Preferred Admission

What is Preferred Admission?

Preferred Admission (PA) is a way for a first-year applicant to indicate an interest in later transferring to an upper-level program in one of the five U-M schools or colleges listed below. Acceptance guarantees placement in the upper-level program if you meet certain prerequisites during your first year at U-M. The prerequisites vary depending on which upper-level school or college is chosen.

Preferred Admission within U-M is a two-step process:

1. The applicant must be admitted to a first-year-level school or college.
2. The applicant will then be evaluated for PA and, if selected, will later transfer into the upper-level program. (If PA is not granted at this stage, the applicant is still admitted to U-M in their first-year-level school or college.)

To apply, choose a Preferred Admissions program under the Academics heading in the U-M Member Questions section of the Common Application. PA applicants must apply for the fall term and may have different application deadlines than students applying for standard admission.

Applicants who apply to the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA) and select the Stephen M. Ross School of Business for Preferred Admission, if admitted to both units, will enroll in the Ross School BBA program as a Direct Admit first-year student. Students who are admitted to other U-M schools or colleges (such as the College of Engineering) and Ross will still enroll through the Preferred Admission process, but will transfer to Ross in their sophomore year.

The Preferred Admission programs and deadlines are:

• Taubman College of Architecture & Urban Planning - available only for applicants to College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA), LSA Residential College, or Stamps School of Art & Design: Feb. 1
• Stephen M. Ross School of Business - available only for fall term applicants to LSA, LSA Residential College, College of Engineering, School of Kinesiology (Sport Management program only), School of Music, Theatre & Dance, and Stamps School of Art & Design: Nov. 1 for priority review
• Marsal Family School of Education - available only for applicants to LSA or LSA Residential College: Feb. 1
• School of Information - available only for applicants to LSA, LSA Residential College, College of Engineering, School of Kinesiology (Sport Management program only), School of Music, Theatre & Dance, or Stamps School of Art & Design: Feb. 1
• College of Pharmacy - available only for applicants to LSA or LSA Residential College; this is a conditional assurance of admission into the PharmD program only: Feb. 1

If you are interested in advance selection into a computer science major, see How do I apply for a computer science major?