out of state (NV) but spent freshman year in VA
white, middle-class girl
GPA: 4.0 UW/4.95 W (gpa is capped in district)
test optional
applying EA to school of kinesiology for sports management
classes (most rigorous available)
9th: honors english/bio/world history, geometry, spanish 3, photography
10th: honors english/algebra 2/chemistry, ap seminar, forensic science, psychology
11th: ap lang, ap stats, ap research, apes, apush, math 126/127, forensic science 2
12th: eng 101/102, ap calc ab, ap physics 1, dual gov/econ
total: 8 APS, 6 dual credit (taken from UNR)
extracurriculars
statistics officer of school’s eco club (11, 12): led initiative to fund classroom recycling bins and monitored efficiency; developed thrift store to upcycle lost & found items
founder of dogsitting business (10, 11, 12): designed community advertising campaign and built strong client relationships resulting in 5+ repeat customers
lead data collector & analyst for energy audit (11): iniated study of school’s energy consumption and presented at multple conventions
hostess/busser/food runner at locally owed restaurant (11, 12)
vice president of best buddies (10, 11, 12): organize monthly social events, teach life skills, encourage inclusion, and develop personal relationships with each student
university of michigan joy of coding participant (summer before senior year)
nhs
essays
common app was about being a picky eater and how trying one new food transformed my ability to go outside my comfort zone. tied in themes about moving and how my love for stats began
umich community essat was about finding a community within other hockey fans and crediting the detroit red wings’ rebuild for sparking my passion for sports analytics
umich “why us” essay went very in-depth on their sports management program, including a specific professor and classes about detroit sports specifically. i briefly mentioned my dream for working for detroit’s professional sports and tied in the joy of coding class
Your downfall here will be TO - as 70% have a test and that will likely rise.
They label test scores as important - and I’m sure some of the delta to 100% is athletes, first gen, etc.
But given the major, there’s tons of great schools that will get you to exactly the same place - and given U of M is $80K a year - with a price up the last two years and grad school is likely, please make sure you have planned for a longer than four year cycle budget wise.
I don’t think that grad school is necessarily likely. Depends what OP wants to do with their degree. I know a recent graduate of this very program at Michigan. No grad school and got an awesome job with U.S. Olympic Team. Got to go to Paris for the Olympics and Paralympics.
I think you look like a strong candidate. But being oos and the fact it’s a small program works against all candidates. You don’t need to go to graduate school if you don’t wish to. This is one of the best Sports Manangment programs in the country, which I know your aware. Demand for a job will be there.
my test scores were too low that i felt it would deminish the value of my gpa. i took the act 4 times and the sat twice. my highest in both were below the 25th percentile. i know when going test optional, they place a heavier emphasis on gpa (and extracurriculars & essays) so i’m hoping my 4.0 can make up for that. i appreciate the time you took for your response, thank you!!
my two other options if i get rejected are university of minnesota (twin cities) for sport management and university of denver for finance. so even if i don’t get the degree from michigan, i can still be around good networking and sport programs so hopefully i can achieve what the recent graduate you mentioned has i greatly appreciate your input!
The School of Kinesiology is the 4th largest school at Michigan with roughly 1,250 undergraduate students total.
The School of Kinesiology’s freshman class is roughly 250-300 students with about 50% of those freshman being Sports Management majors.
Besides being one of the best programs in the US, Michigan reserves about 50% of those SM spots for scholarship athletes (varies year-to-year), which makes admission to the SM program difficult.
It was my only option for major as I didn’t want to major in just Business. Denver doesn’t have a stats major, only minor, as well a Kinesiology & Sports Studies minor. Maybe I’ll change my major to marketing since it’s more applicable to sports industry. But finance was my second-choice career when I was applying. My ultimate goal is sports analytics, but I’m open to exploring different niches within sports.
Ahhhh sports analytics. Yep you can do stats. Not sure why finance.
Denver seems an odd choice.
Did you apply to Syracuse or Akron…yep Akron. Iowa’s would be a U of M sub - tops in the major. But for analytics, Syracuse.
If Michigan happens, great. If not UMN is great.
I have an ex relative in a very high up position - millions a year - he would not let his child in sports management. They majored in marketing (something I would push my kid away from).
I can tell you as an ex sports tv guy - the supply far outstrips demand in any entry sport admin jobs so salaries are atrocious. Think about that b4 going to a school like Michigan.
your insight genuinely means a lot and i’ll take everything you said into account! i’ve been back and forth on finance and sports for years. the whole money vs passion debate. the biggest factor in college apps was if it was a d1 hockey school, explaining the denver choice (and it being a safety). i applied to minnesota super last minute so never toured but i’m waiting on michigan decisions before i book that flight. i wish i did more research as far as syracuse though!!!
for denver, i guess they never updated their website so when i was deep diving into their kinesiology and sports studies minor, i saw they made it a major option in 2023!
My biggest concern with Michigan is cost vs likely salary, toiling for a minor league baseball team. Or third tier college as an asst SID.
If your family doesn’t have financial concerns affording U Michigan, then great.
UMN can be half the price.
If you don’t like it, there would still be time for others or you go DU.
Even at DU, you can minor in stats.
Do your best to get in with - DU Athletics, Mines Athletics, any other small local college. At Syracuse, I started with hs football. That’s where you find opportunities to build a resume.
i’ve weighed the financial aspect—denver and minnesota would be a few thousand a year after scholarhips, fafsa, and other money set aside. if i got into michigan and went, i’d def be taking a gamble on myself in a very tough industry. so everything you said makes complete sense, and i thank you so so much!!
i greatly appreciate your input!