Chance me for Case Western, UMich, UChicago?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Case Western and UMich are my top choices.
UChicago is my reach and I’m only applying to test my luck.

SAT I: N/A
ACT (breakdown): 30C 27R 26S 33M 35E
other one was a 29C but had 35M
SAT II (subject, score): 660 Math II and 680 Bio M (retaking next Saturday)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): no idea; maybe around 3.77ish
Weighted GPA: 3.94
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
APs:
Sophomore Year: Chem
Junior Year: Lang, Chinese, Calc BC, Bio
Senior Year: Physics C, Lit, Psych, Econ

Senior Year Course Load:
AP Physics C
AP Lit Comp
AP Psych
AP Econ
Comp Sci
Organic Chem
Symphony Orchestra

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): top 5 in HOSA regionals; competed in HOSA states
3rd in State Fish Art contest idk if this counts as anything tbh lol
First Division in MSBOA
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): AP Scholar, Academic Excellence Award, Scholar Athlete Award, Summa Cum Laude (local stuff)

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description):
International Culture Club (11-12 co-founder/treasurer)
Orchestra, 9-12
JV tennis 9-10
Varsity tennis 11-12
NHS 11-12
some volunteering club 10-12
HOSA 10-12
Received a CPR and AED certification from the American Heart Association (summer)
Paid on YouTube channel for making graphics (fairly proud of this and wrote a beefy description on common app)
Graphic designer for local nature center
Organic chem course at UMich (summer)

Teacher Recs: probably decent
Counselor Rec: pretty confident about this

Essay: 7-8/10

Questions: I have pretty average stats at best, but I’m really trying to pin my hopes on these schools
even got an interview at CWRU lol
heard a few people getting deferred from the school even with an interview (had decent stats too) so I’m a bit worried

Any help would be great, thanks!

2

Case Western- match
U Chicago- high reach
U Mich - High match

3

I think UMich is a low reach if the OP is from out of state

4

forgot to mention that I’ve been playing violin and tennis for over 7 years

@anianipop Any particular reason why UMich is a higher match than Case? Just curious lol
@intparent I’m in-state :slight_smile:

5

UChicago: very high reach
Case: prolly will get in
UMich: prolly in if in-state, low reach if OOS

6

Better school, higher ranked, international reputation.

7

ACT 30 is the 25th percentile. It would be a reach from OOS and very high match to low reach for in state depending on intended major.

8

Agree

9

@billcsho in-state and applying to LSA if that counts as anything :slight_smile:
@intparent I meant I was wondering why anianipop put UMich as a higher match than Case Western, haha

10

I think Case Western is a low reach/high match – it certainly got more competitive in the last years. I applied early last year as an EE major with a 2130 and a 3.77 UW GPA. My EC’s were ok… I was the treasurer of my high school cinema club, had a little marketing internship, and volunteered. I got deferred, then waitlisted, then got some deferred guaranteed acceptance with the class of 2020 (meaning I had to take a gap year).

11

@iamjack yea, that’s why I’ve been getting a bit worried
I showed a lot of interest though
got a campus tour, on-campus interview, went to an information session, and I’m planning on going to another information session they’re hosting at the school I go to

I’ve also been getting a crap load of emails from them (at least twice a week) telling me that they’re “interested” in me, but I’m not sure whether or not they’re being legit or if they’re just spamming to inflate applicant pool

is it normal to get that many emails from Case?

12

The emails mean nothing. Marketing, ignore them.

Do you have a safety? MSU? What is your proposed major? And I like the fish art EC, I bet they don’t see that every day. :wink:

13

You do need a safety. UMich LSA should be a very high match. Your GPA is below admission average while your ACT is at 25th percentile. You should recalculated your uwGPA in UM’s way to see how it look. Just ignore the subgrades and use the simple 4.0 scale (A=4, B=3, etc).
Reach school is not a lottery. At least you need to be within the range to test for “luck”.

14

Well if they have been sending you many emails saying they are interested in you, I think you’re in. I lived in California and my only form of interest came through emailing them questions. I did not get 2 emails/week from Case like you did.

15

@iamjack Sorry, but this is just not accurate.

I’ve been getting e-mails roughly once a week from the University of Chicago ever since I took the PSAT as a sophomore. I’ve also been getting 3-4 e-mails a week from a number of places I would never in a million years attend for a number of reasons, some of which reject about 1 applicant in 10. I’ve been getting regular e-mails from Cornell about a specific program, but I’m not vain enough to see that as proof that I’d probably get into Cornell.

Colleges send these e-mails to thousands upon thousands of students whose names are on some mailing list or other, hoping for a few extra applicants come senior year, but they mean next to nothing with regards to a student’s chances of admission.

16

@intparent Yup, MSU is my safety! I’m currently undecided about my major, but I chose biology. Haha, I didn’t think the Fish Art EC would turn too many heads, but it’s nice to see that you like it!

@billcsho The 3.77 I calculated earlier is including credits I’ve gotten through summer school and online classes (only took them so I wouldn’t have to take classes like Gym or Health during the school year). I heard that UMich recalculates GPA with their own weighted system, so I’m hoping my GPA will stand out a bit more after the recalculation. And after thinking about it, I’m probably not going to apply to UChicago then. I’m better off saving the money for some other school.

@iamjack A few of my friends were also spammed with Case emails, so I thought it was just a tactic they used to inflate applicant pool.

@NotVerySmart lol yeah, I’ve also gotten a lot of emails from other colleges–that’s why I was skeptical about the emails I’ve been getting from Case. But I showed a lot of interest so I assumed it also stemmed from that. I also got an email from my interviewer thanking me and telling me that it was “great to hear about [my] passion for the violin.” So I’m hoping that the interview made an impact.

Also, I kinda want to retake the ACT (31 superscore and I’m planning to send both of my ACT scores to these schools), but the test is in late October so I’m afraid it won’t go out to colleges on time. Is there anything else I should do to help beef up my application a bit?

And thank you guys so much for all of your replies and help!

17

@NotVerySmart There is a difference between spam emails and interest emails. Case Western is one of the few schools that take student interest into account upon admissions time. It seems that Case is interested in the student by the looks of it.

OP: What sort of emails do you get? I assume you get tour related/interview emails.

18

The email from the interviewer is obviously personal. Doubt the ready are. Doesn’t really matter – put in the best app you can.

19

@rlyoutofit If those summer classes are on your transcript, they would be counted as regular classes. My D2 actually did the same thing over the summer. Do recalculate your GPA. If you have 10% B grades and 90% A grades, your GPA would be 3.9.
For UMich, you will be likely deferred from EA. So you will have time to retake ACT and improve GPA again. Make sure you put effort in the essay, particularly the “why this school” essay. It would be very important for you as you are right around the border line.

20

@iamjack I get emails and snail-mails with stuff like
“A successful student like you …”
“Interested in your application”
“I’m interested in reviewing your application”
“I invite you to apply for admission”
etc.

but a lot of colleges spam that kind of stuff so I’m not taking these emails/snail-mails as a surefire acceptance or anything since Case has gotten a lot more competitive these past few years.

@intparent I assure you I’m trying my best to make my app stand out as much as I can! Thanks for your input!

@billcsho I already visited UMich and attended a summer program where I took an Organic chem course. I don’t think the “why this school” essay will be too much of a problem, but I’m hoping that the interest I’ve shown will help bump me up a level or two! :slight_smile: