If Michigan unweights gpa, then does course rigor really matter?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Michigan
1

I am junior taking all honors/AP classes this year. Out-of-state (NJ). My dream school is Michigan - I am legacy though I understand that legacy not a big factor these days at Michigan. My mother, uncle and grandparents went there. I have gotten all A’s and just one B+ freshmen/sophomore year.

This year with all APs/Honors, I know my grades will go down. I am considering, dropping a level in a class or two to maintain better grades. I heard Michigan unweights grades and that someone from my high school got rejected from Michigan and they told her it was because junior year grades declined even though course rigor high. They told her they would rather see all As in less advanced classes.

Do you think this is true of Michigan admissions?

2

Both uwGPA and course rigor are very important. Basically, you need to take challenging courses and get A in them. For UMich, their rigor standard is not so high and you don’t need a full load of AP at all. But having too little honor or AP would show as lack of rigor. wGPA are pretty useless anyway as each school has their own weighting system.

3

I would try to increase the time spent studying to continue to get A’s even with the harder classes.

It is not going to get any easier when you get to U.Michigan (which is a great school, but not an easy one).

4

“though I understand that legacy not a big factor these days at Michigan.”

It’s important to go to the source, get the right info.

“Is being a legacy applicant a factor in U-M’s holistic review process?
Although not a primary factor in admissions decisions, having a parent, step-parent, grandparent, or
sibling who attended the University of Michigan is considered as part of the holistic review process.”

It means it won’t hook an unqualified or under-qualified applicant in. But it is a factor. You need to learn what your match really is- which means how you fit what they want: the academic record, any expectations re: ECs, and the personal aspects.

See also https://admissions.umich.edu/apply/freshmen-applicants/college-preparation
If you have to drop down in a class, try to make it one that’s not a core and/or matters less to prep for your potential major.

5

The teachers that I have for two of my courses make it nearly impossible to get As. I am interested in Math/Science in my future so thinking of dropping Honors English (which I did not take last year). So I would still have 3 APs (AP Bio, APUSH and AP Spanish), Honors Precalc - just drop Honors English.

6

Sorry, I thought you mentioned journalism and communications. ?

7

For legacy, even they consider it, UMich has one of the largest population of alumni alive. So there are just way too many applicants with legacy that they simply cannot give it too much weight in the review process.