University of Michigan Question

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of Michigan
1

<p>I would love to attend U of M, but I dont feel my academics are good enough. If I was to apply, what school is easiest to get into or has the highest acceptance rate? I want to know this because I can get into that school and just transfer later right? I want to major in Business Administration and Ross School of Business I hear is very hard to get into. </p>

<p>12 varsity seasons by graduation
4 junior varsity seasons by graduation
3.0 GPA
ACT-25
500+ hours of volunteer work</p>

<p>I know my gpa is Very low, ACT score is also pretty low, but miracles happen, sometimes.</p>

2

<p>The GPA and ACT will definitely bring down your chances of getting into the University of Michigan, but they are by no means decisive. I don’t know if I am qualified to give you advice, but I am regular-decision admit from this past year. Your high-school sports career, although admirable, is not necessarily going to affect your decision, unless you plan to continue to play at the collegiate level. Your volunteer hours on the other hand are commendable, and admission officers will pay special attention to them.<br>
That aside, here’s what I would do. Assuming that you have at least a year left prior to graduation as you would not be asking this question otherwise, don’t take anything for granted just yet. You can still improve your statistics. If I were you, (assuming you are going to be a senior) I would use the first semester to impress the University of Michigan. Stock up on a good amount of APs or IBs and get A’s in all of them to improve your GPA. Also, you should give the ACT another shot. Perhaps study hard during the summer and give it another go in September. This is your BEST chance of getting into Michigan. </p>

<p>However, if you choose to maintain your current standing, these are the steps I recommend you follow:</p>

<p>1) Use the personal statement portion of the application to draw the viewer’s eyes away from the weak points in your application, and towards the strengths prevalent in the synopsis you presented above. Make yourself stand out. Mention the various activities that you had to partake in to receive you volunteer hours. Talk about any enlightening or unusual experiences that differentiate you from all the other applicants with numerous volunteer hours. This does NOT mean deviate from the prompt; rather, I advise you to merely “smart-talk” the admission officers.</p>

<p>2) Apply as early as possible. Michigan follows a rolling admissions process, so apply well before the early action deadline of November 1 (that is what it was for the Class of 2015). And definitely do not apply regular decision like I did. I do not mean to sound pompous because I got in–it was definitely luck that got me in; I was foolish not to apply earlier, and anyone who witnessed my anxiety leading up to decision-day could tell you that. </p>

<p>3) I am not sure if this is true, but I have heard of this being done in the past, at least for those deferred during Early Action. Previous applicants have sent in supplementary letters addressing the admission committee that detailed their interest in and passion for the University of Michigan. As rumor has it, this has changed possible rejections into acceptances. Perhaps you ought to consider doing something similar, in addition to your application.</p>

<p>Once again, I would like to stress that you would be much better off following the route of increasing your GPA and ACT score, but use this as a fall-back on how to approach your application. </p>

<p>Good luck! I hope you get in amcarbonaro!</p>

3

<p>You are playing very very long odds here. Only if you were at a top national private like hotchkiss would a 3.0 give you any kind of chance. Are you in state? Umich sometimes will take kids from “underrepresented” populations who have faced extraordinary obstacles, but even then, usually only those in the top of their pool. More importantly, why is your gpa in that range if you know you want to go to umich? Eg, do you prefer to do other things, or do you have some kind of learning disability? The reason I ask is because the rigor of umich across ALL programs does not sound like a fit for your style or commitment to learning if you have not “done your best” already. You would have to convince umich that you could handle the workload and level of instruction and do so independently.</p>

<p>The best way to make that case is to attend a cc for two years, maintain a very high gap, and get great letters of recommendation to transfer for your junior year. I do know three students who did this, one with an act score identical to yours – so it’s possible. But I fear you do not have enough time now to “prove” what you can do, so make sure you have solid backup plans. Also, if you didn’t prep a lot or do your best on the act, you might consider retaking it. Best wishes!</p>

4

<p>Being completely honest, your scores are too low to give you any reasonable chance of admission out of high school. If you’re dead set on Michigan, try to transfer in. As for Ross, I don’t think they accept transfers from other schools but you should look into that.</p>

5

<p>Your academics just don’t cut it. However, your best bet is either the Nursing or Art school. It would be very difficult to transfer into Ross after a year at either of these, however. </p>

<p>If I were you, I’d look to pursue your business interests at a school that’s more of a match for you.</p>

6

<p>Thanks for the relpy!
I will be a senior next year. Next year I am taking 2 AP classes, AP Gov and AP Lit. I have already taken AP U.S. Hist. and AP Lang. & Comp. So I will have taken 4 AP classes by the time I graduate. I plan to take the ACT multiple times over, after I do a bit of studying. Also, I will end up taking the SAT as well, I believe sometime in October. I assume I would have a better chance if I send in my SAT score as well. </p>

<p>I like your advice on focusing on strong parts of my application like volunteer work, and how I should talk about how I stand out with my volunteer work. I happen to have a lot of church volunteer work. I am an eucheristic minister, a lector, and an Alter server. I also do a lot of landscape for my church as well. I am involved in my schools Interact Club(just like a rotary club). And actually our school happens to be the biggest in the world, with over 550 members. Next year I am hoping to achieve the most volunteer hours in the club, which results in an acknowledgment. Then I have a bunch of other small volunteering work. </p>

<p>I would love to apply early, but if I do, they will not get my updated ACT or SAT score, as well as if I have improved my GPA, Right?? I would say to apply some time during winter break, so I at least have to show of some improvement. </p>

<p>I have never heard of supplementary letter, but It seems as if it would help a bit for my case.</p>

<p>Have you any idea about what I should apply for, I want to go into Business Admin. but I dont think I would make it into Ross right out of High School. Is it possible that I could apply for LSA, because I hear it is easier to be accepted into than any other school there, and then transfer over to Ross after a year? I would hope that would be my plan. If I was to go into LSA and hope to transfer over to Ross, what study should I go into, which would lead me into a good standing for Ross?? I dont want to study physics then apply to a business school. </p>

<p>Thanks Again!! :)</p>

7

<p>I disagree with the person above, to apply as early as possible. I think you should really beef up your ACT score (I’m not sure when ACTs are offered honestly) before applying (if you can do that before Nov. 1st, that’d be awesome).
You definitely have a chance at getting in, make sure you work REALLY hard this summer. From personal experience, I went from a 1900 SAT to a 2300 SAT with about 1 month of hard studying, and I’m definitely not a genius.
Make sure to get some awesome e.c.'s in as well this summer, like an internship. Work your butt off this summer, legitly.</p>

<p>I’d definitely recommend applying for LSA, not pre-Ross admit and to a pretty large extent, your 1st semester grades probably won’t matter that much because they’ll probably have made their decision before then/they can always excuse stuff as “senioritis.” Your grades up to senior year count a lot. How about doing some extra classes on the internet? Like michigan virtual school website or something and boosting your gpa up that way? I know that’s extra money, but I think it would be worth the investment if you did like an AP class or something like that.
I’d also recommend shooting the admissions reps’ a few emails about legit questions and things your concerned about so your chance of getting in goes up (which yes, it definitely helps). I shot the lady who visited my school a few emails and she’ll probably be an asset to me in my undergrad experience.</p>

8

<p>I am in state. My school seems to be one of the top public schools in the downriver area. I hear the CC way is good, but I feel I have worked to hard to just go to a CC for 2 years. I know someone who was around a 3.6 GPA, and a 26 GPA and was an amazing wrestler who was accepted, but I would think it would be from his excelling in sports. I play 3 varsity sports, Cross Country, Swimming, and Track. I use to wrestle as well, but quit to swim, so it would help with running. I missed states my first year of swimming by 1/2 second, so if I can make states in all my sports, which im pretty close to, will that help even though I might not do a sport there?</p>

9

<p>You have to be VERY good to play varsity (recruited) sports at UofM. A girl who had been #1 singles in tennis at my high school (our tennis program is very strong) didn’t make the team.</p>

10

<p>I was affiliated with my school’s interact club junior year. I do not doubt your claim that your school’s club is one of the biggest in the world because mine could barely sustain twenty members. Considering the size of your club, you probably have numerous opportunities at your disposal. Take initiative and lead some important project in the near future that will force the admission officers to acknowledge you as a plausible canidate for acceptance.</p>

