chances (so far) at umich + some other schools - will chance back

I’ve been a lurker on these forums for a while, and when I got my ACT/SAT scores recently, I decided to cave lol. I’m a current 2nd sem junior.

Major: Comm. Studies / Psychology intended double major, with a voice and/or music minor.

College List: UMich (no 1 choice by far), NYU, USC, Vanderbilt, Boston University, Syracuse, Tulane, Northwestern, and three safeties (U of I, DePaul, Loyola)

Personal Info: White (Jewish) gay male, 110K income, two working parents, pretty upper middle class suburban life. High school I go is above average due to a good amount of kids enrolled in honors/APs. No hooks really, i don’t think being openly gay or Jewish is a hook in 2018. My brother is currently enrolled at Vanderbilt, and my father is a Syracuse alumni.

GPA: 3.75 UW / 4.6 W (honors and APs weighted on a five point scale)

ACT: 34 (36 R, 36 E, 32 M, 33 S)
SAT: 1550 (790 R, 760 M)
SAT II: Literature (792), World History (788), US History (781), Math Level One (779) - planning to take the one for Bio and Math Level 2 next year.
AP: World History (5) - taking Lang and US History this year and I’m pretty confident I can get 4 or higher on both. Planning on taking Calc BC, Lit, Bio, Psychology, and Spanish at the end of senior year.

Courseload:
Freshman Year: Honors English, Honors Geometry, Honors Biology, Honors World Civ, Honors Spanish 2, Broadcasting, Gym, Choir - All A’s, except for B’s in Geometry + Bio

Sophomore Year: Honors English, Honors Algebra 2, Honors Chemistry, AP World History, Honors Spanish 3, Broadcasting, Gym, Choir - same as freshman year, all A’s except B’s in Alg 2 + Honors Chem

Junior Year: AP Lang, Honors Pre Calc, Honors Physics, AP US History, Honors Spanish 4, Broadcasting, Choir, Psychology/Intro to Foods (required credit) - first sem was all A’s except for Pre Calc and APUSH, this semester I’m confident about an A in APUSH, but likely B’s in precalc and physics.

Senior Year Schedule: AP Lit, AP Calc BC, AP Bio, AP Psychology, AP Spanish, Broadcasting, Choir, Peer Group Leader + Student Exec Board

ECs (continuing all of these senior year):
-In School and Club Volleyball (9,10,11) Varsity starter since freshman year, club volleyball starter as well.
-In School Soccer (9,10,11) JV freshman year, Varsity sophomore and junior year
-Operation Snowball Retreat (9,10,11) - participant all three years, leader past two years, and i am one of four student directors next year
-School Broadcasting/Production Team (9,10,11) - I’ve had a radio show since sophomore year, have worked in the tv/radio areas, heading up radiothon this year, being a tech director for variety show, filming things for the school etc.
-Choir and Selective Performance Groups (9,10,11) - choir for all three years, in the two selective groups offered to male sophomores and older since sophomore year (co ed choir and all male a capella group)
-Theatre (9,10,11) - mainly supporting roles in school productions and combined school musical. member of the thespian troupe
-Student Board (9,10,11) - i was recently elected to be one of four VPs on the executive board next year
-Variety Show (9,10,11) - vocal ensemble all three years as well as a tech director this year
-Speech Team (10,11) - some reigonal placements, and i made it to nationals this year
-DECA (10,11) - same kind of stuff as speech
-World Languages Honor Society (10,11)
-Academic Resource Center Tutor (10,11)
-Tri-M Honor Society (10,11)

Job/Volunteer Experience:
-Job at an autoshop for two years
-Volunteer as a lead coach at a girl’s inner city volleyball camp over the summer, about 400+ hours with that combined with school sponsored volunteering

Don’t have essays and recs yet, but English is a strong subject of mine and I’m close with a ton of different teachers - I’m thinking a rec from my Broadcasting teacher and psych teacher/snowball sponsor so far.

I’ll chance back!

Your test scores are within the mid 50 and right above admission average while your uwGPA appeared a little bit low. Can you recalculate it without subgrade? Your course rigor is good. Are you in state for Michigan?

