What can I do to improve my chances of admission for next year?

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of Michigan
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<p>First, I'd like to say that I'm new to forums, so let me know if I'm doing anything incorrectly.</p>

<p>I'm a junior at a public high school in an upper middle-class city in Michigan. I intend to apply to the University of Michigan, and I noticed that they will be switching over to the Common App for the class of 2015. I imagine that because of this switch, admissions will become more competitive than before. I was hoping to get some advice on how I could strengthen my application to colleges, especially UMich. Below are the stats that I can think of.</p>

<p>My school calculates GPAs strangely (an A- is the same as an A+, B- = B = B+, and so on). I have a 3.933 following this system, with 2 or 3 Bs from my first two years.</p>

<p>So far, I have been in advanced and/or honors English and Mathematics courses throughout my high school career.</p>

<p>I am currently enrolled in AP Economics and AP English, and am doing very well in both. My practice AP test scores have consistently been within the range of 4-5.</p>

<p>My PSAT score was in the 99th percentile, and I scored a 32 (with a 36 English) on a practice ACT. However, I feel that my actual ACT (taken as part of the MME) may come out to be a bit lower than a 32. I have registered to take the May SAT, and I'm confident that I will score on par with or better than I did on the PSAT. In the two National Spanish Exams that I've taken so far, I have consistently scored above the 90th percentile.</p>

<p>I was a staff member and the ad manager of the school newsmagazine during the first semester of my junior year. Unfortunately, I had to drop the class for scheduling purposes. I continue to help out with sales and ad work, but I have not published any articles since leaving the magazine in January.</p>

<p>My course load next year will be as follows:
AP Calculus BC
AP Chemistry
AP English 12
AP Statistics
Debate 1
Intro to Physical Education (required for graduation)
Spanish 4</p>

<p>This summer, I won't be able to go to any sort of summer program, as until mid-August, I will be taking World History courses to meet my school's graduation requirements. (NOTE: If you have any ideas for making my summer seem more rigorous and academic without changing this schedule, please let me know.)</p>

<p>As far as extracurriculars go, I have been a member of the Muslim Students Association since 9th grade, and was in DECA during sophomore year. I made it to the international level of DECA competition for an event in which I pitched a business idea to judges playing the role of venture capitalists. I have just recently joined a volunteering club*, and I intend to participate in our school's NHS and Economics Club chapters next year. I am considering trying out for tennis next year.</p>

<p>Entirely outside of school, I have taken enough Arabic and Urdu lessons to read fluently and comprehend conversation at about an elementary level. Using tools such as smart.fm and byki.com, I have learned moderate amounts of French and German. I have taught myself the Greek, Cyrillic, and Hebrew alphabets, and intend to be able to read the Hiragana as well as the Devanagari by the end of this summer. I have started a few blogs, working on one or two at a time. My most recent foray is an ongoing blog of ideas that are free for anybody to use. Each post is essentially what you would find on patent files, minus the claims to intellectual property.</p>

<p>If it's at all relevant, I've had three cousins admitted to UMich, with two having already graduated. I am not the first member of my family to attend college.</p>

<p>*So far, I haven't done any volunteer activities in years. This club will be instrumental in getting hours.</p>

<p>That's everything that I can think of. Please let me know what I can do to make myself a stronger candidate for admission. Any helpful suggestions are welcome.</p>

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<p>You’re going to get in, there is no need to try to strengthen your application.</p>

<p>However, with the languages. Learning tiny bits of several different languages is useless, and simply not impressive. Pick either Arabic or Urdu and work towards becoming fluent in one.</p>

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<p>Alright, thanks a lot for the encouragement. Over the summer, I intend to work on beefing up my skills in Arabic, and possibly Urdu. However, do you think it could be misconstrued in a way that hurt my chances if I were to note that I learned new writing systems? If so, is there any way I could “spin” the accomplishment to make it seem more positive?</p>

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<p>apply ED; UMich is reinstituting it for next year…</p>

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<p>ismailcc, I think you’re being overly paranoid. Your EC’s seem interesting, your GPA is fine, your ACT is fine, and you’re instate. Apply ED next year and you will get in with no problems.</p>

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<p>Flipper519: My bad. Sorry if I came across as paranoid. As you can infer from the original post’s timestamp, I was a little bit sleep-deprived when I composed this. I think I might be reacting to next year’s switch to the Common App. UMich is one of many top-notch colleges I’m considering, so at this point I’d rather avoid applying ED, but that would make admissions more difficult.</p>

<p>Given that, does anybody know of any data I can find on schools that, like UMich, have recently switched over to the Common App and simultaneously switched from rolling to ED (not EA) admissions? I’m curious to see how the numbers might change after next year’s transition.</p>

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<p>hey i think u have a good shot to get in
what is such a big deal with michigan using the common app?
does it make a difference in admissions?</p>

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<p>theRADtomato47: I may be wrong, and if so, I guess I don’t need to worry, but my guess is that if they switch over, the number of applicants will increase. This increase will likely include a large number of students who are just as qualified as me (if not more so), thereby increasing the competition. I believe something similar happened to UChicago, which dropped its admissions by around 20%.</p>

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<p>I don’t think there’s going to be a significant difference in in-state applications, just OOS.</p>

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<p>You folks keep referring to ED. What makes you think they’re switching from EA to ED. Haven’t seen anything on that yet. If any of you have, please direct me to same.
Thanks and cheers.</p>

<p>PS to the OP – make sure you apply early, express your passion for the school, write unique essays in your “own voice” and select teachers who are strong writers and big fans as your recommenders. But suspect you’re a strong match regardless. Good luck.</p>

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<p>kmccrindle: Thanks for the advice, and it looks like you’re right. I could have sworn that I saw a thread concerning the matter, but now I can’t find anything saying that UMich will switch from rolling admissions.</p>

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<p>There is an approximately 99.9999999% chance that you will get into Michigan. This is not a joke post.</p>

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<p>keep your grades up as high as possible. Once Michigan opens up their doors to the common application next year… it’s going to be even more difficult to get in</p>

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<p>you have a great stat, but… essays will be very important!</p>

<p>If you write a wonderful essay, you have 300% to get in</p>

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<p>Alright, thank you for all of the support and tips, especially the ones pointing to the essays. Lately, I’ve been focusing on brainstorming ideas and components for essays, most of which I hope to have completed before the situation gets stressful. Obviously, though, U of M isn’t the only school I’m considering. Is there any website out there that aggregates essay prompts from several colleges so that they can be seen on one page?</p>

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<p>Additionally, I’d like to change the direction of this thread a little bit. I’m sure that there are things on (or not on) my CV that may hurt my chances of admission. What are the biggest issues, and how can I fix them?</p>

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<p>Ismail, you’re going to get in. Stop worrying. The amount of effort you’re already putting into this process proves that you have much more than it takes to get in Michigan.</p>

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<p>You could apply regular decision and still get in; you’re fine. calm down a bit.</p>