Why Michigan Essay 2026–27: Both Required Prompts

The University of Michigan requires two supplemental essays for first-year applicants: a 100–300-word response about contributing to its leaders-and-citizens mission and a 100–550-word response about the specific undergraduate college or school to which you are applying. Both are required; neither should be confused with the separate Common App main essay.

The prompts below come from Michigan’s official Essay Questions page, checked November 3, 2026. When you are ready to examine your own draft, the college essay grader provides feedback and revision questions without writing a replacement response.

Required essay 1: leaders and citizens

100–300 words

At the University of Michigan, we are focused on developing leaders and citizens who will challenge the present and enrich the future. In your essay, share with us how you are prepared to contribute to these goals. This could include the people, places, experiences, or aspirations that have shaped your journey and future plans.

This prompt does not require a formal leadership title. It asks how people, places, experiences, or aspirations have prepared you to contribute. A strong plan starts with evidence of participation and responsibility rather than a broad claim about being a leader.

Ask yourself:

• What situation shows how I already engage with a group or community?
• What did I do beyond observing or joining?
• How did other people change my understanding of what contribution means?
• What future action follows naturally from that preparation?

At 300 words maximum, one developed example and a specific reflection can be more useful than a complete activity list. Keep the Michigan connection relevant to your preparation rather than ending with generic praise.

Required essay 2: why your Michigan college or school?

100–550 words

Describe the unique qualities that attract you to the specific undergraduate college or school (including preferred admission and dual degree programs) to which you are applying at the University of Michigan. How would that curriculum support your interests?

This is not simply “Why Michigan?” It asks about the specific undergraduate college or school, including any preferred admission or dual degree path, and about how its curriculum would support your interests.

Michigan’s official guidance suggests considering faculty, courses, research opportunities, relevant programs in which you have participated, and upper-level opportunities connected to preferred admission. Use those as research categories, not as a checklist to mention all at once.

A reliable research process

1. Start with the exact college or school named in your application. Requirements and opportunities can differ across units.
2. Use current official pages. Open the curriculum, major, or program page itself. Verify names rather than copying them from an old essay collection.
3. Choose details that answer a personal question. A course or research opportunity matters in the essay when you can explain its relationship to work, learning, or questions you have already pursued.
4. Explain the mechanism of support. What would the curriculum let you practice, connect, test, or understand?
5. Keep uncertainty honest. You can express a direction without promising that your academic plans will never change.

The Why Us essay examples show how to move from a verified opportunity to a personal connection using clearly fictional samples. They are teaching examples, not admitted Michigan essays.

A planning example without invented program names

Suppose a student has organized a neighborhood tree inventory and wants to study environmental science. Rather than inserting an unverified course title, the student should first locate the relevant official Michigan curriculum and identify an actual requirement or opportunity. The essay can then connect the student's experience recording inconsistent tree-health observations to a specific part of that curriculum and a question about field methods.

The connection—not the prestige of a name—is the substance. After drafting, get feedback on your Michigan response to see whether that connection is visible to a reader.

Review the two essays as a set

Michigan gives you two different tasks. Use that space deliberately:

• The first essay can emphasize preparation, contribution, and the people or places that shaped you.
• The second can emphasize academic direction, curriculum, and the fit with your chosen college or school.
• Avoid repeating the same activity with the same lesson in both answers.
• Check both hard ranges: 100–300 for the first and 100–550 for the second.
• Read for sudden shifts in vocabulary or tone that may signal over-polishing. Those signals are prompts for review, not evidence about an editor's identity.

Michigan’s official page also gives AI guidance: it allows thoughtful brainstorming, outlining, proofreading, and organizing information, but says not to copy and paste AI-generated text or submit work that does not represent you. For context on how that differs from other policies, see do colleges check for AI.

Official source

• University of Michigan Undergraduate Admissions: Essay Questions — prompts, requirements, word ranges, and AI guidance checked November 3, 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Are both Michigan supplemental essays required?

Yes. Michigan’s official first-year essay page lists both the 100–300-word leaders-and-citizens response and the 100–550-word college-or-school response as required.

Is the second Michigan essay only about the university in general?

No. It asks about the specific undergraduate college or school to which you are applying and how that curriculum would support your interests, including preferred admission or dual degree programs when relevant.

Does Michigan allow any AI assistance with essays?

Its current official guidance allows thoughtful brainstorming, outlining, proofreading, and organizing information. It also says not to copy and paste AI-generated text or submit work that does not represent you. Check the current policy before using any tool.

Use the feedback-only college essay tool for a final review of prompt fit, specificity, reflection, and voice. Your experiences and your final wording should remain your own.