University of Michigan College of Engineering Chances (UNDERDOG!)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi there :) Here is a little bit about me. Could you chance me? </p>

<p>GPA: 3.98 (Two A-, same subject)
ACT: 29 (32 math) , took unprepared... I will take it again soon. If i get deferred...hopefully it makes a difference
Junior year courses.. Our school does not have AP:
Chem II, Calculus I, Physics II, AP Biology online, Spanish III, World History, English 3,
Senior year courses:
Calculus II, Differential Equations and Linear Algebra, Physics I: Mechanics, General Chemistry I, High school: English, drafting
Calculus III, Programming in C++, Physics II: Electromagnetism, General Chemistry II, Linear Algebra .. HS: English, Drafting
Comparatively to other students in my grade, this is far more advanced. I don't think anyone has ever taken Diff Eq from my school, or maybe even linear algebra/calculus III
Rank: Top 10 somewhere.... (No weighted GPA here)
School: 208 in class, rural noncompetitive
Volunteering: Senior year: Hospital, Animal Shelter (total like 8+ hours a week)
Extracurriculars: Mentoring (11,12) - 4hours a week+, Robotics Club (12), Leo Club (10,11,12), SADD Club (10,11,12)
Ethnicity: White
Job Experience: McDonald's (43 hours + during summer, 20+ hours during school year... 11th and 12th grade)
State: In State Michigan
Gender: Male
Income: <$30,000.00
Hooks: First Generation, Maybe extreme adversity/extenuating circumstances?
Recommendations: I assume they will be excellent. My counselor likes me a lot.... knows quite a bit about me. My math professor who is the math and science department chair has done a lot for me, so I assume he likes me. He's letting me take Differential Equations/Lin Alg without taking Calculus II beforehand because he knows I have self-studied knowledge of it. Also, he created another section in Calculus II so that I can fit the time slot. I'm hoping my chemistry or physics professors will write them too. </p>

<p>Extenuating Circumstances: Some are pretty dark, so I will not talk about them. However, I was subjected to the life of a drug addict because both of my parents were heroin and crack addicts. I have moved to over 12 different schools, been in foster care, been abused... I lived in a hotel for 3 weeks after my father passed away sophomore year during exam week... My mother is still very ill (herniated discs in back, back disease, hip surgery(severe arthritis), pulmonary embolism, blood clotting, heart failure, suppressed immune system (constant MRSA and Cellulitis infections)... essentially she can barely move... and she takes care of my autistic brother) ... we are very poor, so I work overtime hours in the summer and 20+ during the school year to pay for my own car, insurance, textbooks, courses that my school won't pay for, etc.. My brother never overcame any of this... he is 20, drug addict, jobless, homeless, etc.... because he let it get the best of him. </p>

<p>Be honest, do you think I will get in to the College of Engineering??</p>

<p>Also, what about some other schools like Yale, Princeton, Northwestern, Harvard, Notre Dame, Stanford, MIT, UC Berkeley, Upenn? (Especially if i get my score to like a 31+ on the ACT, which I think I can do)</p>

2

<p>First of all, are you senior now? Why would you not prepare for ACT and take it cold at the MME?
Second, is that GPA weighted or unweighted? I assume unweighted according to your later description.
For UMich CoE, the mid 50 of ACT was 31-34 in the last couple years. Currently with ACT 29 for an in state male student would likely be a very high match to low reach considering your strong course rigor. It would be a high match to match if you can bring up your ACT to 31+.
For the other schools, they are all reach with ACT 31.</p>

3

<p>The only thing you talked about is ACT score… I heard Michigan isn’t even that big on ACT scores, more on the GPA… It’s unweighted. What about all I’ve went through? And I will have completed almost all of the engineering prereqs before even entering engineering school… </p>

4

<p>@MathNScience UMich does emphasize GPA and 21% of enrolled freshmen this year has GPA 4.0 in HS. Course rigor is important too but they do not really care if you have excessive AP classes, for instance. However, it never says they don’t value test scores. It is marked as “important” on the CDS. Otherwise, the mid 50 ACT would not keep going up and now it is 30-33 for UMich overall (even higher for CoE which was 31-34 in the last couple years). </p>