For students applying to Michigan
Michigan Supplemental Essays for 2026–27
Michigan asks for a 300-word leaders and citizens essay and a 550-word essay on your school or college. Paste your notes and get both drafted.
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Michigan essays · example
- Leaders and citizens · openingEvery other Tuesday for two years, I knelt at the creek behind our school with a sample bottle. After big storms our E. coli counts spiked, so last spring we took the numbers to the township board.
- College of Engineering · openingI already know what I want to measure: what happens to a creek after it rains. At Michigan Engineering, [a course or lab you found] would teach me how to fix it.
- Before you submitFill two brackets: the course or lab you found, and what the township board did with your numbers.
What you'll get
Both Michigan essays drafted from your own experiences
- A leaders and citizens essay of 100 to 300 words, built on one experience of yours
- A school or college essay of up to 550 words, with linked Michigan details
- Exact word counts on both, and brackets wherever only you know the detail
Michigan's 2026–27 questions
Michigan's two essay questions, word for word
Michigan requires both essays of every first-year applicant, whatever school or college you choose. The wording below is copied from Michigan's essay questions page. Both questions ran with the same wording in the 2025–26 cycle.
| Question | Exact wording | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Essay 1, required | 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. | 100 to 300 words |
| Essay 2, required | 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? | 100 to 550 words |
| Challenges and circumstances, optional | The Common Application includes opportunities for you to share unique challenges you may have faced that impacted your high school experience and/or academic performance. | 250 words |
Michigan's page shows no update date. Checked October 6, 2026, against the page as published on September 29, 2026.
Before and after
Your notes in. Both Michigan essays out.
Applying to the College of Engineering, probably environmental engineering. Tested the creek behind our school every other Tuesday for 2 years with a county watershed group. E. coli spiked after storms, and last spring we presented the numbers to the township board. Robotics captain. Started a Saturday robotics club for middle schoolers at the Grand Rapids library, 14 kids.
Leaders and citizens (opening) Every other Tuesday for two years, I knelt at the creek behind our school with a sample bottle. After big storms our E. coli counts spiked, so last spring we took the numbers to the township board. [What the board decided] taught me that data only matters once someone acts on it. College of Engineering (opening) I already know what I want to measure: what happens to a creek after it rains. At Michigan Engineering, [a course or lab you found] would teach me how to fix it.
Every fact comes from the notes. Brackets mark what only the student knows or still has to look up.
Real examples
Michigan essays from admitted students
All three writers were admitted to Michigan, and each answers the school or college question, which is worded the same today. We found no published answer from an admitted student to the leaders and citizens question, which began in the 2025–26 cycle.
Why the School of Kinesiology
One admitted student · EssaysThatWorked · added March 2022
It follows one thread from a broken wrist to shadowing a surgeon to volunteering at a physical therapy clinic, then explains why a specialized school beats a general college. The Michigan details sit mostly in one paragraph, so give yours more room.
Read the Kinesiology essay at EssaysThatWorkedA preferred admission path into teaching
One admitted student · EssaysThatWorked · added March 2022
It shows exactly how two years in LSA followed by the School of Education serve the goal of teaching high school English, naming programs along the way. It leans on rankings, a part you can skip.
Read the education essay at EssaysThatWorkedWhy Ross, from a future actuary
One admitted student · CollegeAdvisor · published 2021
It ties a goal of becoming an actuary to named Ross courses, a professor's research and a leadership program, then closes on what the writer brings from his Cuban American family. Courses and faculty change, so check them before borrowing the approach.
Read the Ross essay at CollegeAdvisor
Links checked October 6, 2026.
Why it works
What are Michigan's supplemental essays for 2026–27?
Michigan asks every first-year applicant for two supplemental essays in 2026–27, on top of the Common App personal essay. The first, 100 to 300 words, asks how you are prepared to contribute as a leader and citizen. The second, 100 to 550 words, asks what draws you to the specific school or college you are applying to and how its curriculum fits your interests. Both are quoted above from Michigan's essay page, unchanged from last year.
River's Michigan essay writer drafts both from what you paste. The leaders and citizens essay grows from one person, place or experience in your notes and ends on what you would bring to campus. The school essay names the unit you chose, such as LSA, Engineering or Ross, and connects its curriculum to things you have actually done. Michigan details come only from Michigan's own pages, with links, and every gap becomes a bracket for you to fill.
