A2Z S3 E12: When Will I Hear Back?

At this point in the cycle, many applicants have submitted their application and are wondering, what's going on? When will I hear back? What's taking so long? In this episode, Dean Z gives you a peek behind the scenes in admissions and teaches you about Michigan Law's process in rolling admissions.
You can leave questions in the comments below or email Dean Z at [e-mail] and put A2Z Vlog in the subject.
You can find the new A2Z podcast on all of your favorite podcast platforms or you can go here: a2z-podcast.si...
Other helpful links:
A2Z Blog: experience.law...
Michigan Law Admissions: experience.law...
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Follow on Facebook: / umichlaw
Intro music by Jacob Sigman.

[@katelynrea3724]

I think I’ve watched this video well over ten times just trying to not overthink while I wait. Go blue! 💙💛

[@ioanafilipescu2327]

So do I now:)))

[@ItsJuju09]

Thank you for always being transparent Dean Z! Hoping for an A from UMich!

[@Ethan6500]

I think you should do a video on “yield protecting.” People talk about it as if it’s a thing. If it is, do schools do it begrudgingly or is it just part of the system?

[@allegedcinephile8607]

It's a very real thing at UC Law SF, where a 170+ LSAT is an automatic WL

[@umichlaw]

You’re right, I should-this is a terrific suggestion. Thanks.

[@minji.kang.usc23]

Dean Z, I cannot thank you enough for making these videos. I found them very helpful, and it made me excited to apply to UMich!

[@CarolynAllen-r6o]

Hi Dean Z (and Dustin, of course)! Sincerely, thank you for this video. I had underestimated how hard waiting to hear back from law schools would be and your perspective has at least partially calmed my nerves. I know my application is in good hands with you and your team. :) I am wondering if you would be willing to do a video about your perception of this cycle thus far. At about halfway through the cycle, I’m curious if you have noticed any interesting trends or patterns within this applicant pool.

[@rakshasen2558]

These updates make my whole day!

[@jackieurban9776]

Does Dean Z review every application? I love her she's the queen of the world!

[@umichlaw]

I do review every application! 😊

[@philipmorrone5717]

Dean Z will always be the real MVP.

[@historicalorigins8545]

Great video! Love the candidness. It is incredibly helpful to hear about how the offices work (and it makes me grateful for all the hard work you guys do!). How are ED applicants right now? Is there also a backlog? A lot of us (on the Reddit/in a Slack group) haven't received date changes/the rest of the little updates that might indicate something is moving with our application.

[@umichlaw]

ED applications are prioritized at this time of year, both for processing purposes and for reading purposes. We got a whole big batch in the last days before our 11/15 deadline, though, and those are all with first readers-they will be making their way to me soon! And there are *already* a handful of ED offers in the queue for next week.

[@Music_Iz_life]

Thank you for this! I applied mid October, and Reddit is stressing me out

[@mamba1763]

I think you should do a app reading on my application from this cycle!

[@anonyesq]

I think lots of us would benefit from a practical discussion on a future vlog how the applicants get sorted for review. In other words, is it done by a formula that somehow multiplies LSAT and GPA? Are they read from strongest to weakest? Also, do you believe T14ish schools engage in yield control and WL people who seem likely to accept a higher ranked school?

[@anonyesq]

Thank you! One last OCD question… am I correct that law schools medians are based on the overall cumulative UGPA, or is it only the cumulative UGPA from the degree-granting school? In other words, no community college boost in the latter scenario from classes a student might have taken before starting at the degree granting school. Thanks!

[@umichlaw]

The cumulative GPA is the GPA for all colleges attended, up to and including your bachelors-degree-granting school. That is, if you went to community college and then went to a four-year college, the cumulative GPA includes the grades from both institutions-but if you then go on to a master’s degree, the cumulative GPA does *not* include those grades. LSAC also provides the degree GPA (i.e., your second scenario), but that is not what is used for the medians.

[@anonyesq]

Dean Z, you mention awaiting winter grades for some KJD applicants. What number is reported on ABA stats for these students - the UGPA at the time of acceptance or the time of graduation?

[@umichlaw]

Great Q-you’re thinking like an admissions officer! It’s actually neither; the number that gets used is from whatever is the last transcript you provide to LSAC. In most cases, that will be your degree-granting transcript, i.e., the one following graduation-but sometimes people just don’t update after first applying, or update only after the first semester. The ABA requires schools to collect degree-granting transcripts for everyone, but at Michigan (and many other schools), we ask incoming students to send those directly to us rather than to LSAC, so it’s quite possible that a student would not bother also sending it along to LSAC.