Upperclassmen left their first blocks early, eager to enter the Craft Theater for a visit from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. The campus, located less than a mile from CHS, drew students looking to learn more about the school and get their questions answered.
On Sept. 6 at 9:30 a.m., Hailie Smith began discussing the admissions and application process for the University of Michigan. Smith is the Assistant Director of Application Review & Training in the Undergraduate Admissions office at the university. She encouraged students to reach out with questions by emailing her at hailies@umich.edu.
Smith began with a presentation on the university, Ann Arbor and specifics on application review.
“We would not have U of M without our students, right?” Smith said. “We have students represented from every county in Michigan, all 50 states and over 100 countries. So each year we are working to recruit, admit and enroll academically excellent, broadly diverse and highly-talented students from all over the world.”
Diving into the university units that directly admit first-year students, Smith explained how the pre-med and pre-law tracks interact with different parts of the school; for example, a student majoring in a history-related field in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts (LSA) could pursue the pre-med track.
In addition to the standard application materials, students looking to attend Taubman (with the exception of the Urban Technology major), STAMPS or SMTD are required to submit a portfolio or audition.
Smith also gave an overview of the university learning communities, research opportunities, residential college, major transfer options and dual unit applications. She recommended that students gravitating towards a more liberal arts-style experience explore the residential college for a similar feeling.
From an ice-sculpting club to the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, Smith explained to students the wide range of activities and smaller communities available at the Ann Arbor campus. Junior, Nic Villamor, found the visit exceptionally helpful as Smith helped to answer his questions about the university.
“The best part was the Q&A at the end because that’s when I got to ask a ton of questions about dual enrollment and recommendation letters,” Villamor said. He found this to be worthwhile as he learned that the honors math classes he is taking at U-M would be factored into his first-year GPA. Villamor had not previously attended a college visit at CHS but is excited to go to more visits in the future after learning so much from Smith. Senior Kyra Kahana also found the meeting to be highly informative.
“I learned that you can apply to two schools within UMich, for example, LSA and Kinesiology,” Kahana said. She found this helpful because she is considering taking a pre-med track in college. As a senior, Kahana appreciated having her questions answered.
The University of Michigan is a close neighbor of CHS; however, this visit provided prospective students with a chance to ask questions and hear more about the school before applications are due.
