<p>I am pretty amazed at the conversation that takes place around rankings, prestige etc. I think that people forget public/state universities charter/mission happens to be slightly different than the ivies and privates. Michigan or UNC or other elite and not so elite public state schools are required and should give admissions to students in their states. They do not have the same luxury as the privates to pick and choose. The fact that these state universities can maintain a high ranking and endowment is pretty amazing. SO all of us should let the students go where they want, and questions of chance in one form or other are pretty useless anyway. There is no particular formula of how you get in except if you work hard , do well in SAT/ACT, do enough EC and leadership activities your odds are good. As final note my son who got in OOS has a GPA of 3.82 uw. The most rigorous course load in a school know for grade deflation. His ACT is 34 (taken only once) and he was also excepted in number of elite liberal art schools.</p>
<p>I had very high test scores/gpa and many extracurriculars and got in. I have a good friend that had quite good test scores as well (33 ACT, probably around a 3.7 gpa uw, 4.3 weighted). He’s also a 3 sport athlete, is involved in many clubs, and devotes an excessive amount of time to building random things. He did not get accepted, though I wholeheartedly believe his interest and natural talents in the sciences will make him a far more successful engineer than I will be. Granted, we are out of state. Grades and test scores definitely aren’t everything, but they’re the only objective thing that schools can use to judge us – and thus they matter. I’d also like to add that though Michigan has a larger range of students (it has to – it’s public), the education it offers is world class. I chose it over Wash U, Northwestern, and Columbia because I truly believe I will receive a better education at Michigan than at any of those schools.</p>
<p>Being in NHS means basically nothing to top schools…and several of my friends got into Michigan without being in it. While I am in that club, I did not include it on my app. Still got into Penn.</p>
<p>So UW GPA is important and so is taking AP classes. The 4 AP classes I’ve taken so far have definitely hurt my UW GPA(I don’t even know what it is since my school doesn’t give us one). So what’s better for admissions? Having a higher GPA and less APs or more APs and a lower GPA?</p>
<p>More than one Admissions officer advised us that if you can’t get A’s in AP class/honors classes, you shouldn’t take them. Ideally you’d have AP classes and a high GPA, but if the AP classes are hurting your GPA, step back and take regular classes.</p>
<p>In response to your question sportsmom yes I will be a freshman at lsa this fall</p>
<p>My son will be a freshman in the College of Engineering, and he has a UW GPA of 3.9 and a 32 ACT Score. He was deferred at first and then accepted in February. His good friend also applied with an ACT of 34 but a lower GPA (around 3.4 or 3.5), and he was deferred then waitlisted. He’s also a National Merit Scholar but that didn’t help. We’re in-state. That’s anecdotal obviously, but does lend credence to the idea that GPA is important.</p>
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<p>Although this is a bit of an overstatement, there is some truth to it. The unweighted GPA is the most important factor in admissions considerations. The admissions counselors even public say so. A student with an unweighted GPA below 3.5 has a very slim chance of being admitted. Anything between 3.5 and 3.7 is still a major reach.</p>
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<p>This seems to be the case. When asked “I’m I better off with a B in an AP class or an A in a regular class?” the response is “you are better off with an A in AP class”. In practice, it seems that you are best off with the most rigorous class in which you can get an A.</p>
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<p>This is a flawed statement commonly recited on cc. Studies show that standardized tests are not strong predictors of success in college and as a result their weight in admissions decisions has been diminished. The standardized test is a measure of a student’s performance on 4 hours vs. a GPA which measures performance over four years and has several factors which make them subjective such as test anxiety and availability of tutoring.</p>
<p>If we are concerned about having objective standards of admission, we could use things such a family wealth, height, weight, age, mileage of car odometer and distance of residence from the center of the diag, all of which are more objective measurements than an ACT score and none of which provide any prediction of success in college.</p>
<p>res ipsa
As for your argument that standardized test scores should not be highly regarded in admission because they are objective…do you consider the fact that in some schools, mine in particular, two teachers that teach the same AP class will be much easier graders. Therefore the student who gets the easier grader comes out with a better GPA by sheer luck of the teacher over the same student who has a teacher who decides to actually teach the class like a real college class and grade it as such. </p>
<p>My point is teacher grades vary so much that standardizes test scores become somewhat of a tiebreaker in the process. It is the only completely objective and standard that admissions can go on to compare each applicant.</p>
<p>3.71, 32 ACT. Got in EA. Few ECs, but was very involved with all of them (3). Large amount of community service (1000 +/- 50 hours). URM.</p>
<p>I had a 1290 out of 1600 on the sat, a 27, and a 3.7 gpa. I was ranked 52 out of 418.</p>
<p>I go to a large public high school in metro Detroit. This year we are sending 74 to UMich out of 450. The general trend is this:</p>
<p>-You MUST have a rigorous schedule. A kid in my physics class had a 3.8 and a 32 ACT but he only took two AP classes, and no honors. He was rejected.
