I had a B+/A- average but had the hardest courseload possible… I think people are overblowing how everyone gets “all A’s.”
For the record, my UW GPA: 3.65
SAT: 2250
@Jarjarbinks23 where are you headed over UMich? are you waiting for other offers?
@bsalum It’s a long story.
Most of the “top applicants” at my school are also encouraged to apply to UMICH as a match or a safety school.
I applied to UMICH along with NYU Stern since UMICH was a match/safety school for me (according to my counselor). Got into both, but it seems like I never fully understood how hard to get financial aid can be.
would love to go here if I was in-state or if UMICH was more financially generous to OOS people. Since my GPA isn’t great, I expect no financial aid at all since I am OOS. And $55-60k/year for a OOS school for undergrad is bollocks.
I’m most likely going to an in-state school like UC Sandiego or UC Berkeley.
@Jarjarbinks23 Thanks for the update. Good luck with your in-state options. Cali has lots of them! My daughter’s Naviance scattergram is all green around her so we were surprised and upset. UMich was a really serious contender for her. It is a lot of $ for OOS but it has a good program she is interested in pursuing so we were hoping to swing it.
bsalum, Naviance does not take trends into consideration. Michigan is becoming increasingly selective each year. It could have been a safety 3 years ago, but this year, it would be a target, or even reach. That being said, they accept far more students in the RD stage, so your daughter still has a reasonable chance, if her credentials are strong.
“applied to UMICH along with NYU Stern since UMICH was a match/safety school for me (according to my counselor”
Glad you were accepted, but your high school counselor needs to keep up with current trends. Michigan is no longer a safety school for just about anybody. Just peruse this forums threads.
It’s easy to see why so many high scoring students are being deferred this year. I know this is a tiny sample, but it seems to me I keep reading about acceptances who plan on going elsewhere. Nothing wrong with using Michigan as a backup, but I’m sure the admissions department is trying to send a message.
Decision: deferred
College: LSA
[ b]Objective:**
SAT I (breakdown): 2110 (720 CR, 680 M, 710 W)
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II (place score in parentheses):
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): school doesn’t provide GPA, but 3.7
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parentheses): 3 (school only offers 12 total APs, but I’ve taken 4 honors courses as well) - US History score = 5
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Environmental Science, AP World, Advanced Latin 5, Calculus (2 trimesters), English, graphic design, PE, inward pilgrimage (religion course)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Scholar, Commended
[ b]Subjective:**
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): 3 years of Business Club (Co-head), 2 years of mock trial, 4 years of current events club, 2 years as peer tutor in school writing center (not that many get asked), 3 years of varsity lacrosse, 1 year of jv squash, 1 year of jv soccer, 1 year of varsity tennis
Job/Work Experience: summer restaurant job, caddy at nearby golf course
Volunteer/Community Service: summer internship at non-profit, camp counselor at local church camps
Summer Activities:: (see job and community service)
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common app essay - 9 (worked very hard on it and made it personal), Michigan essays - 9 (edited them a lot to make them very detailed)
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):: history teacher - 9 (he knew me well, I did great in his class, and he seemed excited to write it), physics teacher - 7? (she liked me and i did well in the class but didn’t know me that well)
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):: likely about a 6-7, he doesn’t know me that well
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details)::
Interview:
[ b]Other**
Applied for Financial Aid?no
State (if domestic applicant): PA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: private
Ethnicity: white
Gender: male
Income Bracket: don’t need financial aid
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none
[ b]Reflection**
Strengths: high school grades, history teacher letter of recommendation, National Merit scholar commendation, internship, coarse load (at my school it’s pretty rigorous), recently wrote letter acknowledging deferral and explaining UM was top choice and did well first semester
Weaknesses: not many academic awards, SAT math as high as I’d like
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: possibly waiting on first trimester grades or seeing if I am truly interested in going (I did an official tour and info session right before the application was due, so it may look like i didn’t really care)
Where else you are applying or have already applied: rejected ED from Vandy
if anyone can provide any opinion/ideas about if my chances of now getting in for RD, that’d be great. for my school, my “stats” are strong and UM was down as a possible by my counselor, but now who knows. thanks for any help you guys can provide, you’re all more knowledgeable than me lol.
Is there anyone in state who was waitlisted after being deferred❓
@fdolakstart are you asking about this year? Waitlisting won’t happen until likely April unless something changes this year. For previous years, the old threads do have people who were waitlisted after a deferral who were in state.
@96blue I’m talking about last year. I can’t find anyone on last year’s thread who was in state and got wait listed after being deferred. Praying that I am not put in that situation 
fdolakstart, Michigan has deferred over 20,000 EA applicants this year. I am sure several thousands of those will be waitlisted. A waitlist from Michigan is essentially a polite rejection. Michigan accepts fewer than 1% of waitlisted students.
Deferred, now Accepted!!!
[ *] College: LSA
[ *] SAT: Didn’t take
[ *] SAT IIs: 740 Math II, 750 Bio E, 720 US History
[ *] ACT: 32 (32 Eng., 35 Math, 32 Reading, 30 Science)
[ *] Unweighted GPA: 3.8 (Very very strong upward trend)
[ *] Rank: 44/398 (so top 11%)
[ *] Other stats:
[ *] Subjective (ECs, special circumstances, etc):
Forensics Debate team (9th-10th grade) won a couple regional awards
Cross country (9th-10th grade)
Youth in Government (9th-12th grade) secretary 11th grade, treasurer 12th grade
Science Olympiad (11th-12th grade) 12th grade officer, won couple regional awards
SNHS (11th to 12th grade) 11th grade officer, 12th grade Vice-President
NHS (12th grade) Board Member
Student Council (11th grade) Representitive
Rho Kappa honors society (11th to 12th) founder and president both years
Science Bowl (11th to 12th grade)
Mu Alpha Theta
National English Honors Society
[ *] Essays: Very Very Good (been told my several adults and counselors that it is perfect and spent 1.5 months on it)
[ *] Teacher Recs: Very Good (3 teachers I know well, and the dean of a top 20 school writing me one)
[ *] Counselor Rec: Probably generic but positive
[ *] Hook (legacy, recruited athlete, etc.): None
[ *) Location/Person:
[ *] State or Country: Tennessee
[ *] School Type: Public (#2 in state)
[ *] Ethnicity: India (immigrant, permanent resident on Green Card)
[ *] Gender: Male
[ *] major strength/weakness: Although GPA and ACT are okay, I sincerely took the hardest classes our school had to offer and I took a very active role in my school community
[ *] Other Factors/questions: Umm for my essay I wrote about how I changed after volunteering at a hospice (still do it today)
Got into Case with 27k a yr as well
I was also deferred in December, and just got accepted!!! In-state
College: LSA
SAT I (breakdown): n/a
ACT (breakdown): 35, 35 Eng, 33 Math, 36 Reading, 36 Science
SAT II: n/a
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.7, 4.4 weighted
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): H. Geo, World, Stats, Lang, MicroEcon (All 5s), this year taking APUSH, CalcBC, Physics, Lit
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: Very difficult, see above
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Semifinalist
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): We the People Constitutional Studies team won state competition and placed 6th in national competition in DC, my ‘unit’ got 2nd. Student council three years. National Honors Society. 4 years of crew.
Job/Work Experience: Worked as an intern for a software company this summer, then hired for part-time this fall/winter
Deferred and accepted
College: CoE OOS
SAT I (breakdown): 800m 740cr 800w
ACT (breakdown): na
SAT II: 800 math ii 700 bio m
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.35 weighted
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): reported as top 20%, actually around top 11-12%
AP (place score in parenthesis): World, US, Bio, Language and comp, Calc AB. Taking physics, environmental, french, literature
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: Lots of time for napping but looks rigorous enough
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): nothing really. Took the AIME but didnt qualify for USAMO
Asian Male from NJ
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Track: 1st all conference
Marching band: drum major
Music: 1st alto sax, area band, jazz
Math club: VP
And a bunch of smaller things
Job/Work Experience: Worked at a gym
Rejected at Stanford and UVA (essay was an off topic copy-paste), got into Rutgers and waiting on many more
Accepted to the College of Engineering! Damn I used to wonder what it feel like.
Received the “good” deferral letter, and I sent a letter of continued interest in early January but did NOT send in mid-year grades
OOS (NJ)
Indian (Asian)
GPA: 4.00 UW, 4.55 W (w/ most rigorous schedule)
Rank: 1 out of 223
SAT: 2050 twice (610/670 CR, 790/700 M, 650/680 W)
ACT: 33 (35 E, 33 M, 30 R, 32 S, 8 Essay)
ECs:
Extended-range guitar
Pres. of Math Club
Vice Pres. of Physics Club
Pres. of Math Honor Society
Vice Pres. of Science Honor Society
Captain of Academic Challenge
National Honor Society
Key Club
Work:
Tutor
Awards:
AP Scholar w/ Distinction
Central NJ Brain Bee State Finalist
Certificate in NJ Science League Bio II Test (Ranked 30th out of 300)
Essays: Strong
Recommendations: Strong
Hook: First gen. college student
Decision: Accepted!!!
