@TheStressedMan Your GPA and course rigor are good. Your SAT is just beloow average. Try to improve your CR score for a better chance. It is currently a low reach for your from OOS due to the mediocre SAT and low admission rate.
[ *] College (LSA, engineering, etc.): Engineering main goal, probably going into LSA first.
[ *] SAT: N/A
[ *] SAT IIs (if sent): N/A
[ *] ACT: 25 Overall
[ *] UM unweighted GPA: 3.3
[ *] Rank: 142/565, top 25%
[ *] Other stats: AP Biology, AP Statistics, AP US History, Honors Physics.
[ *] Subjective (ECs, special circumstances, etc):
DSA (Diverse Student Association)
MSA (Muslim Student Association)
DECA
Build On (afterschool program designed to help students realize struggles and build schools in less fortunate areas of the world)
Tutoring
Round Table
[ *] Essays: Above Average
[ *] Teacher Recs: Great, very positive.
[ *] Counselor Rec: Very positive
[ *] Hook (legacy, recruited athlete, etc.): First Generation
[ *) Location/Person:
[ *] State or Country: Michigan
[ *] School Type: Public
[ *] Ethnicity: Asian
[ *] Gender: Male
[ *] major strength/weakness: Strengths would retain to my speaking skills and mathematics, weakness would be my efficiency in English and understanding different types of literatures.
[ *] Other Factors/questions:
Sorry to be harsh, but you have a very hard uphill climb. The GPA for the 2015 entering class was 3.85 v. your 3.3. The mid 50% ACT range was 30-34 v. your 25. Your class rank is not especially noteworthy and your EC’s don’t really stick out. You are going to need to write some extraordinarily effective essays.
@billcsho I am sorry if I sound ignorant, but could you please delineate what you mean by “low reach?” I presume you are suggesting that, though my chances are low, a reasonable sequence of favorable events could mean I get admission. So, I am I right in thinking that “low reach” means my profile is only slightly off-the-mark of what would be considered a good shot at gaining admission?
@TheStressedMan Low reach has a chance just below high match. It would be around 20% chance.
Ok, so my best bet would be to try again after this semester to see what improves? I can expect my GPA to go all the way up to 3.5 GPA if everything goes according to plan. I also do plan to retake the ACT and every practice test that I’ve taken and with help from my teachers I have been able to score on average above 28, possibly even hitting 32 if I get lucky on one. How would this improve my chances?
My counselor also told me if this happens, my class rank would jump from 142 to 78, just about in the top 15%. My essays are rather personal, and I had a lot of help from my English teachers. Reviews on it almost always were positive (from family to peers to teachers/counselors). So I believe that I got that part covered.
I appreciate every single piece of information you give me, no matter what tone it’s set in. I would rather have a clear definitive answer than a vague, “feel better about it” type of response.
Also I’m aware that the school that I currently attend is usually favored by Ann Arbor, (by favored I mean forced to accept a minimum number of students from my school for ‘ethical purposes’) so I think I have that going for me as well. I know people from last year’s graduating class that got accepted with far lower standards (3.1 GPA, 21 ACT, with only 1 or 2 EC — 3.5 GPA, 22 ACT but had just as many EC’s as I did, one fellow worth mentioning had a 3.3 GPA, but a 30 on the ACT and 0 EC’s). Any criticism is welcome for any of the misconceptions I may have.
I have to ask – as an alum - do they distinguish between SE Asian and, well, any other kind of Asian? I don’t mean to sound racist, I am just honestly curious if they are that granular.
[ *] College (LSA, engineering, etc.): LSA biology, preferred-ross
[ *] SAT (one sitting):none
[ *] SAT IIs (if sent): no SAT subject…AP Scores— APUSH-5, bio-4, lang-4, enviro-5, macro-5, micro-5
[ *] ACT: 33 (english: 34, math:31 (highest 32), reading: 32, science: 36)
[ *] UM unweighted GPA: 3.93
[ *] Course load (# of AP/IB/H, special courses, etc.): 9 AP, 1 IB, 7H
[ *] Rank: None
[ *] Other stats:
[ *] Subjective (ECs, special circumstances, etc): very involved in playing tennis at an extremely high level, 52 wks/ 20 hrs per week, working teaching tennis to kids, some volunteering
[ *] Essays: Common App (ok), U-M supplement (extraordinary)
[ *] Teacher Recs: good
[ *] Counselor Rec: very good
[ *] Hook (legacy, recruited athlete, etc.): none
[ *) Location/Person: ?
[ *] State or Country: Columbus, Ohio
[ *] School Type: Public
[ *] Ethnicity: White
[ *] Gender: M
[ *] major strength/weakness: rigor, GPA, supplements, ACT, EC’s, no weaknesses stand out
[ *] Other Factors/questions:
@hulk2318 18 If you were in state, I’d say match. You definitely have a good shot and I’m only tempering because of the low out of state admit rate. I’m a freshman and my roommate, who is from Ohio, had similar stats to yours. Good luck.
I did this a couple months ago, but I’ll try it again:
[ *] College (LSA, engineering, etc.): LSA
[ *] SAT: 2150 (not sending)
[ *] SAT IIs (if sent):
[ *] ACT: 34C (English: 35, Math: 30, Reading: 36, Science: 34)
[ *] UM unweighted GPA: 3.76
[ *] Rank: School doesn’t rank
[ *] Other stats: IB diploma candidate (6 IB classes + TOK + CAS)
[ *] Subjective (ECs, special circumstances, etc): Many general EC’s (Cleaning up parks, volunteering at festivals, reading to children at the library) Fair amount of demonstrated interest (Attended 5 events). NHS, Math Honor society, Spanish Honor society leader, Science Olympiad, some other clubs. Michigan seems to like my school, we have a lot of acceptances each year.
[ *] Essays: 7/10, I’m not that strong an essay writer, but I think I really showed how much I would love to attend
[ *] Teacher Recs: 2 recs, both 10/10
[ *] Counselor Rec: 8/10, I don’t know the counselor too well
[ *] Hook (legacy, recruited athlete, etc.): none
[ *) Location/Person:
[ *] State or Country: Michigan
[ *] School Type: Public
[ *] Ethnicity: URM
[ *] Gender: M
[ *] major strength/weakness: GPA, GPA, GPA, can’t stress it enough. I took a hit going into junior year with the IB courses but I’m on an upward trend.
[ *] Other Factors/questions:
Anyone still here?
[ *] College (LSA, engineering, etc.): Engineering
[ *] SAT:
[ *] SAT IIs (if sent):
[ *] ACT: 32: (E: 35, M: 31, R: 32, S: 28, W: 36)
[ *] UM unweighted GPA: 4.0
[ *] Rank: Top 10%
[ *] Other stats:
[ *] Subjective (ECs, special circumstances, etc): lots of ECs, honor societies, key club, chess club, robotics, very diverse ECs
[ *] Essays: very strong essay that outlines my growth as a poor student
[ *] Teacher Recs: very strong one from physics teacher and very strong from french teacher who i got to speak to a lot personally
[ *] Counselor Rec: probably very strong, i spoke to her every other week
[ *] Hook (legacy, recruited athlete, etc.): URM, poor(less than 35K income) lives in projects, first generation
[ *) Location/Person: NY
[ *] State or Country:
[ *] School Type: Public
[ *] Ethnicity: URM
[ *] Gender: Male
[ *] major strength/weakness: I think I worked very hard and took the hardest courses available and did the best I could with my limited family income. I had to do everything, but I hope it all pays off.
