hi! current senior here. i’ve never done any of these “chance me” posts before but everyone on this thread seems very nice and encouraging
applied early action to LSA
african american female
out of state- PA
good public school, 3-4 students are accepted to michigan each year
gpa: 4.0 unweighted, 4.371 weighted (ap classes are weighted as 4.5 instead of 5 at my school)
rank: top 5% (school does not rank)
8 APs, 11 honors
ap scores
ap human geography- 5
ap gov and politics- 5
ap language- 4
ap music theory- 4
areas of interest: cognitive science, drama
extracurriculars
•chamber singers (advanced choir)- social activities coordinator & tenor section leader
•girl up- president
•leo club (volunteer club, 110 volunteer hours)- treasurer
•4 years of theater at school
•theater internship at school district’s middle school (only did this 9th grade bc the program ended after covid)
•job- birthday party host and ride operator at a children’s adventure park
•songwriting
•volunteer sunday school teacher at church
•national french honor society
awards
•national african american recognition scholar
•district & regional chorus
•editor’s choice award from teen ink magazine
•ap scholar with honor
essays
common app: how makeup palettes taught me self confidence and authenticity
community: black twitter, how it’s taught me advocacy and about finding joy in my cultural identity
why umich: i talked about specific classes from the cognitive science major & drama minor. i also explained how i met with one of the faculty to learn more about cognitive science at umich
any feedback would be appreciated! thanks everyone and good luck to all other applicants
I personally think everything looks great but being out of state and your schools low acceptance rate still makes this a reach school for you. Lots of students get deferred and it’s actually normal. You did the right things but with so many people applying it’s hard. Good Luck.
Michigan doesn’t like let up in senior year. If not accepted EA they will want midterm grades. No senoritis. They want students that are getting ready for college. The one stem score won’t be the reason your not accepted so don’t worry about that. If you took classes that your school considers rigorous, you should be fine. Hopefully you have logical safeties and local options.
it’s a place with treehouses, zip lines, tree houses, stuff like that. i don’t want to give out too much information because it’s a stand alone place very close to where i live!
What’s your alternatives - just curious. You will make yourself, not the school - so I suspect you’ll be golden anywhere and everywhere that accepts you!!
i’ve been admitted to pitt (60k scholarship), udel honors (76k scholarship), and penn state! i’ve also applied to umd (EA), upenn, northeastern, vanderbilt, brown & harvard (all RD). i was rejected from yale REA so i’m not expecting much, but it never hurts to try! i realized that if i don’t get into a reach school, i’d rather go to pitt or udel than a “target” school because of the scholarships! that’s why i only applied to reaches and safeties.
As others have said, you definitely have a chance. Your common app essay about learning self-confidence and authenticity via makeup palettes sounds super interesting, too. If I was an admissions officer, I’d want you to attend my school. I’m not an AO, however, and these schools are incredibly competitive. I certainly think you have a shot, and I strongly suspect that you’re going to excel no matter where you land. Please let us know how things turn out!
UMich is very expensive for OOS students. Not sure you financial situation but I would consider whether you want to take out a huge loan to go to a Reach School.
We all can clearly see your potential in how you presented yourself - this likely will come across in your application as well. Be proud of your accomplishments but be pragmatic too - even a Reach school with material loans may not be worth the prestige. But go for it and evaluate your options once they come in…
that’s so kind of you! and i’ve definitely been thinking this. i applied for aid but being OOS + based on my income, i doubt i qualify for much, if any. i would love to go to michigan if i got in, but given the little aid i’m likely to receive, it may be hard to turn down some of my scholarships!
