Hey,
I’m currently a sophomore in college, and on this night, I find myself worried about how things will play out in the future. If anyone can answer my following questions, please do so!
- Does UMich ask for the hours you have done, or just what did you do generally?
- Getting higher AP exam scores will give me a better chance at getting accepted?
- Will taking IB and AP classes in my 11th and 12th grade increase my chances, with the belief that I excel in them, hopefully? For example, I took AP language in 10th grade instead of 11th.
- I go to a private school, and I’m very limited as of what I can do. I have no high school sports, and clubs, rather I have unique EC’s.
- Premier Soccer Club
- Emergency Room Volunteer at Hurley Hospital
- National Honor Society Member
- Vice President of National Junior Honor Society
- Youth Group Coordinator at local mosque
- Directed a blood drive and numerous food pantries
- Hosted a booth at a breast cancer walk
- Habitat for Humanity
- Presidential Service Award 2015
- I will have finished several AP classes by the end of 12th grade.
- Currently a 4.017 weighted gpa
IF I even participated in a science fair presenting my interest in engineering, how would U of M react? Is there a method regarding what I can do to show U of M I am committed to something? I wish my area and school had more to offer. (Flint/Flushing, MI)
If you are currently a sophomore in college, nothing from high school would matter anymore. Only what you have done in college would affect your chances for [transfer] admission.
Grammar mistake! I meant sophomore in high school lol
- Yes, they ask for hours. Look at the common app to see the form used.
- No. Only ACT, SAT, and SAT subject tests will be used. Aim for the 75th percentile for best chance of acceptance.
- Yes. Take the most rigorous schedule you can handle.
- They look at your grades, classes and activities in the context of your HS.
Michigan has its own weighting scale for grades all As=4, all B=3, etc. use that to compute your GPA . HS weighting scale is not used. Michigan’s 3.85 average GPA is based on that scale.
Note that depending on the college you apply to, only certain AP tests can be used for credit. Engineering accepts only Chemistry, Physics, and Calculus. LS&A accepts a lot more subjects. You may also need a higher score (4 or 5, sometimes 5 alone) and you usually need to take placement exams.
In-state students have a much higher chance of admission compared to OOS students with the same statistics. It sounds like your EC’s are mostly medical related, good to show some passion in a particular area.
Alright, that’s very helpful, thanks! However, I do have some concerns.
If they ask for hours, will they take my word for it? Or do they need evidence from the person/organization I have volunteered with/for.
Also, if I take a bunch of rigorous classes, and supposedly my GPA was lower than someone else in my grade who had higher but less rigor, is this taken into consideration? I’m really worried because I have 9 kids in my class, and I feel as if my school would be looked down upon. I try my best to do as much as I can do.
You should be honest about your hours. If you are not sure of the exact amount, make a reasonable estimate, and if anything, be on the conservative side (i.e., you would rather underestimate than overestimate). Keep in mind that in the eyes of an admission office, the number of hours you devote to your ECs is less important than your sense of commitment and what you learn from the experiences. This will mostly be an honor system where they trust you to be truthful, but they have the right to verify the truthfulness at any time, and may choose a few individuals for verification by random selection. This may include providing a contact person, submitting certificates, etc. You don’t need to provide anything unless they specifically ask. Knowingly making false statements on your application is a crime, and yes, you can face criminal prosecution for it even if it is discovered after you are enrolled.
The rigor of your courses will definitely be taken into consideration. Your GPA needs to make it past a certain cutoff to prevent the automatic filter from screening out your application on the basis of numbers. I would say that if you have a core academic GPA (i.e., recalculate your GPA without your music, art, gym classes) of at least 3.8, you should be in good shape. The admission officers do not expect you to commit AP suicide. I would say taking maybe two AP classes per year is sufficient, provided that you do well in them. Go ahead and take more if you feel that you can handle it, but don’t take five AP classes at once if you know you can’t handle it. They don’t really take into account your AP test scores, but those can help you get credit and place out of certain courses if you do well enough.
