What are some similar schools like UMich? I’m going to apply to UMich but my stats are on the lower end of the accepted people and I want some backup schools for worst case scenario. Are there any other schools that have a big undergrad population, big on school spirit, more liberal, great social life, and high in academics?
What state are you from and what is your intended major or interests?
Intended Major: Business or Psych
SAT I (breakdown): n/a
ACT (breakdown): 31 Composite, 31 English, 30 Math, 34 Reading, 29 Science
SAT II: n/a
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.75
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Biology, APUSH, these tests haven’t happened yet. Probably a 4 or 5 on both.
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Language, AP French, AP Calc AB, Physics, Psychology, Business Principles
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Job/Work Experience: Lifeguard at Country Club for 4 years
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer at major hospital for 2 years
Summer Activities: Business and Psychology Camps and Lifeguarding
Teacher Recommendation: will ask Precalculus and AP Biology teacher.
Music: Clarinet for 8 years (currently in audition based group in school that performs around the state), Piano for 12 years, President of Junior Music Club (tours around the town to play for retirement homes)
Sports: Swimming for 12 years, Rowing for 4 years
Clubs: Model UN for 4 years, Best Delegation Award every year
Applying for Financial Aid?: no
State (if domestic applicant): New Jersey
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public, but very competitive and ranked high in the state
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 200K+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
Extras:
-School does not offer AP classes until junior year but offers honors classes. At the end of high school I will have taken 11 honors/AP classes.
-I just visited this past weekend to show interest and will be applying early action.
Yes, the rower. Definitely work on your ACT… Maybe talk to your parents if they can afford a tutor to work on your weaknesses. Did you know there is actually a study of business psychology?
There are so many good schools but staying with what you want look at the big ten. University of Illinois, University of Indiana, Wisconsin, University of Iowa, University of Minnesota.
Other schools where your current SAT/gpa make you more competitive for admisson and which have similar strong academics and bells and whistles as Michigan are USC, UCLA, Penn State, Ohio State, UFlorida, UMiami, UWisconsin, U Maryland, UGeorgia and SyracuseU.
Good suggestions above. I’d add Pitt into the mix as well.
UW-Madison and Illinois would be closest in terms of setting/conference/climate and all-around academic strength – also big research universities with big international reputations and lots of highly ranked grad and PhD programs, especially UW. Next would probably be Minnesota – lots of Nobels in the Twin Cities. Still building their academic reps are Ohio State and Penn State. Indiana and Iowa are strong generally in the humanities and social sciences, but are not known so much for STEM. Purdue is the opposite of IU and Iowa.
Others that are large and approach or equal UM in academic quality would be Berkeley, UCLA, UVA (not as large nor as ambitious with research $$, but stellar undergrad and Law rep), UNC, Washington, Texas, and Georgia Tech (though not so much in the humanities or social sciences; GA Tech is similar to Purdue, just with much harder admissions).
I have a great deal of respect for Michigan. I think it’s every bit as strong academically as schools like Brown, Cornell, Berkeley, Duke, Dartmouth, Northwestern, Hopkins… and stronger all-around than every other state school.
He is looking for psychology and business. This is why I suggested what I did. No sense suggesting Georgia Tech, Berkeley etc if the stats are not there especially for out of state… Just a FYI
IU has a pretty good undergrad business program. And you’re right Purdon’t is the opposite of IU, it sucks. 
Try the SAT or get your ACT up… If you can do that, you are probably in Michigan.
Would schools like Tulane, Lehigh, Villanova, UVA, and Boston U be in the range for me?
@westfieldgoblue, here are the stats for Tulane’s class of 2022. http://tulane.edu/class-2022-features-world%E2%80%99s-best-and-brightest. Be mindful, of course, that Tulane famously (or infamously) practices wildly holistic admissions— just read the Tulane thread around December of each year! — so statistics are far from the be-all end-all. Best of luck to you!
@westfieldgoblue, the remainder of the Tulane stats for the class of 2022 so far are in this other article. My apologies. http://tuadmissionjeff.blogspot.com/2017/12/spring-scholars.html#!/2017/12/spring-scholars.html. Maybe others can chime in regarding the other 4 schools.
I got into Tulane and Umich EA with stats around yours (3.85 in an easier course load, 30) this year. I am in state for Umich and was surprised to get in EA because from my school kids did not get in with those stats in years past, and if they did it was in March or April. In fact, this year, kids in calc were getting deferred while about 25% of us accepted for Umich first round weren’t taking calc. It’s strange and definitely “holistic”.
I will say from my experience essays and demonstrated interest matter a ton. I attended a visit and a summer information night for U of M in my city. For Tulane, I did the optional essay and for Umich I spent a lot of time writing and revising my supplements (also had a teacher and some friends read over them). My advice: show interest and write enthusiastic Why X essays. They matter.
There are not many schools like Michigan. What makes Michigan so unique is that it is so well rounded. When it comes to academics, resources, opportunities, reputation etc…, Michigan’s closest peers are Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Northwestern, Penn and UVa.
In terms of athletics, Michigan has won national championships in Basketball, Football, Gymnastics, Hockey, Softball and Swimming in the last 30 years, and has produced olympic medalists in both Summer and Winter games as well.
Ann Arbor is a pretty special college town. While Ithaca and Princeton are also nice, they are not as livable as Ann Arbor.
When you put it all together, Michigan is arguably the best university all-around. But from a purely academic point of view, I would say Berkeley, Cornell, Northwestern and Penn and Michigan’s closest peers.
@GoBlue172000 your experience is so true.When Michigan says holistic review, they are one of the schools that really mean it. This is why it’s hard to compare grades and trying to “chance” someone on these threads. Being different, having something your passionate about to write about and showing interest are great keys for people applying for next year. Hopefully they take your advice.
@Alexandre. I think you nailed it. I get to drive my son back to school today and trying to get him there prior to the Big Ten Championship game today. I think I am more excited to be in Ann Arbor then him for the game. It’s a very unique blend. As I keep telling him, he is very lucky to be there. Being a freshman and his positive experience thus far, I think he agrees. Very few places like it.