Tips for Completing a Well-Rounded Application

Our early application deadline is less than a month away! Most students are working on their applications, and you may be looking for tips for making sure that your application is the best it can be. We recently have had several posts related to navigating the admissions process, funding, and asking for letters of recommendation. Here are some additional tips and thoughts before you submit your application. 

Make sure all your application materials are in order

You can check the admissions requirements page for detailed explanation of required materials including: Application, Resume, Transcripts, GRE Scores, TOEFL or IELTS Scores (International Students only), (3) Letters of Recommendation, Statement of Purpose, and Personal Statement. The admissions team requires each one of these elements for review, so it is important that they have all been completed. 

You should also make sure to pay special attention to the elements of your application that may be outside of your immediate control, like the letters of recommendation and test scores. I found it helpful to follow up with my writers and the testing agencies through emails or telephone calls to make sure they have sent everything to each one of my schools; this assurance can go a long way towards making you feel in control of these elements that you might never get to see. You can also check the status of your application here.

What does your application say about you?

The admissions review committee takes a holistic approach in evaluating each prospective student's application. This means that the admissions team is looking to see how well you fit with the school's mission statement, your potential for leadership, what you see yourself doing in the future of the field, and other related factors. Please read Ellen's post on writing the personal statement and statement of purpose for more tips.

Addressing the five questions listed under the Statement of Purpose on the admissions requirements page will allow you to address these topics and will help you complete a well-rounded application that gives the admissions review committee an idea of how you believe you can further the field of information. Make sure that you have expressed yourself clearly in this section and answered all of the questions posed.

Remember to proofread your statements and have a friend review them as well. I remember writing my personal statements and how difficult it was initially. What helped me most was imagining I was on the admissions committee and was reading my statements for the first time. What did I now know about the applicant based only the application? How does this person fit within the field of information? What has the applicant done in the past to ensure future success? Is the applicant a good fit for the school? After you've read your statements, make sure they tell your story, who you are, what you bring to the table, and what you hope to achieve by earning your Master's in Information.

For specific questions about the application process, you may contact the admissions team at umsi.admissions@umich.edu; however, please understand that given the business of the application season, and the number of applications the team receives, the time it takes to make an admissions decision may vary. For any general questions about the program, cultural issues, or questions about Ann Arbor, please check out the UMSI Prospective Students Facebook group.

Funding and Scholarships Reminder

It is never too early to start thinking about funding for graduate school.  There are many options available to help finance a master's degree at UMSI.

We posted similar information in October, but want to check in and remind you of the resources we've compiled and encourage you to start looking and applying for scholarships now.

Brief reminders (details below): 

• All students are considered for UMSI merit scholarships, and those who apply to UMSI by January 15, 2014 will receive priority consideration.  
• Check out our external scholarship spreadsheet.  UMSI is often able to match or double match funding awards from external scholarships.  Many of these deadlines are coming up soon, so don't delay!

Links from UMSI website:

• Funding your degree
• Scholarships
• Diversity scholarships
• External scholarships
• Assistantships
• UM and Federal programs
• http://si.umich.edu/academics/funding/student-employment
• University Library Associate assistantship (application available soon!)
• Achievement Fellowship

Details

UMSI Merit Scholarships
Our UMSI Scholarships are merit-based, and typically cover half of tuition for full time students (regardless of your residency status).  We go through 3-4 rounds of UMSI Scholarship offers throughout the term. We hope to complete the first round in late February/early March. The second round will be in mid- to- late April, with a possible third round in mid- to- late May.

The first round of UMSI Scholarships are entirely merit-based. Subsequent rounds will always have merit as the primary factor for consideration, but we will also look at your motivation to attend UMSI. These factors can be demonstrated by professional, consistent communication with us. You are welcome to submit an additional letter/email for the admissions committee's consideration. I've seen previous admissions committees look at your excitement about UMSI, your efforts in applying for external fellowships, anything particular about the nature of your need, the connections you make at Visiting Days, the professionalism of your interactions, and other things for the subsequent rounds of UMSI Scholarship.

