I’m currently a senior (white male) at a small, private, catholic school in IL and I was wondering what my chances are of getting into Michigan. Here are some of my stats:
Ranked 1 of 66 in my class
Weighted GPA: 4.29
UW GPA: Believe it's around 3.7
31 ACT
I've taken 3/4 AP classes offered at my HS
Member of NSHSS (National Society of High School Scholars)
Illinois State Scholar
Taken 3 college courses (Psychology, Speech, Music Appreciation)
Member of several clubs
3 sport athlete, tennis captain
100+ hours of community service
Please help! Any advice/feedback is much appreciated.
I’ve seen several students of late who’ve listed NSHSS as a part of their application. This bothers me, because NSHSS is basically a scam, as I discovered when I got some junk mail from them last year and looked into the organization online. Here’s what their site says:
The first of their criteria makes about 25% of high school students eligible. The next one is limited to a less significant percentage, but is bound to include some high scorers on the PSAT who bombed the SAT. The ACT score, again, helps students who aren’t good at the SAT. Many/most AP students would be eligible, and to top it all off there’s the GPA and the class rank, the latter of which guarantees that at least 10% of the HS student population will be eligible even if every HS student alive bombs the SAT, PSAT, ACT, AP exams, and gets poor grades.
There’s some overlap between these categories, of course, but it’s not hard to see these criteria including 35-40% of all US high school students. Few or no colleges worth attending will care about NSHSS, whatever the organization’s site may say.
I’m fairly sure the $60 membership fee ensures a comfortable lifestyle for whoever runs NSHSS, but there’s a long list of better ways to spend the $60, such as burning the money for warmth and using it in place of tissues.
If you are #1 in your class it sounds like your school doesn’t have much grade inflation. Michigan admissions will adjust for that in your HS profile. Of more concern is your relatively low ACT score which is below the median. Any chance you can take it again and improve to a 33-34? You’d probably be admitted as an in-state student but not as likely OOS ; an ACT improvement to 75th percentile would definitely help.
Also, do you plan to apply to LSA or CoE? CoE requires higher math scores.
@merc81 I think TooOld4School may be thinking of the OOS ACT averages, which hover in the 33-34 range. In-state, a 31 will be just fine. My only advice to OP would be to do something better with the $60 he sends NSHSS, if they ask for that fee on an annual basis.
As an OOS student, OP said he was from a small private school in Illinois, I don’t think 31 ACT is high enough. My son applied as an OOS student ED to UM last year as a National Merit Finalist with 34 ACT, 4.0 unweighted President of Senior Class, 3 sport varsity athlete, state science fair finalist and the list goes on and on. When we visited UM in his junior year, the admissions counselor said he would be admitted for sure. He was deferred ED and then waitlisted RD. He was accepted to U of Illinois with scholarship and honors in engineering, so what I learned was nothing is guaranteed at UM. Go ahead and apply. Work hard on your essays so that they are creative, show your voice, and make you stand out from the very competitive crowd. But, I recommend some schools that are more of a match to your stats. Congratulations on your high school accomplishments. Just trying to keep it real. Best of luck to you!
The OP’s school’s Naviance (this shows stats of the OP as compared to stats of other students from OP’s high school who were accepted, rejected or waitlisted) would be a good indicator of the OP’s chances for admission. Also the quality of the applicant’s high school and whether the OOS applicant will be “full pay” are other factors affecting chances for admission at Michigan. If the OP has done well taking honors or AP courses at a highly ranked/ academically rigorous high school, a 31 ACT, coupled with being #1 (or even just 10 % of his or her class) will likely be enough for admittance to LS & A. (However, College of Engin. is more difficult gain admission.) For example, at my son’s OOS public high school, which is highly ranked (top 300 in USM &W report), approx. 40% of applicants (most of whom are full pay) routinely get accepted each year. Their average ACT is 31 and they are typically in the top 10% of their class.
@merc81 UMich admitted around 3500 with ACT 30 or below last year while rejected vast majority of them. Those accepted with ACT 30 or below include mostly in state students, athlete recruits, legacy, nursing students, music performance major, etc. ACT 31 is below admission average and OOS applicants would need higher stat to be admitted.
Undecided major is fine, but we need to know if you are applying to LSA of CoE for instance.
Also, don’t trust the Naviance data from the past too much. UMich’s OOS admission rate has dropped from 40%+ to 20% within a few years.