UMichigan Ann Arbor Class of 2021 Results Only

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Michigan
161

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I: 1410
SAT II: 780 Chem, 790 Math Level 2
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.92
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Calc AB (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course load: AP Chem AP Lit
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Science Olympiad Regional Award.

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Soup kitchen
Varsity Tennis 2 years
Interact Club
Science Olympiad
Internship
Job/Work Experience:
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
8/10
I’m not good at writing essays but I tried my best
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 8.5

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 8
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 9
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 8
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details):
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 9 from my school’s principal

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Physics?
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): China
School Type: 1year in public school and 3 years in private school
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: female
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflections:
Strengths: GPA
Weaknesses: SAT, not enough extracurricular activities
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I don’t know
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted rejected Accepted into University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne. Rejected from Northwestern. Rejected from Georgia Tech. Deferred from Case Western. Deferred from Purdue. Accepted into Ohio State. Rejected from UCLA. Accepted into UCSD And UCI.

General Comments (if any):

Good luck !!!

162

Decision: Accepted
College of LSA

Objective:
ACT (breakdown): 35 (super-score); 34(one-setting)
SAT II: Math 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
Weighted GPA: 4.23
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 5%
AP: APCalc BC(5), AP English Language(4), AP US History (3, didn’t send), AP Physics 1 (3, didn’t send )
Senior Year Course Load: AP Chemistry, AP U.S. Government, AP English Literature, AP States, Advanced Studio Art, Harvard Extension School Linear Algebra

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Book Charity Founder (10-12)
Grass-root Lobbying Organization Co-Founder (12)
Yearbook Editor (9-12)
Youtuber (11-12)
Theater Actor (9-12)
Varsity Tennis Player (9-12)
Paid Artist (9-12)
Robotics (9-11)
National Honors Society Secretary (10-12)

Job/Work Experience:
Interned at Jianwei Law Firm

Volunteer/Community service:
Book Charity Founder
Workers’ Right Advocate
Dominican Republic Service
Church Food Drive

Summer Activities:
Cornell Summer College - Foundation of American Law (A)
Book Charity
Travel + Blogging

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App: 9/10 Conceit of Cooking
Supplemental Common Essay: 9.2/10 The balance between my two names
Michigan Supplements: 8.5/10

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
College Counselor Rec: 9.8/10 She loves me
Teachers Rec: 9/10 I am good friend with both of my teachers
Art/Theater Additional Recommendation: 8/10

Others:
Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: International Studies
State (if domestic applicant): MA
Country (if international applicant): International; Chinese
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: female

Reflections:
Strengths: Extracurriculars, Test Scores, Recommendations
Weaknesses: AP Score
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I am lucky. In the meantime, my Stats is not weak.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: UCLA, Northeastern (EA), Tulane (EA), UIUC (EA);
Waitlisted: JHU, Northwestern, Emory(Scholarship)
Waiting: UCB(Tomorrow), Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Tufts, Princeton, Harvard, Georgetown

General Comments: Congratulations to everyone who has got accepted. You guys totally deserve it :slight_smile: Best of luck to everyone! I hope that you will end up where you are happy :heart:

163

Decision: Accepted
College: LSA

SAT I (breakdown): 800 Reading + Writing, 770 Math (1770)

ACT: 35 (36 English, 12 Writing, 36 Reading, 34 Science, 35 Math)

SAT II: 800 - Literature, 770 - World History, 760 - Math Level 1, 750 - US History, 750 - French

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.88

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t rank

AP (place score in parenthesis): - World History - 5 , Lang + Comp - 5, US History - 5 ,European History - 4

IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: High Honors English, History, and French that qualify me to take the AP tests for Lit, French, and Gov, AP Physics, AP Calc AB, Broadcasting

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Semifinalist, AP Scholar, AP Scholar w/ Distinction, Illinois State Scholar.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

-Writer at moderately well known online magazine, have an editorial position on there - 4 Years

  • School Newspaper - 3 Years - Editor in Chief this year
  • School Broadcasting Team - 4 Years - Co station manager this year, have had own radio show for 3 years
  • Speech Team - 3 Years - Chair of Prose Reading this year, made it to nationals three years in a row
  • GSA - 4 Years - Board Member
  • Feminism Club - 4 Years - Board Member
  • Key Club - 4 Years - VP
  • Literary Magazines - 4 Years - Editor in Chief for upperclassmen one this year
  • Thespians - 2 years, been in some school productions.
  • Member of National Honor Society and World Languages Honor Society.

Job/Work Experience:

  • Job in retail for two years

Volunteer/Community service:

  • Volunteering through Key Club, the public library, and other organizations, about 300 hours total.

Summer Activities:

  • Northwestern Cherubs Journalism Program and Northwestern Summer Screenwriting Program

Essays (rating 1-10, details): 10/10, michigan supplements were 9/10

Teacher Recommendation:

  • 1: 10/10, the sponsor for the Newspaper at my school, he loves me a lot and this rec letter almost made me cry
  • 2: 10/10, my current history teacher, runs the advanced humanities program at my school

Counselor Rec:

  • 8/10, I wasn’t close with her until junior year, which I regret. but i think she liked me well enough.

Additional Rec:

  • 10/10, My speech sponsor, who’s also co sponsor of the gsa, and one of my favorite teachers i’ve ever had

Interview: n/a

Other

State (if domestic applicant): Ilinois
Country (if international applicant): United States
Intended major(s): English, planning to double with Poli Sci
School Type: Public, Large
Ethnicity: Mixed (South Asian/White)
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 80k - 90k a year
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first generation college student

Reflections:
Strengths: Scores and Essays
Weaknesses: ECs and lack of distinction maybe??
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: My essays + recs
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: Northwestern, Emerson, BU, Occidental, American
Waitlisted: UCLA
Waiting: UCB, Brown, GWU, USC, NYU

General Comments: i’m kind of shocked tbh

164

Decision: Deffered to Rejected
College: LSA

SAT I (breakdown): 770 Reading, 720 Math (1490)

ACT: 33

SAT II: 760 USH

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.93

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t rank

AP (place score in parenthesis): - US History - 5

IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Gov, Physiology, Leadership (ASB), Euro Lit, AP Stats

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

Water Polo 4 years
Drama 4 years, multiple awards/competition wins
Organized improv comedy fundraiser 3 years
ASB 1 year
Link Crew 2 years, president 1 year

Job/Work Experience:

  • Swim instructor 2 years

Volunteer/Community service:

  • Spent a month volunteering at a summer camp in Japan, 200+ hours
    -Taught vegetarian cooking course at local middle schools

Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8/10,
michigan supplements were 7/10

Teacher Recommendation:

  • 1: 9/10, Science teacher, I was the best in her class for the two years I had her and she really liked me
  • 2: 9/10, my current history teacher, we had a really good relationship and I did well in his class

Counselor Rec:

  • 10/10, I was really close with her, she would’ve written a good one for me

Additional Rec:

Interview: n/a

Other

State (if domestic applicant): Cali, bay area
Country (if international applicant): United States
Intended major(s):I was listed as undeclared (?), although I thought I applied for Biochem
School Type: Public, Large, extremely competitive, I didn’t stand out at all
Ethnicity: White
Gender: M
Income Bracket: 200k a year
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first generation college student

Reflections:
Strengths: UW GPA,
Weaknesses: Lack of AP’s, not standing out comparitively, test scores could’ve been better (should have studied fml)
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I didn’t stand out enough, or show my ability to do advanced coursework, looking back it’s clear that I should’ve prepared myself more in high school but oh well.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: Northeastern (EA) Case Western (EA), SDSU (honors), Udub, UCSB, UCSC,
Waitlisted: Cal Poly SLO
Waiting: this was the last one

General Comments: I guessed that I’d been rejected/waitlisted because it took so long to hear back from them, I’ll admit I was a little surprised but when I look back it’s pretty clear where my weaknesses were. Looks like I’ll be going to SB or Northeastern then. Remember to study for the SAT and ACT, don’t leave them to the last min and then get a bad score because you weren’t able to prepare and then retake them like I did.