-You must have at least a 3.7 GPA. A 3.7 should be combined with a 30+ ACT to stand a chance. Even kids with high-- 32, 33-- ACTs didn’t get in if they had a 3.6.
-ACT scores range from 28-36 but in general, if you have below a 30 you should have stellar grades, essays, and extracurriculars. I know several kids with 28s and 29s and 3.8 GPAs who, without their scores, would have gotten in. Also, it seems that kids with ACTs below 30 were deferred for EA. I know very few who got in before regular decision.</p>
<p>Keep in mind, I go to an instate school very well known to admissions as a great school with a lot of AP classes and extracurricular opportunities. There are some kids who didn’t meet this criteria exactly-- one girl I know had a 3.6 and a 29 and was accepted-- but this is the general norm.</p>
<p>Hope this helps!</p>
<p>And those GPAs are unweighted, but generally that’s what we see/experience if our competitive in-state high school not in the metro Detroit area. They look at the GPA, they look at the courses taken, they look at the ACT. Admissions knows the high schools, too, so they know what those numbers mean in context. The holistic part plays into it also. The admissions person told us that different colleges at UofM look at ACTs alittle differently e.g. COE looks closer at the math ACT so you could have a cumulative ACT score that is imbalanced which impacts the cumulative score for COE. If you are in range there is no reason not to apply. Work to your ability or alittle above and do well is my advice. But that is good advice for life in general. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. For Michigan you want to take some rigor in your classes but a bunch of APs where you flounder will hurt. The admissions person smiled told our visiting group that they like to see As and a few Bs are OK.</p>
<p>oh yeah i am out of state and my 3.7 is unweighted. also 0 APs. so 1290/1600 sat 27/36 act 3.7 unweighted 52 out of 418 class rank 0 APs. </p>
<p>There are not official standards to get in. Just be a good student and more importantly show your true self on the application. Tell them your passions and goals. Show that your mind is creative, and that you can work well with others.</p>
<p>I got a lousy ACT score of 27 and have a GPA of 4.2x. I am an extremely slow test taker lol.</p>
<p>I would add that Michigan’s size and diversity of programs makes some overall comparisons a bit weak. It’s best to compare program to program or degree to degree. For example, UoM has around 600 Art and Design students with an average ACT of 27. While lower compared to the university at large, a 27 act average is high for art. It is the same scoring for Rhode Islands School of Design (based on 2010 data), the #1 private art school nationally. Another insight, to the best of my knowledge, Duke, Vandy and Northwestern only offer BA degrees in art. BFAs are not offered as they are at Michigan. I’d like to know what undergraduate major is demonstrably stronger at Duke, Northwestern or Vandy? All are fine schools but Michigan is there equal or better IMHO.</p>
<p>goldenboy should be commenting now in 5. 4. 3. 2…</p>
<p>…1 bingo!</p>
<p>PA of Michigan by college administrators who actually have advanced degrees:</p>
<p>Michigan 4.5</p>
<p>Duke 4.4</p>
<p>I got in with only a 28 ACT, 3.9 UW or 4.6 W. My math ACT score was a 31 though and I think that’s what the CoE really looks at because I got accepted there as undeclared engineering. I’m OOS too.</p>