EARLY DECISION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: WHAT WE KNOW (DECEMBER 1 UPDATE)
- College Choice Counseling
- 1 hour ago
- 4 min read
The current admissions cycle marks the first year the University of Michigan has offered Early Decision (ED). Because College Choice Counseling (CCC) closely tracks University of Michigan admissions trends across Ross, Engineering, LSA, Nursing, and Kinesiology, and all of U-M, we are sharing the most up-to-date information families should know as of December 1.
Application Volume and Competition at the University of Michigan
The University of Michigan has already received more than 70,000 applications for approximately 7,000 seats in the incoming freshman class. Michigan plans to admit about half of the class from the combined pool of Early Decision (ED) and Early Action (EA) applicants, with offers split roughly evenly between the two groups (ED and EA).
This translates to an admit rate of under 5 percent in the early rounds (about 3,500 offers from over 70,000 applications). This makes Michigan’s ED and EA rounds some of the most competitive early programs among major public universities.
How Early Decision and Early Action Applications Are Reviewed
Every ED and EA application submitted to the University of Michigan is reviewed three times:
An initial review by the assigned regional admissions counselor.
A second evaluation by an additional reader.
A third review for final consistency and quality control.
This multi-reader system ensures alignment across U-M’s admissions office and strengthens fairness by reducing the influence of any single reviewer.
As of now, the plan of the U-M admissions office is to release all ED decisions at the same time in late December. The ED decisions will not be released in batches.
What Happens to Postponed Early Decision Applicants?
As of now, if an Early Decision applicant is not admitted during the ED round but remains competitive, the application is “postponed” and moved directly into Regular Decision (RD) review. It does not move into Early Action review.
There was uncertainty earlier in the fall when U-M first announced it was offering ED about how Michigan would handle postponed ED applicants. Michigan has now moved toward a plan that postponed ED and EA applicants will be evaluated alongside RD applicants for the remaining seats during the Regular Decision round.
How Many Spots Remain for Regular Decision?
The Regular Decision application deadline is February 1, 2026.
Applications to the University of Michigan have been increasing significantly year-over-year for many years:
Fall Enrollment Year | First-Year Applicants * |
2020 | 65,021 |
2021 | 79,743 |
2022 | 84,289 |
2023 | 87,632 |
2024 | 98,310 |
2025 | 109,000 |
* In addition, there are typically 6,000 to 7,000 transfer applications every year.
Based on the historical growth in University of Michigan applications, for the class entering in the Fall 2026, we expect there will be over 120,000 first-year applicants. That means there is projected to be roughly 50,000 additional applications submitted beyond the 70,000 plus applications submitted by the November 1 ED/EA deadline.
Because the combined ED and EA rounds will fill roughly half the class, the Regular Decision pool, which includes postponed ED and EA applications, will compete for the remaining approximately 3,500 spots.
Competition in the RD round is expected to be very significant given the smaller number of remaining seats and the large size of the applicant pool.
What This Means for Students
For Early Decision Applicants
A postponement is not the end of the process. It means you are regarded as “still competitive.” As such, your application moves into the Regular Decision round and remains under active consideration.
For Early Action Applicants
Expect your decision in late January, consistent with Michigan’s established timeline. You will receive a decision of admit, deny, or postpone. If postponed, you will be moved to the Regular Decision process.
For Regular Decision Applicants
Because the class will be partially filled before RD review begins, the Regular Decision round will be highly selective. RD applicants are evaluated together with postponed ED and EA applicants.
Quick Facts (December 1 Update)
More than 70,000 applications received
7,000 seats in the incoming class
About 50 percent of the class will be admitted from ED + EA
Postponed ED applicants move to Regular Decision, not to EA
All early applications receive a three-reader review
Final Thoughts and Guidance for Applicants
The introduction of Early Decision at the University of Michigan has created a highly competitive early cycle, and the admissions process continues to evolve. CCC will monitor all updates from U-M and provide additional insights as new information becomes available.
Good luck to all students who have applied to the University of Michigan.
Go Blue!
Note: Because this is the first year for ED at the University of Michigan, the information contained in this blog is fluid and subject to change if/as there are changes made by the University of Michigan Office of Admissions.
How CCC Can Help
At College Choice Counseling®, our expert counselors and tutors support families at every stage of the college admissions process.
For those students applying Regular Decision, we offer:
College counseling and application strategy
Essay planning and editing
For those students who applied ED or EA and are postponed to the RD round, we offer:
For all other students, we offer the full range of services: