I really want to attend the University of Michigan. The University of Chicago is my reach school and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is my safety school. So here are my stats:
Act: C24, E26, M23, R22, S24
I plan on retaking it this month and have been getting pretty good scores on the practice tests (27- 31 range)
The average score at my high school is a 17 composite score
Unweighted gpa: unsure but around 3.8
Weighted gpa: 4.36
Rank: 7/224
Classes: Mostly honors classes freshman-junior year
AP Classes: U.S. History (2) but dont plan on sending the scores
Senior Year Schedule:
Ap Calculus
Ap Psychology
Ap Studio Art
Dual Enrollment English 101
H Stem Research
R Forensics (honors not offered)
R Spanish 2 (honors not offered)
Extracurriculars:
-Taekwondo/5yrs/assistant instructor/2nd degree black belt/competed in several tournaments and won a couple 1st & 2nd place trophies/volunteer to teach children’s self defense classes/ not a school club
-College Ambassadors Program/2 yrs/Research Director/ help promote the college going culture at my school by provide resources, information, and support
-Book club/4 yrs
-Varsity Track & Field/3 yrs
-National Honors Society/2 yrs
-Verde (a gardening program)/ 2 summers
-Marwen Art Program/ 1 summer
I participated in the Big House Program this summer at the University of Michigan. I meet alot of upperclassmen and other students that want to attend UMich. I got lots of help with the essays and really got to know the campus because we stayed on campus for a couple days. I think it shows I’m really interested in UMich.
Almost 200 service hours
Essays: Going to talk about how i overcame shyness. I know it sounds generic but it think i have a pretty good story
Recommendations: From my English teacher that thinks im pretty smart and the other one im still debating who to ask
Hooks:
-Hispanic
-First Generation (Parents/siblings didnt go to college but have some cousins that did)
-From the south side of Chicago, IL
-Go to a public school with about 1,000 students but most students go to a community college or dont go to college at all
-Legacy??Two cousins attended U of I
-Major: Undecided but considering Psychology, Business, Finance or PreMed
Sorry its long but what do you guys think are my chances of getting into these schools???
With a 24 on the ACT, a single AP class (colleges will assume an unreported score to be a 1/2), and extracurriculars that are acceptable but not exceptional, Chicago is a 0.1% shot. Most students admitted with a profile like this are recruited athletes or scions of families that have been attending Chicago for 7 generations. I’d suggest you look into some reach schools that are closer to your profile, and add a number of matches, because three schools (including one very high reach) won’t be enough to guarantee you’ll get in somewhere.
To be honest with a 24, UChicago is not even .1% chance. It’s out of reach. I wouldn’t even bother applying unless you bring it up to at least a 29 (and then you have a .1% chance because a competitive score for that school is a 34). UIUC should not be a safety school for you. In fact, I think it’s a high reach with your score. I don’t like your chances at any of these schools, and I don’t think you should be considering any of them unless you significantly improve test scores.
Zero chance based on your ACT and lack of rigorous transcript as an OOS applicant to UMich Ann Arbor. For IN-STATE you better be busting a 31 and GPA of 3.8 in the most rigorous curriculum or above. For OOS, you better bring more (and a full check book b/c they give almost zero fin aid for OOS)
Schools at the top end of the spectrum have so many applicants that before looking for reasons to admit a given student, they look for ways to cull the tens of thousands of applications they receive. The easiest way to do this is if your stats-GPA, SAT/ACT, SAT II, and so on-are far below the schools’ averages.
An ACT of 24 will prompt the question “Is there any reason to keep this applicant in the mix with the other 35,000?” At UChicago, that score is 8 below the level that a 25th-percentile UChicago freshman had last year (32), and just 3 above the lowest score of any accepted student. As T26E4 noted above, an in-state student at UMich would need a 31 on the ACT to be competitive.
A lack of AP classes, and the score you haven’t sent (which they’ll assume is a 1 or a two-why else would a student not send an AP score?) are a second red flag. To overcome both, you’d need some sort of national/international recognition (UChicago) or at the very least an activity in which you’ve been recognized on the state/regional level (UMich).
As much as these schools may claim that they devote considerable time to every application, the reality is that they need to get through a flood of applications that, stacked all on top of each other, would tower over every building in the university. Raise multiple red flags, and into the rejection pile your application goes. You asked for your chances, so that’s what I’m trying to give you. I won’t say your odds at any school are zero, because that’s impossible to say with certainty until a college’s decision arrives in the mail. But you have a very low chance at UChicago, and your odds at UMich aren’t much better.
For UMich, the OOS admission rate is near 20%. The mid 50 ACT is 30-34 this year and the average admission uwGPA is 3.85. Your current ACT score is far below the 25th percentile while your projected score would be near 25th percentile. It would be a reach school for you.
No one has anything to say :(( Feel free to say that i have no chance of getting into these school. Just respond Please [-O<