Merit is still the primary factor, and by merit we mean the strength of your statement of purpose and personal statement, your letters of recommendation, your internship/research/work experience, your academic record including your GRE, demonstration of leadership, service, comfort with ambiguity, etc. It is NOT just your GRE/GPA.

UMSI matching funds for external tuition awards
UMSI master's students who receive scholarships administered by external sources, such as associations, foundations, and corporations, are eligible to request matching funds from the School of Information.

UMSI students who receive an external scholarship prior to their first term of enrollment or through their first year (12 months) of enrollment are eligible for up to $10,000 in matching funds, depending on the award amount, the level of funding already awarded by UMSI, the remaining unmet need for cost of attendance, and the availability of funds remaining in the annual matching funds budget. Admitted students who receive an external award should submit the original award statement (keeping a copy for personal records) with a request for matching funds to umsi.admissions@umich.edu. 

Scholarship Announcements
This spreadsheet of external scholarships will be continually updated throughout the winter and early spring.  Please check back for more opportunities, and we will continue to alert prospective students of these as we learn of them.  

Please note the University Library Associate scholarships require a separate application, due January 15, 2014.  The application will be available soon.

Asking for Letters of Recommendation

Letters of recommendation are a required part to the UMSI application process therefore there is a lot to consider regarding who to ask and what the contents should include. Deadlines are also imperative, so it’s important to make sure you ask your recommenders (once you choose them) as early as possible, to give them ample time to produce and send a thoughtful letter.  This process can feel daunting, especially when it’s out of your hands, so keep reading to find out how to make this process as manageable and painless as possible to ultimately make your application complete and ready for the admissions committee.

Who makes a good recommender?
This is a very important factor to consider since you are asking people to write positively on your behalf and highlight your strengths. Think about what you are trying to convey in your application. For example, are you a leader, actively involved in volunteer programs, or someone who has been successful in overcoming challenges? Once you answer this question, you can decide who the best people are in your academic or professional life who can express your attributes and strengths. Remember, it is essential to make sure these people come from your academic and professional paths: a recent professor or faculty advisor, a work supervisor, or someone who managed a project you worked on. Ultimately, you want to choose people who can speak substantially of your talents, qualities, and potential to succeed.

How to ask
Your recommenders are people that know you, so it should feel relatively comfortable asking for a letter.

In my opinion, there are three ways to ask for a letter of recommendation (and there may be more!). If you have a strictly professional relationship with the individual, the best way to ask is in person if possible. This could be during the professor’s office hours or a quick meeting with your supervisor or over coffee. The next best option would be a telephone call, especially if there is distance between the two of you. The third option would be email, especially if you have a more relaxed or comfortable relationship with this person (or if this person is extremely busy and prefers email contact). In the end, you will know what method is best for you and your recommender. Regardless of the type of communication, your conversation should include why you are asking for this letter of recommendation – why you are applying to graduate school and UMSI in particular.

It would be best to provide your recommenders with information on the field of information, what you intend to study, and what qualities you possess to succeed as a graduate student.  The more prompting you do, the easier it may be for the recommender to accept your request to write the letter.

Once they agree, provide your recommender with information that allows them to tailor the letter of recommendation to you. Here are some suggestions on what to include:

• Why you chose them: previous experiences, class projects / papers, interactions and the qualities you know they can highlight best
• A copy of your résumé 
• A copy of your personal statement and statement of purpose
• Information and links to UMSI
• The directions for submission which are in the CollegeNet application for UMSI

Ask early!

This is essentially the most important thing to remember, since requesting the letter is an on-going and sometimes lengthy process. From requesting a meeting or asking for the first time, to writing and submitting the letter, the many steps can easily span over several weeks. Start your conversation early, and remain thoughtful of your academic calendar and deadlines. Since you want your recommender to have time to write a thoughtful letter, and more than likely they have busy schedules, you’ll want to aim for a six-week notice. You can always ask your recommender for a timeline on the completion of the letter, and then check-in at a later date; however, don’t wait until the deadline of your application!

Follow-up!

For your application to be complete at UMSI, all materials must be submitted – including your three (3) letters of recommendation. Assume your recommenders are busy and will need time to write your letter. Once the recommender has agreed to write the letter, you can check your CollegeNet account to see if the letters have been submitted.

Extra advice:

Use Recent Letters:  The Letters of Recommendation should come from someone who has recently overseen your work or studies.

"Name Dropping" vs. Using Your Direct Supervisor or Professor:  You want a recommender who knows you!  We know that UMSI students come from many backgrounds and experiences, and not everyone has had an opportunity to work with someone who understands or works in the information field.  Your letter and recommender should showcase how your qualities demonstrate leadership potential, a team-approach to problem solving, capable of dealing with ambiguity and change, and have a strong commitment to service.  These are all qualities that can take place anywhere and you don't need to "name drop" (mentioning important or influential people to make you look better) for the admissions committee to see this side of you.

Waiving your right to review the letter? This is an option where you allow your recommender to know that you will not be reviewing the letter.  Waiving your reviewing right may allow the recommender to be more honest with the admissions committee, and it may affect what your recommender decides to write.  While you can discuss this with your recommender for his/her preference, the norm is to waive this right, as many reviewers have concerns if you don’t. Almost 100% of the letters have waived rights.

While asking for letters of recommendation can be intimidating, it is well worth the time to invest in finding the right recommender. These people are speaking on your behalf and will be additional opportunities for the admissions committee to understand who you are and why you would be successful as a graduate student at UMSI. In this regard, the recommendations provide the perfect compliment to your application and your essays.

Regardless of program, you can visit the UMSI application website more requirement information or contact umsi.admissions@umich.edu with questions.

•     For MSI applications, please visit: MSI Application Requirements
•   For MHI applications, please visit: MHI Application Requirements
•   For Ph.D. applications, please visit: Ph.D Application Requirements

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written by:
Alexis Peregoy
Information Mentor

Data Dive 2013

This past weekend was our third annual Data Dive event.  A2 DataDive is a 48-hour event held in service of several nonprofits that seek to explore their datasets and discover creative answers to their research questions.  Non-profits primarily collect data but do not have the capabilities to analyze or manipulate it to provide any useful information.  Data Dive is an opportunity for connect non-profits with people who can transform the data into something meaningful. This year’s non-profits included the Ann Arbor District Library (AADL), the AnnArbor YMCA, and the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation (AAACF).

Volunteers including graduate students of all levels of experience and backgrounds, programmers, developers, data scientists, and statisticians worked throughout the weekend to manipulate data and develop programs to answer research questions.  Together we were able to uncover trends relating to library hold data, visualize grant allocation and impact for the AAACF, and how trends affect YMCA membership.  Please check out the Ann Arbor Data Dive website for more information.

Top 5 Best Things About Being A MHI Student

When I was a medical intern and working at Shanghai Tenth People Hospital from 2010 to 2011, the hospital was implementing a large and integrated electronic medical record (EHR) across all physician offices, departments, and labs. It was easy to see the benefits of an electronic medical records: EHR can make healthcare more efficient and less expensive, and improve the quality of care by making patients’ medical history easily and remotely accessible to all who treat them. However, the information-technology system was also bringing daunting challenges like clunky and time-consuming interface, the workflow change, difficulties of care standardization and so on. This experience drove me to pursue a Master of Health Informatics at the University of Michigan when I finished my first-year clinical residency. I strongly hold a belief that change is coming to the business of healthcare and technology and can play a critical role as physicians seek to adapt their practices to the new landscape in America and China. Here are the top 5 best things about being a MHI student and becoming an innovative future leader in technology and healthcare.

·          Being part of both Top schools is the coolest thing. School of Information and School of Public Health are top school in this nation and provide the best education in human-computer interaction, information analysis and retrieval, and health management and policy. These foundations are giving MHI students incomparable opportunity to lead the development, analysis, and implementation of human centered health solutions in clinical, consumer, and population sides.