College: LSA
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): Composite: 28 (Reading: 34, English: 28, Science: 26, Math: 25, Writing: 10)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.73
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A, I cannot be ranked since I transferred schools, however for comparison if I was able to be ranked I would be number 9 or 10 out of 150 seniors.
AP: Government (4), World History (4), Latin (4), English (4) I took all of these senior year
IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Concert Choir, Physics, AP English, AP Government, PreCalculus, Health, Careers, Sociology
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing Major here
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Tutor, Choir, Piano, Violin, Mock Trial, Debate, Track and Cross, Newspaper (Editor), Yearbook
Job/Work Experience: Piano Teacher
Volunteer/Community Service: I would volunteer at the library, pregnancy counseling clinics, tutoring kids at a boys and girls club, and coached elementary volleyball
Summer Activities: Camp for amputees/paralytics where I was a volunteer
Essays (rating 1-10, details):: I spent a lot of time on my essays for U of M, two months to write and edit them. I liked how they turned out. I focused on my previous history at U of M, how school had impacted my decision to apply (I had kind of a unique story to tell). For the essay about our roles in our community I wrote about my church, going to an extremely religious school, and becoming an atheist. For the main essay I wrote about the U of M Health System- I lived there for a month when I was 7 in the hospital- I began with an anecdote about the playground on the 8th floor and expanded from there about U of M, visiting Ann Arbor, their programs etc… and for the shortest essay I wrote about Piano/Violin.
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):: Well… I don’t know what they said since I signed the waiver on Common App… so…
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):: Again I don’t know what he said
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details)::
Interview: N/A
Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
State (if domestic applicant): MI
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private Parochial, then Public Senior Year
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 40-60k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First gen student, previous history with U of M (lived in the hospital for a month and I based my essays on this), met with admissions staff (but didn’t interview) many times, toured the campus etc…
Reflection I applied on Dec. 24th. When I apply to colleges (unless their safety schools) I act like each one is a reach school- I apply to each school like each college is Harvard. I spend a lot of time on the essays and try to pick something out that is unique (Ex. I spent hours online looking for inspiration when I applied to Notre Dame and eventually settled on a picture in one of the guidebooks they sent me).
Strengths: My essays, and extracurricular activities (for ECs I participate in amputee events and have qualified for Nationals 2 times).
Weaknesses: My ACT was lower than their median which worried me
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I believe my in state status helped, along with my extended interest in MI.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Alma, Albion, Kalamazoo, Adrian, Carleton, Williams, Notre Dame, Scripps, Bowdoin, Colby (I’ve been accepted at all so far but Bowdoin, Williams, and Notre Dame- which I haven’t gotten letters back from)
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Good luck to everyone that applied! I hope you do well!
.
Decision: Deferred then Accepted LSA
Objective:
[ul]
[] SAT I: 2240 (790M, 730R, 720W)
[] ACT: 34 (34M, 34R, 34E, 32S, 10 Essay)
[] SAT II: Math-2 (790) Biology E (750) Literature (750)
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.79
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 35%
[] AP scores: AP Biology (5), AP Calculus BC (5), AP Computer Science (3), AP Language and Composition (5)
[] IB scores: None
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Literature and Composition, AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Statistics, AP Government, Journalism, IS: STEM
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AIME Qualifier (Scored 4), Published a research paper in a journal [/ul]
Subjective:
[ul]
[] Extracurriculars: Speech and Debate (4 years, President and minor awards), School Paper (3 years, Opinion Writer), Science Fair (3 years, minor awards), Academic Journal (Founder and Editor-in-chief),
[] Job/Work Experience: Research Intern (1 year, published a paper), Software Intern (1 summer)
[] Volunteer/Community service: Shift Leader @ Kaiser Permanente (3 years, 3 hrs/week)
[] Essays: I put my soul into my common app essay and I guess it worked out
[] Teacher Recommendations: Teacher 1 10/10 Teacher 2 8/10
[] Counselor Rec: 7/10?
[] Additional Rec: Research Mentor 10/10
[] Interview:[/ul] went really well…interviewed on campus
Other
[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Very competitive public
[] Ethnicity: Indian
[] Gender: M
[] Income Bracket: 350k
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): [/ul] none that i can think of…i’m pretty ordinary guy…I wrote a lot about social justice which is kind of uncommon from my area??
Reflection
[ul]
[] Strengths: ECs, Course Load (as heavy as it could be), huge upward trend with grades (the numbers arent reflective)
[] Weaknesses: GPA, test scores
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I went to camp there
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:[/ul] Rejected from Johns Hopkins ED, Accepted at UMinnesota, WUSTL, and Emory
General Comments:
@anandc did you get your decision today?