Chance Me (Carnegie, Cornell, UMICH, UPenn, etc)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Currently a junior in high school, attending a private Christian school. White male. I hope to go into engineering or actuarial science.

SCHOOLS (chance me):

Carnegie Mellon University
Cornell
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ohio State University
University of Pennsylvania
Georgia Tech
Purdue University - West Lafayette

University of Cincinnati

High school schedule.
Note: This is the most rigorous curriculum that I could take at my school (AP’s aren’t offered). The only thing I could’ve done better is: Be in the double advanced math track instead of the first advanced math track (would allow me to take Calc 2 as a senior), take honors English (wasn’t really able to with my situation, but I mean I am taking English Comp 1/2 so hopefully that’ll make up for it), and Spanish in the classroom instead of Rosetta Stone.

Note #2: CC = College Credit (it’s not AP/ IB, but is provided by a college professor at our school and counts for college credit)

Freshman Year:
Bible 9
English 9
Algebra 2
World History
Physical Science
Photography 1
Spanish 1
Computer 1
Health
GPA: ~3.7

Sophomore Year:
Bible 10
English 10
Geometry
US History
Biology
Spanish 2 (Rosetta Stone)
ACT Prep (Online)
Business Essentials (Online)
Great Diseases: Neurological Disorders (Online, summer course, VHS)
GPA: ~3.9

Junior Year:
Bible 11
English 11
English Composition 1 (CC, Online)
Pre-Calculus
US Government/ Economics
Sociology (CC)
Psychology (CC)
Chemistry
Spanish 3 (Rosetta Stone)
GPA (As of now): 4.0

Senior Year:
Bible 12
English 12
English Composition 2 (CC, Online)
Calculus 1 (CC)
Statistics (CC)
Western Civilization (CC)
Special Topics in History: Holocaust (CC)
Physics
Anatomy and Physiology

GPA: TBD

ACT: 31
SAT: N/A

EC’s:
-3 years of Track and Field (JR. High as well, got Coach’s Award and MVP during JH)
-2 years National Honor Society member
-2 years Mu-Alpha Theta member (math society)
-Out of state week-long math competition trip (with other Mu Alpha Theta members in my school)
-Senior Project (mandatory year-long project that’s required from seniors at my school, which requires the actual project along with a research paper and oral presentation. I haven’t done this yet, but I hope to base my project on something in the STEM field, and more particularly, something that will give me engineering experience like an internship or scientific research)
-Photography awards (Participation in Congressional Art Show, Special Recognition in the Governor’s Youth Art Exhibition for two pictures, two honorable mentions in the Scholastic Art Show)
-~50 hours of volunteer work at homeless shelters, community activities, etc.
-~50 hours of paid work for my mother’s business

Future essays: I believe I am a good writer, so I think my essay will be good. By the time I have written it, I will have completed English Comp 1 and will be in the middle of English Comp 2, so I should be able to write a great paper.

Recommendations: They should be good. I think I'll end up getting one from my chemistry/ physics teacher (PhD) and from my freshman physical science teacher. Both like me alot and want to see me succeed.

Please help, thanks!

2

Your GPA and ACT score are both quite a bit below admission average for UMich. If you are from OOS, it would be a reach for you.

3

@billcsho It’ll probably end up for the four years as a 3.9-3.95ish GPA, is that really too low?

Also, what’s OOS? And do you have any thoughts for the other schools listed?

4

@billcsho sorry can’t edit my previous comment, but I also see that the average GPA for UMICH is ~3.85. Mine will be higher than that… or am I mistaken?

5

What is the track record (naviance?) from your school into the reach (target) list you posted?

From what you shared, you might need to bring down your targets a notch or two. Plus work on your leadership, test scores, and your essays will need to be memorable to make you stand out.

6

Out of State (OOS): He is talking about the fact that UofM is required to have a percentage of students from in-state, and therefore their chances are higher of being accepted.

Sorry it this was answered already, but what college at U of M. I have somewhat similar stats compared to you, with the only exception being a 30 on ACT, 3.99 GPA, calc 3 and diff EQ, an engineering internship, and a low math ACT score 27. I applied to Engineering, which requires higher scores. I have a somewhat low change of getting in, even from my home state of Michigan.

Those are all great schools, and most likely a couple will accept you out of the batch.

7

@ClarinetDad16 I’m not exactly sure what you mean by track record/ naviance… Also are there specific schools you think I should take my eyes off of? Having an average ACT for alot of those schools I figured I’d at least have a somewhat-decent shot. Another thing is, I’m not really sure how to add leadership EC’s (the only really option I have is student government)

@AverageJoe22 @billcsho And yes, I’m from Ohio so I would be OOS. I was looking at Ann Arbor as well. I figured that since there average ACT score was a 31/32 that it would be atleast worth a shot.

8

Check with your guidance counselor to see if they use Naviance to track college matriculation from your school.

You preferably want to apply to schools like Cincinnati where you are near the top 1/4 of their applicant pool.

That way you get in, get merit, and have the best chance of doing well in college.

At many of the schools on your list you are definitely not near the upper portion of their applicant pool…l

9

@ClarinetDad16 I know they use Naviance, just not sure if they use it to track that.

So is it a bad idea to want to go to colleges where I’d be the bottom half? I thought it’d be better for me if I did that, which is why I was pushing for schools which would be somewhat tough to get admitted to. Also, wouldn’t I be in the upper portion if I applied to OSU? I think their ACT average is like a 29.

The reason I have some reach’s on that list is because I thought it would be a good idea to go to tougher schools, is that not the case? Quality of education, prestige, etc. made me think that that was the case.

10

You are better off going to a school where you will excel. An honors program at a flagship is sometimes the best of all worlds. Think about the kids in your school that are the valedictorians / salutatorians. Imagine being in classes with all kids like that…

11

@ClarinetDad16 That’s a good point. I think I’ll aim for OSU, since I don’t really want to settle for Cincinnati, however at OSU I’m still at the top half (while at the other schools I’d be the bottom half)

12

You have lots of time to bring up your ACT. My son was able to add 3 points between sophomore and end of junior year with just a bit more studying and the extra boost from taking difficult classes. Getting to a 34 makes you competitive everywhere - even UM engineering- and scholarship eligible, and 10th and 11th year grades matter a lot more that 9th.

13

Sorry that I was busy in the last few days. UMich admission ACT, the mid 50 this year is 30-34 and 32 is the admission median. For GPA, I probably mis-read your post and thought your have ~3.7 as your post is fairly long. Your current cumulative GPA is right around average. UMich would still be a low reach for you from OOS with near average GPA and below average ACT as the OOS admission rate is only 20% this year.