I got a 32 on my recent ACT and a 1440 on my first SAT, which I retook in June, but haven’t gotten my scores back yet. My GPA is only a 3.76, but this is because of a bumpy freshman year. My sophomore & junior year grades were very high (never more than 1 B / semester) with a very very difficult course load. Are my test scores okay for UMich?
Depending on your intended major, both GPA and scores are low for Michigan. My D was wait listed with a 33 ACT and UW 4.0. So was her HS’s valedictorian with a 36 ACT. (Both applied to engineering).
In general, Michigan has become a reach for all OOS applicants so see treat it as such when you are making your college list.
I agree. The sweet spot in our area seems to be a 34 ACT with a 4.0. For some odd reason, the kids with higher test scores and incredible profiles have been deferred. Confirmed it for this year and last too. Now, most of those kids might get in RD cycle but then most of them got into schools they preferred RD. I suspect they may have an EA profile that doesn’t tend to pan out.
Engineering is particularly tough
I’m applying to LSA as a chemistry major. Michigan tends to be all over the place from what I’ve seen at my school, with people at 34s and 35s with high GPAs getting denied but people with 30s and 3.7s getting accepted.
33/34 is the engineering sweetspot. GPA is low . OOS is tough. 3.93 GPA with 34 https://www.engin.umich.edu/about/facts/
In terms of OOS LSA, you don’t need a 4.0.
You would like to be AT LEAST in the 3.85-3.9+ range. In terms of the ACT/SAT, you would like to be AT LEAST in the 32-34/1,420-1,520+ range (or better).
That doesn’t mean someone with lesser stats won’t be admitted. There’s certainly evidence of that fact.
BTW, per the CDS, the two most important factors in the UMich application review?
1A. GPA
1B. Rigor
My UW GPA between sophomore and junior year is a 3.9. I’ve never gotten lower than an A in an AP class (including AP Chemistry & AP US History) and I’ve taken 5 of them already. My junior year schedule was all AP & Honors (very difficult classes) as was my sophomore year besides Spanish because Spanish 2 is only available at the regular level. My sophomore & junior year were definitely at Michigan’s standards (if not higher than) when also accounting for course rigor, but my freshman year is what’s really weighing me down. I got many Bs (mainly 1st semester) my freshman year which is why my GPA is at a low 3.76 and not a 3.9 
The transfer to HS was very difficult to me, as at the time my middle school had a no homework policy and I went from that to HS Honors classes. Because I’ve had a very strong sophomore & junior year (upward trend with much harder course rigor) and my freshman year is the only reason for the low GPA, is it possible that this area won’t actually hurt me since Michigan takes a holistic approach?
Arguing, discussing , rationalizing, explains this stuff is meaningless. You apply and find out. I’ve seen some incredible kids deferred from UMich. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to it.
@marco18181818 to answer your question, yes, if your grades have seen an upward trend, that is taken into account. I’m not sure how much freshman grades factor into the admissions decision anyway. A lot of kids have issues with transitioning, elementary to middle school, middle to high school and high school to college.
Heck, the UC’s here in CA don’t even use freshman HS grades in their UC GPA calculation.
Freshman grades tend to be discounted if there is an upward trend. I know several kids that had a 3.1-3.3 freshman year and are at Michigan. Getting high grades in your AP classes is key. Getting all “A” s in them shows your ready for college courses. Keep doing that. Write a great essay and see what happens.
@cptofthehouse. If we stopped doing everything you suggested I think CC would shut down ?. I have seen the same and have seen kids that I never would suspect get in do extremely well once at Michigan. It’s a crazy system but I hope that some of the suggestions help some people get through the process.
Marco, my opinion is that the University of Michigan is more interested in seeing evidence a student will persevere through adversity, rise up and fight, than in seeing a transcript overflowing with perfect grades/scores. Make no mistake, you must be competitive academically, but it’s that something extra that will get you in the door.
My research group just scored a partnership / sponsorship for our research with Argonne National Laboratory. I hope this stands out!
Does your school use Naviance? If so, that will be helpful information. Also, your GC should be able to give you guidance on the overall strength of your application. Good luck.
Your groups connection to Argonne lab is great. It’s not going to hurt. What was your role on the team? Always a nice, “heh, BTW we secured this partnership”
https://pme.uchicago.edu/tirrell_lab/people/matthew_tirrell/
Matthew Tirrell is /was their lab director. He is one of the leads in the country with molecular engineering and just started that more formally at University of Chicago. If you have a connection or questions for your research talk with him super nice guy. Read his bio
Very impressive
Always nice to have a one liner in your essay of "when I spoke with xxxx at zzzz. This is also why I suggest emailing /talking /live meetings with professors
First for knowledge and it shows you researched something a bit on their website plus you get to use that experience on your applications