@billcsho I’m out of state and i don’t think my school recalculates

Ur EC’s are in depth and interesting, ur score is good, but your gpa is a huge hurt. Also how many ap’s does ur school offer? That being said:
UMich- accept
NYU- accept
USC- waitlist/accept
Vanderbilt-waitlist/accept
BU-accept
Syracuse-accept
Tulane-accept(show interest)
Northwestern-reject
Chance Back?
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1976885-recommendations-on-where-to-apply-also-unique-ec.html#latest

@jf09199 Umich recalculate your uwGPA without subgrade, not your school.

bump

Your ECs really show that you’re passionate about communications - that’ll definitely help. You could probably get into Syracuse pretty easily (Syracuse alumni father + awesome stats). For Michigan, are you in state or OOS? If you’re in state you’d definitely be able to get in, but OOS is harder. You have great stats and ECs, but OOS Mich is notoriously difficult.

^ 3.75 uwGPA would be near the 25th percentile for Umich. I know an in state student got rejected with 3.8 GPA and 33 in ACT a couple years ago. That is why I ask the OP to recalculate his/her uwGPA in UMich’s way. Having >1/4 of classes with B would still get a recalculated GPA around 3.75 or less. UMich considers GPA and course rigor as the most important factors, scores are just important.

Your test scores are great and you seem to be really involved in what you enjoy! Colleges love that. I think you have a great shot at all of the schools except Northwestern or Vandy. It’s also great that you take active leadership roles in activities. Your unweighted GPA would be the only thing that weighs you down, but with your SAT II scores I think you prove that you have a thorough understanding of your courseload.

@Harpguy2022 school offers 21 APs, and a good amount are through electives - (AP Studio Art, AP Macro/Micro etc). I’m in talks to take the AP Music Theory exam w/o the class rn

@iamverystressed2000 It’s my match school! I’ve done campus visits and I liked it a ton - I would not be disappointed going there. UMich is my reach school and my dream college though, and I’m strongly considering applying EA but OOS Michigan either EA or RD is extremely difficult. I live in Illinois and ton of people from my school got into UMich - about eight people attending and thirteen accepted in total this year.

Your chances are decent for all the schools on your list, except Vandy and Northwestern (as well as Tulane if you don’t show interest). Your UW GPA is below average for Michigan, especially for out of state, but your course rigor and test scores look good, and your ECs show dedication and passion. Syracuse is a good match school, and you could get a lot of aid there.

bump

Good shot everywhere except NW and Tulane (reg decision is 1.2%). Coursw rigor is good and test scores are really good. ECs are above average. Chance me back?
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1987018-ed-to-washu-stl-class-of-2022.html#latest

Wait, how did you get those SAT II subject test scores? Aren’t SAT scores supposed to be multiples of 10?

Really the only lacking part of your app is your gpa/course load. 3.75 is good for UW, but you definitely have less AP classes than some other applicants.
Ecs are amazing though, and testing is great.
R: vandy (they care a lot about gpa)
W: mich, nw, usc maybe
A: everywhere else

Chance me back?http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1973575-chance-an-environmental-engineering-hopeful-for-good-schools.html#latest

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/20596388/#Comment_20596388

@aeather ahh those were mistypes just round down/up to the closest lol

@MaizeScream hmm i’d say 3.75 is below average for umich - the average for out of state applicants is 3.9. i’m hoping recs, ECs, a very high interest level and the fact i’m applying to LSA will up my chances. do you think it’s worth it to apply ea?

I would say you have a good chance at UMich. Your GPA is a bit low but your test scores are great and you have real interest in your majors with your ECs - they like that a lot. Vandy and Northwestern are always a bit crazy, but I think you could have a chance there for sure. You could get into the rest for sure.

@jf09199 It would not hurt by applying EA at UMich as they only defer those not admitted to RD anyway. You should try to bring up your GPA in the first semester of senior year as you are near the border line right now. For OOS students applying to LSA, the admission rate is near 20%. With above average ACT and below average GPA, your chance would be around an average applicant.