Has anyone been admitted to UMichigan or similar schools with two Cs their freshman year? I had a 3.2 GPA, and am worried that this will ruin my admissions chances to schools ranked similarly to UMichigan. I am aiming to end the year with a 3.3. weighted. However, I hope to redeem myself by taking two APs and 1 honors with mostly Bs next year. Is there anything else I could do besides test scores and extracurriculars to get into these schools? How many more aps should I take?
You have a tough road ahead of you, even if you take 2 AP’s and a honors class next year and get b’s it will not raise you up to a super high weighed GPA, are you in state or out of state that makes a difference, will your folks be able to pay full tuition ? do you have EC that mean the world to you? I would study my butt off and hope you nail a really high ACT/SAT score cause I do not think you GPA will get to be where it needs to be, if you said A’s next year maybe but since you said B’s you have a uphill climb, work hard and prove me wrong in a few years.
Well, I do play sports, do community service, and play the piano. In regards to academics, why won’t my GPA raise if I do good next year, and get mostly As and high Bs? Don’t colleges only look at cumulative GPA? I am aiming for a 3.7 next year btw. Let’s say I do get a 32 ACT and 3.7 GPA with strong ECs. Would my frosh and soph grades still hurt me that much?
I am also an out of state applicant.
Are you a full pay student? You said b’s which I assume will mean 3.0 do not see how you get a 3.7 from that. a 32 ACT is a very good score but not a great score for big Blue. What state are you from? I assume your not a college sports prospect? Don’t get me wrong you have good stats but Mich. is a very high bar you have to clear.
If I earn a 3.7 next year, wouldn’t that make my GPA a 3.7?
No your GPA is all your years put together, for college purposes, so if you had all c’s grade 9 ( 2.0) and all A’s grade 10 (4.0) same credits in each year your GPA would be a 3.0, at least how my school doe sit, this is a over simplification bc it does not take in honor classes, AP…
So colleges look at all 3 years rather than cumulative your saying?
Hello!!!
I was actually just recently admitted to this school so I thought I could chime in. I don’t want to overwhelm you by giving you my stats so I’ll just explain my perspective.
Michigan in particular cares a lot about grades and scores, and your GPA is slightly behind there. Your class rank is important, and dictated by WEIGHTED GPA so I’d recommend doing as many APs as you can manage (remember!!! You have to do well in them for them to help, don’t pile them on!!!)
I actually got a C in precalc my sophomore year, so trust me when I say that a C does not doom you!!! Cs freshman year are more negligible than later on.
Michigan is actually extremely competitive, so showing improvement by getting A’s next year would be a better goal. When it comes to grades, schools either want to see pure excellence or improvement over the years (the more impressive of the two).
Extracurriculars are important: show “leadership” and commitment, and Michigan will be attracted. Test scores are also important with high ranking schools so be sure to give Khan academy a few clickaroos when the time comes.
Your essay and recommends are of supreme importance. The school may be able to overlook grade shortcomings if they see a moving and personal essay.
All said, be sure to apply to other schools as well. Many an “undeniable” student has been devastated by a rejection from a safety school. And don’t have a dream school. What you enjoy will change as you get older, and the person you’ll be, going into college, will be a completely different one, so don’t convince yourself of a dream school while you’re still that old person.
If you want my stats, here they are. But don’t worry. Your anxiety-riddled peers think stats are the mandate of heaven around here, but just try your best and your place on earth will make itself apparent.
GPA unweighted: 3.9
Rank: like 26???/330 (top 10%)
SAT: 1500 (740/760 math/eng)
Good luck and go blue i guess
Does Michigan look at cumulative or overall gpa for the past 3 years of high school? Because if I raise my gpa to a 3.7 I don’t think it would raise my overall gpa that much? Is there a way to report cumulative gpa for michigan?
I’m confused, isn’t cumulative and overall the same thing?
In addition to your GPA, they will see every grade in every class you’ve taken in high school, as reported on your high school transcript. If your high school reports semester grades on their transcripts, that is what colleges see.
Yes most schools look at all years and yes overall and cimulative are the same , so OP a 3.7 helps more so in Jr year than freshman year bc it shows you are doing better as your HS classes get harder, SO the example I will give is this if you had all C in 9th grade you would have a 2.0 10grade you get all A’s 4.0 form a college point of view your overall GAP is a 3.0. Jr year grades are the most important but they will not make up for poor grades in your first 2 years. Listen to what 2curiousme2 said.
If you have not already, look at their admission statistics for the class entering as freshman this last year:
https://admissions.umich.edu/apply/freshmen-applicants/student-profile
You also might want to check out the Michigan page here and look at the statistics of those admitted and denied. Michigan is definitely harder to get into as an out of state student. It’s also much more expensive as an out of state student and they don’t give much money to students from out of state. You might want to consider if it’s even financially feasible before you get your heart set on going there.
Please also be aware that they look at “unweighted” GPA not weighted. But having rigor is important to them. Don’t worry about the 3.3 but if this is weighted it’s most likely lower. But sophomore - senior year you have to turn it on. Get help from your teachers etc. Just do the best you can.
Alright I see what your saying. But are the three Cs gonna hurt a lot?
Here is your reality. Sure but that is any high profile school. But if your grades can improve greatly next year then they will see that you were just adjusting. The key to Michigan or any selective school is great unweighted gpa, high rigor in your courses compared to your school peers and an awesome essay. Being OOS is hard enough to get in. Showing interest if you can visit (not now…LOL) at least virtually helps.
I know it sounds crazy but if you can get mostly "A"s from here on out then you have a shot. You can explain away the c’s with your counselors help. You DONT’ need all "A"s to get into Michigan but at this point showing a serious upward trend will only help. The 3.3 and being not being unweighted is what is hurting you. It’s still an awesome GPA , please don’t get me wrong. It’s just not a strong one for Michigan. But since your only compared from peers at your school talk to your local school counselor and ask what is your schools avg gpa/ stat scores for Michigan. If they use Naviance then the answer will be in there. You can also look up the CDS sheet for Michigan or any school and see what they value in each student and what they are looking for.