Michigan Fee Waiver? Forum

[BuckinghamB]

Hi,
I recently received a fee waiver, view book, and a nice, hand-written note from Dean Z (I realize she probably does this for all of them, but still kinda cool I think) via snail mail. I know that most of the time fee waivers don't necessarily reflect admissions chances, but I thought I read somewhere that Michigan is different...who knows, maybe I'm wrong. I guess my question is--am I reading into it too much, or is it somewhat indicative of a good chance of admission? My numbers are right around the medians for both gpa and LSAT.

[Bildungsroman]

You're reading too much into it. I got a fee waiver with a flattering handwritten note last year and they waitlisted me, even after I wrote a decent "Why Michigan" supplemental essay and had a GPA way above their standards and an LSAT apparently one point too low. There is no discernible difference between Michigan and its peer schools in terms of what fee waivers mean (they mean nothing except a free application) and how holistic they are. Still should apply since you have a waiver and you're interested in the school, but don't expect the admissions process to be any different from other schools' except for that fact that Dean Z's communications are much nicer.

[071816]

I received this fee waiver as well last year and was waitlisted. Definitely apply, but don't get your hopes up.

[BuckinghamB]

Thanks for the info, guys. That's kind of what I suspected, but figured I would ask anyway. Much appreciated!

[ahnhub]

I remember reading someplace official (I think it was Zearfoss' blog or the U-M law site) that Michigan accepts slightly over half of the people it offers waivers to. Which probably doesn't mean anything anyways, because if you're a person around their medians that's about the odds you'd expect.