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IGH SCHOOLS MAKE UP A LARGE PART OF THE FRESHMAN CLASS EACH Y
(EAR
within the last five years. tiona
LSA senior Hamidah Abdul came to thec
the University in 2007 from Malaysia dent
as one of only 18 other freshmen from from
the country. Though halfway around is in
the world and with few others from O
her home, Abdul has found a new home from
in Ann Arbor. sityi
According to a rising trend in inter- incr
national students matriculating to In
the University, Abdul will see an ever locat
increasing amount of students from 40 s
her home. the
Malaysia, China, India and Singa- of 9?
pore are the four most represented high
countries - outside of the United scho
States - within the freshman class. appl
And while the percentage of interna-
TOP 20 HIGH SCHOOLS: TOP 20 HIGH SCHOOLS:
ADMITTED MATRICULATED
AVERAGE NUMBER OF STUDENTS
WHO WERE ADMITTED, 2004-2009.
PIONEER 147.80
ANN ARBOR, MICH.
1.4 MILES TO THE UNION
HURON 121.00
A NN A RBOR, M IC H.
1.9 M IL ES T O T HE U NIO N
AVERAGE NUMBER OF STUDENTS
WHO MATRICULATED, 2004-2009
PIONE
ANN
ER
107.30
ARBOR, MICH.
HILES TO THE UNION
he University prides itself on
having a diverse student body,
featuring students from 120 dif-
ferent countries and all SO states. But
sitting in a lecture in Angell Hall or
walking through the Diag, nearly one
student out of every six is from a few
select high schools.
From 2004 to 2009, an average of
about 16 percent of the University's
freshman classes came from just 20
high schools, though more than 1,000
high schools have sent students to the
University each year during that time.
That percentage ranged from 13 to 19
percent through these years.
Officials from the University's Office
of Undergraduate Admissions told The
Michigan Daily in a series of inter-
views last year that the disproportion-
ate representation is not intentional.
"It's not by any design of ours that
these schools are 'the ones,' " said
Erica Sanders, director of recruitment
and operations in the office of Under-
graduate Admissions. "Our goal is that
we wish we have more schools where
there were students that come that are
having great experiences and more of
their colleagues feel like 'Gosh that
will be a great place for me as well.' "
Sanders said one of the key reasons
so many students come to the Univer-
sity from the same schools year after
year is because students who come
to the University from "feeder" high
schools portray the University in a
positive light in their hometowns.
"If a student enrolls in the Univer-
sity and has a good experience, when
they go on, whether it's home for the
holidays or once they graduate, if
they're pursuing the things they enjoy
and love, then it's natural that the peo-
ple in their community would then say,
'Gosh, she went to that school and she's
successful and she was able to find a
job. Look at her life; I want a similar
life. I think I'll apply to that school,''"
she said.
According to Sanders, the Office of
Undergraduate Admissions is actively
working to break the pattern of dispro-
portionate representation from select
high schools. Every year, admissions
officials take a look at the schools from
which they don't receive many appli-
cations and ask what can be done to
attract more students the following
year.
"We don't just visit the schools
where we receive a lot of applications,"
Sanders said. "We also visit the schools
where we don't receive any appli-
cations to let them know about the
opportunities that are available."
These elevated enrollment patterns
of students from specific high schools
are also due in part to the University's
success in conveying to those schools
that a student is choosing to go the
University, not just settling to go there,
Sanders said.
IN-STATE VS. OUT-OF-STATE
Between 2004 and 2009, no less
than 13 of the top 20 schools with stu-
dents admitted to the University were
in Michigan, and most of those were
within an hour's drive of Ann Arbor.
Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor
has sent the most students to the Uni-
versity every year from 2004 to 2009.
In 2009, 154 students were accepted
from the high school and 110 students
matriculated, producing at 71-per-
cent yield rate - the rate of students
that enroll compared to the number
accepted. While the number of stu-
dents from Pioneer attending the Uni-
versity was in the triple digits in 2009,
schools like Genesee High School in
Genesee, Mich. Only had one student
apply to the University in the same
year.
