0 0 0 0 0 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,','