Chance Me! University of Michigan Class of 2023

Name of University of Michigan school you are applying to and major:
LSA Psychology

SAT I (breakdown): n/a
ACT (breakdown): 31 Composite, 31 English, 30 Math, 34 Reading, 29 Science
SAT II: n/a
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.75
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Biology, APUSH, these tests haven’t happened yet. Probably a 4 or 5 on both.
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Language, AP French, AP Calc AB, Physics, Psychology, Business Principles
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Job/Work Experience: Lifeguard at Country Club for 4 years
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer at major hospital for 2 years
Summer Activities: Business and Psychology Camps and Lifeguarding
Teacher Recommendation: will ask Precalculus and AP Biology teacher.
Music: Clarinet for 8 years (currently in audition based group in school that performs around the state), Piano for 12 years, President of Junior Music Club (tours around the town to play for retirement homes)
Sports: Swimming for 12 years, Rowing for 4 years
Clubs: Model UN for 4 years, Best Delegation Award every year

Applying for Financial Aid?: no
State (if domestic applicant): New Jersey
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public, but very competitive and ranked high in the state
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 200K+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Extras:
-School does not offer AP classes until junior year but offers honors classes. At the end of high school I will have taken 11 honors/AP classes.
-I just visited this past weekend to show interest and will be applying early action.

Your GPA and ACT are both near the low end of mid 50 for admission. Try to improve them if you can.

What ACT score would put me in the best position?

For OOS, you should aim at 33+. ACT 33 is just right at, or slightly above, the admission median. Try to recalculate your uwGPA without subgrades to see if it appears better.

Where can I see out of state admissions stats? I’ve got a 32 which I thought would be average for OOS.

They don’t post the OOS stat separately. The overall admission mid 50 is 31-34 last year, ACT32 is right below the average. OOS admission stat is expected to be slightly higher than the overall stat as the OOS admission rate (22%) is less than half of in-state (45%).

Yikes. 31-34… UMich is the best school outside of the Ivy League not called Stanford or Duke. My hope just vanished lol

@Westfieldgoblue increasing your GPA and Act is key but also notice you are a rower. Any plans for that? Many schools look for rowers if you are talented in that area. Sometimes you gotta use what you have.

@Knowsstuff yeah I was thinking about continuing my rowing career. Would that help me with admisssions?

@billcsho so what are my chances? is this a reach? low reach? high reach?

It might just help set you apart and it is not a negative at all. Contact the coach and find out information. It is a varsity club I think at Michigan but a good team. Retake the Act and try to get to 33/34 and try to get your GPA to 3.8 unweighted…

Being recruited would be a short cut to get in. Your current GPA and test score would make UMich a mid to high reach for you from OOS as both your ACT and GPA are below admission average.

You are a bit on the lower end, but you should really tie all of your interests/volunteer experience together in your application. All hope is NOT lost. You just have to sell yourself.
Have you considered taking the SAT? I found it a lot easier than the ACT. (I hate science!) Maybe look into that. I would really recommend retaking your ACT, and still trying to boost your GPA. Good luck!

@michigan009 since the average 31-34, doesn’t that mean that 50% of the people admitted had an ACT score of of 31-34?

@westfieldgoblue the average isn’t 31-34, the middle 50 is. That means the 25th percentile score is a 31 and the 75th is a 34

@amelchd welp there goes my shot at getting in

That means you are near the low end of mid 50 and there are 25% of admitted students with stat lower than you. So it is not really hopeless, just a lower chance.

It’s defintely a reach, but Michigan places more emphasis on GPA and course rigor than on test scores, plus you have good EC’s. Don’t lose hope, just be realistic. It’s very hard to get into UMich OOS. We are in similar positions. Good luck to us both!

@billcsho thank u for feedback!
@amelchd yeah let’s hope we make it in!

Listen, don’t stress about anything you can’t change. I really do believe UMich means it when they say they do a ‘holistic’ review. Just kick butt on your application(convey how bad you want to get in), and attempt to retake your ACT. You will be just fine if you put in the extra effort to help strengthen your app. (: