Hi all. University of Michigan is one of my top choices. I would like to know if it is a target school for me. Ideally, I am looking to double major in Piano Performance and engineering. If I am not accepted as a music major, I would still love to go as an engineer.
My stats are a little different as I home schooled for junior and senior year, taking classes at NC State university. Because of this my GPA does not really matter (you may say it is a little low). I have super strong EC and a decent ACT score.
uwGPA: 3.7
ACT composite: 32
Senior classes:
Calc 2 (NCSU)
Calc 3 (NCSU)
Physics–mechanics (NCSU)
Accounting (NCSU)
AP Macroeconomics (self study)
Business writing (my own curriculum)
Spanish Immersion (self study)
By graduation I will have 32 college credit (transferable). I took a very competitive course load at the high school I attended as well. I write pretty “fire” essays and believe my CommonApp essay and supplemental will strongly help.
EC:
-Founded/captained two FIRST robotics teams-both achieving the highest level, going to World Championships in St. Louis. I have been reconized for my work with STEM in the community by the local Towne Council. Raised over $40,000 for STEM education.
-Competitive soccer-multitude of awards including best in NC
-Founder of Community Tech Drive–collect unused technology in my community tor underprivileged students. Recognized by NC House Representative Tom Murray.
-Piano–multitude of awards, including multiple 1st place in top competitions.
-Honor role at the high school i attended.
-1st in state in CYBERPATRIOTS hacking competition
-Participated on high school ethics team-national runner-ups
-Founded a business: Not Ur Mothers TieDye (tiedyed socks)
What do you guys think my chances might be?
Thanks a bunch
For music performance major, your chance would be mostly depending on your audition and music related resume. For CoE, your GPA is below the admission average of 3.9 while your ACT is also below average. So it would be a reach for you. Check the transfer credit database to make sure your NCSU credits can be transferred to UMich.
GPA notwithstanding, I like your chances provided you can demonstrate rigor in the NC courses, mastery in Calc, etc.
Fr SOM, regional accomplishment, if not national, is pretty much a baseline must for performance track – so you may be a fit but its always hard to predict auditions…and like every top conservatory in the country, the audition and musical references are most germane, though high academic achievement also helpful.
Re: fit…not a boatload of places that have such stellar SOMs and ENG – I would think you would love your experience at this school 
BUT because each program is so very strong, i should warn you that while a rare few performance (BMus) majors manage to dual degree between the school of music and ENG, I should make clear that an equal number who attempt to do so at Mich drop one or the other by sophomore year
That’s because each program requires not only passion/commitment in pursuit, but each degree has specific requirements not always mutually compatible in terms of scheduling. So in ENG, there’s lots of group work to manage, while in SOM there are a lot of rehearsal and performance requirements. Ergo time conflicts that often are less-than-negotiable. You’d likely also need to consider an additional year to in reality meet the reqs.
My son is a SOM grad and programmer. He loved his time at Umich and would not do a thing differently. He dropped from dual to single degree, as did several of his cohorts over the years. A rare few graduated with both degrees. But by all means go visit, sit in on classes, and talk to the SOM registrar about your plans. You will be given good guidance, I am certain!
Best wishes.
I do know quite a few students double major in music performance and engineering. One graduated around 13 years ago and worked as civil engineering until last year. Now getting a doctoral degree in music. Another one is a sophomore right now but I don’t know her engineering major. I also know another music performance major did double major with biology that graduated a few years ago and now is a full time musician in a symphony orchestra.
^double majoring is slightly different than dual degree just so you know.
OP, Double majoring is possible under the SOM’s Bachelor of Musical Arts degree – which is generally a little less demanding – as opposed to the BMus performance degree.
The degree is designed to more readily accommodate a cognate major.
So that is another avenue you could pursue (with LSA, but I don’t thing COE…best to double check with SOM)
My D is the current sophomore that @billcsho knows. She is dual degree, BS biomedical engineering and BM horn performance. It is true that the logistics between scheduling rehearsals and labs are very challenging, and the combination of engineering homework and music practice is demanding. Even with a bunch of AP credit and an occasional summer course, my D is looking at 4.5 years minimum if she sticks with both degrees. She absolutely loves UMich though, and the ability to pursue both areas. So far so good!
@kmcmom13 I am actually referring to dual degrees as they are offered from 2 different schools with 2 different degrees.
^Gotcha. For the OP’s purpose, however, I am distinguishing between dual degree and the BMusicl Arts cognate double major so that he/she knows that option is also avail at Umch
Which reminds me, OP, just so you know, you will need to apply to EACH school, and acceptance at one does not necessarily mean acceptance at the other.
Thanks so much for your thoughtful input! Congrats to the success your son has experienced. I love UMich because of their quality in each facet of education. If engineering does not work out, there are so many other great options.
I realize the difficulty of engineering and the almost impossible feat of mixing it with another major. At State, I have pretty much synced my course load with that of a first year engineering student. If I were to do just engineering, I could most likely graduate a year early… I am hoping this reduces the ‘impossible’ feat of balancing the two majors.
Thanks again! I hope everything goes well.
@jmanbrindis It is not likely to graduate one year early even for engineering major alone. There are certain course sequence to follow and some courses do not offer every semester. My D got 70 credits with almost all pre-req, electives, and intro engineering done before sophomore year, and yet, it will take another 2.5 years to graduate with a single engineering major due to the course sequence. Nevertheless, it would be very easy for her to add a second major as she just need ~12 credits per semester to graduate with 1 major in the next 5 semester.
I can appreciate what you are saying! How is it possible for your D to have 70 credit hours after only freshman year? I thought it was a standard 18 max per semester for pretty much ever university?
To clarify what I was trying to say, after looking at the engineering core courses, I have already completed my first year of the degree. I have met the math, physics, chemistry,and computer core requirements. Because of this, I am a year ahead of the typical engineering student (I wont have to spend a year taking these classes)…
My D got 33 credits from AP, took 32 credits in freshmen, and 5 credits from a summer class. So she finished all chemistry (Gen Chem, Org Chem1, Org Chem 2), calculus (Calc1-4), Physics (1 & 2), plus most of the humanities and elective credits in additional to the two first year engineering courses before sophomore year. And yet, it will take another 2.5 years to go through the course sequence of her declared major.
We have a young alum here who double-majored in music (piano performance) and computer science, doing real well in both. He won the piano competition (the price was a concert with the symphony orchestra), and worked for Google after graduation. As far as I know, he graduated in 4 years. So it can be done.