<p>EC's by "group"
Business Prof. America - Vice-President
-National x1
-State x2
-Regional x4
Nominated for Wharton Business Conference
Business 1
-$200 a month
Business 2
-$500 seasonally
Business 3
-Graphic design/special effects studio
Internship at Computerized Accounting Firm
Board Member for a Non-Profit Organization</p>
<p>Played at Carnegie Hall with group
Violin
-State x1
-Regional x4
Competitions
-Rank I x2</p>
<p>Published photographer
Photography Contests
-International x1
-Finalist status x1
-Regional x2
Nominated for International Photography Convention</p>
<p>Varsity Sport
Rifelry
-National x12 (based on qualifying, not competition based)
-Sharpshooter 1st Class Bar IV</p>
<p>Other -(might not list these....."laundry list?")
Amnesty International - President
Student Council - Secretary
School Paper - Editor in Chief</p>
<p>Other Factors
Low income
Instate at Umich
Amazing Recs from teachers
Additional Recs (not really "recs," but writing on my behalf)
-UofM Economics professor
-UofM Dearborn professor
Working hard on essays to make them really really good.</p>
<p>If you couldn't tell from my EC's my passion is business, and
the places i'm applying are schools with strong BBA or economics programs</p>
<p>Colleges
NYU-Stern
University of Michigan general college (LS&A)
University of Michigan-Ross
Columbia
Emory
Boston College
Indiana-Kelley
University of Chicago</p>
<p>Applying EA to Chicago, ED to columbia, and as early as humanly possible for Umich.</p>
<p>I really do hope that you get into Michigan. They need the top in-state students like you. </p>
<p>It really depends on how these schools see your grades, and if your school has grade deflation. On paper, they look low for all the schools except for Indiana, but your class rank and your test scores may outweigh it. Michigan is GPA-driven, so they will look at that first, then the rest of your application. It's their most important admissions factor.</p>
<p>Yea.
If only I tried just a LITTLE bit harder, I would have gotten a 3.5 or 3.6 and that would increase my chances for michigan EXPONENTIALLY.</p>
<p>Since michigan started becoming more holistic in their review, shouldn't my test scores, essays and EC's count for far more than before? I know before they barely looked at EC's and other factors, but i'm hoping now that they look at the other factors more.</p>
<p>I've heard around that students with low gpa's/high test scores for michigan got a letter saying that they (technically) got in but that it was still dependant on thier senior grades? Kinda like a semi deferral?</p>
<p>You have the largest GPA versus ACT test scores discrepancy of any single person on this site I've ever seen.</p>
<p>Let me get this straight--you have about a 3.4 GPA to this point (UW I presume), yet you scored a 35 on the ACT (which is equivalent to about a 780/780/780 on the SAT)?</p>
<p>Based on this scenario and that you do get that 4.0 GPA in senior year (although I have to question you going above a 3.8 personally), you have a shot at almost everyplace. It depends on your ECs holding up, your GPA moving up (you are likely to get tentative acceptances at some places), and how they view your desire in whatever your major is--which you didn't mention.</p>
<p>Your AI is 224, which is high for a low income, disadvantaged candidate--but it's mostly test-driven. My guess is getting in will depend on those recommendations and your family background. Did both your parents go to a top school that was not Ivy league--then you get no break. But if your parents work as civil servants, teachers, or police officers, you will probably get a break and get into some of these places.</p>
<p>I honestly think you should apply to more of the Ivy league schools and to Stanford and hope that one of them likes your stats and is willing to take a chance. These schools are more likely to give you money than your in-state school, Michigan--and if you are low income you will need to get this money (free ride?) to be able to afford any of these schools.</p>
<p>P.S. I think you will have an easier time getting into an economics program at an Ivy than into a business program since the business programs tend to be so competitive for admission--so apply to all of the Ivies except Penn (Wharton school) and Cornell--since these are the only Ivies with undergraduate business programs. All of the others, like Columbia, have great economics programs.</p>
<p>
[quote]
These schools are more likely to give you money than your in-state school, Michigan
[/quote]
That's where I disagree. Michigan guarantees to meet 100% of an in-state applicants need, and they should be getting at least 2800/year in the Michigan Competitive Scholarship and the Michigan Merit Award - government grants given to essentially any student who passes the MEAP exams and has good test scores. And if he is low income, he may qualify for a Pell grant as well. Add that to the less that 10K tuition, and it's a bargain for it's quality.</p>
<p>Yea. I'm one of those unfortunate fools that realized too late the importance of hard work. I am the biggest slacker you will ever meet, and i'm kicking myself every day for being such an idiot. My situation is so cliche. Middle school was SO easy....then HS came and I didn't do HW, and my scores on the exams were the only things that padded my grade.</p>
<p>I realize a 4.0 senior year will be hard: so while i'm taking 6 AP's senior year, 4 of them are "easy AP" classes like european history AP.
