Hi!
I’m finishing my junior year of high school and have been looking into more college-stuff since everything has been put on a “pause” because of quarantine. I’m from WI but I refuse to go anywhere in-state for college. I want to go experience a new city and I love UofMN. I have taken one practice ACT and one real ACT. I got a 27 on the official one and I haven’t studied yet. (Gives me hope that I could do a point or two better). I have a 3.8 GPA, I will have 7 AP courses done by my senior year, and have taken accelerated math courses that are 2 years advanced (high school/college math courses) since 7th grade. I have played a varsity sport all 3 years, do monthly volunteering for an ability center, and have volunteered at my church for as long as I can remember. My report cards are usually all A’s and then a B in my math classes. So even though I don’t have straight A’s, it definitely shows that I work my butt off. I am having a hard time finding people’s experiences with applying/being accepted to the UofMN and I was hoping that maybe people would be open to sharing their scores, extracurriculars, etc. I am also curious to hear about how the application process worked for you, what you recommend, etc. With COVID-19, I know lots of colleges are being forced to change requirements. (All UW schools except for Madison recently announced they’re going test-optional). I’m not sure if/when I can retake the ACT, but I’m planning on doing so as soon as I can. With my current stats, what do you think my chances are? I’m the oldest of 4 kids, so my options are basically limited to WI and MN. I’m happy to share anything else that is important to applying for Minnesota. Let me know what your stats were, what your experience was like, etc.
The University of Minnesota admits by specific colleges (CSE, CBS, CLA, etc.), so your chances will depend on your major, but you can also choose a second college to be considered for, which would increase your chances of getting in to the U and you could then possibly transfer colleges later.
Here’s a chart with the average (middle 50% range) class rank and test scores by college. https://admissions.tc.umn.edu/academics/profile.html
That’s for students who were admitted to start in fall 2019; numbers for the class entering this fall are expected to be a little lower because they are worried about their yield due to covid-19 so took a lot of students off of the waitlist.
It does sound like your chances are not bad. Good luck!
Before you get your heart set on a reciprocity school, check out the price calculator on the UMN website. It was to the dollar accurate for what my son was presented with and it was well out of our price range. It was a huge blow to him and us. UMN was his top choice school and our whole family loves Minneapolis…it just wasn’t in the cards financially. We are also from Wisconsin btw. He’s going to be attending UW-Madison instead.
For reference, he got 0 scholarships or honors offered to him. He’s got a 3.75 GPA, 34 on his ACT, and is in a ton of clubs/sports. He was accepted to CLA.
I don’t want to burst your bubble, but I also don’t want any kids to go through what my son and family went through in the last few months, being so excited and then getting that financial aid offer to completely crash everything.
@mamadtb - That goes both ways with those states. We’re in MN and Madison gave us a horrible financial aid package. It would have been tuition free with Bucky’s Promise if we were WI residents. Iowa State which we have no reciprocity with came out 9K/year less than Madison. In the end our home state school gave us the best deal, so that’s where we eventually landed, but it was interesting to see how the finances worked out between the three states.
My issue is that I’m not sure my stats are strong enough for UW-Madison. It’s one of the most popular schools that kids pick for my highschool and I just feel stuck in terms of standing out. I’ve heard that financial aid for MN can be kind of minimal, so hopefully something works out with one of the schools I chose. 
@cshell2
If you’re ok with sharing it, what were your stats/kid’s stats?
I’ve heard great things about U of Iowa and that’s definitely been another school I’ve started to look into.
@wisconsin1503 - My son had a 31 ACT and 3.7 GPA, quite a few ECs and Eagle Scout. He also applied to University of Iowa as well as Iowa State, but they are quite a bit more expensive at 48K/year for out of state. They gave him a couple scholarships (10K), but not enough for us to take it serious enough to even visit. Plus DS wanted engineering and their program doesn’t compare to the other 3 schools at all in that regard.
I think your stats are well within the range of getting into UW Madison at the College of Letters and Science. You are in state and you could easily get in, plus your EC’s are pretty good as well. But If you were to choose U of M, you could probably get into the College of Liberal Arts.
Definitely retake the ACT. My son increased his score 3 points on his second attempt with minimal studying (he used the ACT app on his phone about 20 minutes a day).
I also think you’d have an easier time getting into Madison than you think and should apply there for sure, even if you prefer to leave the state.
@cshell2 We definitely learned the hard way about reciprocity. We went into this assuming that reciprocity meant that you were treated as equals lol Looking back now, I wish we had learned more. Even through my first time college mom obsessive research, I didn’t think about it…didn’t even cross my darn mind. I knew his stats and assumed he’d get honors and scholarships. He’s a big fish in a small pond in high school. In college, kids like ours are a dime a dozen.
He got the Badger Promise Plus, so we are paying just our EFC at Madison. Not 25k like we were looking at in loans for UMN.
@wisconsin1503 your stats sound great aside from that ACT. Study hard and see if you can bring it up to a 30+. Put a ton of effort into your essays and get solid references. It is hard work, but you sound like a smart kid! The fact you are here and asking questions says a lot!
Wisconsin is an amazing school. We spent so much time set on UMN that we completely overlooked what was right here in reach. One of the things my son loved about UMN was the anonymity that Minneapolis brought. What he’s finding with UW is that he will still be able to have privacy and start new, but has contacts to fall back on if he gets lonely. A friendly face in a new environment can make or break a bad day.
Good luck to you and make sure to go over college cost calculators with your parents before you get your heart set on a certain school
@wadewoodson @cshell2 @mamadtb Thank you all so much. All of that really helps. I’ve downloaded the ACT app, looked into what books to buy to study, researched more on the specific colleges for MN and WI, etc. If I have any other questions, I won’t hesitate to ask here!!
Thanks again