U. Mich rolls out new admissions procedure

The University of Michigan has unveiled a more individualized and essay-driven undergraduate admissions application in hopes of complying with the June Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action.

The new method -- which will cost the university $1.5 to $2 million -- will continue to take race into account as a factor, but will not employ a point system, as the former one did.

The new application asks each student to write one 500-word and two 250-word essays. One of the questions deals with diversity and how it has or has not affected the applicant. The application also addresses issues that the former one did not, including family educational background, family income and a number of other indicators, such as whether the applicant worked while in high school and whether he or she grew up in a single-parent household. The applicant's academic interests and achievements -- such as test scores and high school grade point average -- as well as geographic origin, will also be factored into the admissions decision.

"We will be collecting a lot more information about the student than we ever did before," University of Michigan spokeswoman Julie Peterson said.

In Gratz v. Bollinger, the Supreme Court ruled that Michigan's undergraduate point-based application violated the Constitution's equal-protection clause and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits racial discrimination by any institution that receives federal funds. In contrast, the Court upheld Michigan Law School's admissions process, which takes an applicant's race into account, but does not quantify it.

According to its structured point system, the undergraduate school had previously assigned minority applicants 20 additional points on its 150-point admission scale.

Peterson said that the new application -- which will be put into use this year -- is a positive change and will satisfy the Supreme Court's requirements while achieving the diverse community that Michigan looks for in its incoming classes.

"We are still allowed to ask for race and ethnicity and we consider that as one factor," Peterson said, noting that the socioeconomic background questions included on the application will also help in accepting a diverse class. She added that the new process, modeled after that of Michigan's Law School, represents a "highly individualized review" of every candidate for admission.

In order to read and evaluate the applications, Michigan will be hiring an additional 20 employees.

Each application will be read by a minimum of two trained staff members, a reader and a professional counselor, each of whom will review it blindly and make their recommendations as to whether or not to accept the applicant. Depending on whether the reviewers concur, a senior manager and a review committee may also be involved.

According to legal experts, the process appears to correspond with the Supreme Court's ruling.

"It seems to me that the application forms are relevant and appropriate for achieving and justifying diversity," Penn Law Professor Frank Goodman said.

"Whether or not the undergraduate school has still gone too far will depend on what they do with those applications," he added, noting that the Court will need to monitor how many minority applicants are accepted and whether or not this is because Michigan is trying to reach a "pre-specified number" or because the applicants deserve to get into the university.

"Whether or not the courts will hold them to be in compliance depends on what they do," Goodman said. "But so far, so good."

"The courts will look at the way in which the university makes decisions," Penn Law Professor Seth Kreimer added. "The mandate is that the decision has to be made in a way that takes into account each individual's qualities... not [in a] mechanical way."

Brandi Fox, a sophomore at Michigan, said that she agrees with the decision to get rid of the point system and rate the applicants "on an individual basis."

Fox also said that the new application allows the applicant to show his or her diversity through essays and other personal information.

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