This fall, the Cook Family Foundation is entering its fortieth year of awarding scholarships. Since 1980, more than 800 students have received a scholarship from the Foundation to the University of Michigan.

Although Michigan is very selective, the Cook Family Foundation strives to help prospective students every step of the way. From scholarships and guidance, to trips to see U of M, we hope to help students be the best candidates for admissions they can be.

This, however, does not mean admission will be guaranteed. Every year, almost twice as many students apply to the University from Shiawassee County than are admitted. The graph below shows the application trends from the Shiawassee Area since 2012, with blue lines being the applicants from the area, red being admitted and yellow being the number attending. 

Now what might these numbers mean for a high school student from Shiawassee? It may look daunting, but it shows that it’s entirely possible to be admitted. There have been 32 students from Shiawassee admitted on average each year. 

On average, 85% of the students who apply to Michigan that were nominated for the Bruce and Jackie Cook scholarship are admitted to the University. What this means is that if a student is nominated for the scholarship, we believe they have what it takes to be admitted; but the decision is ultimately up to the University.

If you are, or know, a high school student who thinks they have what it takes to get into the University of Michigan, don’t hesitate to contact us!  Read the relevant pages on our website to learn more about our scholarship process. 

This post, and the research behind it, is the work of Jake Bacigal, Owosso HIgh Class of 2018 and now an engineering student at UM.  He was one of several of this year’s Owosso Fellows serving as interns for local organizations,