team says, and they have for so long that it’s practically stuck with us as an inside joke.

That was the thing about FBLA. What people see is the nonstop hustle and grit and sweat and tears. However, what a lot of people don’t see about my club, about my people, is just the amount of love and emotion that goes into FBLA. In our team, I’ve seen…”

U Mich Essay Example Except 2

So, which one is the stronger U Mich essay example excerpt?

The second one! Great!

Do you notice how the writing here in the second example shows what the applicant’s experience and personal life in FBLA was like? It doesn’t just scratch the surface, it gets more personal. This doesn’t go for just this essay, but for all of the University of Michigan supplemental essays: admissions officers must see more of your personality. Imagine writing this in a narrative format instead of as a resume! It should be interesting and unique, not just multiple things to check off on a list.

Consider trying to write your essay in a narrative format. This will help you with writing more compelling content that can get deeper than the surface level.

U Mich “Why Us” Essay Question

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)

U Mich Undergrad Website

Like all “Why Us” essay questions, the U Mich Why Us essay question requires that you demonstrate why you are a good fit for the school.

Think of the University of Michigan supplemental essays as a sorting tool. This question sorts through different students based on their responses. Admissions officers can see what value and worth they can provide to the school depending on what you say, so imagine yourself as an asset.

Some students are applying to the University of Michigan “just for the sake of it”; other people, on the other hand, may want to apply to the school because they actually very much need to attend for the sake of their particular career. In other words, why do you need to attend the University of Michigan more than any other school?

Is your major going to be incomplete without the help of the opportunities that U Mich provides? Does your current state lack the schools and community to support the particular kinds of projects that you want to undertake? Perhaps you would like to tap into the artificial intelligence market and you thought that visiting Silicon Valley would be a great option for that, only to realize that you couldn’t stand the bureaucratic startup nonsense.

One of the things you should avoid is talking about things from the School or College that can be provided at practically any school. If you’re applying for the University of Michigan CSE (Computer Science and Engineering) because you want to take computer science courses that fit your career path, that isn’t going to be strong enough. Remember: most schools have more than enough resources to provide you with the education you need to land a good career.

If you talk about the details of the classes provided in the program as well as the available clubs in the school, then that will be sufficient in answering this question.

Here are some examples

“I want to apply to the University of Michigan CSE because I know that the program has classes that will fit my career in computer science. I have a passion for computer science, and I want to explore more of that passion in the classes available in the program. These will fit my needs, and I will be able to pursue a career in computer science that will be fulfilling.”

U Mich Why Us Example Essay Exceprt

“I have a plan to develop ‘x’ in the future as a possible startup. I would be in need of a strong team with the same tempermental proclivities and passion for entrepenuership as I have. However, I will also need to prepare myself with the proper computer science and software development knowledge to create a valuable product for the startup such that it can scale early on to begin with.

This plan has bewitched me for the past two years, and I’ve blueprinted its formula in my head and in recent months in an organized planner.

The University of Michigan CSE is the perfect program to give me the knowledge I need for the next four years to bootstrap my startup. I know that I cannot work under the pressure of venture capital investments backing up my work, but I can work at my own pace through my own grit and determination without the pressure of others. Thus, I will need everyhing in my arsenal of tools to prepare me for the right jumpstart. The University of Michigan’s classes in ‘x’ and particular the professors and their research in ‘y’ will help me enormously in my goal for achieving my dreams and aspirations.”

U Mich Why Us Example Essay 2 Exceprt

Take note of how the first U Mich “Why Us” example excerpt is too vague in its description. It doesn’t really help us paint a good idea of why the person needs to attend the school for certain. We only know, like all other students, that the applicant in this essay wants to get into U Mich because there are good career prospects to be had for his intended major. However, it doesn’t really give a good idea of how the student stands out from the rest as someone who truly needs or deserves it compared to the other applicants. The second essay, on the other hand, does this.

Here’s another thing you want to consider about the U Mich “Why Us” essays. If you’re not specific enough about your plans, it is hard for the admissions officers to take your word for it. Think about this from the admissions officer’s shoes! If you hear someone say that they want to get in because they have hyper-specific details about how they’ll use the resources in the school to achieve their goal, you’ll think that they’re well-prepared and also deserving of attending the school.

Throughout this guide, you’re going to see this pattern repeat itself. All University of Michigan supplemental essays require you to be specific.

Optional U Mich COVID Question

Community disruptions such as COVID-19 and natural disasters can have deep and long-lasting impacts. If you need it, this space is yours to describe those impacts. Colleges care about the effects on your health and well-being, safety, family circumstances, future plans, and education, including access to reliable technology and quiet study spaces.

The question will be optional and will appear in the Additional Information section of the application. Your response will be limited to 250 words.

U Mich Undergrad Website

Compared to the rest of the University of Michigan supplemental essays, we see this one disregarded for some reason. Don’t ignore this one, or at least don’t assume it’s not as important just because everyone else went through their own trouble. In fact, don’t try to be too humble and ignore your struggles for this essay.

The admissions officers won’t think you’re being whiny, trust us! They’ll understand your scenario since COVID has been hard on everyone. (unless, of course, it’s small issues like having to wear a mask every day)

Practically everyone has had issues with COVID-19. Even if you were not affected as much, it’s something that has affected many others. Thus, if you want to approach this essay in a smart manner, you need to be both articulate and specific.

Remember, everyone has their own problems as well. Thus, you can’t just assume that your problems will give you special treatment.

You need to phrase the essay in a manner such that the admissions officers can see how you were disadvantaged, but they also need to believe you. The last thing they want is someone using this opportunity to get away with bad grades or get away with being lazy in their previous quarter.

Let’s take a few examples of good and bad ways to write the U Mich COVID-19 essay question.

“During COVID-19, I was not able to focus on my studies because of the online learning format. I was not familiar with the software platform, and it was hard to learn how everything worked. Thus, I was unable to achieve the grades and marks that I wished to achieve.

When I was coping with the online learning process, I also found it difficult to focus in class. It was easy to get distracted, and staying focused on the material being taught was a challenge.”

U Mich COVID Example Essay 1 Exceprt

“When the COVID-19 pademic hit, it was practically impossible to adapt to the online learning format. Not only was it difficult to learn how the new software and classroom structure would be formatted, but we were essentially set up for a difficult and quite possibly inescapably hard year. The teacher had to learn on their own how to make the classes work, and due to this technical difficulty we could not even process or grade assignements properly.

For instance, I had submitted a set of 5 different assignments, but all of them were deemed late not because they were submitted late, but because of the error in the system. The teacher had told me that it was not my fault, but there was not much that could be done to right this wrong.“

U Mich COVID Example Essay 2 Exceprt

One of the important factors of the second except is that it gets into detail about how inescapable the difficulty was. Note that everyone’s struggles during the pandemic are valid. We understand that!

However, there are some disadvantages that are more severe than others. More often than not, we see people writing about their disadvantages in a way that actually does not reveal the whole picture. They only show how it is “sort of” bad, but they don’t show how “truly bad” it can be.

The chance you may be underestimating how much more difficult the pandemic made your academic journey is quite high! Besides, no one wants to look like they’re whining! Nonetheless, if you were disadvantaged due to the pandemic, it is your responsibility to show that in the most accurate way to the admissions officers.

U Mich School of Education Essay Question

Discuss where you would like to teach and/or the types of students you would like to teach and how you developed this commitment.

U Mich Undergrad Website

Of all the University of Michigan supplemental essays, I believe that this one is the most interesting.

If you’re applying for U Mich’s School of Education, you already know the gravity of your field. Your career path is important enough that it will affect the lives of many students around the world. Thus, it makes sense to answer this question not only with passion but also with a well-thought-out plan. You want to approach this essay with the impression that you are someone who takes this career seriously, and you can’t do that without having a well-fleshed-out plan for your future.

Now, here’s the hard part: isn’t every teacher going to be doing the same thing?

Think about it. If you write your University of Michigan supplemental essays well and better than the rest, what happens? You get accepted to the School of Education, get a career as a teacher, work until you receive your tenure, and live comfortably.

If that’s the case for practically everyone, how on Earth are we going to stand out from the rest of the crowd?

Well, we believe it’s in the unique quality of where you plan to teach, who you want to teach, and your journey there. It’s special for everyone, but zero in on the details about what your journey was like getting there. Everyone has a similar path, but everyone also has a unique experience that motivated them to be a teacher.

Here is an example of a good and bad U Mich essay for the School of Education.

“I would like to teach high school students in the Southern Claifornia region, particulary the areas of SoCal that are struggling financially. I witness every day students and parents struggling with the education system. The students are unmotivated and the parents have given up hope. I would like to teach in this area because I once saw the corruption that occured in these areas. The pipeline was clear that students were simply being funneled in and out of an education system that didn’t care about their learning and career. When I made this realization, I wanted to help students and give them my empathy.”

U Mich School of Education Example Essay 2 Exceprt

“At 7:30 PM, I start my camera and begin the livestream.

I started Coffee Break, a livestream account of me studying along with strangers on the internet, when I started to get bored of video games. After having fallen out of love with the instant gratifcation of games, I started to drift in my interests, and eventually created Coffee Break as a place for other fellow gamers to semi-study and procrastinate together. Funnily enough, this acceptance of procrastinating actually led to people privately messaging me and telling me how much more work they’ve done.

Everyone from premed students to high schoolers dreading their pre calculus tests joined the call and took turns playing comfy music while I livestreamed myself working on startup projects and drinking coffee.

Funnily enough, after a few months of polling, I found that most of my students actually were from the Bay Area. They were mostly Asian American gamers. We sometimes shared stories of the insane and irrational tutoring businesses that our parents put us through, espeically the toxic capitalist undertones that fueled them.

As an aspiring teacher, I want to make a change in this community. Coffee break has motivated me to take a more light approach to education. I would like to teach high school students in the Bay Area, and bring the energy I’ve developed at Coffee Break to ease the educational tension that so haunts the students there.”

U Mich School of Education Example Essay 2 Exceprt

In the first essay, we can see the paragraph that answers the question. However, it doesn’t really give us a good idea of what their future plans really are. There is no distinction between the first essay excerpt and that of someone who is trying to find straws to grab at. When writing any of the University of Michigan supplemental essays, you want to show attention to detail. This will make your essay more believable

Take a look at the second one. The second U Mich example excerpt dives into detail about how the applicant decided to pursue their career in education through Coffee Break. They know that they want to work with Bay Area high school students because their experience live-streaming has given them the right exposure to that population and their needs. Think of how your journey to helping students through teaching has manifested itself.

If you’re still struggling to write the University of Michigan supplemental essays and answer the prompts correctly, consider speaking with us for a free consultation. We will get back to you within 24 hours for a free essay review and advice.