University of Michigan's wording, checked October 26, 2026“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?”
How to approach it
- 1Name the college or school in your first sentence.
- 2Pick two or three curriculum features (courses, requirements, research, programs) and tie each to an interest you have shown.
- 3Use the extra length for depth on fewer things, not a longer list.
A structure that works
One way to shape this answer. It describes moves, not sentences: the words have to be yours.
- 1The college or school and what draws you, in one sentence.
- 2Curriculum feature one, tied to your experience.
- 3Curriculum feature two, tied to what you want to do next.
- 4How the curriculum as a whole fits your interests.
Where the 550 words go
| Part | Words |
|---|---|
| Your first, most specific reason | about 190 |
| A second reason, tied to your experience | about 190 |
| What you would do or add there | about 170 |
Mistakes to avoid
- Writing about U-M in general (football, Ann Arbor) instead of the college.
- A list of course numbers with no reason.
The checklist our grader uses for this question
When you check your Michigan answers, this answer is read against these 5 areas. Each comes back Met, Partly or Missing with a quote from your draft as evidence, and together with the 100-550 words limit they set its readiness verdict.
| Area | What a reader looks for |
|---|---|
| Answers the question | The opening sentences answer what was asked, plainly, before background or a hook; every part of a multi-part question is answered. |
| Specific to this college | It names at least two concrete things that exist at this college (a program, course, research group, tradition, place, way of teaching) and could not survive a swap of the college's name. |
| Connected to you | Each thing named is tied to something the applicant has done, asked or wants, so the reader sees why it matters to THIS student, not why the college is good. |
| What you would do there | It shows how the applicant would use those things and what they would add (join, start, research, contribute), not only what they would receive. |
| Michigan's ask | Names the specific U-M college or school and the qualities of its curriculum (courses, faculty, research, programs) that support the applicant's interests. |
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Questions
More on Michigan and this kind of question
- Harvard: How you will use your Harvard education · 150 words
- Columbia: Why Columbia · 150 words
- Brown: Your approach to the Open Curriculum · 150-250 words
- Dartmouth: Why Dartmouth · 100 words
- Cornell: CALS: what draws you to CALS · 350 words
- Cornell: Engineering: why Duffield · 200 words