165

Decision: Deferred to Accepted

School of Kinesiology

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1270 (660 math, 610 reading)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9 (4.03 weighted)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 40 of 507
AP (place score in parenthesis): Psych (3) APES (2)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Stats, APUSH, Spanish 5, World Lit, Astronomy, Web Design, Sport Management
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Just basic honor roll stuff

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Varsity basketball 4 years (captain)
Baseball 2 years
NHS
Founder/commissioner of the most popular wiffle ball league in the world - 33,000 subscribers on YouTube

Job/Work Experience: Managing the wiffle league, getting paid through ads on our videos
Volunteer/Community service: 50+
Summer Activities: Volunteering to help with youth sports camps, wiffle ball league
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App - 10/10 main reason why I think I got accepted.
Why School of Kinesiology - 9/10 pretty good
Other Michigan Supplement: 8/10 decent

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 8/10 Psych teacher that loved me, who can write well.
Counselor Rec: 7/10 I have no idea honestly, could have been hit or miss.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: Not given

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Sport Management
State (if domestic applicant): Michigan
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nationality?
Reflection

Strengths: GPA and essays
Weaknesses: SAT
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Great GPA, expressed interest in my major heavily, good essays
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: accepted to Indiana University, Miami (OH), Cincinnati, Butler, and Western Michigan.
General Comments: People said I had no chance with my SAT, but I made up for it with stellar essays and GPA. Good luck to everybody who applied to Michigan. GO BLUE!

166

[
Decision: WaitListed

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):1440
ACT (breakdown):34 Superscore 35
SAT II:Math 2 760 Chem 770
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):4
Weighted GPA:
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1 of 99
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: 4 honors 1 college course
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Quiz Bowl, Quiz bowl All League, Spanish National Honors Society, High School Tech Team, Beta Tester for Readit app
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service:
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details):
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details):
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details):

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Computer Science
State (if domestic applicant): Ohio
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:
Ethnicity:
Gender: Male
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflections:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:Who Knows
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

General Comments (if any):

167

**Decision: Accepted/b

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1410
ACT (breakdown): 31
SAT II: didn’t send
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.93
Weighted GPA: 4.33
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): My school doesn’t rank, but I am in the top 5%.
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH(4), AP LANG(4), AP STAT(4), AP CALC BC(3), AP PHYSICS 1(2), AP FRENCH(3); didn’t send any of them though
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Psych, AP Biology, Calc III/Differential Equations, AP Lit, French Capstone(Basically French 5)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): n/a

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Key Club (Secretary), French Club (Treasurer), National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, Student Council
Job/Work Experience: I’ve worked as a host/cashier for 2 years at 2 different restaurants
Volunteer/Community service: I’ve had over 200 hours of volunteer service every year through Key Club- involves volunteer at the library, food banks, tutoring, elementary schools, homeless shelters, etc.; Almost 1,000 hours
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8 - Writing has never been my strong suit but I had a bunch of people read and edit my michigan essays. I also showed strong interest in the letters.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 8.5, I’m sure my teacher recs were strong since I’ve known them for years, both at and outside of school.

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 9, I’ve known my french teacher since freshman year and she’s also the sponsor for French Club so I see her often even outside of school, including in the summer. She knows me pretty well, but I’m not sure how strong her writing is.
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 9, I’ve known this teacher since my sophomore year and she’s the Key Club sponsor so I also see her outside of school and during the summer often. I’m also the student aide for her this year so I help her with almost everything and anything every single day. I don’t know how strong her writing is either.
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 7, she’s known to give great recs that are written really well, however there are around 800 seniors at my school so she also has hundreds of other rec letters to write, therefore it was not very personal.
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): n/a
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): n/a

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Mathematics, though it says ‘undeclared’ on my app
State (if domestic applicant): OOS
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: ~50k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): My sister currently attends the University of Michigan; I was able to come and visit for a week and stay with her, as well as go to her classes and activities, which I mentioned in my essay.

Reflections:
Strengths: GPA(weighted), Course Load, Volunteer Hours
Weaknesses: Not enough extracurriculars, Maybe essays
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Probably because of my strong interest in the school
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to Syracuse, Villanova, USC.

