For students applying to Michigan
Michigan Supplemental Essays for 2026–27
Both Michigan supplemental essays, drafted from your own notes: the 300-word leaders and citizens essay and the 550-word essay on your school or college.
Free to start. No card needed.
How to write your Michigan supplemental essays
The leaders and citizens question asks how you're prepared to contribute, so answer with evidence rather than titles. Michigan's selection process page1 lists essays among the five things its reviewers rate, and asks, "How have you become a leader at your school and in your community?" Pick one time you changed something small but real: a club you rebuilt, a problem you took to a town meeting, a younger student you tutored all year. Show what you did and what changed, then say what you'd keep doing at Michigan.
The second essay is about your school or college, not the whole university. Michigan's essay page2 suggests highlighting faculty, courses and research, programs you've taken part in that are affiliated with Michigan and, for preferred admission, the upper-level program you want. Check Michigan's list of changes for 2026–273 too: Public Health is a new preferred admission path through LSA, and Ross preferred admission through Engineering has ended. Use most of the 550 words: tie three specifics from the school's own site to things you've done, and cut any line that would fit another university.
Plan everything Michigan will read as one set, with a different story in each essay and in your Common App essay. Ross applicants also send an admissions portfolio with the application, as Michigan's deadlines page4 notes, so give it fresh material too. Michigan's essay page says AI can help you brainstorm, outline, proofread or organize. It is just as clear about the limit: "Do not copy and paste AI-generated text or submit work that does not represent you."
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 page2. 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 29, 2026. In 2024–25 the first question asked about a community you belong to, so older guides may answer a different prompt.
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. None answers 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 opens on why a specialized school suits this writer better than a general college. Then it follows one thread from a broken wrist to shadowing a surgeon and volunteering at a physical therapy clinic. 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 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. Education isn't on Michigan's current preferred admission list, so borrow the structure, not the path.
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 two Ross courses, a professor's research and a leadership program. Then it closes on what he'd bring from his Cuban American family. The professor's first name is spelled two ways, so check every name you use.
Read the Ross essay at CollegeAdvisor
Links checked October 29, 2026.
How it works
What are Michigan's supplemental essays for 2026–27?
Michigan's supplemental essays for 2026–27 are two required answers that every first-year applicant writes on top of the Common App personal essay. The first, 100 to 300 words, asks how you're prepared to contribute to Michigan's goal of developing leaders and citizens. The second, 100 to 550 words, asks what attracts you to your school or college and how its curriculum supports your interests. Both are due with your application: November 1 for Early Decision or Early Action, or February 1 for Regular Decision, according to Michigan's deadlines page4.
River's Michigan supplemental essay writer starts from what you paste or drop in: your school or college, plus notes, activities, a résumé or your Common App essay. It plans the pair first, noting what your Common App essay already covers and giving each essay different material. For the school essay, River reads Michigan's official pages and names only the specifics it confirmed there, such as courses, programs, research or faculty. Each one is listed under the essay with its link, so you can check it.
When your notes don't cover a detail, River writes a short bracket, like [what the board decided], rather than a guess. Each essay shows its exact word count against Michigan's limits, and a closing list names every bracket, the story each essay uses and your deadlines. Then run both drafts through the college essay grader and rewrite them in your own words. Other schools on your list? Try the why this college essay writer, or see Purdue's supplemental essays.
How it works
From your notes to both Michigan essays
Paste your notes
Name your Michigan school, add notes, a résumé or your Common App essay, and pick one essay or both.
River plans both
It gives each essay its own story and takes Michigan details only from Michigan's official pages.
Get your drafts
Both essays arrive with exact word counts, linked Michigan details and brackets where only you know the answer.
Make them yours
Fill the brackets, have River grade both drafts, then rewrite them in your own words before you submit.
Michigan essays · example
- Leaders and citizens · openingEvery other Tuesday for two years, I tested the creek behind our school with a county watershed group. Our E. coli counts spiked after storms. Last spring we took the numbers to the township board, and [what the board decided].
- 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
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 tested the creek behind our school with a county watershed group. Our E. coli counts spiked after storms. Last spring we took the numbers to the township board, and [what the board decided]. 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.
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 that names your school in its opening lines
- 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 closing list of brackets to fill, the story each essay uses and your deadlines
Questions applicants ask
Common questions
How many supplemental essays does Michigan require?
Michigan requires two supplemental essays of every first-year applicant for 2026–27, in every school and college. The leaders and citizens essay runs 100 to 300 words, and the school or college essay runs 100 to 550 words. The Common App's challenges and circumstances question is optional and separate, with a 250-word limit. Michigan's essay page2 lists all three.
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'd do at Michigan. The prompt invites the people, places, experiences or aspirations that shaped your plans, so a family responsibility or a neighborhood project can work as well as an elected role. Tell one story as a short scene, show what changed because of you, and end by looking ahead.
Which Michigan school or college should the second essay be about?
The one you're 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 if you're seeking one, explain why you want it too. Preferred admission isn't offered in Early Decision, says Michigan's preferred admission page5, so apply Early Action or Regular Decision for it.
When are Michigan's 2026–27 deadlines?
Early Decision and Early Action applications are due November 1, 2026, and Regular Decision February 1, 2027, according to Michigan's deadlines page4. Decisions follow by December 24, January 29 and April 2, in that order. Early Decision is binding, with a January 6 deposit. School of Music, Theatre & Dance applicants apply by December 1. Testing is optional, and early applicants who want scores considered self-report them by November 1.
Can I use AI on my Michigan essays?
Yes, within limits. Michigan's essay page2 says AI tools can help with brainstorming, outlining, proofreading or organizing information, and may be especially useful if you have little access to application guidance. But your essays should reflect your own ideas, experiences and voice, and Michigan asks you not to copy and paste AI-generated text. Treat any AI draft, including River's, as a starting point you rewrite.
How do I write my Michigan essays with River?
Paste your notes into the box at the top of this page, or drop a résumé or your Common App essay, and name your Michigan school or college. Pick one essay or both. River drafts each within Michigan's limits, with linked Michigan details and brackets where only you know the answer. Your drafts open in your free River workspace, ready to fill in, grade and rewrite.
Is the Michigan supplemental essay writer free?
Yes, it is free to start. Your Michigan essays open in a River workspace, where you can edit them, share them or ask River to change them, including rewriting the school essay for another program. Paid plans add more AI use and access to the most advanced models.
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