Please chance an EA international applicant

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Michigan
1

<p>Hey guys, </p>

<p>I am a rising senior who attends a Canadian public school. </p>

<p>I plan on majoring in Political Science. </p>

<p>Here are my stats:</p>

<p>GPA: 4.0 (92% high school average so far)</p>

<p>Academic Rigor: I take 4 of 6 AP courses offered at my school - Math (Adv. Functions & I plan on taking Calculus & Vectors next year), English (Literature & Composition), Biology, Economics ** All of these courses I plan on taking next year</p>

<p>SAT scores:</p>

<p>Critical Reading - 770
Math - 730
Writing - 800</p>

<p>SAT II scores:</p>

<p>Biology - 780
Math II - 800
Literature - 750</p>

<p>•Political staff writer for high school newspaper
•Mentor/Prefect – peer advising; peer leader; freshman orientation program
•Founder/president of community service club/student organization – human rights awareness for youth
•Class president on student government
•Co-President & founder of school’s Model United Nations team
•Editor-in-chief of yearbook committee
•Co-President of DECA
•School advisory council – Student Representative
•Chair/councilor of city youth council
•Special Needs children’s ministry – church community service & volunteer work
•Captain/Coordinator of provincial Model Parliament school team
•Worked as a lifeguard and taught swimming lessons to children; taught first aid & CPR (summer jobs)
•City council work; re-election campaign worker for political race
•Executive on region's Presidents’ Council
•Member of debate union
•Founder & Co-President of Politics Club </p>

<p>I'm working on my essays right now, and I have a unique passion that I believe will stand out and truly show who I am as a person. I plan on getting a recommendation letter from my history teacher who knows me personally beyond my work as a student. My other letter will probably come from my AP English teacher, as I got the highest mark in her class. In addition, I believe the LOR from my guidance counselor and principal will be nothing short of stellar.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, I do not have any significant honors/awards. I have A LOT of school awards, but no academic awards beyond school. I know this isn't an excuse, but there are very few academic extracurricular opportunities in Canada in comparison to the States.</p>

<p>As an international applicant, the competition will be more rigorous, but I would like to know how you guys think I will fare. I am applying EA</p>

<p>Thank you for your time!!</p>

2

<p>Please help me out!</p>

3

<p>Pretty good chance! lol better than mine anyway…</p>

4

<p>I am not sure how we can help you out. This is an amateur forum. We will not be making any admissions decisions. You have excellent credentials. Apply early action and I like your chances (Michigan is not a safety for international students, so be cautious). Make sure you apply to a couple of safeties though, perhaps Toronto or British Columbia.</p>

5

<p>Alexandre, do you know any safeties in the US that are in line with my credentials? And yes, I will be applying early. Is Michigan not a safety for international students because it is a public school?</p>

6

<p>Would NYU, UC-Berkeley or UCLA be safeties for me? Or would the UC schools not be since they are also public? Would Cornell, JHU, or Duke be matches?</p>

<p>In a previous thread, you broke down the chances at UMich for international students to this:</p>

<p>3.9+ unweighed GPA AND 2250+ SAT / 34+ ACT = Safe match
3.8-3.9 GPA AND 2100-2200 SAT/ 31-33 ACT = Match
…</p>

7

<p>Sorry Alexandre, but if I’m not mistaken, international students and OOS students are placed in the same applicant pool, right?</p>

8

<p>Michigan is not really a “safety” for anyone. Admissions while somewhat predictive can be quirky at times. You should apply if you are interested and can afford to attend as “statistically” you seem to have what Michigan looks for. If you apply EA you will either be accepted, rejected or deferred in December.</p>

9

<p>NYU and UCLA would be matches for you, not safeties. You have a good shot at getting in at those schools, but it’s not very certain that you will get in. I’m not sure if I would consider Cornell, JHU, or Duke matches for you either, since you are an international applicant.</p>

