Chances?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Michigan
1

<p>GPA: 4.22 W , 3.83 UW
Rank: 50/1021 , Top 5%
Asian
Male
Illinois
Hopeful Major: Chemistry (Pre-med track)
Soon to be Senior</p>

<p>Classes:
Freshman: No honors classes
Sophomore: 2 honors classes
Junior: AP Psych, APUSH, AP Eng Lang, AP Stats, 2 honors classes
Senior: AP Calc BC, AP Chem, AP Phys B, AP Eng Lit, 1 honors class</p>

<p>Test Scores:
ACT: 27 , Will retake in September (that was w/out studying or anything, I have prepared for the test significantly this summer and am getting an average 31-32 on each test)
SAT: Will take in October , (studied for this over the summer and am getting an average of Crit Read: 650-690 , Math: 730-760 , Writing: 730-760)</p>

<p>EC's:
Varsity Cross Country
Varsity Track and Field
Cross Country and Track and Field Captain
Spanish Club Member
EXCEL Member (Volunteer group thru School)
CEC Member (Tutors less advanced academically kids at school)</p>

<p>Other stuff:
-AP Scholar with Honor
-A representative of our school's conference athletic leadership program
-Might be part of School Newspaper and NHS next year
-Earned all high honor roll status for each semester
-Many athletic academic awards and varsity letters
-NO VOLUNTEER Work (this is what really is making me worried)
-Will get great recommendations from Counselor & AP Teacher
-Will write very good essays
-1st generation student</p>

<p>Please be critical as need be and thank you for all the help.</p>

2

<p>Ok, let's start with the positives: Your GPA, weighted in particular, is great, as is your class rank. You have shown that you are willing to challenge yourself, which can be seen from your course load, etc. The AP Scholar with Honor thing is also great.</p>

<p>Now, the negatives. #1: No volunteer work. I suggest going out tomorrow and curing the common cold. Just kidding, but seriously, you really need to get more involved in your community. I know people who have been denied from great schools on this basis alone. It is not too late though, just start something soon.</p>

<h1>2: test scores. Mine aren't great either (1940 on SAT), but we both have time to fix that. The one thing I would warn you about, however, is to not be too overconfident. I was consistently getting 2050s on my practice tests, but found the math on the real thing much harder, and did not omit enough writing questions (though that was my highest score, I could have gotten at least a 750 if I'd omitted a few more). Confidence is great, but don't "put all your eggs in one basket" so to speak.</h1>

<p>Lastly, try to make something stand out in your essay. I know that sounds cliche, but "many athletic awards and academic honors" doesn't sound that unique. A great essay might be the difference for you, so stay away from the overused topics. Good luck, I hope that helped!</p>

3

<p>For now, I think slight reach. Improve your ACT and your chances improve too.</p>

4

<p>You asked for me to be critical, so here goes:</p>

<p>
[quote]
GPA: 4.22 W , 3.83 UW
Rank: 50/1021 , Top 5%
Asian
Male
Illinois
Hopeful Major: Chemistry (Pre-med track)
Soon to be Senior

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Good GPA. Rank is strong. Being Asian (and male): not exactly the most ideal situation for college application.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Classes:
Freshman: No honors classes
Sophomore: 2 honors classes
Junior: AP Psych, APUSH, AP Eng Lang, AP Stats, 2 honors classes
Senior: AP Calc BC, AP Chem, AP Phys B, AP Eng Lit, 1 honors class

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Nice list of AP's. If you got 4s and 5s, you are fine.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Test Scores:
ACT: 27 , Will retake in September (that was w/out studying or anything, I have prepared for the test significantly this summer and am getting an average 31-32 on each test)
SAT: Will take in October , (studied for this over the summer and am getting an average of Crit Read: 650-690 , Math: 730-760 , Writing: 730-760)

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I concede that I know nothing of the ACT as I'm from New England. Expect lower scores during the real exam dates for your SAT. Just prior to taking my final SAT, I scored consistently above a 2300 during practice exams. However, the reality proved to be worse than my practice.</p>

<p>Also, try to study on your math in order to consistently score in the 800s. Considering your high school courses (and your interest in chemistry), you should be able to score near a perfect on math with enough practice. Don't worry about your writing anymore. Review it occasionally, but don't try to waste time improving it. UMich barely cares. Instead, spend the time on your CR and math. I'm projecting that you'll score in the high 2200's if you exert the effort.</p>

<p>
[quote]
EC's:
Varsity Cross Country
Varsity Track and Field
Cross Country and Track and Field Captain
Spanish Club Member
EXCEL Member (Volunteer group thru School)
CEC Member (Tutors less advanced academically kids at school)

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Horrible. You should have played soccer, not run track, ha ha ha. :)</p>

