ECs, GPA, Chances of getting in, personal statement?

Colleges & Universities University of Michigan
1

Let me first start by saying I fucked up my freshman and sophomore year, theres are the grades I had (we use a 12 point scale if that counts for anything)
Freshman year :

English 9 : C / D

Spanish 1 : A- / B+

Geometry : B- / C

Chorus : B+ / A-

Phys Ed : C / B-

Advance Earth Science : C+ / D+

World History : A- / B-

Sophomore year :

Beginning Art : A- / A-

Spanish 2 : B+ / A-

English 10 : B- / A-

Algebra 1 : B+ / C

Intermediate Choir : B+ / B+

Advance Biology : C- / C-

American History : B- / B-

(I dont have my grades for this semester yet, but I know I have a B, B, A, A or A-, B or A, C+ and around a C.)

Personal statement : Why did I fuck up those two years? I was going through anorexia and bulimia, and at the end (August 2014) I just stopped, literally just stopped. There was no reason why I did. My sophomore year I stupidly got involved with someone older than me who looking back on, was manipulative. So when I write my personal statement I think I might just touch on the subject of a manipulative ex too). Would those be too personal to add to my personal statement? (also a mentally abusing mother, who told me when she found out i was purging mid-freshman year “stop purging you fat pig”)

ECs : I’ve been in a non mandatory music class since 4th grade, in a choir that meets at the evenings sometimes, and I have piano lessons every week. (You dont need to listen to this song, but the first song I learned on piano was Guadosalam by FFX) inside school I was in a “club” from 6th-8th grade, but someone told me they dont care about what you did in middle school, so I think I might not touch on that as much as I will on music).

This could be a “chance me” post, but I would rather look to seek out what to elaborate on, add detail to and what to leave out when writing my personal statement next year.

Also, what are some other good schools that have a nice psychology program? (Besides State, they are already by backup)

2

Your GPA is likely far below the admission range.

3

I don’t want to be cruel, but I’ll be blunt, and if it comes off as cruel, that was not the intention. I have a similar friend who struggled with ED in her early years of high school, and unfortunately she too is feeling the impacts years later, as her grades followed a similar pattern. In all honesty, you do not have any chance at UofM, and I’m not sure about State either. Your ACT this spring will also be a major factor in your admissions. Have you taken any practice tests that indicate your possible score? I recommend you practice for the ACT however much you need to in order to get a 25 at least. It would be better if you scored higher, because if you score high on the ACT in makes up for your lack of GPA, perhaps a 28 or 30 on the ACT could get you into State.

I would recommend joining a few clubs while you still have time, because you need extracurricular activities on your applications. It wouldn’t look very good if you left those blank. You can’t put things from middle school. If you are still set on State then I would say take some advanced/honors/AP classes too and do well in them to make your transcript better.

Please consider some other schools, because as you stand right now, your chances at uofm are nonexistent and chances at state are not so good. I’m not sure which schools are the best at psychology, but I’m sure it’s offered at Wayne State, Grand Valley, Saginaw, Central, Eastern, etc. Unless you want to go to community college for 2 years to raise your gpa and then try to transfer to State, I would consider these schools. Best of luck to you, and you still have lots of time.

Edit: also, it is not wise to describe your poor mental health states in your essays. Admissions officers will judge you and they will be worried you could have problems on their campus. Best to not mention those in the essays, but rather briefly mention in the “extra information” section of the application that this is the reason your grades were so poor.

4

I was in a “club” where parents pay to let their children travel - so far i’ve been to Peru, Greece and Amsterdam. My school calls it a club but its really not, I dont know if I should add that or not.