Alright, thank you! Is the grade I get in my AP class something colleges would like to see ither than the AP exam score. And when I apply for college, should I have already recalculated my gpa for them or just send them my school based gpa.
Btw if my bro went to u of m does that increase my chances since hes an alumni
@ZashrafK
I would recommend taking a sufficient number of AP classes (as compared to the number of AP courses offered in your high school), so that when your counselor submits the report he/she is able to indicate that you have taken “the most rigorous course load available.” That doesn’t mean you have to take a full schedule of APs, but if your school offers many, you will want to have taken a fair number. Obviously the grades in these courses will appear on your transcript and impact your GPA, so the grades will be very relevant.
The impact of AP exam scores is a bit more debatable. On the Common App, for most colleges, you have the option of reporting the AP exams/scores of your choice. The general view is that you should report any exam on which you receive a 4 or 5. The impact of these scores on your chances of admission is a matter of debate, but surely a set of nice AP scores can only help. Also, for most schools, good AP exam scores will provide you will college credit and advanced placement, which can give you substantially more schedule flexibility in college.
As to recalculated GPAs, that is left to each college. They all have their own methodology, and they aren’t always transparent. Submit your GPA how it is calculated by your high school, and let the colleges do as they wish.
[Also, on your hours question, the Common App asks you the time period (e.g., freshman and sophomore year) during which you did an activity and the average number of hours per week that you did each activity…so that is how you report it.]
Thanks, that’s really helpful!
Keep in mind that admissions change their business plan yearly. If you follow the new president’s plan diversity is key. All about first family member to attend college, underrepresented groups, etc. This info is based upon his letter to alumni dated July 15th, 2015 They don’t count hours, surprised if they check at all. If you fit their need in a specific area, you stand a better chance then all AP’s and tons of extra curricular activity with leadership/focus.
To all juniors and under in high school
Numbers are key, SAT, GPA, next is their need to fill a niche and that’s it. Don’t kill yourselves in extracurriculars - I have come to realize these are encouraged as a means of free labor by organizations and represented as an enticement to students towards college prep and recognition. Do it if you love it and focus on one or two and say no to volunteering if you need to study.
*Super important!!!- meet your regional counselor find out if they have a relationship with your high school. If they don’t or it’s minimal - DEVELOP THE RELATIONSHIP YOURSELF! No one will care as much as you do. Get two great recommendations make sure your HS counselor is competent or find another counselor, They mostly listen to the HS counselor for input.
Which boggles my mind since they barely know the students and their performance in our building.
Take the math ap classes. They don’t care about others - maybe science.
And yes, I am salty, had I to relive it again - this would be my senior’s game plan
For engineering, your most helpful ones are going to be AP calculus, AP physics C, and AP chem. For calculus, AB will get you credit for one semester of calculus, and BC will get you credit for two semesters. For engineering, you need four semesters of calculus. Keep in mind that the College of Engineering will not grant credit for physics B (i.e., you have to take physics C in order to get credit), so don’t make the mistake of taking that test. And then for chem, note that while LSA may accept a score of 3, CoE will not.
In terms of free electives and social sciences, I would not say that you desperately need AP credit in those areas. It is common for prospective engineering students to think that they should get as much AP credits for social sciences as possible so that they only have to take STEM courses in college - yes, I’ve been there before, where in high school I dreaded my English and social studies classes and only looked forward to math and science classes. However, college will be a different story. You will be happy to throw in a psychology class or something like that in order to help you balance out your workload.
Just submit your GPA the way it is. Admissions offices will enter your courses and grades into their system and use their algorithm to normalize all applicants’ GPAs if that is how they do things. You listed your weighted GPA, but colleges tend to be more interested in your unweighted GPA, since the way it is calculated is less likely to differ from school to school.
Being related to an alumnus helps very little. It most definitely does not make up for sub-par academic records. The only instance where I can see it helping is when it comes down to choosing between two great candidates after most other applicants have been eliminated from consideration.