<p>Salvadoran, 1st generation, from small city in Arkansas, large public high school--(one of the better ones in the state) ACT 29 (ESL--parents were immigrants/he is US born--so English was a little weaker than other scores) 4.0+, rank: top 3%, will have 8-9 APs (4's & 5's so far). A few EC's, but no significant leadership/sports.(Family obligations/finances may have prevented heavy EC participation.) Heard about U of M from a teacher/mentor and became obsessed with it. Wants to be pre-med/bio major.
Will his background/grades/rank at all make up for somewhat lower ACT, or should he not get his hopes up? (He is an extremely hard-working/driven/ambitious student who really stands out at his school, but he seems overconfident--his mentor who recommended U of M might not realize how much more competitive it is now.) </p>
<p>Any thoughts? Or suggestions for other schools that he could still apply to before deadlines?</p>
<p>He may very well get admitted, but as an out of state kid he very well might not get need met. He might. He might not. So if Michigan is of special interest he should apply but smart to have a financial safety school in mind. As an out of state student “obsessed” is not a good state of mind for a UofM applicant.</p>
<p>A 4.0 unweighed GPA, a presumably challenging curriculum and a solid ACT, couple with his URM status make Michigan a match. However, the odds of receiving a good FA package are never good.</p>
<p>Thanks. I wasn’t sure if URM would count for anything at Michigan.
The student said he talked to someone from U of M who explained the FA he could expect if admitted, which sounded generous (student is high need). However, I always heard that Michigan doesn’t give much to OOS students. (I wonder if the student understood correctly-- some of what he was told to expect might be loans and not scholarships/grants?)
Well, fingers crossed for this kid. Unfortunately, he did not have good advice regarding the application process in general, and it is too late to do much about it now.</p>