Advice for University of Michigan and Northwestern

International Students
1

<p>So here’s my story. I was born in Canada and moved to the states at age 4 and lived there until grade nine. My parents are divorced with my mother in Michigan and my Dad here in Toronto. I have dual citizenship and residency in Ontario and Michigan through my parents so I can go to Michigan for relatively cheap.</p>

<p>My mum really wants me to apply to American universities. The only ones I’d go to are Michigan and Northwestern. I didn’t think I’d apply to America in the first place so I’m planning to apply for Winter 2011 or Fall 2011 entry. I’m hoping to write the SAT in October.I really didn’t think I was going to go to American universities so I didn’t apply myself until my final year of high school. My averages for past years were around 60 percent. Even now, my marks aren’t that great compared to all the keeners on this forum.</p>

<p>I don’t think I’ll get into Michigan with my current grades, but you never know. This statement from their site gives me a bit of hope.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Here’s what my stats should look like:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): Aiming for at least 2100
SAT II: None
ACT: None
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0) or the %: 78 in Ontario (Top Six)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Unavailable
Senior Year Course Load: Calculus Vectors, Data Management, Advanced Functions, English, Spanish, Strings, Earth and Space Science, Repertoire</p>

<p>All of those except Strings and Repertoire are U level</p>

<p>Major Awards: None</p>

<p>Extracurriculars: 2 Orchestras (Leadership), Ski Team, Soccer Team, RCM Grade 10 Level Violin
Job/Work Experience: Animation Intern, Violin Sales, Web Development
Volunteer/Community service: 40 Hours Community service
Summer Activities: Took summer courses
Essays: TBD
Teacher Recommendation: Good
Counselor Rec: Good</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>State (if domestic applicant): Michigan
Country (if international applicant): Canada (Ontario)
School Type:Extremely Academic Public school
Ethnicity: African Canadian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 250K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Minority
Strengths: SATs
Weaknesses: No Awards</p>

<p>Accepted to:</p>

<p>Canadian Schools (so far):
U of T
Waterloo
Western
Dalhousie</p>

<p>Waiting for:
Queen’s</p>

<p>What are my chances at Michigan? Also, how about Northwestern?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>it’s gonna be tough man to be honest. BUT, you will get a bump since you are an in-stater at UofM. Perhaps you could explain your situation and your steady increase in marks to them somewhere in your essay.</p>

<p>Also, kinda random, but is it easier to get into top US schools or UofM and such if you apply for a semester other than the typical Fall one?</p>

3

<p>You’ve got accepted to some great schools already, so I wouldn’t worry too much.</p>

<p>Also, you won’t get many informed answers by posting in the Canada section of the forum. Few Canadian high schoolers would be familiar with the admissions profiles of these universities.</p>

4

<p>U of M is much less selective than Northwestern. Btw, it makes me a little concerned that you haven’t done your homework: how can you know NU is for you if this basic information isn’t known yet? </p>

<p>You might be fine with Michigan. They accept 50% of their applicants, you are at aruond the 75th percentile on your SAT, and who knows how they will translate your GPA.</p>

<p>But wait, what is your overall gpa? They aren’t going to be looking at just your top 6. Does that help you? Also I just realiaed you haven’t gotten an SAT score yet so forget my advice: ‘aiming for’ and ‘actual’ SAT are entirely different things so no one can tell you anything about your odds at Michigan.</p>