The University of Michigan plans again to offer the choice to apply for “early decision” admissions, a binding commitment to the school for applicants, despite a request by the university’s Faculty Senate to reevaluate the option.
Nearly three-quarters of the Faculty Senate — more than 1,300 members — approved a resolution in April that said the admissions practice gave an unfair advantage to students from “affluent” families, and the university adopted the practice without conversations with faculty and staff. The resolution was moved by Chemistry Professor Neil Marsh.
The Faculty Senate asked the university to “immediately halt” early decision admissions pending “broad and substantive consultation” to determine whether it aligns with the educational values of UM. The request came as the university encountered issues with the rollout of the early decision program.
Early decision is a college application option commonly used at elite, mostly private institutions. It “binds” prospective students to enroll if they receive acceptance offers. The practice is meant to benefit those students who are entirely committed to the university, because once the offer is made, the student is expected to immediately enroll and rescind all applications at other universities.
UM admissions officials declined multiple requests for an interview on Early Decision admissions. The university did answer emailed questions.
“We decided to offer Early Decision so high-achieving students could affirm their commitment earlier in the application process,” Assistant Vice President for Public Affairs and Internal Communications Paul Corliss said in an emailed statement. “This allows those admitted students to focus on and enjoy their senior year in high school with the confidence that they will embark on their college education at the university of their choice.”
Leah Beasley of the West Bloomfield Township-based Beasley College Consulting said UM is a rarity among public universities in adopting an early decision program, and there weren’t a lot of models the university could look at to address the Faculty Senate’s concerns.
“Publics don’t just manage yield and create a balanced class, but they also have to look at in-state and out-of-state enrollment,” Beasley said. “There’s an added level of what a public has to do. … That’s why (early decision) is so rare among public universities.”
Hiccups accompany UM’s rollout of early decision offers
In the 2026-27 admissions cycle, more than 108,666 prospective first-year students submitted applications to attend the university, Corliss said. Nearly two-thirds of all applicants, 71,893 students, applied for early decision or early action, a nonbinding application that gives an earlier determination. Corliss did not specify how many students applied for the binding commitment or say how many of those were accepted.
Applicants weren’t met with a smooth rollout. The university said students who applied for early decision would hear back by the end of December. Before the high school students left for their winter break, many were told their applications had been deferred— essentially postponed — and they would hear back by Jan. 30.
Students still interested after being deferred were asked to submit an Expression of Continued Interest (ECI) form no later than March 1.
However, on Jan. 5, some deferred students were suddenly hit with acceptance letters.
It was hard to tell exactly why the same Early Decision students who were postponed before they left for break were accepted right after the holidays, said Ashleigh Taylor of Empowered 4 College, a college admissions consulting firm tailored for Michigan students. But she said the university may have been caught off guard by the number of students who applied for early consideration.
“The university was maybe not done reviewing early action applications, but then did and now has the context to make the final early decision offer,” Taylor said. “Defer and postpone means they need more context, whether from the student or the other students in the pool.”
Beasley said she wasn’t surprised there was confusion about the rollout and that the sheer number of students requesting early consideration placed a significant strain on the institution.
“Families may have thought Early Decision was a safer option and more predictable,” Beasley said. “That was not the case, because there’s a larger pool of strong applicants. … Most private institutions admit more Early Decision students than regular students, taking a large part of their class from the Early Decision pool. The expectation was that this is how it would work at UM. It didn’t. UM was being very cautious for their first year.”
“But when you get an early decision response, and it’s not an accept, and you get deferred, it’s really hard for a teenager,” she said.
Elite universities enroll more early decision applicants
Nationwide, elite universities, like the private Ivy League schools to which UM likens itself, admit considerably more students proportionally from the early decision pool than the regular admission pool.
Columbia University, Brown University, Dartmouth College and Duke University all admit around 4% of their regular decision applicants, according to data from the Common Data Set and compiled through College Transitions. However, all admit between 13%-17% of students who apply for early decision.
Northwestern University, a fellow Big Ten school, enrolls an even larger proportion of early decision applicants, the data shows. The Evanston, Illinois-based university enrolls 23% of early decision applicants, compared with 6% of regular decision students.
Empowered 4 College’s Taylor said elite universities are turning toward using early decision because it means less guesswork for the school, and it helps boost their nationwide metrics.
“It’s less guesswork, time and money trying to anticipate what students will come and what won’t,” Taylor said. “This means they don’t have to admit as many students, resulting in lower acceptance rates, which boosts marketability for institutions.”
Marsh said offering the early decision program appeared to benefit the institutions more than the students.
“There’s financial implications when you know students will come,” he said. “You can budget better knowing a certain percentage of students will be showing up. … Early Decision students will likely be paying more in tuition, but we’re not a financially struggling institution that is desperate to bring in students.
“It also impacts the desirability, or how many students choose to go to UM after getting admitted,” Marsh said. “You can’t turn down an offer you can’t refuse.”
Does early decision benefit wealthier families?
Generally speaking, students from wealthier families are most likely to benefit from the early decision program, Empowered 4 College’s Taylor said.
“In many cases, if a family is more sensitive to costs, they will probably be less likely to support a student who doesn’t know the final aid numbers or be able to compare,” Taylor said. “It’s important to get a good sense of what financial aid package will likely be provided.”
UM’s Corliss said that if students submit their financial aid materials by Nov. 15, they should know how much they’re getting from the university in January. Students should hear back from about an early decision determination by the end of December, and the deadline to accept an offer is Jan. 15, the university’s website shows.
The university’s website said early decision students who were admitted can request to be removed from the contract in the Enrollment Connect portal, but requests would be considered on a case-by-case basis. Students who break the contract would no longer be considered for admission, even in a later part of the admissions cycle, the website said.
Corliss did not specifically respond to the Faculty Senate’s concerns and instead pointed to the Go Blue Guarantee, which provides free tuition to Michigan families with annual incomes of $125,000 or less and assets below $125,000. The Go Blue Guarantee is automatically applied to students who apply to the university and for financial aid.
Students who depend on financial aid might still feel wary about entering a binding agreement despite the substantial scholarship opportunities the university offers, said Marsh, the UM chemistry professor.
“Applying early decision is off-putting for those who depend on financial aid,” he said. “If you can’t attend because of financial hardship, you wouldn’t apply. … It reduces diversity of students from different socio-economic backgrounds.”
satwood@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: University of Michigan offering ‘early decision’ again despite pushback
Reporting by Sarah Atwood, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Sarah Atwood, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
