University of Michigan's wording, checked October 26, 2026“At the University of Michigan, we are focused on developing leaders and citizens who will challenge the present and enrich the future. In your essay, share with us how you are prepared to contribute to these goals. This could include the people, places, experiences, or aspirations that have shaped your journey and future plans.”
How to approach it
- 1Pick one experience where you challenged something or improved something for others.
- 2Show your part in it with specifics.
- 3Connect it to the kind of citizen you want to be at Michigan.
A structure that works
One way to shape this answer. It describes moves, not sentences: the words have to be yours.
- 1The experience, shown.
- 2What you challenged or enriched, and how.
- 3What it prepares you to contribute at Michigan.
Where the 300 words go
| Part | Words |
|---|---|
| The moment or example | about 120 |
| What it shows or changed | about 110 |
| Why it matters, or what you bring | about 80 |
Mistakes to avoid
- Titles and positions as proof of leadership.
- Big claims about changing the world.
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 100-300 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. |
| The community, concretely | The community is defined by a detail only a member would know (a place, a ritual, a person), not a label. |
| Your part in it | What the applicant personally did or does in it is on the page, with "I" statements. |
| What it gave you and what you will bring | It says how the community shaped the applicant and connects that to how they will take part in the college's community. |
| Michigan's ask | Shows how the applicant is prepared to contribute to developing leaders and citizens, through people, places, experiences or aspirations. |
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Questions
More on Michigan and this kind of question
- Yale: Essay: a community · 400 words
- Princeton: Service and civic engagement · 250 words
- Penn: Exploring community at Penn · 50-200 words
- Duke: Communities · 250 words
- Caltech: Collaboration: STEM as shared learning · 200 words
- Rice: The residential college system · 500 words