What You Need To Know: 2021-22 Essay Questions and Application Deadlines

I’m Iooking forward to a summer with a bit more sense of normalcy, and hope the same is true for you. With many internships expected to be virtual and full-time jobs not starting until later this summer, I expect to see many Michigan Ross students around Ann Arbor golfing, hiking, biking, kayaking, stand -up paddleboarding, and ice cream eating (all activities I recommend to students who are here over the summer). 

Spring is also the time of year when the Admissions team and I debrief on what went well and what we may want to adjust for the upcoming cycle. We felt really good about the quality of this year’s candidates and the prospective students’ feedback about our application, so I encouraged the team not to tinker too much with what is working. 

Here are important updates about our 2021-22 application process: 

Same choice, same essay prompts

We enjoy providing students a choice in their essay answers. This past year, we received very insightful answers to the prompts that allowed us to learn more about your values and what you would add to the Michigan Ross community. 

Part 1: Short-answer questions

Select one prompt from each group of the two groups below. Respond to each selected prompt in 100 words or less .

Group 1

I want people to know that I:

I made a difference when I:

I was aware that I was different when:

Group 2

I am out of my comfort zone when:

I was humbled when:

I was challenged when: 

Part 2: Career Goal Essay

What is your short-term career goal and why? (200 words)

A return to three rounds

In the 2021-22 cycle, we will return to three application rounds. We’ve found this year that a June decision timeframe causes more stress for our international applicants given visa processing timelines and want to be as equitable as possible going forward. 

Since we continue to receive strong applications from applicants in the spring, we decided to push back the Round 3 deadline rather than having an additional round. 

The application deadlines and decision releases are below.

Reapplicant process

Our team has been getting lots of questions from reapplicants, so we wanted to share an update on the reapplication process. 

We’re proud to continue our streamlined application for reapplicants with details here. We will also continue waiving the application fee for all reapplicants. In addition, we are hosting a panel of current Michigan Ross students who were successful reapplicants in July to share tips and success stories from their reapplicant journey. 

As a reminder, the test waiver request process will open in July, along with the application itself. 

We look forward to seeing you at Admissions Office Hours and other Michigan Ross events this summer! 

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