My goal senior year is more of learning the necessary study habits rather than getting a 4.0, if I study hard and build the right habits then I think GPA will fall in place, be it a 3.6 or a 4.0.</p>
<p>My dad's job is classified as a "civil servant." Our taxable income is roughly ~30 a year. None of my parents went to an ivy league school. None of my parents went to college in the US. I wasn't born in the US either, I don't know if this makes me a first gen immigrant?</p>
<p>I don't know. I feel like Michigan is a reach for me but then again not only you, calcruzer, but others have told me to reach high. That's why I added columbia to my list because Stanford and Columbia used to be my dream schools. I might drop a school that I probably won't go to even if I get accepted like Boston college or Emory. The thing is, I don't want to reach high, and then get rejected to all my reaches AND michigan, and end up going somewhere that I don't want to go to. I think it was A2 that recommended indiana to me, and while its an excellent school, michigan ( or other schools for that matter ) are a better deal for me if I do end up qualifying for scholarships.</p>
<p>If you're looking for a financial safety, check out MSU. They have a good business school, and you may be invited to ADS with your stats. </p>
<p>Generally speaking, the top schools are the one's who are good with aid. Privates are better than publics. You sound like you're going to get a lot of need based grants, and privates are the one's that are going to give it to you OOS. </p>
<p>You have a unique situation. It's hard to suggest a financial safety, because a financial safety to you is going to be one that's not too academically rigorous to get into with your grades, yet meets 100% of your need and is strong in business. </p>
<p>Brigham Young could fit that bill, although I don't know how you would feel with a Mormon university. They were 8th in Business Week's UG Business rankings, are in the top 25 in the Best Value Colleges, and it's not that their need is filled greatly, but their tuition is ridiculously cheap (3260/year).</p>
<p>I think you should shoot for Michigan (A2 Wolves thanks for all the info on Michigan scholarships and merits which I was unaware of), Michigan State, some Ivies, Brigham Young, and other OOS privates that might give decent aid packages and concentrate on test scores, not GPA.</p>
<p>I would think a school like Washington Univ in St. Louis, Emory, USC, Carnegie Mellon, and maybe James Madison or Fordham might fall into this category. For an Ivy, maybe Columbia or Brown is a possibility.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice.
I don't think cost is going to be much of a factor for me though. I don't know, I feel like i'm being "dishonest", but our family is a middle class family, it's just that my dad's "civil servant" job status does something to our taxable income to where its VERY low compared to what our family is actually living on. My family could afford to pay for college, even without all the fin. aid I think I would be getting due to my low income status and my EFC.</p>
<p>New list</p>
<p>Reach
Columbia ED, Chicago, Michigan-Ross, Emory, NYU-Stern, Cornell/stanford</p>
<p>Match
University of Michigan general college (LS&A)</p>
<p>Safety
Indiana-Kelley, Michigan State</p>
<p>I feel like I have too many reaches though.
Michigan is SO much better for me than indiana, or state for that matter, and I most likely won't get into my reaches. </p>
<p>What are my chances at michigan? If michigan is iffy for me then I think I should research some more safeties that I would actually like to go to.
I know state and indiana are great schools, but they just don't appeal to me as much as going to umich.</p>
<p>I got mostly A's and a few C+'s junior year. Will this look worse than getting, say all B's and B-'s?</p>
<p>Also, I might have to scratch all the ivies off my list of reaches. I was thinking all in on michigan, so I didn't take the SAT II's.
Can I send em in later or something?</p>
<p>Anyone know about my scenario? If I had all B's I wouldn't be as worried right now, but I get A+, A's and C-'s. No B's. I don't know how this will look on my app. </p>
<p>also, is michigan need blind or do they still give a slight "advantage" for low income kids like they did in the old "point system?"</p>
<p>You can always go to a dream school as a transfer. I think Calcruzer is out to lunch. I'd honestly say that Columbia is impossible and UMich is a real reach. Bottom line is GPA/rank counts more than anything by far. There are tons of kids with high test scores. I'd look at the book Colleges That Change Lives and identify schools that relate to upward trends. They are not going to be top 30. Then go to one, do your best and transfer.</p>
<p>Yea, I def. decided against applying to any ivies. Save some money. </p>
<p>Our school doesn't rank officially, but I know i'm in the top 25% if that helps at all. The thing about our school is that like, 80 kids have top grades, then the next step down is under a 3.0. There are very few kids like me, with grades that fall "in the middle."</p>
<p>I guess the only thing I can do now is to rape senior year and to start praying..</p>
<p>Well, obviously suze and I disagree again--big surprise.</p>
<p>I agree with suze that GPA is more important than test scores, but we're also talking about somebody that needs financial aid to go to any school. It kind of boils down to applying to someplace that offers a free ride or not going at all. </p>
<p>I agree Columbia and Brown are real longshots (notice they were the last places I suggested)--but if this person was accepted at those schools, a free ride at those places is about a 60%+ chance based on income and background.</p>
<p>yea. I don't think i'm applying to ivies. I know private schools generally give more aid, but i'm instate for umich so I would be paying less than 10K anyway. If I get into umich I think I would qualify for any need based type aid.
I think suze is on about the ivies, but honestly I didn't think umich was a huge reach for me. I guess that's why I posted my chances, because I wasn't sure. I knew I was borderline/high match, but now I feel really nervous putting all my hope into a huge reach school.</p>
<p>suze (or anyone else): how big of a reach is Umich? Is it reasonable or is it a shot in the dark? Do you think i'll get rejected or deferred first? Getting deferred would be good for me because then I can step it up senior year and "prove my self."</p>