General Comments (if any): n/a

168

Decision: Rejected

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown): 35C - 35E, 33R, 35M, 36S
SAT II: Math II - 800, Physics - 740, Spanish - 750
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
Weighted GPA: 4.35
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 10%
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis): Math SL (7), Anthro SL (6)
Senior Year Course Load: 7 IB classes
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

  • varsity athlete (3 years) - 20hrs/wk 44wks/yr
  • engineering internship at local university - published report for department (40 hrs/wk for 8 weeks)
    Job/Work Experience:
    Volunteer/Community service:
  • spanish immersion tutoring
    Summer Activities:
  • morning rowing + internship
    Essays (rating 1-10, details):
    Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details):
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details):
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details):

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: Aerospace Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): OOS
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): hahahaha

Reflections:
Strengths: my stats
Weaknesses: being an Asian male
Why you think you were waitlisted/rejected: I’m an Asian male
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

rejected - 6 ivies, Northwestern, Cal, UCLA, Stanford
waitlisted - Rice, UChicago
accepted - Northeastern, UCSD, Wesleyan

General Comments (if any):

169

@b4sicallyid0work I fear that you fell into the trap of assuming your high scores would equate to admission. When my D was in high school, the valedictorian of her class was rejected by all the Ivies she applied to, plus Chicago, Pomona and Amherst. She ultimately wound up at Northwestern and is loving it. She was white and “full pay”. The problem is that too many students have similar stats. And at Michigan, you have the added disadvantage of being OOS.

It’s tempting to ascribe your rejection to being an Asian male but the reality is that it is simply insanely competitive. Best advice is to apply to a better distribution of universities. Never wise to put all your eggs in the “most competitive” basket.

170

**Decision: Waitlisted/b

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2180 - 800 CR, 710 M, 670 W
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: Literature - 710, US History - 690
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.0 (My school does a 100 scale, so I’m not sure if these numbers are exactly right. UW is a 94ish, W is 100)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): English Language (5), US History (5), will take psych, Spanish, and English literature this year
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Spanish, AP Psych, AP English, Honors War and Peace (history class), Honors Calculus, Honors Journalism I
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Freshmen year Advanced Honors English award, Best Direction at school’s One Act festival (nothing major)

[B]Subjective:*
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
-New Jersey Drama and Forensics League, a competitive theater team (captain) 3 years
-One Acts, a completely student-run play festival (director) 4 years, 1 as director
-Fall play, both costumes and acting 3 years
-Spanish Honors Society (president) 2 years
-Thespian Honors Society 2 years
-Spring musicals 2 years
-Newspaper, 1 year
Job/Work Experience: Camp counselor at theater camp, 4 years wrote and directed annual parody of the show for the kids
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteering at the animal shelter for 3 years, write as part of a mentorship program for a magazine and message boards for teen girls–write blogs on my experiences, moderate their conversations for safety, answer girls’ questions as an advice columnist, etc.
Summer Activities: Just the camp counselor thing
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9, I consider myself to be a talented writer and my essays have been successful at many other schools. I used my why RC essay to demonstrate how my interests parallel with RC specifically.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 10. My AP Lang English teacher, the newspaper editor, and teacher I’m closest with. He told me his letter would be the “golden ticket into any school I’ve ever wanted.”
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 8.5. My Spanish teacher who I had for both Spanish 3 and AP Spanish. Wasn’t as close as I was with the first teacher.

Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 9. One of the few people in my large high school to have a working relationship with my counselor; my brother and her son were in the same fraternity together, so we had a decent friendship.
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): N/A
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): N/A

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Social Theory and Practice (RC-only)
State (if domestic applicant): New Jersey
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflections:
Strengths: Essays, recommendations, GPA
Weaknesses: Courseload isn’t outrageous, many of my extracurriculars are hard to describe briefly
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: OOS, should have applied EA instead of RD, RC is a smaller program
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to Syracuse, Penn State Schreyers, UDel, TCNJ, Rutgers NB. Offered transfer option at Cornell. Rejected from Harvard and Penn.

General Comments (if any): I think being OOS and applying RD really hurt me. Try to apply EA if possible. I declined my waitlist option as I have good offers elsewhere with good scholarships/honors options, so I’m letting someone else have a better chance who wants it more. Nice to be considered and not fully rejected though. This was my last school and I’m happy to make my final decision in these next few weeks!

171

@exlibris97 the reality is that schools want to “balance” their classes, and that means discriminating against groups such as Asian males interested in engineering. You would have to be ridiculously naive not to see this.

It’s also pretty ridiculous to compare admission to the ivies with admission to UMich. Maybe you’re in denial, but you don’t seem to really have a point. I didn’t “fall into a trap”, I knew I most likely wouldn’t get into a top school. UMich was the last straw though, this one is just bs.

