Questions and Chances for UMich?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Michigan
1

<p>I'm in need of solid opinions from people who really know their UMich, thought this would be the best place to go.</p>

<p>Two major things in this thread - Some questions for current undergrads in UMich and any of you alumni out there, as well as a chance question.</p>

<p>Some questions!</p>

<ol>
<li><p>In your honest opinion, what are the dorms like?</p></li>
<li><p>This might come off as ambiguous (and to some degree I realize it is), but how did you feel about the school's overall environment/aura? Any hope in the air? Depression? Anger? Happiness? (I'm intending on going through the College of Engineering)</p></li>
<li><p>How did you feel about the transition in workload from high school to college? </p></li>
<li><p>What tips would you recommend for a student to be successful at UMich?</p></li>
<li><p>Did the Professors teach well? (Kinda aimed at those who went through the College of Engineering, but anyone's opinions are GREATLY appreciated!) </p></li>
<li><p>How strongly could you feel the athletic spirit within the school?</p></li>
<li><p>How would you describe the overall student body and why?</p></li>
<li><p>How did you feel about the quality of the campus? (Going to find this out for myself when I hopefully visit this summer!)</p></li>
<li><p>Anything you would recommend for new Undergrads NOT do (other than the painstakingly obvious drinking, drugs, etc)?</p></li>
<li><p>What did you like about UMich the most? What did you dislike the most? Reasons for either (or both) of the two would also be greatly appreciated!</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Chances!</p>

<p>Major: Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering or Economics (unsure, leaning more towards the former)</p>

<p>Testing and Academics</p>

<p>(Probably going to use ACT)</p>

<p>ACT, single sitting: Composite 34, English 34, Math 32, Reading 34, Science 35, Writing 32</p>

<p>SAT, single sitting: Composite 2090, Math 640, Reading 730, Writing 720 </p>

<p>AP(s): AP European History (5), AP Art History (5), AP World History (4)</p>

<p>Currently taking: AP Chemistry, AP US History, AP Lang, AP Micro/Macro economics</p>

<p>Expected Senior Course Load: AP Calc AB, AP Physics B, AP Lit, AP Human, AP Psych, AP Govt., AP Environmental Science, AP Stat, AICE Spanish (equivalent to AP in Florida, but I highly doubt it's amountable to transfer like AP does)</p>

<p>GPA: 4.67 Weighted, 4.00 Unweighted</p>

<p>Rank: 7/465</p>

<p>Extracurriculars: </p>

<ol>
<li>Member of Civil Air Patrol (4 years) </li>
<li>Certified FEMA/CAP Mission Radio Operator (MRO)</li>
<li>Training as Communications Unit Leader (CUL) (Should be certified by senior year)</li>
<li>Led Communications Unit in several USAF/CAP Search and Rescue Exercises (SAREX)</li>
<li>CAP Cadet Communications Officer for squadron</li>
<li>Certified CAP Communications Instructor </li>
<li>Participant in Natural Geography In Shore Areas (NAGISA) Oceanic Survey</li>
<li>Member of underwater dive team (3 years)</li>
<li>Dive Sample Analysis Team Leader</li>
<li>Member of Academic Team</li>
<li>Varsity team member (3 years)</li>
<li>Participated in multiple county tournaments</li>
<li>Qualified at Florida State History Bowl, 1st place, going to National History Bowl in D.C. (Woohoo!)</li>
<li>Member of Student Council (ICC)</li>
<li>Rep for Academic Team</li>
<li>National Honors Society Member, 2 years</li>
<li>Member of Church Youth Group</li>
<li>Church leader in Youth Council</li>
<li>Nominated for Christian Leadership Initiative Scholarship (CLI) </li>
<li>Attending Christian Leadership Institution on scholarship</li>
<li>Volunteer service</li>
<li>50+ Hours at Alzheimer's Care Unit (featured in newspaper for services there, if it means anything)</li>
<li>80+ Hours at local Community College Elementary School Summer Camp as Counselor
(These are the important ones I can think of for now, will add more if I can remember them!)</li>
<li>National USAF Youth Scholarship</li>
<li>Qualified (and was selected) out of a national pool</li>
<li>Full-ride scholarship to Space Camp freshman year (Woo!!) as USAF Rep with 16 others</li>
<li>FBLA Member</li>
<li>Member for 1 year until school forcefully disbanded club (No clue why to this day)</li>
<li>1st Place Districts win for Intro to Business Econ. - Headed to state until forced closure</li>
</ol>

<p>Misc.</p>

<p>Income >100,000</p>

<p>Race: White</p>

<p>Sex: Male</p>

<p> Thank you! </p>

<p>Any responses to this thread will be greatly, GREATLY, appreciated. It means enough to me that you bothered to read through this whole leviathan; replying means even more.</p>