The Office of Undergraduate Admis-
sions visits around 500 schools in the
state each year. It is often, accord-
ing to Sanders, the smaller townships
that are farther away from Ann Arbor
where admissions officials have a
harder time reaching out to prospec-
tive students.
Sanders said students from these
towns often come from smaller schools
with graduating classes of about SO
people, which could make attending
a 400-person lecture an intimidating
venture.
Though it's more likely for a student
from a larger high school to end up at
the University than a student from a
smaller one, Sanders said this isn't by
design. Rather, it's because bigger high
schools have larger pools of applica-
tions and, by extension, more qualified
students.
"As I'm reviewing (applications),
I'm basing my decision on the infor-
mation included
in the application
A L SCHOOLS to make a recom-
mendation for a
TTE D M AD E decision," Sand-
OL S IN 2009 ers said. "I don't
know when I'm
reviewing if this
is the 4th appli-
cant or the 14th
applicant (from
% $ °the school) as
I'm reviewing the
files, so there's
no quota or cap
on any particu-
lar high school in
terms of the num-
ber of students
we will admit."
"Feeder"
schools are often
the same schools
that admissions
officials believe
prepare students best to attend the
University, whether in the state of
Michigan or outside it. New Trier
High School, located in Winnetka, Ill.,
an affluent Chicago suburb, sent more
students to the University than any
other school outside the state of Michi-
gan in 2009, with 75 students accepted
from the high school and 29 of those
students matriculating.
Jim Conroy, chair of post-high
school counseling at New Trier High
School, said in an interview on Oct.
12 that he felt that a combination of
returning college students and alumni
in the area contributes to the number
of applicants from New Trier.
"I think a lot of it is the history of
family and alumni in the area that
went to U of M," he said. "U of M has
such a high profile in the community,
students keep applying."
Conroy added that he believes the
Chicago area holds one of the largest
University alumni populations.
"I think that's the case for a lot of
Midwestern schools, just because the
city is so big," he said.
Conroy said that one delegate from
the University Admissions Office
works with the area around New
Trier High School from year to year.
And while he commended the Office
of Admissions for their ongoing work
with his high school, he said the stu-
dents themselves are the best "sales-
people" for the University.
Schools like New Trier, Pioneer and
high schools in New York and Illinois -
especially preparatory schools - have
goals of preparing and sending their
students off to top colleges. Applicants
from these schools often take Advance
Placement courses and have what the
University considers to be challenging
high school curriculums.
When admissions officials see these
factors on a student's application, they
are likely to accept them, leading to a
situation where certain schools repeat-
edly have high numbers of students
accepted to the University, according
to Sanders.
"There are definitely schools that
have the right types of preparation,"
Sanders said.
But despite the same criteria for in-
state and out-of-state applicants, Sand-
ers said the University has a certain
dedication to the state of Michigan.
"The University has made a com-
mitment to the state," Sanders said.
"We make a commitment to make sure
we're really educating the state popu-
lation first, but quality is really what
rules the day."
Sanders said students applying to
the University from out of state are
often looking at schools within their
home state, as well as universities
around the country that offer a par-
ticular curriculum.
"They may be looking at a specific
academic area of interest, they may
be looking for a similar school to the
one they may be considering in their
home state," she said. "But what we do
know is consistently that the students
spend a fair amount of time looking at
the information we share about what
we offer and what we require in the
admissions process."
Sanders added that while the Uni-
versity commits itself to its home state,
being an in-state applicant doesn't make
acceptance any easier. The standards
remain the same for all applicants.
She said that out-of-state students
who apply tend to have more honors
and Advanced Placement classes in
their high schools, while many Michi-
gan students who apply to the Univer-
sity have more limited curriculums at
their high schools.
Still, Sanders said the students being
accepted to the University are the best
in their high schools, regardless of
whether they are from Michigan or
not.