172

@b4sicallyid0work Umich doesn’t see race/ethnicity when reviewing applications

173

@b4sicallyid0work Alas, you are uninformed when it comes to Miohigan’s admissions process. As @kourtorder has pointed out, as a matter of law, Michigan doesn’t see information regarding your race and ethnicity when reviewing applications. In your case, you were unsuccessful at a number of top-tier universities. All have very large Asian student populations.

I’m also not comparing Michigan to the Ivies, but the fact is that you said the Ivies didn’t admit you either. If it makes you feel better to believe that you were discriminated against, that is fine. I’m just saying it wasn’t your race or ethnicity that got you denied.

174

@exlibris97 you can be in denial like many others are. It may not have been race, and I know race definitely was not the only factor. But to say “it wasn’t you race or ethnicity that got you denied” as a blanket statement is objectively wrong.

Sure there are high Asian populations at selective schools, but think of how many more there would be if the process were merit based. Class balancing is great for PR, and selective schools brag about first gen, URM etc, and they admit less qualified applicants to do so. While there can be reason behind some of this, to say race did not play any role is simply wrong and feeds into the system. Discrimination against Asian students in admissions is well documented and pretty obvious, to deny it is simply ridiculous.

175

Decision: Waitlisted (LSA)

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2100(old)/1350(new)
ACT (breakdown): 32C
SAT II: didn’t take
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.93
Weighted GPA: 4.13
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): My school doesn’t rank, but I am in the top 5%.
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Human Geography(5), AP Biology(4), AP Calculus AB(4), AP MacroEconomic (5), AP MicroEconomics (4).
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Psych, AP Enviro, AP Stats, AP Chem, Organic Chemistry (1st Semester), Ceramics(2nd Semester), 12 Lit&Comp.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Spanish Exam Level 2 Gold(highest award)

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): BuildOn- 4 Years (Executive Fundraiser), Student Government- 4 Years (Senior Class Rep), American Medical Women’s Association Mentorship- 1 Year (Executive Secretary), Local Youth Group-4 Years (Executive Secretary), Spanish Club- 1 Year, National Honors Society, Orthopedic Surgeron Shadowing at UMich Hospital, Perry Initiative Program for Women in Engineering and Orthopedic Surgery.
Job/Work Experience: n/a
Volunteer/Community service: Idk rough estimate is 800 hours of volunteer service through various clubs since the start of high school.
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 7- Really liked my Common App Essay, but I think my Why Michigan essay was comparatively weak.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 9.5 I have very good relationships with the teachers I asked. One had me for two years and the other knew me on a personal note and I’m sure she rooted for me as much as she could.
My counselor is great and I often came to him for help. He’s told me on multiple counts how great of a student I am.
I don’t remember if I added my “other recommender” for my Michigan app but it was the employee of the organization I went to a small village in Haiti with(along with other students) to begin the construction of the school we helped to fundraise.

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 10
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 8.5
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 9
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 9
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): n/a

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Biochemistry, though it says ‘undeclared’ on my app
State (if domestic applicant): In State
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: ~200k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): My common app Essay was interesting and written well… I think lol.

Reflections:
Strengths: GPA, Course Load, Leadership Experience, Career Driven(surgeon)
Weaknesses: Why Michigan Essay(lol probably not the best weakness to have), SAT score.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I really don’t know. As bad as it may sound and I know I should never assume anything for a school like UMich, but I thought I would have gotten in. I think I should have applied early.

General Comments: Obviously sad I didn’t get in and I accepted my spot on the waitlist due to pressure from my parents. However, I’m going to work my butt off wherever I end up(don’t think I’m going to end up at UMich though), get a killer GPA and MCAT score, do clinical research and volunteer, and end up at a spectacular medical school. Good luck and Congrats to everyone! Getting into college is an achievement itself, no matter where:)

176

@b4sicallyid0work Your comment that there would be more Asians if some sort of hidden quotas weren’t in effect is based on pure conjecture. You have no objective evidence to support your position. Each of the universities you cite practices “holistic” admissions. Test scores are just one indicator. GPAs are even more tenuous since an “A” at one school is not the same as an “A” at another. So we have no way of knowing whether your overall profile was more or less competitive.

On the surface, I’d say that based on your profile and what you have posted, your profile looks similar to the vast majority of candidates. The mistake candidates make is to think that their test scores and GPAs will assure them admission. They won’t.