2

<p>I can’t really comment on your first questions as I am still an incoming freshman. However, I will tell you what I think about your chances from my experience. I got into Mechanical Engineering with worst stats than you (although similar gpa and a higher math sat), so I would say your chances are pretty good. However, if you search this site, you will find that a lot of people with stats even better than yours didn’t get in, so its a bit of a toss up and hard to say. Make sure you do early action. Secondly, if you decide to go engineering and submit your sat, make sure you improve your math score because that is what they care about on the standardized test (for engineering). When I visited, they said that they suggest having at least a 680 in math to apply to CoE. One other tip that seems to be a common occurrence amongst people who have been accepted, in your essay talk about why Michigan attracts you and your history with the school that makes you want to go their (specific things). Don’t blab on that you want to go their because their program is so good, they know that. Good Luck!</p>

3

<p>@MichBound15 Thanks! Also, I was just curious - for the College of Engineering, I was reading on “recommended courses”. Of note to me were the “Computer Science” and “Engineering related” classes - do you know how much these matter to the College? I haven’t taken either of them (Stocking up on AP Classes), so I’m kinda worried.</p>

4

<p>My school doesn’t offer any other those more specialized classes like that, so no. I mainly took honors, a few APs, and college in high school classes by University of Washington and Seattle University.</p>

5

<p>bumpchar10</p>

6

<p>One can never give chances, but Michigan seems to really put emphasis on the GPA (and yours is stellar!) I agree with MichBound about the essay- try to be specific about what attracts you to the school. My son was accepted OOS (applied EA)- didn’t have as high test scores as you but had some very unique EC activitites that he became part of due to health related issues. Good luck.</p>

7

<p>Chances are simply showing the likelihood based on past stat. There is absolutely no guarantee for anything. Your overall score is good and your EC too. So you do have a good chance for UMich CoE (match). However, your SAT Math score is rather low particularly for engineering. Anyway, your ACT score is much better and should use that for application instead. That may even make you a low match.</p>

8

<p>Thanks! I’m probably going to be using the ACT, I don’t know why people keep referring to the SAT even though I don’t intend on using it. :C</p>

<p>Either way, I’m going to be retaking ACT/SAT one last time, to boost up that math score, I can do better. </p>

<p>Any other advice (especially answers for the first couple of questions) would be greatly appreciated!</p>

9

<p>I am not a student and my son is graduating this year but I’ll take a shot at a few of these q’s –

</p></li>
<li><p>The dorms are pretty small and in the older dorms, pretty institutional feeling. However, most are in the process or have recently been renovated, and the common areas are therefore pretty state of the art. I don’t feel dorms should really influence anyone’s decision to attend UMich or any other school. You’re young enough to handle squalor, and can move off campus or into a co-op in soph year for real adventure :wink: That said, I would say that the dorm rooms themselves are probably the least desirable thing in terms of infrastructure of the school…but that also tells you that the focus is rightly on the tools of training, not the trappings of the coddled ;)</p></li>
<li><p>Friendly atmosphere less “competitive” (eg. not cutthroat) than my son expected - very collegial in group work (he’s in music but has classes and faculty in ENG). You will find a few frenetic types as the workload is heavy and takes some adjusting, but generally, the people he’s come to surround himself with have been the nicest, brightest bunch of folks you could hope for. High talent, high fun quotient. I suspect this is because he himself has a fairly sunny/open disposition…so your mileage may vary.</p></li>
<li><p>For my son, who went to a gifted/talented school, the ENG classes (and music theory) in particular required a major, major reinvention of what his notion of “workload” looked like. That required some improvement in discerning WHERE you needed to focus your energies for optimum advantage – and the ability to let go the areas you could. In the other classes where he had a very very strong track record, they were challenging and the workload intense, but less busywork than highschool and more meaningful work in his discipline. In all, he loved it, and loved the learning. But there were many “crunch” periods where in hindsight he feels he could have managed his time better.</p></li>
<li><p>Stay completely and totally organized at all times, and then you’ll have time to have a good time too. If you’re executive function skills are weak, practice planning and time management. Be proactive if you’re not keeping up and always talk to the prof – it’s unbelievable the help they will give you if you take the initiative, accept responsibility when you mess up, and are an otherwise engaged learner.</p></li>
<li><p>Some of his taught especially well, while others were perhaps more valuable to the institution for their research and industry track records. Just about all of them were outstanding in one way or another. In cases where the profs themselves were not exceptional teachers per se, the GSIs could be counted on to be strong, so there was never really any instructional deficit. Ultimately, at the level of rigor of UMich, the profs are there to mentor and provoke independent learning, moreso than to “make” a student understand a concept – so if you approach it with that notion, you’ll be pretty happy with the calibre of prof, I suspect.</p></li>
<li><p>Unparalleled. Truly.</p></li>
<li><p>Smart. Eclectic. Friendly. Spark of life in eyes. Made up of all types, but ultimately, clever and engaging. Go see for yourself.</p></li>
<li><p>Fantastic resources, constantly updated infrastructure, plus historic beauty. It’s just a really beautiful and energizing place. We had toured IU Bloomington for the Jacobs school of music, which is also beautiful, and numerous others, including princeton, chicago, northwestern, nyu etc., but Michigan is just in a league of its own. (Pun intended. One of buildings is the Michigan League ;)</p></li>
<li><p>Do not for a moment think that the sloppy kind of last-minute effort that netted As in highschool will necessarily be effective at Michigan ;)</p></li>
<li><p>I wish that Michigan was more financially accessible to talented OOS students and that it allocated more of its generous endowment to giving competitive merit and need for top OOS candidates. Its admissions system could use improvements – it should reject more, and be more clear about the slim odds of those on the waitlist. The waitlist numbers should be reduced. Those are the cons.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>In terms of pros, I love that my son made friends and associates from all over north American – and the world – at this school. I love that he loved it, and I loved all the opportunities beyond the classroom itself for engagement. And in our case, I am forever grateful that a) it is in-state for us and b) that it awarded my son a generous merit scholarship nonetheless. Go blue ;)</p>

