University of Michigan Chance Regular Decision

So my stats are borderline (31 ACT, 3.7 GPA, good ecs, great essays, great letters of recommendation), I’m just wondering what my chances are to CoE with a letter of recommendation from a donor who has donated at least $2 million to the school in the past 10 years.

your stats are subpar even for an in-state resident. just having an influential recommender won’t help much but good luck. have you considered other great engineering schools like purdue and uiuc? remember u can always transfer to umich later.

I guess I asked a tough question, because no one can really know. Anyway, I don’t know if this makes a huge difference but he’s writing an in depth letter about me, not just a “he’s a good kid”. He’s also got connections at the school and is talking to people on my behalf.

It’s nice he’s writing a letter and all…but honestly? Two million isn’t that big a deal at UMich. Lots of people donate that much in ten years. Not saying there’s no chance you’ll get in. But I’d hardly call you a shoo-in. For CoE, it will help if you have taken AP Calc AB and BC…and achieved a 4 or 5 on the test, AP Physics, and AP Chem will also help, particularly if you tested at 4 to 5. Students who get into CoE are well prepared in math and science. If your transcript reflects that, you have a slim chance. UMich has an endowment of 9.7 BILLION dollars. Not saying 2 Million isn’t nice and won’t get him a thank you note…but it’ll hardly get him a parking spot with his name on it, or the ability to pull strings for you. I guess you never know…but I’d be surprised if he’s got that kinda clout.

The other thing about your donor writer… is what can he say about you in relation to engineering? I mean, if this guy is well known in the industry, or has engineering connections and can speak about witnessing your potential first hand, you might benefit from his reputation and judgement when he makes the recommendation. When you say he’s writing an in depth letter about you, what exactly do you mean? What is your relationship with him?

@MaryGJ He has amazing business connections. His wife was an adjunct professor at Ross and she also helped to create the Wolverine Venture Fund. He and I are not close, but he and my dad used to do business together. He said he was going to write a “novelette” on my behalf. Regarding taking those AP classes, I took AP Calc AB junior year, this year I’m taking AP Stats. I took the most rigorous course offered at my well respected private school (probably in top 5 in state). I even added an additional class this past year, taking 2 science classes and 2 english classes. I definitely took the hardest schedule in my school within the past several years.

Unless there’s someone on here whos been in your situation I don’t think any of us here can give you a proper answer.

That’s what I figured. I’ve been pretty doubtful, seeing as how I was not offered a HAIL interview even though I have a friend from school that was offered one (she applied early though), and I applied 12/17 and I haven’t heard back yet.

If you’re well prepared in math and science, that will help you. If your Dad’s friend’s wife is willing to write the letter, it would have more clout, since she is the person the University has the professional relationship with. It’s concerning to me that someone your father used to do business with who doesn’t really know you well…is going to write a “novelette” about you. What in the world will it say that doesn’t sound kinda…fake? If you took the hardest schedule possible in your school and it’s an excellent top 5 school…why didn’t you take AP Calculus BC? (most kids going into engineering do, just sayin’) Also, if your connected friend intends to write this grand opus about you…he’d better hurry. That should have been done in December and turned in with your application. People are already hearing back on regular decisions.

Don’t mean to be negative, and really do wish you luck, but I think your expectations of what this guy can do for you might be a touch unrealistic. If you wanted to go to Ross, the connection to his wife might be awesome…but not if she’s not writing the letter, and not if you want to go to the CoE. I think your impression of how competitive the CoE is at Michigan might be a touch unrealistic, too. Go look at the Class of 2021 Results thread and take a look at the stats of the people who are getting in.

@MaryGJ I wanted to apply to Ross, but was under the impression that Ross was harder to get into than CoE. I guess it’s way too late to do anything. He already wrote the “novelette” about me, and turned it in several weeks ago. I don’t think taking AP stats instead of AP Calc BC was that bad of a decision because I took AP Physics C this year.

I really do wish you luck,Chance. I know my posts have kind of a pessimistic slant, but that comes from a place of honesty, not discouragement. Best wishes. Let us know when you get your decision.

@MaryGJ I understand where you’re coming from. Thanks for discussing with me. I’d much rather have honesty than someone I don’t even know lie to me just to make me feel better and get my hopes up over nothing.

you should’ve applied to lsa and ross, since lsa is easier to get into than engineering. why didn’t you apply to engineering and ross?