What students need to know about apply-in majors at UMich

At the University of Michigan, twelve schools require students to submit separate applications for their undergraduate programs. These deadlines typically approach in January and February. These selective programs include the School of Public Health, the College of Pharmacy, Ford School of Public Policy, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning and School of Information. In addition to school-wide applications, majors such as LSA’s Organizational Studies, and Politics, Philosophy, and Economics as well as the College of Engineering’s Computer Science also require applications. 

LSA junior Kaitlin McCreadie is majoring in Organizational Studies and said she would have continued with the LSA Psychology major if she had not been accepted into the Organizational Studies program, which boasts an approximately 25-30% acceptance rate. McCredie said the later acceptance into a selective major may be difficult for students who want to ensure their major requirements will be completed within four years.

“By the time it was second semester sophomore year, I was kind of freaking out because I realized that if I didn’t get into Org Studies, I would be behind on my requirements needed to fulfill Psychology,” McCreadie said. “I think it’s a huge stressor because people are so focused on taking the prerequisites for these majors.”

Many selective programs require specific prerequisites to be considered a qualified application. For example, the LSA Organizational Studies major requires students to take Introduction to Psychology (PSYCH 111, 112, 114 or 115), Introduction to Sociology (SOC 100, 102, 195 or 302) and Microeconomics (ECON 101). 

Some students take all of the prerequisite courses required, send in an application by the due date and do not receive admission into their desired major. In addition to this, some students hesitate to apply to selective programs due to concerns about workload, according to Public Health junior Lila Harris. 

“There are majors and schools that people don’t even apply to because they fear it would be a lot of work,” Harris said. “But I do think it’s important to know yourself, why you want to be a part of a major and those applications shouldn’t stop you from pursuing that interest.”

In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Paula Lantz, director of undergraduate programs in the School of Public Policy, said she understands the student perspective, but from the University’s standpoint, preserving the quality of education is essential. 

“From a student point of view, the optimal situation would be that every student could pick whatever major they were interested in, and pursue that major, with no barriers,” Lantz said. “Yes, students are paying a lot to go to the University of Michigan, so I do think, as a University, we’re going to try to make that happen, but we have to do it in a way that preserves the quality of education.”

The average size of an Organizational Studies cohort is about 50 students. The School of Public Health’s undergraduate cohort size is bigger, typically about 110 students. School of Public Policy junior Ava Hoffman said at the time of applying, she was hoping to be surrounded by a small cohort of students who have the same motivation, enthusiasm and passion for the subject.

“I wanted to be around the best of the best in the Ford school,” Hoffman said. “I wanted to be pushed as hard as I could be, which meant being around students who have the same motivation as me.”

LSA’s Computer Science major has gained significant popularity throughout the past couple of years. A new policy that took effect in Fall 2023 began restricting admission for the major, requiring prospective students to submit an application. In an interview with The Daily, LSA Computer Science sophomore Sarah Klemmer provided her perspective on last year’s admissions requirement changes.

“Since I was applying the first year that the school had the new admissions changes, I didn’t really know how many people they were letting it or anything,” Klemmner said. “I was really stressed out about that, and thinking about that stress makes me think that applying in could be unnecessary. But I do understand the reasoning from the school about how you kind of have to cap it, because it’s becoming a really popular major.”

The Ross School of Business offers a different pathway through its pre-admit program where students apply as seniors in high school. The Business School also allows students to apply after being admitted to the University. 

The Business School announced changes to its admissions policy over the summer for students seeking admission in Fall 2025. Applicants will now be able to choose the Business School as a First-year Admitting Unit on the Common Application, but will no longer have the option to have a dual application or the preferred admission option with LSA. This means applicants cannot be admitted to LSA if they are rejected from the Business School.

Business junior Alexandra Sin applied to the Business School in Fall 2021. In an interview with The Daily, she highlighted the advantages of early admission.

“I think it’s really good that I was almost thrown into the environment early on because it gave me a competitive edge with recruiting and everything,” Sin said. ”If you’re interested in business, I think just applying straight away is a great way to get ahead.”

Despite competitive acceptance rates, Public Policy junior Mackenzie Fazekas said she has found the School of Public Policy provides sufficient resources to aid prospective students in their application process.

“Luckily Ford has a lot of resources for students who are applying, whether that be, like panels from current students, or you can talk to their counselors, and they’ll just give you some overall advice on what direction to take as you’re in, like your early freshman, sophomore years,” Fazekas said. 

Daily Staff Reporter Kate Levy can be reached at kjlevy@umich.edu.

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