Honestly, should I even bother applying?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Michigan
1

<p>My GPA/Rank are pretty non-good. I don't wanna say bad, because they aren't "bad," but they're just not quite up to Michigan standards. Would I have any feasible chance or acceptance, or should I just not apply?</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>White Male from Southern California (Born in Illinois, moved in 2002)
Attend pretty good public school
Will not be applying for Financial Aid
Not First Generation
GPA (Unweighted): 3.45
RANK: 212/501
ACT: 29 (29 E, 32 M, 28 R, 30 S)
ACT WRITING: 10
SAT: 1850
Major: Media/Film or related</p>

<p>Grade Trend: Freshman 3.4ish, Sophomore 3.8ish, junior 3.0ish</p>

<p>Honors/AP Classes: Algebra 1 HONORS, American History HONORS, Physical Science HONORS, English 9 HONORS, English 10 HONORS, AP Biology, AP US History, AP Psychology, Geometry HONORS, AP English Comp., AP Chemistry, AP European History, AP Environmental Science, HONORS Spanish III, AP Spanish Lang, AP Statistics, HONORS Physics</p>

<p>Senior Year Dual Enrollment (local cc) Classes: English 1201 (College Writing I), Principles of Macroeconomics, General Psychology, Healthy Living (HS grad requirement) Political Science 112 (Intro), Film and Graphics A</p>

<p>AP Scores: AP Biology (3), APUSH (3), AP Psychology (4), AP English Lang (4), AP Chemistry (1 (atleast I tried) )</p>

<p>^^ In regards to my poor AP Chem Exam score, my semester grades for AP Chemistry were B/A-. </p>

<p>Extra Curricular Activities:</p>

<p>Part Time Job @ Seattle’s Best Coffee; August 2008-Present; Typical 25 hours a week during school, and up to 40 during the summer</p>

<p>Part Time Job @ Target; March 2008-July 2008 (Left because they wouldn’t approve my availability changes and scheduled me during school)</p>

<p>2 Month Internship at Arclight Productions in LA; Focused on Entertainment Marketing and became somewhat familiar with basic image alteration software; 20 hours per week</p>

<p>3 week internship at Rogue Agent Industries in LA; assisted with lower-level commercial marketing and advertisements; 10 hours per week</p>

<p>Varsity Cross Country; 9th Grade-12th grade; Captain Position 2 consecutive Years; personally host several team events; lettered</p>

<p>Varsity Swimming/Diving; 9th Grade-12th Grade; Captain Position Senior Year; District Champion in 200 I.M., Voted “Best Teammate”; lettered</p>

<p>Varsity Track & Field; 10th-12th Grade; 4x400 m. relay/200 m. dash; will likely NOT letter</p>

<p>Band; 9th-12th; First Chair Percussionist</p>

<p>Marching Band; 11th-12th; Drumline; 4 hours per week; co-section leader senior year</p>

<p>School Technical Support Specialist (Our morning announcements are broadcasted over the TV and I double up on camera/audio.)</p>

<p>Started & am President of school’s Video Club; 10th-12th Grade; 10-15 hours per week; produce a full length video each school year; one of our videos (I wrote the script) was featured in the community at a volunteer banquet</p>

<p>Started (with 2 friends) school’s Stand Up Comedy Club; Founder; 3-4 hours per week; school sanctioned club,; recruited 17-20 members; host of several events</p>

<p>School Newspaper Publication; Co-Editor; 11th-12th Grade [possibly editor in chief this year], 4 hours per week</p>

<p>National Honor Society; 11th-12th grade; “Treasurer”; 40 community service hours from May 2009 to present</p>

<p>Key Club; 10th-12th; Solely a participant; may be elected onto the executive board this following year</p>

<p>Fall Musical; 10th Grade; 20 hours per week; had role of Will Parker in “Oklahoma”; hosted 3 cast events at my house; unfortunately can no longer participate due to my job
- considering being a part of the technical crew for this year, most likely with lighting or audio; assuming I can find time when I'm not at work and my course rigor allows time for it.</p>

<p>Speech Team; 8th-12th Grade (started early); Co-President; Received an award for being “most animated”; 4-5 hours a week
- Am getting a recommendation from this coach (who was also my AP English teacher)</p>

<p>School Camera Specialist (as part of Video Club); I’m in charge of video taping at important school events such as pep rallies and varsity football games; receive volunteer hours for this</p>

<p>So yeah. Worth it or no? (Michigan is my 2nd or 3rd choice)</p>

2

<p>Hate to say it but pretty far reach. Low GPA, low SAT score, low rank, ACT is fine. You seem to have a lot of extra curriculars, but I don’t think it compensates for everything else. There have been lots of people admitted but as far as I know they are mostly in-state. Being in Cal doesn’t help :-/. Good luck though, I dont see the harm in applying, might get lucky</p>

3

<p>Yeah, your GPA and class rank are really low for being out of state unfortunately. Your ACT is fine, and your writing is really good (top 2% if I remember correctly). Focus on your applications for your top choices first (maybe some UC’s?), but if you have the time, you should still definitely apply; you never know! Good luck!</p>

<p>For AP chem, did you send in your score? If you haven’t sent it yet, don’t.</p>

4

<p>Just apply and see what happens, nothing wrong with that and hey you might get in.</p>

5

<p>Agree with the others, but I wouldn’t feel too discouraged-- there are some GREAT schools for what you’re interested in right in your area that, were I able to afford them, I might have chosen over Michigan when I was planning to major in the same thing.</p>

6

<p>If you really want to go to michigan, then you should apply, but if it’s for any other reason, I would not bother because you’re gpa is really low.</p>

7

<p>I’d say you have a chance.
Just emphasize your other things besides GPA.</p>

8

<p>apply~
keep in mind that if you don’t, your chance of getting in is 0%.
and of course, weigh your decision: how badly do you want to go to michigan? bad enough to force you to apply, despite a possible rejection?
DO IT!</p>

9

<p>Apply!!! Michigan’s acceptance rate is pretty high compared to other elites. You never know what can happen. If you have a strong interest in a school then you should apply. Also Michigan’s application fee is pretty cheap IMO.</p>

<p>Apply early, see what happens. The worst thing that can happen is they will reject you early since its rolling admissions.</p>

<p>Just ****ing do it!</p>

10

<p>Cody – U Mich only counts sophmore, jr. and (if you send sr grades, which I suspect you will need to)…I’d be concerned about the drop between sophomore and junior year and try to explain why.
That said, your course load looks pretty rigorous.
It’s none of my business, but I wonder if with that course load your GPA wouldn’t improve senior year if you stopped working part time in addition to your e.c. responsibilities. My s. is a musician and into media and I’ve noted that his GPA went up considerably when work hours went down. </p>

<p>Your chances statistically are not fantastic, but sometimes U of M will admit outside it’s normal statistical pattern for students able to demonstrate specific and well-developed talents. Your drive for your field, awesome recs, essays, internships and maybe SAMPLE of your work (eg. a portfolio) could help offset the gap.
It did for my son, but he had an upward trend in GPA (major upward from a 3.4 sophmore to 3.93 in sr. year) and came from a very strong school.
Good luck! And do try!
Cheers,
K</p>

11

<p>P.S. - (Again) Looking more closely at your ECs, have you considered the Interarts program between the school of design and School of Music, Theatre and Dance? It’s pretty new and multi-disciplined. You would make the academic cut off for SOM…after that, there’s consideration for your resume/experience/talent etc. Investigate those areas – there’s some flexible degree programs there that could work in your favor.</p>

12

<p>Yeah, your chances look below average… though if you would really like to attend the school just apply and see what happens.</p>