<p>My son will be applying next year to Michigan and we are not sure if we will be able to get him out there for an in-person visit beforehand? Does anyone know if Michigan admissions holds it against a prospective student if they are unable to visit? What are some of the ways he can demonstrate his interest without a visit? He is already on the mailing list. It appears they do not hold admissions fairs outside the state. We did see a Michigan representative at a college fair at my son's school last year but he would certainly like to do more to demonstrate his interest. We are in Virginia by the way.</p>
<p>He is also interested in NROTC and we have been in contact with a representative there.</p>
<p>Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>No, they don’t care if you visit or not. We live in-state, within an hour’s drive of the school and my son has never gone on an official tour or sat in any of the classes (although he has been on the campus). He did get accepted couple of weeks ago and hopes to sit in some of the classes when he gets a chance. There is also no interview, unlike many other colleges.</p>
<p>The application process is a little more impersonal than other colleges. There is one counselor report and one teacher evaluation (not two like many schools) required in addition to three essays. There is no interview. A lot of weight is given to GPA and level of difficulty of High School classes. Last year, a friend’s daughter had a 31 ACT and a GPA slightly below 3.5, excellent ECs (captain of several athletic teams), in-state, and was rejected. But they do accept many students - I think something close to 13,000 students. With a 40 plus % yield, I think they shoot for a class of about 5,000 (CC veterans, please correct me if I am wrong).</p>
<p>It seems odd that your friend’s daughter was rejected as an in-state candidate with such a high ACT score even though her GPA was on the low side. Were her courses not challenging enough? Were there honors classes and/or APs? Any other reason you can think of? </p>
<p>Just curious. This is all very daunting and there seems to be no rhyme or reason!</p>
<p>We were surprised too. She applied in December/early January. She was first deferred then rejected in the Spring.</p>
<p>Her highest level math was AP Calculus which she was taking during her senior year. In the fall, her mom was worried about the Calc - she was doing a C-/D+ - but I think she ended with a C grade for the fall which UMich must have seen (might have been better to apply in September with seven semesters of grades) . So, that might have pulled down the GPA somewhat - maybe between 3.4 - 3.5. She had other AP classes - probably not as many as CC students - lol. She did get accepted to all the other colleges she applied to- even a full-ride to Central Michigan which she turned down. Also, got accepted to Michigan State - but decided to go to U. Miami which gave her substantial money.</p>
<p>But I do know of a non-URM student , two years ago with a ACT of 26 and a low GPA - 3.0-ish that got accepted to the School of Design (Art) at Michigan. He had an excellent art portfolio. I think the GPA/ACT requirements for LSA, Ross and Engineering might be higher than the other schools.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input. I do worry about my son’s admission. He will be on the low side of the GPA range and has a 1290/1600 SAT (660 M and 630 CR, he will take again), also on the low end. However, he doesn’t have any C’s or below so far and is taking essentially all AP and IB courses, other than JROTC where he is an officer. He has pretty good ECs and is interested in Engineering. Do they consider the school you are trying to get into in the admissions decision or is it a general admissions situation? Also, does anyone know anything about their NROTC program there or whether they have any pull with admissions? Thanks again.</p>
<p>We have been looking at colleges with my son off and on – stopping off when traveling on a long weekend, and during the summer – for two years. We have visited 30 campuses and have always driven around the surrounding area two or three miles in all directions to see what’s there (or what’s not!). There is no substitute for visiting. To me, going to a college without having visited it would be like buying a house that you want to live in for four years – without seeing the neighborhood, without seeing the house, without meeting any of the neighbors, without having any sense of ‘place’ or comfort level. I strongly recommend that you do whatever you can to visit. This is a huge school. Some people love that; others don’t. I know a kid who didn’t visit a school (in New Jersey) until she had sent in her deposit. When she drove through the surrounding area the first time, she slipped out – started crying uncontrollably and told her mother she would not be able to deal with it. As it turned out, she had to – but she transferred the next year. She hated the place. PLEASE visit!</p>
<p>I’m with you. We have taken him on a laundry list of college visits, including many huge campuses (he is predominantly interested in big publics with strong engineering programs) but were not able to get to Michigan. He seemed to feel that his scores would have him falling short so they were not among the schools he initially had us visit. However, he has now done much more research and realizes Michigan presents an opportunity he simply can’t pass up. Even if we are not able to visit before he applies, if he is admitted, we will definitely have him visit before he submits the deposit. I know that different schools can create a very different impression on kids. He will not, however, be intimidated by the size as we have been to other similar-sized schools, nor the climate as we have been to northern schools. The tradition and reputation of Michigan will be hard to pass up if he is fortunate enough to be admitted.</p>
<p>Amen to that. We are hoping that our son is fortunate enough to be admitted, too. These days I find myself remembering every prayer I ever learned – even the Latin versions!</p>