Sanders also said that the admis-
sions process is need-blind, so that
admissions officers are unaware of how
much financial need will be required
for students before being accepted to
the University.
The University aims to keep a
two-thirds, one-third ratio between
in-state and out-of-state students,
respectively. And while that one third
of out-of-state students makes up a
minority on campus, the population of
students from around the world is even
smaller.
T H E INTERNATIONAL EFFECT
While ranked globally for its
academics, the University has a
surprisingly low number of interna-
tional students. From 2004 and 2009,
between 250 and 350 international
students enrolled as freshmen each
year, less than seven percent of the
freshmen class.
The small representation from other
countries on campus has grown more
homogenous in recent years as well.
The distribution of countries yielding
higher numbers of students has shifted
dramatically toward eastern countries
al student ' small comp d to
class asa who he number stu-
s matriculating the Univ ity
a more focused a of the wd
creasing.
nly 10 international ude
Malaysia enrolled in the , e
in 2004, but by 2008 the nu
eased six-fold.
2008, Universiti Teknologi Mara,
ted in Shah Alam Malaysia, sent
tudents out of its 43 admitted to
University. This high yield rate
3 percent is very common among
schools abroad, though individual
ols often have very few students
ying and accepted to give such a
See FEEDER SCHOOLS, Page 8B
HURON
ANN ARBOI
9 MILES T(
TROY HIGH
AI(
H I
UN
TROY HIGH
115.00
89.83
ON
83.00
SO N
71.30
LES 10 THI
E5 TO
W. BLOOMFIELD 84.
BLOOMFIELD, MICH.
341 MIL E S T10 T HE U N IO
CRANBROOK 83.
BLOOMFIELD HILLS. MICI-
39.8 MILES TO THE UNIOI
.60
80
s.
W. BLOOM FIELD
W BLOOMFILD
341 MILES 10 TI
NOVI
N ,OV MICH.
183 MILES T O T
NORTHVILLE
N ORTH VILLE M
15 7 MILES TO TI
N. FARMINGTON
FARMINGTON H
25.0 MILLS TO T
)NI
DAEWON F OREI(GN LAN(GUA(GE
S E OUL SO U TH KO RE A
11,1S5 MIL E S T O T HE U N ION
TAIPEI AMERICAN SCHOOL
TAIPEI, TAIWAN
11.673 MILES T O T HE U N IO N
NANJING FOREIGN LANGUAGE
NANJING, C HINA
11,102 M IL ES T O T HE UN IO N
DHIRUBHAI AMBANI INT'L
MUMBA.I I N DIA
9,183 M IL ES T O T HE UN IO N
RAFFLES JR. COLLEGE 80.1
BISHAN, SINGAP ORE
11,497 MI ES TO THE UNIO
NEW TRIER 79.
W NNETKA, ILL
420 MILES TO THE UNION
N O V I 7 9 .
NOVI, MICH.
18.3 MILES TO THE UNION
NORTH VILLE 74.
NORTH VILLE, MICH.
15.7 MILES TO THE UNION
75
N
60
z0
D0
61.0 0
HE UNION
57.60 .
.CH.
HE UNION
55.00O
ILLS. MICH.
HE UNION
52.83
ANDOVER
B LOOM Fl
38.6 MILE
14 / 2
14/5
12 / 2
GROSSE POINTE SOUTHH 52.16
GR OSS POINT, MICH.
43.6 MI LE S TO T HE UN IO N
INTERNAT'L ACADEMY 74.00
BLOOMFIELD HILLS', MICH.
42.6 MILES TO THE UNION
FOR SCHOOLS 11-20, SEE PAGE 8C
WYLIE E. GROVES
BEVERLY HILLS, MIC
37 0 MILES TO THE
52.0
H .
F OR SCH OO L S 11-20, SEE PAGE 8C
MCH'A F N ,G A MT
FIND THEZ ADMISSIONS AND MATRICULATION DATA FORVYOURdHIGHSCHOOL T,','