Hello!
I just wanted to know whether sophomore, junior, and senior grades are weighted more than freshman grades. Does the University of Michigan really dig upward trends? Responses are appreciated!
To a certain extent, but all the grades still matter. All B’s in freshman year, A’s and B’s sophomore year, and all A’s junior year looks better than the reverse of that. But an upward trend of D’s to B’s from freshman year to junior year probably won’t mean much.
A 3.8 with an upward trend looks better than a 3.8 with a downward trend, but both look worse than a 3.9.
Hopefully that makes sense
Yeah it does. I just wanted to make sure because I had straight B’s freshman year (with a few A’s), but i’m off to a great start sophomore year and just wanted to see if I still had a chance. Do you know the in-state acceptance rate for michigan, or for it’s neighboring schools like Skyline, Huron, Pioneer, Greenhills,etc…? @mjr2013
They do value upward trend but the calculate GPA from all grades without weight. The in state admission rate is around 50% but only around 10% of in state students actually apply to UMich due to self-selection. So there is only around 5% of Michigna HS graduates go to UMich. The local feeders send around 25% of students to UMich each year.
All universities look for trends. Junior year and the senior year mid year report are weighed more heavily than 10th grade transcripts, which is weighed more heavily than 9th grade transcripts.
What is self-selection? @billcsho
Self-selection means that only the best students apply, while the majority select themselves out (or are selected out by their counselors) before even applying.
billcsho, even OOS applicants self-select. If you look at the data, it is fairly evident that the majority of OOS applicants are high-stat.
So I already had a bad freshman year but doing better, should I count myself out? @Alexandre
I will probably have a 3.7 GPA by junior year
Impossible to tell without knowing how you do in 10th and 11th grades. Continue to do your best and get back to us one year from now.
Do you know what the LSA acceptance rate is for in-state? @Alexandre
@indianguy1 they don’t post those kind of specific stats, but it’s better than the 30% or whatever the entire pool has. A 3.7 as an in-state with an upward trend puts you in a decent position. Good test scores will get you in. Definitely don’t “give up” on any school sophomore year, and don’t listen to anyone who tells you to.
UMich (and most every university) loves their feeder schools. Those four you mentioned are prime examples for UM. Just as students within Michigan have a much better chance than out of state students, those Ann Arbor area schools that feed UM have an even better chance. I’ve heard of Pioneer having an 80%+ acceptance rate to UM in some years.
So, I maintained a 4.0 through sophomore year and then got two B’s first semester junior year and one second semester junior year. This makes my cumulative unweighted gpa a 3.94 through the end of my junior year. I will most likely get 2 B’s this semester as well which would bring my cumulative gpa to about a 3.9.
Does this look bad to an admissions counselor? The reason for this trend is the increased rigor. I took no AP classes freshman year and 2 honors classes, 1 AP class sophomore year with 2 honors classes, 2 AP classes junior year with 1 honors class, and am currently in 4 AP classes with 1 honors class. My B’s were in AP Biology, Honors Trigonometry/ pre-calculus and Shakespeare. I know it’s not a super drastic downward trend, but I’m still nervous about it. I’m out of state as well, and I know it’s harder to get in OOS.
@indianguy1 I used to work with admissions at Michigan. Upward trend is extremely important. Don’t count yourself out for a bad freshman year. Keep improving. Challenge yourself with AP/IB courses and earn As in those.
Do they forgive lower GPA’s with upward trends? I was dealing with some problems. @collegeappcoach
@indianguy1 It’s ALL about how you present yourself. For more help, message me privately. I am a private college application coach now.
I messaged you @collegeappcoach