Highlights of the U-M Entering Class of Fall 2010

Ted Spencer, Associate Vice Provost and Executive Director of the Office of Undergraduate Admissions
September 2, 2010

Good evening, I’m Ted Spencer, Director of Admissions. It’s a pleasure to be here and share the excitement as you begin your career as a University of Michigan freshman!

We received a record number of applications this year - nearly 32,000 - for some 6,000+ freshmen spaces;

• 22,000 of those applications came from out-of-state.
  For example, we received 165 applications from the Washington, DC area; 618 from the state of Florida; 511 from Texas; 2,138 from California; 2,316 from Illinois; 2,416 from New York; and 30 from the new Big Ten state of Nebraska!
  We also received applications from places like Howard, SD; Boise, Idaho; Gulfport, Mississipi and Williston, ND.
• Our largest number of international applications came from China, India, Singapore, Canada and Korea.
• And in the State of Michigan, the largest number of applications were from the counties of Oakland, Wayne and Washtenaw.

Again, it was a very competitive process, but your exceptional achievements in both your academic and extra-curricular endeavors convinced us that you will be successful at Michigan and contribute to the vitality of our campus community. Consequently, I can assure the faculty and the administration that the Class of 2014 meets or exceeds all the measures we use for admission and that your overall academic talents and leadership are well above national standards.

But who are you, the members of the Class of 2014?

Well, after evaluating your transcripts, test scores, letters of recommendation, reading your essays and lists of extra-curricular activities, we know this:

• That many of you like attending sporting events, and that was one of the reasons you listed for choosing Michigan;
• Many of you have served in student government offices,
• received awards for athletics, community service and volunteerism,
• played a musical instrument,
• published poems, stories or essays,
• and some of you have even started your own business!
• The average HS GPA for this year’s class is 3.8,
• And 13% of the class achieved a perfect 4.0 GPA!

In terms of test scores, 30% of this class had an ACT composite score between 31 and 36 while only 4% of students nationwide achieved that high level. Furthermore, your teachers and counselors gave you high marks as some of the most outstanding students they have taught and counseled.

In many of your essays, you wrote about how subtly — or strongly — your alumni parents encouraged you to apply. One student wrote that her mom would wear her Michigan sweatshirt whenever they were at home together during her senior year and she wrote, “I applied anyway!” Your essays also described how you overcame personal obstacles or setbacks, and you wrote about difficult family situations, illnesses, injuries and friendships. And a large number of you wrote about the exposure you’ve had with people from many different backgrounds, and the kind of social and intellectual curiosity it stirred.

This year’s class is once again very diverse with strong representation from every racial, ethnic, social, and religious background. You will join students coming from 1,900 different high schools, all 50 states and almost 70 countries — giving you an opportunity to “widen your worldview” with classmates from many diverse backgrounds. And after graduation, you will be part of the largest alumni network in the world!

Finally, I’d like to offer my congratulations to both you and your parents on your outstanding achievements. You are now part of the Michigan family — the Leaders and the Best — where incredible opportunities await you!

And now, to the administration, faculty and staff of the University of Michigan, I present to you some of the best and brightest students in this country, as well as the world — I present to you the Class of 2014!

GO BLUE!

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