<p>Why are there so many people on this forum so worried about getting into UMich? Based on stats on collegeboard: </p>
<p>37% of the admitted students have GPA lower than 3.75. I don't understand why everyone who chances other ppl tell the OPs with 3.5-3.6 that Michigan's a reach for them.</p>
<p>92% of the admitted students rank in the top 10% of their HS class. But this figure is less meaningful than the figure for other schools because the majority of the accepted students are in-state and most Michigan high schools are small. Some high schools in Michigan are as small as having a graduating class of 30 kids! How much does ranking in the top 10% of a class of 30 kids really matter?</p>
<p>The middle 50% SAT and ACT of the first-year students are: </p>
<p>You guys think this is high? I think this tells ppl that the middle 50% of students in UMich are pretty stupid. No?</p>
<p>Anyways the point of making this thread is that I keep on reading members telling other members who ask for "chances" that Michigan's a reach school for them. Hard stats tells me that Michigan's not a reach for most ppl on CC, especially since it also has rolling admission.</p>
<p>I like UMich and chose it over USC, WUSTL, NYU, Emory, etc. But correct me if I'm mistaken, Michigan's is very easy to get accepted into and the bottom 75% of UMich are not very smart.</p>
<p>Well reading this thread gives me some relief ( but not much) since my GPA is below UM average ( taking SAT, so won’t mention my test scores), and my University of Michigan GPA estimated is a 3.3 ( 10th-11th). Though I’am already well informed how difficult it is to get into University of Michigan. Though I’am also well inform how some users who post under the University of Michigan forum can be really ( not sure of the word) downplaying ones chances ( notice a few times one would say the user has a low reach, while I certainly thought they were at least a good match). Which is why I don’t understand ( as I’ve seen happen before) why some users got turn away from the school when they was told their chances are low, I say if your going to get rejected at least let it be by the admission officers.</p>
<p>I think that if you break down that 37%, you’ll find that a huge chunk of it is recruited athletes. I don’t think that gives much relief. Also you have to know that UM accepts a handful of inner city low income students.</p>
<p>
I have to say that this is not the most up to date and correct information.
According UM themselves:
</p>
<p>
Hmmm I disagree. Just look at the high schools around the Ann Arbor area. Canton/Salem/Plymouth together have about 6,000 students (about 1500 per grade). Northville: 2000+ students (500 per grade approximately). Novi: 2000+ students (500 per grade approximately). Walled Lake Western: 1700+ approximately (400+ per grade). And this is only a short list because I’m too lazy to go any further.</p>
<p>
I don’t know where you get your figures from but the stats that UM reports are:
College Board isn’t exactly that up to date you know. They have thousands of schools to update. UM’s own stats are much much more accurate.</p>
<p>I have to say that your statistics are outdated. So I think that you should have been smarter and found up to date information rather than saying UM students aren’t smart.</p>
<p>Are these stats for the 2009 acceptances? It’s a little different on the U of M website. And yeah, people with GPA under 3.75 usually have some type of hook. </p>
<p>I have a 3.85 gpa, 31 act, hardest courses, and great recommendations, but I’m still nervous about getting in for two reasons:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>My essays kinda suck (they have proper grammar and everything, but they just answer the question, and nothing more) and my EC’s are terrible. I’ve heard that U of M doesn’t really care about essays and EC’s, but I still lose a couple of hours of sleep every night.</p></li>
<li><p>U of M is by far my top choice, so I’d be devastated if I didn’t get in. I just worry I won’t get in for whatever reason.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>My Michigan high school had 6,000 students! I had like 1200 in my graduating class I think. But then, I was only in the middle of my class somewhere.</p>
<p>Cdz, if you exclude Detroit, Ann Arbor, and maybe a few other populous cities, leaving the majority of Michigan up for examination, I think you will find that most HSs do not have +500 per class.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Don’t ignore the valid points that cdz512 made.</p></li>
<li><p>Don’t post opinions masquerading as facts (if you are going to say something like the above, back it up with facts and links). You’d have to find the numbers of each graduating class from Michigan high schools and how many students from these schools went to UMich (if the majority of UMich students come from big high schools, like mine, you’re out of luck).</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I think those “populous cities” would have more UM acceptance than those “non-populous cities”. Considering that those “populous cities” usually (not always) have better schools than those in “non-populous cities”. (I.e. IA, Cranbrook, Catholic Central, DCDS, Novi, Troy, Canton/Salem/Plymouth, University Liggett, West Bloomfield, Northville, Walled Lake, South Lyon, Gross Pointe, Birmingham, Okemos, Marian etc)</p>
<p>“I like UMich and chose it over USC, WUSTL, NYU, Emory, etc. But correct me if I’m mistaken, Michigan’s is very easy to get accepted into and the bottom 75% of UMich are not very smart.”</p>