10

<p>@Momof3, I thought Michigan only accepts or defers in EA period.</p>

11

<p>International applicants are handled separately from domestic students, regardless of their residence status. Michigan has a separate office for international applicants, and they like to keep the incoming class of international students at 300 or so (out of close to 10,000 international applicants). with a yield rate of roughly 30% for international students, that means Michigan will admit no more than 1,000 of those 10,000 international applicants. For this reason, I would never tell an international student that Michigan is a safety. Michigan is not an exception mind you. MIT admits 11% of domestic students, but only 3% of international students.</p>

12

<p>So the acceptance rate for international applicants at UMich is 30%?</p>

13

<p>The yield is 30%. So, if Michigan wants to enrol 250-300 international freshmen students, it must accept 750-900. If Michigan receives 9,000-10,000 international applicants, the acceptance rate for international students is between 7.5% and 10%. In other words, the odds are not good.</p>

14

<p>How do you know how many international freshmen Michigan wants to enrol or how many applications it will receive?</p>

15

<p>^^because there are historical trends. The chances of UofM changing something drastically from one year to the next has a low probability. International students that can afford full cost at Michigan AND have the stats to be accepted is a limited pool and most will have more than one option so Michigan knows how many to accept to get the yield they desire. Michigan will release data pretty soon that should give you some insight into the rates for in-state kids, out of state kids and international.</p>

16

<p>I have followed closely Michigan admissions for close to two decades now. Although Michigan does not publish international figures, I have a pretty good handle on those figures. To put it succinctly, Michigan has a very strong international reputation (top 10 US university as far as international applicants are concerned), a top 5 undergraduate Business school, a top 10 Engineering program, and one of the most internationally spreadout alumni networks in the world. For these reasons, Michigan is a very popular option for international students. Your chances are good, but you need safeties. In the US, I think Wisconsin is a good safety.</p>

17

<p>momofthreeboys, will being able to afford full cost help me? Because I will not be needing any financial aid. I heard that public universities usually accept international students who do not require any financial assistance, as we’re paying triple the amount of in-staters.</p>

18

<p>Alexandre, you can find the number of undergraduate enrolled students - there is generally a fall press release that contains info.</p>

<p>And this from 2012 press release
At U-M, most international students are enrolled at the graduate level: 3,823 compared to just 1,578 undergraduate internationals. </p>

<p>Also the OP wants to major in poli sci which is in LSA so probably has a slightly better shot at acceptance than if the OP was trying for engineering but absolutely could use a safety or two if he/she is planning on studying in the US just like any native kid.</p>

19

<p>I do not think it will help much Yoloswag. These days, most international students who apply to Michigan are well aware of the cost of attendance, and of the fact that US universities, particularly public universities. As such, they tend to come from well-off families that can afford to pay in full. Still, the fact that you will not be asking for aid could give you a slight boost.</p>

20

<p>As I am applying from Canada to the US, I have Canadian safeties that will be guaranteed entries provided that I have the senior year marks to show for them. Akin to MANY other Canadian applicants, from my understanding, they will be applying to BIG name/prestigious US universities (HYPSM and the lot), not a public school that they have to pay triple for. To them, it’s all about the status. In their minds, it’s not worth going to a “sub-par” american university when they can go to Canadian ones that are a third of the price. I know that this isn’t true for all Canadian applicants, but I think it is for the majority. Alexandre, I know UMich is an amazing school, which is why I’m applying EA; I just don’t understand why you think it is the ultimate destination for international applicants. From what I’ve heard from Canadian applicants, for them it’s either go big or go home (essentially meaning Ivy League schools). PS. I don’t think many Canadians have heard of University of Michigan as being top 20, as my friends who are also applying to the US don’t even know it.</p>

<p>On that note, do you know any prestigious/top-tier universities that could be considered “safeties” for me? If Wisconsin is the only one, I wouldn’t pay 30 grand for an education that I could easily get at a Canadian university for half the price. I really don’t want to come off as an obnoxious snob, but name and prestige are important factors especially as an international applicant whose parents are paying big bucks for his education.</p>