<p>My nephew is a really bright rising senior but I fear his urban poverty setting and non-degree parents put him in an ethos that jeopardized his competitiveness. His GPA, ACT score and URM status will get him accepted into Michigan (just barely) but I feel like hes currently far too behind his 17-year-old peers, who already have a bundle of AP classes on their transcript and are gunning for medical school or Ross. Is it too late for him to buckle down and get on the course to medical school? I believe his URM status could help propel him into some amazing opportunities, but Im not sure hell ever develop that hyper-competitiveness that it takes to survive on those tracks. Hes not around any children or parents who instill that behavior, and Im not sure if its already too late.</p>
<p>Every student begins freshman year undeclared, and the majority of them remain that way through the end of the year. You don’t need AP credit or anything of the sort to go pre-med. It’s entirely possible to begin with introductory courses freshman year and still complete the curriculum. As far as academics go, your nephew need not worry about getting on a track to medical school. The competitiveness and focus on the future could be different story, however. Whether or not he can develop the necessary drive to make it through is up to him. It’s not too late at all, but he should start thinking about his path and his goals sooner rather than later.</p>
<p>According to UM’s LSA AP Guidelines, students could enter Ann Arbor with a year of college already under their belt. I’d venture to say even the “average” Michigan freshman who’s gunning for med school or Ross has at least a college semesters worth of AP credit they’re transferring in. It seems VERY difficult to compete for spots with peers who are that much more advanced, and have such a command for the the course work, no?</p>
<p>Can’t comment much about pre-med. But regarding Ross, absolutely. I mean it’s not even "hyper"competitive. Also note that not everyone has a year worth of AP credits, especially if you are from small private schools. More like a term worth.</p>
<p>The expectations of classes in freshman year is pretty generic (SOC, PSYCH, Some math, etc) with a few more classes in your field of interest. I had the liberty to be undeclared and 4/8 of my classes were Econ.</p>
<p>Also many people change with new environment. The new college feel can provide for that hyper competitiveness you are looking for. The environment overall isn’t as “motivating,” but personal goal and reasons are plenty enough for him to be as competitive as he needs to be. IMHO.</p>
<p>I came in with 2 AP credits, undeclared, with a mediocre high school GPA and I will be at Ross next fall. Anything is possible if you are motivated enough.</p>
<p>I entered with 12 AP credits (only using 7 of them) and I’m on track to graduate a semester early. AP credits don’t help very much at UMich unless they get you out of intro courses for your major, and even then it only helps with a few classes at the most. It’s all about getting requirements out of the way as soon as possible and being determined.</p>
<p>Ignore the past… worry about the future. I’m too lazy to sit here and rehash what everyone else has said about going into college with credits already. All I can say is you can’t teach someone how to be competitive… if they don’t want to then you can try to find ways to motivate them but you CANNOT teach competitiveness. Also competitiveness is not really based on environment… tbh. You either grow up and instill it upon yourself or you don’t. Sure having asian parents yelling at you can help but it often backfires.</p>