<p>Number 1, how can you say Michigan is “very easy” to get accepted into? It is one of the 25 or 30 most selective universities in the nation. And to claim that the bottom 75% of Michigan students are not very smart is insulting and condescending. You will see just how “not very smart” those students are when classes start. Even if you go purely on statistics, 50% of students at Michigan have 3.75+ unweighed high school GPAs (generally taking mainly AP and Honors classes), 30+/1330+ ACT/SAT scores and are generally ranked among the top 5% of their high school class, typically from high schools in upper middle income areas. Those students are smart, no matter how you look at it. Roughly athird of the students at Brown or Cornell have lower stats than those students.</p>
<p>Meaning only 33% had a GPA of less than 3.8. </p>
<p>The middle 50% on the ACT was 28-32. You’re a point off on the 25th and 75th percentiles.</p>
<p>You’re 30 points off for 25th and 75th percentiles for CR SAT. And 20 points off for 25th and 75th percentiles for both Math and Writing SAT.</p>
<hr>
<p>If you disagree with someone’s chancing, say in that thread. My opinion is that someone with a 28 ACT AND a 3.8GPA has a very low chance of getting in OOS unless there is something else special about them.</p>
<p>Personally, I’d generally look at someone with a 32 ACT and 3.9 (again, they usaually took several honors/AP classes) as fairly smart. Infact, to the vast majority of people that’s pretty smart. Now it’s not graduating Valedictorian at a top 50 highschool with a 2350 SAT, but there’s no way I can compete with that. Perhaps you should go to a more selective college, as you’ll probably get into one. You’re probably smarter than a good number of people at Michigan, but you don’t have to be a dick about it.</p>
<p>I was like the OP before I stepped on Michigan’s campus back in my day. I thought that I was better than the “average” Michigan student because I had a much higher SAT score. After my first couple of terms at Michigan, I had to cope with a VERY rude awakening. In terms of academic ability and intelligence, I was rather “average”. I had to really had to try very hard to keep up with my fellow students. There are other posters on this forum who have faced that same humbling experience and the OP will face it too.</p>
<p>What gets me is the kids that are like “oh you’ll fail at Michigan”, “you won’t get in with those stats”, etc. but they aren’t even there yet. You went to orientation, BFD, that doesn’t mean you know jack about the University. I was under the impression that I was gonna’ struggle at Michigan because I had an average stats, but I’m actually doing really well. High school **** is thrown out the window the day you graduate; now is the time you begin to define yourself as a person. You’ll find that your best students in high school are the ones that will struggle in college. </p>
<p>NerdyKey,
And a 3.8 GPA with 28 OOS is not a low chance by any means. You haven’t even set foot in your first college class, let the kids that know what’s going on, chance people.</p>
<p>Don’t let Michigan’s acceptance rates and college board stats fool you. Average GPA for students attending Michigan is a 3.7-3.9 GPA. How can you say that the bottom 75% of Michigan students aren’t smart? That assumption is just based on SAT and GPA. Michigan isn’t easy to get into. There are many people, like you, that think they have guaranteed admission and they are shocked when they get wait listed and rejected. When classes start you will realize that Michigan isn’t as easy as it seems. You will also come to realize that there are many people that are smarter than you.</p>
<p>Michigan challenges every student. There is no easy way to graduate with a Michigan degree. It takes struggle, hard work, effort and determination. There are some students that are admitted with low SAT scores and below average GPA’s that are motivated to learn as a result of their failures in high school. These students often graduate with distinction at Michigan.</p>
<p>Michigan is a prestigious university that tests its students academically, socially and mentally. Just because your are in the top 25% of the Michigan student body doesn’t necessarily mean that you are going to have guaranteed success. College is a “whole different ball game.” </p>
<p>Michigan is selective in many aspects. It isn’t easy to get into Michigan. One of the girls I met at orientation told me that in her graduating class of 600 students, only 5 got into Michigan and she was an in-stater. Michigan is selective whether you are in state or out of state. In my school 6 students got into Michigan including myself and Im an out of state student. No one is guaranteed a spot in any incoming class at Michigan. </p>
<p>Just wait until you get here. If you succeed, then congratulations, but if you struggle to get by, don’t say you weren’t warned.</p>
<p>If those stats are true, then:
Considering, as cdz512 said, that a lot of them are recruited athletes, it is indeed a reach for people with 3.5-3.6 UW GPAs. Since you’re in competition with all the other 3.5-6ers out there, you better have something to make you stand out or you won’t become a part of that 20-30%.</p>
<p>I agree that for the most part, college is a fresh start academically. While I have somewhat subpar stats for an out of stater, and am a little apprehensive about college classes at a school full of (for the most part) amazingly intelligent AND hard-working students, I truly believe that if I work as hard as I possibly can and take the initiative to ask for help from professors/tutors if necessary, I can succeed at U of M. Go Blue!</p>