I am sorry I sounded so bitter. I was just disappointed for my son. Yes he is crushed but time heals all wounds and he will get over it.
FYI I never meant to imply that his "waitlist" status had anything to do with affirmative action. I just believe that U of M didn't recognize what a great asset he would have been to the student population. In the end we (he, his dad & me) share the fault...maybe his applicatin did not have enough WOW factor.
I just checked my status today and was flat out rejected from LSA. I am dissapointed, but am glad I can finally make a decision on where I am going. Wish you all the best of luck who are still waiting!
It's not completely overturned seeing as the appeals process isn't over with. It will obviously be appeal and won't be over with until it's in the supreme court again.
rejected from engineering. it was a huge reach so i'm not too upset but it was still my favorite school by a longshot. some quick stats:
gpa: uw 3.1, w 4.0 (why i was rejected I'm assuming)
sat: 2040 (610 cr, 740 math, 690 writing)
sat 2: 800 math 2
ec's: math team (captain), bbyo jewish organization (treasurer), mock trial (head witness), varsity tennis, jv wrestling
already accepted to uconn (instate and scholarship), maryland, penn state, illinois, delaware, and wait listed at wisconsin
Although my son was one of the lucky ones accepted last night, I share the pain that so many are expressing. The college admissions process is brutal these days - so many highly qualified kids and not enough spaces for everyone. Last week, my son was devastated because he was rejected from most of the great schools he applied to and said he didn't even want to go to college. Last night, finally some great news and he's ecstatic. You all will land on your feet, choose and attend great schools and hopefully be happy. Ultimately, I think my son got in because he's had an amazing senior year - academically, sportswise and with his writing - tons of awards and recognition this year.
My son just got waitlisted from College of Engineering. I called UM Admissions and they said his GPA in his freshman and sophomore years is what is keeping him out! All the other schools we applied to and toured told us over and over they put more weight on if the student is challenging themselves with higher level courses and shows improvement in later high school years. Not Michigan - they said that didn't matter. They also said they put no weight on fact that he took all Honors and AP classes - they actually penalized him by unweighting his GPA. So he would have gotten in if he took all the easiest courses offered and got straight As??
Here is his stats: 3.72 weighted GPA but Jr and Sr year was a 4.20. (Fr and So. year was a 3.35). Never took anything less than Honors over whole 4 years if offered - 12 Honors - and 3 AP courses his senior year - AP Physics, AP Calculus and AP Statistics (All As in all 3). 32 ACT composite. 2120 SAT including 800 Math! 780 Math 2 SAT subject test and 750 Physics SAT subject. 3 SEASON Senior Captain - XC, Ice Hockey and Track. Numerous individual and team awards including Ice Hockey State Champs his Jr year. Selected for Boston Bruins Sportsmanship Award his Sr year to represent conference (30 students picked out of 1000s state wide). Volunteer - Big brother for third grader for local non-profit, 6 years as volunteer goalie coach with local youth hockey organization, Student representative for local Task Force Against Discrimination all 4 years (he also designed their new logo!). Also holds a job at the YMCA.
OK - well their loss is my attitude! I just cannot believe how they view applications and what they put emphasis on. It is completely opposite of every other school we toured. (Never toured Michigan as we are from east coast). GPA over the whole 4 years seems to be the deciding factor. I guess they want students that bury themselves in books and do nothing else. The good news is he is deciding between Boston College, Villanova, Renssalaer, Wisconsin and Northeastern - so a lot of great choices!
Congrats to all those that got in last night/today. And welcome to the Class of 2016!
Best of luck to all of you who didn't get the news you wanted to hear. You're all amazing people, and you will make other colleges and universities proud to have you! Keep your heads up!!
This is probably going to sound bad, but is the whole process admissions not ridiculous? Honestly, what do you have to do? I got a 2300 on my SAT, have a 3.8 gpa, go to a math and science school, and do a ton of extracurriculars, not to mention have a job and an internship with my county's engineering department. Michigan has been my first choice since my sophomore year, but I guess they filled their quota of white guys already. I got waitlisted, but I'm going to reject it. They don't think I'm good enough to be accepted, well then I don't want to be there. Thank you Michigan for wasting the last six months of my time. Sorry guys, just felt the need to vent.
I got rejected, and U of M was my number one choice by far . But don't hate on UMich for rejecting or wait listing you. They have over 40,000 applicants. They can't accept all qualified students. Picture yourself in the mind of the admissions counselors, constantly dealing with calls from concerned parents and students on top of making huge decisions of deciding what's best for the university that's known worldwide. You can also transfer there too after a semester or two.
@goalie30
Are you serious that they told you that they don't consider the weighted GPA? They actually said this? Has anyone else gotten this intel from UM? Unbelievable! I'm with you, goalie, that something isn't right here. I've been waitlisted after being deferred from EA. UM was my No. 1 school and I said as much in the essays. I have not heard from UM for over 4 months despite trying to contact my counselor. I have a 4.2 weighted but a 3.75 unweighted. If I had known that they preferred unweighted, I would have taken the easier classes. I had great SAT and ACT scores as well. I guess my strategy of taking the most rigorous classes was bad with respect to UM.
In response to those who say that affirmative action is bad, I would say that UM's current system is much worse. At least during affirmative action it was a "numbers" game and there was an opportunity for EVERYONE based on percentages and cumulative competitive points over the first three years of high school. If you were a white student on the statistical margins, you knew where you were and could apply at other schools in which your stats meant something. Under the current system because UM is afraid of getting sued and losing again at the SCOTUS, there is no discernable pattern. White, male students (from my high school) with lower GPAs, lower test scores, far fewer AP courses, less rigorous courses (Algebra II vs. Calculus) and lesser ECs are getting in before me. Our school gives out the same recs and school report so there is no difference there. And please, don't get me started on the essays. My opinion is that the essays for each school (not just UM) are the ultimate arbitrary wild card that can be used against you at a whim. In short, I think that UM's system has been altered becasue of the SCOTUS decision to allow UM to continue with some sort of affirmative action but now without merit as one of the criteria.
Don't get me wrong; I've been accepted at several great schools (comparable to UM) and yet I would choose UM over these other schools if I was chosen from the waitlist. I applied and did not get into several Ivys (and near Ivys like Chicago) and knew those schools were a reach but took a chance just in case. My complaint is not with the academic excellence that UM represents. Rather, I think the bureaucratic nightmare that is the UM admissions process as a result of the SCOTUS decision is unnecessary and will ultimately harm UM's reputation if this process continues.
good luck to everyone else waiting to hear and with their decisions!
