Chance me please? Rising Senior

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hey guys,
I just wanted an honest opinion if you think I should apply to U of Michigan this upcoming fall. I'm not even sure it's worth applying to but I really like this school.
-I go to an all-guys private school in Philadelphia that is very competitive/strict. It is also well known. The grading scale is this- 93-100 A, 85-92 B...etc. On my college transcript it will list percentage and letter grade so if I have a 92 in the class in will say B next to it.
-My grades junior year:
Chemistry- 90
Christian Ethics- 91 (religion)
Algebra II/Trig- 92
Honors Spanish IV- 99
English III- 95
Latin 1- 99
U.S. History- 91
Church History- 86 (religion)
- Yes, I know my schedule wasn't too hard but here's the thing: My freshman year I kind of messed up and had a 3.2 gpa (parents were divorcing etc.. and this was at a different public high school). So during my sophomore year I decided I wanted to study abroad in Seville, Spain for the entire year. My dad and I set everything up and I stayed for about 11 months. During that year my gpa was a 3.45 (but keep in mind that every class was in my second language). Also note that spanish is not spoken in my home and I learned everything from books/TV/being in Spain. Prior to the experience I could not understand much or even speak at all. After the 11 months of going to a private school there and studying a lot I came back and took an exam which proved I was conversationally fluent. (I scored a C-1 which is the level of a native speaker.) So now I am officially bilingual with Spanish and English. Now, when I came back from Spain my dad had moved to Philly and I (yet again -_-) switched schools to my now current one. Next year I will be taking these courses:
AP Spanish IV
Calculus
Honors Latin II
AP English IV
Painting/Drawing (I need a fine art credit)
Physics
Systematic Theology (Religion..)</p>

<p>-My SAT scores were as following:
Math-710
C.R.- 610
Writing- 630
That totals to 1950 but I will be retaking it in October.
- I have taken the Spanish SAT subject test and scored a 790 and I plan to take the Spanish with listening in November and I should get an 800 on it.
-100 Volunteer hours at a Lutheran Care Facility for the elderly
- One last thing, I heard that most schools exclude religion from your high school transcript. Is that true?</p>

<p>Thank you and I will appreciate every response good/bad.</p>

<p>-Also I forgot to add that I have done cross country every year so far and soccer in Spain
-And I am a caucasian male if that matters</p>

2

<p>I think Michigan with be a low reach for you, since you are out of state. Your SAT’s are pretty solid, and even more so if you retake them in October. Don’t know if UMich requires subject tests, but if they dont, send your scores anyway. They’re something to be proud of and highlight your abilities. </p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1525710-bowdoin-chances.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1525710-bowdoin-chances.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

3

<p>Thanks for the response. I know I will improve my SAT score in October and hopefully score above a 2000 but I’ve been reading that Michigan doesn’t consider the SAT and ACT as much as other colleges do. And how helpful do you think going to Spain was? I mean, I was 14 when I started studying Spanish and now I’m 17 and completely fluent. Also, my essays will definitely be about my experience in Europe so it should make me stand out from the group.</p>

4

<p>Your current SAT is right below their 25%. Your GPA is below their 25%. I would say that would be a reach for you considering their acceptance rate around 35%. UMich does not require SAT2.</p>

5

<p>Thanks, but I thought that freshman year was not counted so doesn’t it not affect my gpa? And I would think my gpa in Spain would be considered very good since it was a private school in my second language. Plus, my junior year was pretty good so I didn’t think I’d be below 25% for the gpa average. If you take my junior year it’s 7 A’s and 1 B so I thought that’s what they would most likely base it off of.</p>

6

<p>Given your unique situation, you’d probably be given at least a second look by admissions officers. In your application, try to gear your Spain experience around a pursueable passion at uMich (eg do you want to go into something like international relations?). Try to make yourself look as interesting as possible </p>

<p>Chance me and recommend schools?</p>

7

<p>It is hard to compare GPA particularly from foreign countries. UMich did not count freshmen grades, however, they have changed their GPA calculation policy a few years ago that they do not even recalculate GPA. So, it would depends on what it shows on your transcript. FYI. The average for admission last year was 3.83.</p>

8

<p>If they don’t recalculate gpa then will they assume that my gpa is the one from my current school? Because the grading scale is different as mentioned above and if the scale was 90-100=A my gpa would be much better.</p>

9

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1525521-chance-me-upenn-columbia-barnard-etc-ill-chance-back.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1525521-chance-me-upenn-columbia-barnard-etc-ill-chance-back.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

10

<p>I chanced you :)</p>

11

<p>Bumping for more advice/responses…</p>