·          Learning informatics is beyond coding behind a computer. As Steve Jobs put, “I think everyone should learn how to program a computer, because it teaches you how to think”. The ability to code is important for health informatics professionals but it does not mean health informatics students will develop their computers. What is more important is to gain understanding of systems, algorithms and representation and to develop abilities having more efficient and effective interaction with scientific programmers and application developers. Technology courses at the School of Information are real-world applicable and enable these possibilities by leading development team and rapid prototyping of novel ideas.

·          Becoming a new class of healthcare professionals. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, popularly known as “Obamacare” is bringing a lot of changes to insurance coverage, physician reimbursement model, relationship between physicians and patients, and more. Health Informatics students are trained to lead the technology transformation and innovation in healthcare. Technology Skills, domain knowledge and policy mindsets gained in health informatics will significantly contribute to healthcare organizations in adopting new delivery and payment models and expanding their capacity to match growing demand.

·          Having ability to create new technology-focused ventures in healthcare. Entrepreneurship is innovating, dreaming, and solving problems and improving lives. In the health informatics program, entrepreneurial mindsets and skills are highly emphasized and students are offered entrepreneurship courses, Google-sponsored speaker series, startup treks in New York City and Boston, innovation and business plan competitions, and active engagement with the full entrepreneurship ecosystem across campus and in tech-friendly Ann Arbor. 

·          Bracing infinite possibilities in health informatics. “Where will I be in 10 years?” or “Where will my job be?” These are questions to ask with anxiety as a graduate student. However, the predicted transformation of healthcare is underway. Health Informatics is realizing its promise as the connective tissue between medicine and information science. Policy and payment method reforms are fueling the growth of health informatics positions in public health agencies, hospitals, payer organizations, healthcare and technology consulting firms, and information technology companies including start-ups. The world is at your finger tips!

Areas of Academic Interest

As an information school, UMSI offers students a variety of learning options, while still allowing students to learn deeply about areas of interest about which they're most excited. Some UMSI students study human computer interaction, archives, big data, digital humanities, user experience/user design libraries, preservation, data mining, social media, and much more.

UMSI helps students balance coursework by providing clusters of courses which students might take to go in depth about their areas of interest.  UMSI also provides students an option to tailor their degree to fit exactly what they're hoping to study and discover at UMSI.  There are additional opportunities such as A2DataDive (happening this weekend, A2 DataDive is a 48-hour event held in service of several nonprofits who seek to explore their datasets and discover creative answers to their research questions) and many other ways to improve your skills and network through project-based work.

You can also checkout our Pathways to Success and see what classes would most beneficial to your career goals. UMSI graduates have obtained jobs including Business Analyst, Information Architect, Librarian, Digital Archivist, User Experience Researcher and Designer. Most graduates take 3-4 months to land a job. You can find more information on career placement in our employment report.

Connect with UMSI Presentations and New UMSI Initiative for Student Engagement

Last week we held Connect with UMSI events for prospective students.  Check out links to the presentations here.  This can be a great way to get a taste of the content from the sessions.  Keep in touch with us if you'd like more information or to connect with a current student!

Not included in the video presentations are descriptions of the exciting new UMSI initiative for student engagement which includes many new and existing programs.  From the article: "The Initiative for Information Impact, which includes funding to establish new programs and expand existing ones, also will engage students in the broader U-M community in projects to benefit communities in the United States and overseas."  Read more here.

Funding and Scholarship Resources and Information

It may only be October, but you may be thinking about how to fund your graduate school education.  All students who apply are considered for our merit based scholarships, and those who apply by January 15 receive first consideration for these scholarships.

There are also several external scholarships that you can apply for before admission.  Many of these scholarships have deadlines in November and December, so please check out our external scholarship spreadsheet for specific deadlines and requirements.  In addition, UMSI is often able to match funding awards from external scholarships.  Graduate School can be affordable, so please take a look at all of the funding resources detailed below. 

UMSI Scholarships
Our UMSI Scholarships are merit-based, and typically cover half of tuition for full time students (regardless of your residency status).  We go through 3-4 rounds of UMSI Scholarship offers throughout the term. We hope to complete the first round in late February/early March. The second round will be in mid to late April, with the third round in mid to late May.