10

<p>Got rejected with better stats. It’s a crapshoot.</p>

11

<p>Thank you so much for the wonderful post KMC!!</p>

<p>I don’t necessarily know if one person’s weird rejection means it’s a crapshoot, but I don’t know how often this happens to people going for UMich. Any reason why you think it happened?</p>

12

<p>This year, I know four applicants who got into Ivy League schools. Three of the four were rejected by Michigan. OOS selectivity has really intensified in the last 3 years, and will continue to intensify over the next 3-4 years. By 2017, I think OOS selectivity will rival that of the most selective universities in the nation.</p>

13

<p>GenApo, the takeaway from that info is that it is very important, I feel, to demonstrate interest as a first choice or first among equals, and there are a number of ways to do this, including visiting early, which you plan to do. While you’re there, it will not hurt to ask to sit in on classes or proactively let your area adcom know that it is a top choice if in fact that turns out to be true. Let your gc know if its a first choice too! They may communicate that in their recommendation!</p>

<p>Michigan’s assessment criteria does not emphasize demonstration of interest, but it also does not rule it out. With thousands of applications in hand and tough choices, that demonstrated interest record can make it easier to give you a spot. So register online when you visit, etc. it could help.</p>

14

<p>Statlanta,^ You mean you were rejected with ACT 35?</p>

<p>Sent from my NookColor using CC</p>

15

<p>I was rejected with 35ACT 4.0, varsity sports (w/captaincy), 500+ volunteer hours, and extenuating circumstances. Believe it or not, I am headed to Harvard this fall.</p>

16

<p>My brother was accepted 3 years ago with much worse stats. We both applied to COE.</p>

17

<p>I’m headed to the COE too. I’ve got a full ride for the school (with addendums) which is why I desperately need to make it in! I’m definitely going to put a huge emphasis on showing my interest in the school. How does sitting in on classes work, though? Additionally, I’m not sure how showing my area’s adcom that I want to go to UMich without coming off as facetious or extremely pushy…would anyone have any recommended strategies for that? </p>

<p>Thanks so much for the advice! Keep it coming!</p>

18

<p>Hi again. In general, you can make contact with the adcom this spring or over the summer with a brief email along the lines of “Michigan is my top choice and I understand that EA is very competitive. I am traveling to AA for a visit. Is it possible to set up a meeting to discuss best strategy for application…” (Don’t worry if they say no…they’ll still keep the contact on file.) For sitting in on class, contact a department head via their admin assistant and ask if you can sit in on xyz class. Again, results will vary (at the school of music, they arranged for my son to sit in on two closed freshman and senior classes in his selected discipline. Those are small, private classes to which you normally don’t have access. We were quite surprised how welcomed they made us feel.)</p>

<p>In other words, just straight up show interest and ask questions.</p>

<p>Here’s an interesting excerpt from an article posted today in another thread, FWIW: - I’m not saying I have any evidence UMich adopts this philosophy, nor do I particularly feel it is “gaming the system” – but the concept of “recruiting for fit” just makes sense to me ;)</p>

<p>(from [The</a> Admission Arms Race: Six Ways Colleges Game Their Numbers - ProPublica](<a href=“http://www.propublica.org/article/the-admission-arms-race-six-ways-colleges-can-game-their-numbers]The”>The Admission Arms Race: Six Ways Colleges Game Their Numbers — ProPublica) ) </p>

<p>

</p>

19

<p>The dorms in the North Campus (where engineering and music schools are at) have been under renovation in the past couple years. So they should be fine. My last visit at Baits and Bursley were already 10 years ago. I remember they were quite standard dorm rooms and may be a little bit roomier than other dorms I saw in main campus. Personally, I like the North Campus environment as it is more quite. Most engineering students live there. If you want a nicer place to stay, there is University owned apartments in the North Campus too. They are definitely more expensive but they are very very nice with furniture and appliances. I know some students live there. They have 1 bedroom to 3 bedroom units.</p>

20

<p>I know many engineering students there in the past 14 years. They are mostly very happy and excited with their study. There are a lot of group projects and very often to work late and over the weekend. There were a couple students that were very nervous during the freshman and sophomore years. They all turned out fine and got a god job after graduation. I also know some students that spend a lot of time in research. Some are going to get a Bachelor and Master degree in 5 years. All those I know are international students, so they have more reasons to be depressed but they are not.</p>