UMICH Hopeful

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Michigan
1

<p>Hey everyone-names cj i posted a thread a few days ago on this same subject and well id like a few more of your thoughts on whether i could get into these schools or not
Applying to:Cornell, Duke, Michigan, Georgetown, UF (in that order)
Im looking to try to get into economics or anything prelaw for undergrad
Right now im a junior in a competitive school in florida. Last year (10th grade) i took
AP World History,-A (3 on Ap test-i know sucks)
Ap Biology-A(3 again-i had a really bad fever and missed like the last two weeks of school so this was expected)
Spanish 3 Honors-A
Geometry Honors,-B
English 2 Honors -B
Drafting 2. -A</p>

<p>Junior Year (so far/ projected)
AP Chemistry-C (Project a 3)
AP English Comp -A (Project a 4-5)
AP American History -A (Project a 5)
AP Government (TOOk ONLINE)-B (Project a 4-5)
Spanish IV Honors -A
Pre Calculus Honors -B
Algebra II Honors(TOOK ONLINE)-B
Precalc Honors(TOOK ONLINE)-B
Latin I Honors (TOOK ONLINE)-A</p>

<p>Senior Year Schedule
Ap Stats
Ap English Lit
Ap Spanish
Ap Psycology
Physics H
Calc H
Economics H (Online)
Latin II Honors (ONLINE)
Test Scores
ACT-31</p>

<p>SAT II's
MAth I-680
American History- 710
Spanish-680</p>

<p>ECs(by the end of high school)
4 years of Track (3 varsity, 3 school records, regionals states all that good stuff, not going to run in college though)
3 years varisty Cross Country (Captain Jr and Senior year) ran on a cracked rib the whole season, so didnt go to states or anything
Finished 4th in my age group in the Naples Half Marathon (1:32:00)
3 years of soccer (varsity senior year)
Job at Country Club (18 hours a week)
Executive Internship at a local law firm in the summer
80 hours of community service
Founder and president of local running club
2 years of Key Club
3 years of FCA
2 years of NHS
2 years of History Honors Society</p>

<p>National Honor Roll</p>

<p>My recs will be great and im writing my essay on how i ran all of cross country last year on a cracked rib and torn intercosstiual? muscle in my chest, so im sure theyll like it</p>

<p>If this helps me any, my mom is a single mother with 4 kids on a teachers salary...</p>

<p>My Gpa should be around 4.8-4.9ish due to the weight our school puts on honors and AP courses and 3.5-3.6ish U.W.
Class Rank= top 15
I ve basically worked my tail off this year to give my self a chance at this...
thanks
cj</p>

<p>PS
can anyone tell me what would make me pick this school over like a cornell or uf or georgetown? like what are the best things about this school, ive of course read articles on it-but i think hearing straight from the students would be more accurate</p>

2

<p>You could make it to UM, but I doubt you'd get in elsewhere, unless you write amazing, super-duper essays!</p>

3

<p>No chance at Duke/Cornell, poor chance at Georgetown, mediocre chance at UM (tougher OOS), good chance at UF. I think you are a little overconfident in your list. You should throw in some more schools that you have a reasonable chance at.</p>

4

<p>Although you've taken rigorous courses, your gpa is low due to the fact you got so many B's taking on more than you can handle. Colleges like to see applicants challenge themselves but do it to a point where one can still maintain a high gpa; otherwise, colleges just think a student is just stuffing their schedules with weighted classes just to get a higher overall GPA. </p>

<p>Unfortunately, your SAT 1 is not very good for the Georgetown and up. Reach for Gtown, Duke, Cornell and poor match to U of M (OOS status really hurts you here). Raise your SAT 1 score up to around 2200 and your chances for all the schools will go up quite a bit.</p>

5

<p>Flong, those scores are SATII's, not the SAT.
The main problem is all your B's and the C. I don't see how you can be in the top 15 of your class with those grades. Also worth noting is that your "hook" is a sport which you won't be playing there. Even your essay is about running. If you aren't being recruited, how well you did in a sport has very little significance in the college applications. Being a captain is the only thing of value because of the leadership experience. Raising your scores will improve your chances at UM and Gtown but I still can't see Duke/Cornell happening.</p>

6

<p>im in the top 15 because i've took 6 AP classes and will have taken 10 by next year..and as far as Bs, ive only got like 1 B in an AP class minus chemistry which i thank goodness wont EVER have to do again
but yah-what do you guys think of my overall chances for strictly Umich</p>