The first round of UMSI Scholarships are entirely merit-based. Subsequent rounds will always have merit as the primary factor for consideration, but we will also look at your motivation to attend UMSI. These factors can be demonstrated by professional, consistent communication with us. You are welcome to submit an additional letter/email for the admissions committee's consideration. I've seen previous admissions committees look at your excitement about UMSI, your efforts in applying for external fellowships, anything particular about the nature of your need, the connections you make at Visiting Days, the professionalism of your interactions, and other things for the subsequent rounds of UMSI Scholarship.

Merit is still the primary factor, and by merit we mean the strength of your statement of purpose and personal statement, your letters of recommendation, your internship/research/work experience, your academic record including your GRE, demonstration of leadership, service, comfort with ambiguity, etc. It is NOT just your GRE/GPA.

UMSI matching funds for external tuition awards
UMSI master's students who receive scholarships administered by external sources, such as associations, foundations, and corporations, are eligible to request matching funds from the School of Information.

UMSI students who receive an external scholarship prior to their first term of enrollment or through their first year (12 months) of enrollment are eligible for up to $10,000 in matching funds, depending on the award amount, the level of funding already awarded by UMSI, the remaining unmet need for cost of attendance, and the availability of funds remaining in the annual matching funds budget. Admitted students who receive an external award should submit the original award statement (keeping a copy for personal records) with a request for matching funds to umsi.admissions@umich.edu

Funding Links
http://si.umich.edu/academics/funding/scholarships
http://si.umich.edu/academics/funding/diversity-scholarships
http://si.umich.edu/academics/funding/external-scholarships
http://si.umich.edu/academics/funding/assistantships
http://si.umich.edu/academics/funding/resources-u-m-and-federal-programs
http://si.umich.edu/academics/funding/student-employment
http://www.si.umich.edu/academics/funding/university-library-associates
https://www.si.umich.edu/programs/master-science-information/funding-your-degree/umsi-achievement-fellowship

Scholarship Announcements
This spreadsheet of external scholarships will be continually updated throughout the winter and early spring.  Please check back for more opportunities, and we will continue to alert prospective students of these as we learn of them.  

Please note the University Library Associate scholarships require a separate application, due January 15, 2014.

Resources for Navigating the Application Process

Applying to grad school is a big decision and as a current student, I remember how overwhelming the process can be.  If you’re feeling the same way I felt two years ago, go ahead and take a deep breath because I am here to help! I have a compiled a list of resources to help you navigate the UMSI application process. 

First of all, take advantage of the wealth of information on the UMSI website.  There you will find information on different areas of interest within the MSI program, courses offered, career outcomes, funding, and more.  Also, if you are still wondering if an MSI degree is the right fit for you, I would encourage you to check out these pages on what an MSI entails and why you should consider earning one.  Also, don’t forget that the MSI program in general is very flexible and allows you to tailor your degree program to explore your specific interests.  Check out the tailored MSI option if you think your goals/interests would be better met that way.

I would also recommend registering with us to receive e-mails about upcoming events and other important news. We can even connect you with one of UMSI’s information mentors who would be glad to speak to their experience as a current student.

And don’t forget about one of the other great resources mentioned previously on our blog- our prospective student Facebook group where you can connect with current students, staff, and other prospective students.

Of course, after reading the specialization descriptions, checking out the available classes, & scoping out their faculty lineup, I was ready to start my application to UMSI.  And just like most of you, the first thing I wanted to know was what materials I would need to submit in order for my application to be complete.  Well, UMSI’s website has another checklist for you- the MSI application requirements page. Refer to this page to make sure you have crafted not only a great application, but also a complete one.

Also, be sure to keep up-to-date with this blog.  In the coming weeks, we will have posts from current students on topics like funding your degree, asking for letters of recommendation, and writing your personal statement.

If you have any questions, feel free to send us an email at umsi.admissions@umich.edu. We’re always happy to help!