Hi-- I visited UMich and I absolutely loved it!! I was hoping someone could chance me for Early Action 2023! It’s definetely one of my top three schools and I know that I would be so so happy if I went there.
About me: White female from Illinois, no legacy, not first generation or anything like that. Income bracket around 250,000 I believe? I’m not sure if they consider this.
Intended major: Classics (specifically concentrating in Latin)
ACT: 36 (math 35, science 35, english 36, reading 36, essay 10 although they don’t require it)
SAT: 1560 (math 800, english 760, writing 677)
I’m probably going to use my ACT score
Subject Tests: Chemistry 700 (not going to send), Math 800, Latin 800, Literature 760
GPA: 5.83 / 6 weighted, 4.9 / 5 unweighted
Rank: my school doesn’t rank or do percentiles but I know I am in the top 3%, although this info won’t be sent to UMich since my school doesn’t officially report it. My counselor may include it in her recommendation letter though
APs: European History (5), Latin (5), Physics 1 (4), US History (5), Lang&Comp (5)
Classes: All honors/AP classes except for a couple mandatory regular classes (health, consumer economics). I’ve taken the most rigorous classes available to me (mostly APs) and my senior year schedule is the same. Gotten all A’s except for one B+ first semester AP European History, which I took as a sophomore and was the first AP class I ever took so I think it’s understandable and won’t hurt me too much.
Extracurriculars: Latin club (all 4 years) on the leadership board since we don’t have a president or anything, but I basically run this club which will most likely be shown in my Latin teacher’s letter of rec. Math team sophomore-senior, JETS (competitive test taking) junior-senior, National Honor Society junior-senior.I also volunteer at a hospital, expecting to have around 90 hours by the time I submit my application. I’ve worked at the front desk of my town’s public pool during the summers after sophomore and junior year. Attended a week-long engineering camp at the University of Illinois. I’ve been writing for my town’s local magazine (it’s a very small town, not a well-known magazine or anything) as a junior writer a few times per year since I was in eighth grade. This summer, I’ve also been interning at a real estate/tax lawyer’s office because I’m taking a summer class through school that allows me to get honors credit for doing 60 hours of an internship.
Awards: won the Illinois Latin Tournament sophomore year (state-wide competition where students from all over the state take a Latin test and I had the highest score). In my freshman, sophomore, and junior years I’ve had the highest score on the exam that we have to take to qualify for the final round. I’ve received the “summa cum laude” award (highest except for earning a perfect score) on the National Latin Exam freshman, sophomore, and junior year as well. Probably doesn’t seem like that big of a deal but, applying as a classics major, I think it will help me a lot. I also won a writing competition junior year.
Letters of rec: I actually have 3, I’m probably only going to send two though because I’ve heard too many can actually hurt you.
Guidance counselor: I don’t know her super well, but I’m definitely not a stranger to her. We haven’t met regarding her letter of rec yet but I’m guessing she’ll focus on academic achievement and where I stand in comparison to other students. She’ll also probably talk about how I like to push myself with a lot of difficult classes, and I’ll make sure to tell her about my leadership role in Latin Club. It won’t be a bad letter, but I doubt it’ll be outstanding, either.
AP Physics teacher: loved me, I did very well in that class and worked hard. I asked a lot of questions and went in before/after school for help. He asked me to help him remake some of the worksheets for next year’s classes. I’m confident he’ll write me a really good letter of rec.
AP Lang&Comp: loved me. Never got less than an A on any assignment. I was the only student of his in 11 years of teaching to earn an A+ as a quarter grade (he rarely gives out 100%'s on assignments). He recommended me for a writing competition and then proceeded to mentor me during that competition. He hadn’t had a student of his win it for 4 years and then I did, so yay!! Again, I know he will write me an outstanding letter of rec.
AP Latin: looooooooves me. She’s been my teacher sophomore and junior year, and will be next year. Our Latin department is small and so she had heard about me when I was a freshman from my Latin 1 teacher. Sponsors our Latin Club, which I’m on the leadership board of but I really lead the whole thing since I’ve been there the longest. I’m one of the strongest Latin students (I don’t think I’ve ever gotten below a 93% on a test) and one of the most passionate. She will write me a glowing letter of rec.
Other stuff: My school is a large (2500 students total?) public high school, not a magnet but within like the top 10 of the state. Michigan only accepts about 25 students per year from about 130 who apply, and defer about the same amount, although I’m not sure how many are from EA. I’ve definetely showed demonstrated interest: I visited their booth at the college fair, emailed my admissions rep and visited the campus.
Essays: My common app is really good, I think. My Lang&Comp teacher said it was the first college essay (we had to turn ours in as a school assignment) he had actually enjoyed reading in 11 years of teaching, so that’s something. It’s a very unique topic that highlights my passion for learning and research. I’m confident that my supplemental essays will be good too, so nothing to worry about there.
So, that’s it! Sorry it got so long. Please let me know if you think I can get in as a classics major applying EA!! Thank you so so much in advance!!! I really appreciate this. You’re helping my anxiety go down a LOT lol thanksssss <3