<p>
[quote]
Other stuff:
-AP Scholar with Honor
-A representative of our school's conference athletic leadership program
-Might be part of School Newspaper and NHS next year
-Earned all high honor roll status for each semester
-Many athletic academic awards and varsity letters
-NO VOLUNTEER Work (this is what really is making me worried)
-Will get great recommendations from Counselor & AP Teacher
-Will write very good essays
-1st generation student

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Do some volunteer. Do you have a job? Anyway, volunteering is important but it's not key. Don't stress over it, especially since your other merits more than make up for it.</p>

<p>Overall: You're a very good student. Good grades, good standardized test scores, good athletics, and good EC's. I say UMich is a safety. </p>

<p>There's nothing that necessarily stands out in your application (for example, starting your own club to promote cures for urticaria), but you're very well-rounded. All universities accept numerous students like you every year. Respectively, numerous students like yourself also get rejected for seemingly no apparent reason. In conclusion, applying to as many institutions will be very favorable to you.</p>

5

<p>"Overall: You're a very good student. Good grades, good standardized test scores, good athletics, and good EC's. I say UMich is a safety. "</p>

<p>Good test scores? are you kidding? safety ? are you kidding? with a 27 ACT and out of state? haha it's a freaking reach man</p>

6

<p>practice tests are often inflated. I doubt you'll go up 4-5 points. In fact I know you won't. The ACT can't be studied for like the SAT. considering that you are out of state really hurts. Don't due the pre-med track at michigan. I live in Michigan and about 32 kids from area schools with 4.0's and 27-30's are going pre-med. These kids ALL get cut out. They simply are not intelligent enough to keep up with the load at UMICH; they purposely cut out kids. I don't know a single 27-30 who made it on the pre-med track at michigan, and my school sends 20 kids there each year.</p>

<p>if you score 32, you're in. But I don't advise you going there on an inflated ACT (from studying) you'll get cut out of the med program pretty quick. It happens to about 15 kids from my school alone each year, and even more in the county.</p>

7

<p>supposing i raise my ACT into the lower 30s range, would it be better to go ER or RD? Thanks for all the previous comments</p>

8

<p>Yeah your ACT score is low for Michigan standards. You'll have to get it up like you said to lower 30's and apply ER , you lose nothing as its non binding.</p>

9

<p>
[quote]
Good test scores? are you kidding? safety ? are you kidding? with a 27 ACT and out of state? haha it's a freaking reach man

[/quote]
</p>

<p>If you read my response, I specifically stated that I neglected the ACT when reviewing his chances. Assuming he actually gets those practice SAT scores, which I warned that he very well may not, UMich is a safety for him.</p>

<p>You'll understand once you get on campus that there are many students with much worse merits than what he has accomplished.</p>

10

<p>Just as a little side note, I was visiting Michigan last week and talked with a student from CA who is going into her Sophomore year. She said that she's heard they aren't paying as close of attention to SAT/ACT scores as GPA (*though the scores do still pull heavy weight), and that last semester they accepted a record number of OOS students. Now, who knows if that info was accurate or not, but it is some food for thought. Oh yeah, she's Asian and was accepted with an 1840 on the SAT. So it can happen. I think you just need to take the SAT and then apply as soon as you get your scores back, which would still be pretty early, probably late October. Also, they like EC involvement, so bump that up a little if you can, and I think you have a decent shot. Good luck!</p>

11

<p>Michigan doesn't place nearly as much weight on SAT/ACT as it does on unweighed GPA. Back in the day when they used "the formula", a 3.9 student with a 1200 on the SAT would get more points than a 3.8 student with a 1600 on the SAT. Michigan valued a tenth of a point on a GPA more than a 400 point difference on the SAT.</p>

12

<p>slight reach only because of your ACT score..get it up to a 30 and you'd be a match</p>

13

<p>thanks for all of the replies thus far, i truly appreciate them. what it sounds like so far is that if i can raise my act/sat a little bit, then that may be enough to offset the flaws in my resume. in terms of prestige, Michigan is a great school, but my hopeful field is medicine and i want go through the chemistry department to get there. so i am wondering how does Michigan's chemistry dept. or their "premed" track fair against national competitors? </p>

<p>I can't thank you guys enough for your responses as I truly learned a lot about what I need to do</p>

14

<p>They have one of the best bio departments in the country, so I would assume their pre-med dept. is comparable. Also, if you want to go that track, you might also check out the University of Washington-Seattle. It has been rated as having some of the best hospital programs in the country for the last like 12 years or something. And it's a big, Pac-10 school, which you might like if you're also considering UM. Plus, the campus is beautiful. Not to deter you from UM of course, that's my first choice too. Good luck!</p>

15

<p>could a few people who currently attend or have attended the University of Michigan be willing to read and critque one of my essays?</p>

16

<p>i'm sure someone could (not that i'm a student or anything), but just as a side note, don't post it. PM it to whoever...</p>