Michigan's deadlines page lists November 1 for Early Decision and Early Action and February 1 for Regular Decision, with decisions by December 24, January 29 and April 2. Early Decision is binding, so choose it only if Michigan is your clear first choice. Michigan stays test optional this cycle, according to its application changes page. For other colleges' why us questions, try the why this college essay writer, and run both Michigan drafts through the college essay grader before you submit.
What lands in your doc
What's in your Michigan essays
- A leaders and citizens essay of 100 to 300 words, built on one experience from your notes
- A school or college essay of up to 550 words, naming the unit you are applying to
- Michigan courses, programs and research taken only from Michigan's own pages, each one linked
- A different story in each essay, so the pair shows two sides of you
- Exact word counts checked against Michigan's 100-word minimum and each essay's maximum
- A list of brackets to fill, plus your Early Decision, Early Action and Regular Decision dates
How it works
From your notes to both Michigan essays
Paste your notes
Add activities, a résumé or your Common App essay, and name the Michigan school you're applying to.
Pick an essay
Write both at once, or only the leaders and citizens essay, or only the school essay.
Get your drafts
Both essays arrive with exact word counts, linked Michigan details and brackets for anything missing.
Polish and submit
Fill the brackets, grade both essays, then submit by November 1 or February 1.
How to write the Michigan essays yourself
Read the first prompt as a question about what you will do, not what you have won. Michigan wants leaders and citizens who will "challenge the present and enrich the future," so pick one experience where you changed something small but real. A club you rebuilt, a problem you raised at a public meeting or a younger kid you taught all work. Show what you did, then point forward to how you would keep doing it in Ann Arbor.
The second prompt is about one school or college, not the whole university. Start on Michigan's pages for that unit and note required courses, first-year programs, research options and any preferred admission or dual degree path you are applying for. Michigan's own advice suggests writing about faculty, courses and research, programs you have joined, and interest in an upper-level program if you seek preferred admission. Choose three specifics and tie each one to something you have done.
Use the room without padding it. A 550-word limit is generous, and a thin 150-word answer wastes space Michigan gave you to explain your plans. Write it as a plan: what you have done, what this curriculum adds, and what you would build with it. Read the two essays side by side so each uses a different story. Finally, replace any sentence that could describe another university, like praise for great professors, with a detail only Michigan offers. Also applying to Purdue? See Purdue's 2026–27 prompts.
Questions applicants ask
Common questions
How many supplemental essays does Michigan require?
Two, and both are required of every first-year applicant for 2026–27. The leaders and citizens essay runs 100 to 300 words, and the school or college essay runs 100 to 550 words. The optional challenges and circumstances question in the Common App is separate. All of them are listed on Michigan's essay page.
What should I write for the Michigan leaders and citizens essay?
Write about one experience that shows how you already contribute, then connect it to what you would do at Michigan. The prompt invites people, places, experiences or aspirations that shaped your plans, so a family responsibility or a local project works as well as a title. Keep it to one story in 300 words, with a clear look forward.
Which Michigan school or college should the second essay be about?
The one you are applying to, such as LSA, the College of Engineering or the Ross School of Business. The prompt also covers preferred admission and dual degree programs, so mention one if you are applying for it. Name courses, programs or research inside that unit, and explain how its curriculum fits interests you can show.
When are Michigan's 2026–27 deadlines?
Early Decision and Early Action are due November 1, and Regular Decision is due February 1, according to Michigan's deadlines page. Decisions arrive by December 24, January 29 and April 2. Early Decision is binding, with a January 6 enrollment deposit. School of Music, Theatre and Dance applicants apply by December 1.
Is Michigan test optional for 2026–27?
Yes. Michigan says it remains test optional for the 2027 application cycle, so you choose whether to send SAT or ACT scores. Applicants who do not send scores are not disadvantaged, according to its application changes page. Early applicants who want scores considered must self-report them by November 1.
Can I use the Michigan essay writer for free?
Yes, River has a Free plan that needs no credit card and includes some AI usage every month. Both Michigan essays stay in your own workspace, where you can grade them, redraft one paragraph or keep older versions. When the month's usage is used up, it refreshes on its own, and paid plans are listed on the pricing page.
Your next step
More for your application
Write both Michigan essays from what you've done
Paste your notes, a résumé or your Common App essay, and name your Michigan school. River drafts both essays inside the limits.