Hi! I’m a graduating senior in high school and I will be attending University of Michigan this fall. I’m interested in Ross but was rejected pre-admit. I have a few questions
I’m current taking AP Calculus BC and doing somewhat well (Struggle a little bit with series). Do you recommend Calculus 3 at University of Michigan? If so, do you recommend Math 215 or Math 255 or Math 285 (or another class)?
I understand that University of Michigan does not accept credits for AP Macro/Microeconomics. I’ve received 5s on both exams. Do you recommend Econ 101 (I heard it is very difficult) or Econ 102? Also, any recommendations for a sample schedule or any professors to recommend?
Should I rush a fraternity? If so, which one(s)?
I hear a lot about getting leadership positions freshman year. Could you give me a few examples? I usually thought (as it is at my high school) that freshman are usually members of a club and the juniors/seniors have the officer positions.
Do you have any recommendations on how to obtain the 3.6+ GPA that is highly recommended to apply to Ross? I’m a little concerned that the difficulty/workload of college in general is far stronger than the difficulty/workload of AP classes in high school.
Thank you so much for your help!
My opinion is that if you can repeat material you know well, do it. Your odds of getting the needed GPA are higher. Don’t rush – too time consuming if you need to get a high GPA.
It is not that they do not give credits to AP Econ, it just would not give you advanced placement that you still need to take Econ 101 and 102. My D never took AP Econ by just the regular micro/macro Econ at high school, however, she got an A+ in Econ101. So, I think it is not that difficult.
The wonderful thing about college is that you have SO much more free time to do what you want (I have a final exam tomorrow and I’m doing this lol). The key behind this is “to do what you want”. The issue here is the time management. You know yourself better than we do, and if you think you’ll be able to put in at least a few hours of studying every night regardless of your other activities, then you should be fine to get the 3.6. But it’s on you to make your life successful otherwise. With that being said, here’s my opinion (took 13 APs with 5s/4s, 2 dual enrollment, PA into Ross, a top ranked public high school nationally, played high school sports and was in a few clubs).
Stick to Calc BC and STUDY HARD. It's a weeder class, so it'll be harder to do well than in Calc 3, but relatively speaking, you'll look much better with an A in this class compared to the others who apply to Ross and don't have it. Calc 3 is overkill and the benefits aren't worth the chance you take getting overwhelmed by the workload.
2.You have to take 101 to apply. It’s a pre-rec. Econ 102 is a “floating core” business class - you only have to take it by winter semester Jr year.
If you want to rush, do it; you can still have time to study. Just warning you, if you do, be prepared to sacrifice a lot (A LOT) of sleep during pledging so that you can study the appropriate amount for your classes
It's somewhat unusual for freshmen to get leadership positions. Bigger clubs like Dance Marathon have "pod leaders" if you want to try that. Otherwise, just try to make an impact in the clubs you join.
Study a little everyday. Use office hours. Learn to NOT hit up every party unless you don't value sleep that much. And (this may be a little controversial) learn to play the college game: some classes record lectures, so skip those then play the records on 2x speed in a private space. Some classes are weighted mainly towards busy work - do those whenever you have free time so that you can finish up and secure an A before finals week hits. Some classes are mainly weighted towards tests - use the syllabus to figure out what's on the tests and start studying for them ASAP; ignore reviewing the material in class that is just "fun to know" from your professor if it doesn't help you learn.
For leadership positions your freshmen year, look into hall government. Residence Halls are mostly underclassmen, so it is viable for freshmen to get elected.
Not sure if one can generalize this. CalcBC is a high school course at college pace. If you do well in the AP exam, you will get credits (only partial for LSA) for Calc1 and Calc2. You will need to take Calc3 and get a C or above if you want to receive full credits by AP in Calc1 and 2. My D got A in CalcBC and 5 in AP, but the Calc3 was still a bit challenging that she could only get a B (but an A in Calc4).
Thank you for your responses. Perhaps I should rush, take Econ 101 and Math 116 (Calculus II) 1st semester, and then take Econ 102, Math 215 2nd Semester?
That works. But from my friends’ experiences, Calc 2 is very time consuming and difficult. Econ 101 is relatively straightforward and simple enough; if you did well on the AP, you should be fine in the regular class. I’m not sure about 102.
I am currently in Calc 3, and frankly it is not worth taking the as a potential Ross applicant. The material goes far beyond Calculus BC, and you will be up against mostly Engineering and Math majors setting the curves. I'd say stick to Calc 116, especially since you will have already learned much of the material.
As Wolverine said, 101 is required. Also, I believe you can get general credits for 4's on the AP Econ exams; it just won't count toward a class.
I'm assuming you mean a social fraternity. Some advisors may recommend against it, but rushing a fraternity is honestly not a bad idea if you are applying to Ross. Oftentimes older brothers in the fraternity will be happy to help with the Ross application and essays. Also consider rushing a business fraternity like AKPsi or PCT.
There are plenty of clubs around campus. Check them out on the diag during FestiFall, and once you join one getting more involved is easy.
Again, Wolverine gave some good advice. I'd also suggest talking to any upperclassmen or asking in a Class of 2020 facebook group to figure out which classes tend to be "easier." For example, I know many potential Ross students like to take a Psych intro class.
But won’t Ross take that into account? If Student A gets a B in rocket science (pick a tough course) versus Student B getting an A in into to cookie making (pick an easyish A), is Student A more likely to be accepted? For a business school, that would seem a bad acceptance model:)
@HRSMom What you say is true, and Ross DOES take that into account. However, the majority of applicants take Calc 1. Therefore, it’s a safer choice to do well in Calc 1 then risk getting nailed by Calc 3. If one gets a 4.0 in Calc 1, it will look better than most applicants who get a 3.3 or 3.7 in that subject. You don’t need to be in the top 5% of all applicants, just the top 40%. I’m offering advice assuming OP will need to adjust like any other student coming from a normal High school.
@HRSMom In regards to rigor of class, it’s the not the same as in high school applying to college where the admissions staff know there’s a distinction in rigor between classes (AP/Honors vs regular). It wouldn’t be fair to Ross applicants if classes were viewed as “easy” or “difficult”. Of course they will probably compare students who take common classes, such as Calc 1/2 or Econ 101, but that’s why it’s more important to shoot for an easy 4.0 since there is no difference between taking Psych 111 or Chem 130 (or whatever hard class), even though one of those two is far easier to get an A in.
IMO I would fully expect that Ross Admissions does distinguish on class rigor. You still want to be able to achieve that 3.7 but doing so in analytic classes and those known for rigor must certainly make a difference in admissions chances.
@wayneandgarth I’m sure they do in that regard, but the main point I was trying to get across was that they won’t know the nit picky details about classes that students know (for example the difference in rigor between two Econ electives or something)
@hailbate - why would you think veteran Ross Admission counsellors wouldn’t know more about the intricacies of classes better than the students. They make these judgements for a living, year-in, year-out.
Now I agree that close calls on two social science classes at the same level may not matter. But they will know how a particular stats course compares to a particular math course, etc.
Of course essays and ECs make a big difference as well.
@wayneandgarth Well correct me if I’m wrong, but those that work in admissions are part of the faculty as professors right? So they don’t spend time doing this year in and year out. Hence, I just think they have bigger fish to fry than examining course rigor in that much detail. I’m sure they make a distinction between taking Econ 101 and Asian 204, but how are they going to know which one is harder? If anything, it seems course selection is more important than course rigor.