<p>And I remain adamant about my advice for applying early. They will receive your ACT and SAT scores if you take the tests during the September sitting or on a previous sitting, because the score report is available online in just a few weeks. Your’re right about the GPA–the University of Michigan will not be able to see it until after first semester. But don’t expect the new GPA to better your chances unless it’s dramatically increased to be able to compete with the vast majority of the applicants who apply regular decision, and that won’t happen. Also, AP Gov and Lit are both rigorous courses, in which it will be hard to maintain A’s. But it’s going to take a bold move–5 or more AP classes first semester–for you to have a shot. Nonetheless, your decision to take Gov and Lit and to believe that you can succeed demonstrates that you are capable, or believe you are capable, of achieving success in challenging courses. This does beg the question: as kmcmom13 put it, did you face some obstacle? I do not say this to be rude; if you did, you may be able to plead that something out of your control proved detrimental to your studies. On the other hand, being victim to unorganized priorities is not a legitimate excuse, and does not deserve the same consideration. I recommend you strive to convince the University of Michigan that you are capable of A LOT more. </p>

<p>And I’m afraid I cannot answer your question about which school you should apply to, but a previous poster mentioned Art or Nursing School. Perhaps you ought to look into that.</p>

<p>Best!</p>

11

<p>best bet would be transferring in after freshman year.</p>

<p>in-state averages are 27-28 ACT and 3.7 GPA</p>

<p>If you are in-state, go to michigan state for a year and transfer in. I know plenty of kids who have done that.</p>

12

<p>^ For what school? Is that current data?</p>

13

<p>I planned to sign up for 3 summer classes at HFCC but I missed The registration date, so I won’t be able to do those. Does anyone know of any other classes, online or class room setting, I can take over the summer and transfer over the credits to raise my GPA? I am also involved in school music. I play percussion for jazz bad, symphonic band, and marching band. Also I have done some work with music production with my school.</p>

<p>My school has given me an option, instead of taking jazz band next year I could follow an academically challenged student for an hour each day, but I don’t know if I would recieve a grade for that or not. </p>

<p>Overall, I feel that my ec’s are good, but my grades are not up to standard. I feel if I would be able to get a 3.4/5 GPA accumulative I would need around a 33 ACT and high SAT score as well. If I can do that I believe I could be accepted. Hopefully. </p>

<p>Thank you all so much, you guys are very helpful. I really appreciate it. Keep it coming.</p>

14

<p>^Firstly, even if you got all A’s first semester and were able to get those grades to Michigan in time for them to be added to your application, there would be no way they could bring you from a 3.0 to a 3.4-3.5. One 4.0 semester senior year MIGHT get you from a 3.0 to a 3.1. Secondly, even if you were able to get to a 3.5 AND miraculously get a 33 on the ACT, you would still be a reach for Michigan. The GPA is just too low. What essentially everyone is trying to say is sure, apply to Michigan and see what happens, but realistically you should be looking at schools that are more of a match for you.</p>

15

<p>It is a match for me. I have seen other colleges and this is the only one I see myself at. The atmosphere is amazing, the city is amazing. I can only see myself here.</p>

16

<p>Well, that is fine, but realisticly, your GPA is just too low. Even with a 25 ACT, a 3.0 GPA, I’m about 90% sure, will not let you in.</p>

17

<p>nada, nilch.</p>

18

<p>Looks like a long shot based on GPA. You may want to look into getting a tutor for the ACT. It helped with one of my kids (25 to a 30), but didn’t help with my other child (28/29). Both got into Michigan but had 4.0s with AP classes. Good luck.</p>

19

<p>Okay, try to talk to your guidance counselor and ask the following questions, since every school has a different track record:

  1. Historically how many students does umich take from our school each year?
  2. What is on average their class rank?
  3. What is my current class rank?</p>

<p>I am here to tell you that unless you’ve recently cured cancer, your guidance counselor is likely to tell you they take (at most) ten percent of your class and that you statistically have less than a 3percent chance. </p>

<p>That’s because kids with a 3.5, stronger acts, etc had only a 14 percent or less chance of getting in based on matriculating student average BEFORE mich went to the common app! and last year, another 10,000 student applied, which will make those entering stats skyrocket.</p>

<p>If you are a regional/ national athlete, then you could try to get recruited. If you are nationally outstanding on a musical instrument you could audition for the school of music (they’ll let you audition with a minimum 3.0, but rarely are students admitted to som with a 3.0) but while you sound very well rounded, umich just simply doesn’t admit kids with 3.0s.</p>

<p>I’m not saying this to be mean, but I am worried that your single-minded approach will prevent you from making a good backup plan to ultimately achieve your goal. Just make sure you apply to other schools you’d be happy at, and look at the cc route.</p>

<p>My son attended a top ranked gifted and talented program in Michigan and his gc told him unequivocally ( two years in advance) not to let his gap ever drop below 3.5 or he wouldn’t get in, and this is a kid in the 99th percentile in terms of IQ.</p>