Special Program Applications

Please make sure you have considered other UM special programs that might interest you. Do NOT assume that you won’t have time to complete multiple programs. Even if their priority deadlines are past, it is worth applying late and at least being on their waiting list. Do not hesitate to call them in person.

Very often, when students make assumptions about what is possible or impossible without trying it out, getting fully informed, and/or talking to current students who are already doing it, they miss the window in which they could start down that road … or they pay for many more winter, summer, and other intersessions trying to fit in extra classes. Every year there are students who are un-pleasantly surprised to learn that there are a handful of students who are doing all the things they originally wanted to do but chose not to simply because they thought it wasn’t possible or would be too much. Not everyone is suited for this, but we have a recent graduate who successfully completed Honors, Croft, Chinese Flagship, CISS (security studies), and Air Force ROTC. If you are worried about turning a minor into a second major, there’s a good chance you can, especially if you have that as your goal from the first day of fall, freshman year (or earlier if you place out of our summer program or want to come for May or August intersession).  Overall, we have found that it’s far better to apply and commit to all programs that genuinely interest you and then adjust according to your experience in each.  Fall of freshman year may be difficult, but again, it may not be nearly as tough as you imagined.  After several months in the core course(s) for your program(s), your enthusiasm for the program(s) may rise or fall in ways you hadn’t expected.  If you end up dropping one or more of them, you will likely have confidence for the rest of your college career and beyond that you made the right decision.