In any event, rejection is part of life. You can always play the blame game but a more productive approach is simply to move on.

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@exlibris97 I’m not overly surprised by my rejection to top tier schools, but not getting into Michigan is just weird. I’m not claiming the only reason I didn’t get in is that I am an Asian male, I know there are many applicants who are more qualified than me for spots at top tier schools.

Obviously there are quotas, you can look at stats and easily conclude that class balancing does occur, and it clearly is not just merit that happens to balance classes as they are. “holistic” admissions means that schools can do whatever the fk they want to and can back it up by saying that.

I will be able to move on, but it irritates me that people like you ignore and deny systematic issues such as these when it has not effect on you which puts you in a position to do so

178

@b4sicallyid0work Members of my family are Gates Millennium Scholars, so I’d say I know quite a bit what it means to be a minority and an economically disadvantaged one as well.

As for it being “weird” that you didn’t get into Michigan, I think you simply underestimated the competition to get into Michigan these days.

179

Decision: Accepted LSA

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1360
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8
Senior Year Course Load: Advanced statistics, Calculus, Spanish, Creative Writing, Econ, WWII History

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Hockey team (assistant captain), golf team, Student Government (athletics secretary), Veterans Awareness club (founder), Writing tutor
Job/Work Experience: Golf club caddie (2 years)
Volunteer/Community service: Special Olympics Team USA (I played on a unified team that went to Austria for the world special olympics 2017)
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8-9 I am a good essay writer so all 3 of my Michigan essays were strong. I did a good job of demonstrating my passion and enthusiasm in a unique way, as well as demonstrate my very strong interest in the school.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 10. I got along great with my teachers and my counselor and have known all of them for many years.

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 8, history teacher/ dean of students has known me well for 2 years prior to senior year, I did well in her class and she helped me with many of my extracurriculars
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 9, english teacher I did really well in his class, where I got to choose meaningful topics to write about. We got along very well.
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 10, I had an amazing relationship with my counselor, who really wanted to see me do well. She knew me very well and I assume the rec was very personal

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: Econ
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Mixed (Asian/White)
Gender: Male

Reflections:
Strengths: Essays/Recs/Grades
Weaknesses: SAT score
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Strong interest shown in school, demonstrated my enthusiasm through extracurriculars/writing
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted at Michigan and Boston College, rejected at Notre Dame

General Comments (if any): I go to a small school in NY that doesn’t offer AP classes. My grandmother went to Michigan (doesn’t donate money though) and U of M has been one of my top choices forever. I really wanted to go to Michigan and this was translated through my writing.

180

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1460 (750CR and W, 710M, Essay 7)
ACT (breakdown): didn’t take
SAT II: 750 Chinese with Listening, 680 Lit
Unweighted GPA (out of 100): 84 (Ontario Secondary School Program)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 10%
AP (place score in parenthesis): didn’t take
IB (place score in parenthesis): didn’t take
IGCSE: 5A*s, 4As
Senior Year Course Load: English, Econs, Advanced Functions, Calculus & Vectors, Challenges & Changes in Society, Bio
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Ontario Scholar, Honor Roll (not a major award but whatever lol)

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Founder and President of Girl Up Malaysia, School Prefect (Head of Charity and Welfare),
Job/Work Experience: 2 1/2 months internship with a State Assemblyman, 3 month internship with a Member of Parliament
Volunteer/Community service: Girl Up, phonebanker with INVOKE Malaysia
Summer Activities: nothing significant, just travel with family usually lol
Essays (rating 1-10, details): CommonApp Essay: 7/10, Why Michigan Essay: 8/10 (honestly thought I could’ve done better if I worked on it longer :confused: )
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 8/10
Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 7/10
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 9/10
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 8/10
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): none
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): none

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics)
State (if domestic applicant): US citizen living abroad so I’m not a resident anywhere
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: >200k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): nothing that comes to mind tbh

Reflections:
Strengths: IGCSE results, recommendations, essays, extracurricular activities
Weaknesses: community service, grades, SAT II scores, summer activities
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I think my SAT score was decent and my UMich essay was pretty convincing
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted - UIUC, U of Iowa

Waitlisted - UCSD
Rejected - UPenn, Dartmouth, Brown, Cornell, Berkeley, UCLA, Northwestern