7

<p>can i get anyone else's input?</p>

8

<p>There's a fine line between course rigor and just plain poor decisions. Guess which side you on? </p>

<p>If I were an admissions counselor, I would see a student who took a bit too much than he or she could handle, not being too erudite with his or her course load, and not balancing it to well with the various extracurriculars at hand.</p>

<p>You're extracurriculars are excellent, but your test scores are merely mediocre with your OOS status. </p>

<p>With that said, you're a match for UMich, though on a lower end. Furthermore, if you do obtain admission to UMich, be ready to be go into there will no scholarships. Being only a slight match for Michigan, it's even more dubious that you will receive scholarships. From that, financial aid isn't as easy to pay off as some might imagine, especially if one happens upon a less than adequate job with paltry pay.</p>

<p>You're a big reach for the rest of the schools, all of which expect students to be able to ace those courses, as well as score well on the APs.</p>

<p>I don't mean to sound like the party ruiner, but UF (University of Florida?) might be your safe bet, especially with some scholarships that you are more likely to receive.</p>

<p>So what can you do to improve your chances at UMich, along with other schools?</p>

<p>In terms of UMich, aim for higher composite scores on both the SAT and ACT. Higher scores (2200+ on SAT, 33+ on ACT) will help offset your lacking GPA. Think about retaking the tests in June, or study over the summer (yes, the summer), and take the tests in the fall.</p>

<p>Furthermore, continue to brainstorm ideas to differentiate yourself from regular applicants. Don't settle for the formulaic essays; show these schools that you have something novel to offer, and that you're will contribute to the aesthetic of their institutions.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

9

<p>thanks a lot jxu613
i know that i took more than i could really handle, i really didnt expect ap chem to kill me as badly as it did-but i tried my best under the given circumstances and can't change anything now
so, will a 33 really boost my chances a lot over the current 31? im currently signed up to take it this june btw</p>

10

<p>Yes, if you think about it, a two point composite differential is at least six points spread over your four subsections, which is a substantial amount.</p>

<p>A two point differential will place you in an upper tier of OOS applicants' test scores; thus, more than compensating for your lacking GPA.</p>

11

<p>Your GPA isn't really all that bad. I think you may have taken on a reasonable amount for yourself, but you were a little unlucky here and there. I think you should focus on UMich. Realistically, Duke, Georgetown, and Cornell aren't likely. Raise your scores a bit, work your butt off senior year, and write good essays/make smart decisions when getting recs. UMich would be a good choice if you're going for economics (top 15 program). If Michigan is the only school you get into (from your high matches/reaches), don't feel bad because it's a great school. It's academically equivalent to Duke, Cornell, and Georgetown.</p>

<p>I had similar stats to you, but lower test scores (only a 30) and slightly higher GPA and was considered OOS. My app was completed in December and I got in outright. APPLY EARLY and you may have a chance. Again, make sure you really bust your behind senior year because that could be the deciding factor if you're deffered.</p>

12

<p>thanks a lot-all of you, u have no idea how much this is helping
i plan on applying as early as i can
also-if u dont mind answering
would Ap physics look better than Ap spanish would? im trying to decide between which one to take for next year</p>

13

<p> I am an international student and my question is: how do you get in the National Honor Roll? I saw many people have that. </p>

14

<p>No real difference. Do whichever you are more interested in.</p>

15

<p>National Honor Roll is for US students only. It's more or less a ruse to get money from students for supposed government recognition (i.e. a plaque).</p>

<p>It's more or less disregarded by all schools. GPA is the thing that matters, not that frivolous recognition.</p>

16

<p>alright-i was just wondering because if i took spanish instead of physics than maybe itd look like i could speak two languages..haha</p>

17

<p>I would take AP Spanish, just for the fact that you can bypass your minimal language course requirements if you get into UMich. Plus, it certainly doesn't look bad.</p>

18

<p>there is a way i could take both, but it would mean id have to get rid of comp law honors and ap psycology(half a year)...but-i really dont want to risk over doing it like i did this year and lower my gpa even more-so out of the two-ud say spanish is the way to go?</p>

19

<p>Depends. See which class is easier I suppose. </p>

<p>To be honest, you're on borderline deferral status, so I would choose whichever would boost your GPA in terms of your midyear grades.</p>

20

<p>I think you need a couple more saftey schools to apply to besides UF. I'd say UofM is a match (barely)..but remember, they do recalculate your gpa and AP/honors don't matter. So your C in AP chem will be a 2.0 to them. All your other schools are reaches. good luck</p>