[ *] Other Factors/questions:
[ *] College (LSA, engineering, etc.): Engineering
[ *] SAT: None
[ *] SAT IIs (if sent): Chemistry: 780
[ *] ACT: 32C (E:32, M: 36, R: 25, S: 34) ; highest scores for each subject: (E:35, M:36, R:30, S:35)
[ *] UM unweighted GPA: 3.98
[ *] Rank: None
[ *] Other stats: 9 AP’s; 1 IB ; 10 total
5 AP’s and 1 IB from Freshman to Junior Year (AP chem, AP Bio, AP Calc AB, AP Computer Science, AP Lang, IB Chinese);
4 AP’s for Senior Year (AP Physics Mechanics, AP Physics E&M, AP Calc BC, AP Psych)
Special Awards: AP Scholar Distinction
[ *] Subjective (ECs, special circumstances, etc):
4 years Varsity Swimming (2015-2016 Captain; school record holder)
6 years Competitive Club Swimming (~15 hours a wk)
Programming Club (1 year; Co-founder & VP)
Piano (13 years) ; Played Competitive 8 years - Won a few awards
Intern during one summer (Helped develop a simply iPhone application)
4 years Science Club
3 years NHS - Relay for Life (2 years), American Red Cross, other volunteering (~200 hours)
2 years Chinese Club
Lifeguard (6 months)
[ *] Essays: 8.5/10 - showed my knowledge of the school pretty well
[ *] Teacher Recs: 9/10 ; Math and Physics Teacher - both liked me
[ *] Counselor Rec: Standard; 7/10
[ *] Hook (legacy, recruited athlete, etc.): Older sibling attends Umich engineering
[ *) Location/Person: One of the better schools in my area
[ *] State or Country: Michigan
[ *] School Type: Public
[ *] Ethnicity: Asian
[ *] Gender: Male
[ *] major strength/weakness: Strengths - GPA ; Weaknesses - ACT kinda low, no SPECIAL engineering-related activity
[ *] Other Factors/questions:
chance my daughter, please
I am in state at a small rural high school.
GPA: UW 3.8, W 4.1
APs: will have taken 5 out of 10 offered (World History: 3, Spanish: 2, Language & Comp: 3, Lit & Comp: TBD, Bio: did not take exam)
ACT: 31 is my highest with a writing score of 9
Activities: varsity cheer 9th, 10, 12 grade (state finalists), thespian society president (VP junior year), color guard captain junior & senior year, NHS vice president, Police Athletic League Leadership team (camp counselor in training 9-11th grade, counselor 12th, historian 2015-16), chorale (advanced choir) 10-12 grade, youth football league cheer coach, Focus HOPE (photography & diversity program in Detroit), HOSA 12th grade, National Society of High School Scholars, been in 17 theatre productions
Essays: I feel my essays were strong. UM has always been my dream school, so I displayed my passion in all three.
Recs: did not read counselor rec, but I am pretty close with her, so I feel confident it is a good depiction of me as a student, as I challenge myself a lot.
I also attended a student shadowing event, so I mentioned that in an essay. I don’t know if that matters.
Thanks!
@whizkid98 UMich LSA would be a very high match to low reach for you from in state. It really depends on your school profile report and your essay. Your GPA is a bit low but each school would have a different distribution curve.
@OMGDEVICE UMich CoE would be a reach for your. Your ACT is below admission average and your Math score is at or below 25th percentile.
@Iamdizzy UMich CoE would be a very high match for you from in state. Your ACT is below admission average but your Math score is good. Your GPA and course rigor helps too.
@einsteinsmom What is your D’s intended major? Her GPA and ACT are both right below admission average while course rigor is okay. LSA would be a very high match and CoE would be a reach.
What’s a high match?
[ *] College (LSA, engineering, etc.): Engineering for Computer Engineering (Early Action)
[ *] SAT: N/A
[ *] SAT IIs (if sent): Didn’t send but I got: 740 Math 1, 730 Chem, 690 Math 2
[ *] ACT: 33
[ *] UM unweighted GPA: 3.82
[ *] Rank: No idea
[ *] Other stats: 11 AP and Dual Credit Classes
- AP World History
- AP Chemistry
- AP English Language
- APUSH
- AP Computer Sci A / PLTW Computer Science and Software Engineering
- CAPP Spanish (Dual Enrollment)
- AP Psychology
- AP English Literature
- AP Calculus AB
- AP Biology
- Advanced Marketing (Dual Enrollment)
[ *] Subjective (ECs, special circumstances, etc):
- DECA (9-12)
- School Store (9-10)
- Indian Club (11-12)
- International Club (12)
- Chinese American Club (12)
- Key Club (12)
- Marketing Internship (12)
[ *] Essays: I’d say a (9/10) for my common app essay, and a (7/10) for my the Ann Arbor Essay
[ *] Teacher Recs: (9/10) from APUSH teacher and (7/10) from Math teacher
[ *] Counselor Rec: Didn’t send for this one, only sent to Cornell because it was required
[ *] Hook (legacy, recruited athlete, etc.): I make dank memes? (practically none)
[ *) Location/Person: Wisconsin
[ *] State or Country: United States of 'Murica (Permanent Resident)
[ *] School Type: Typical middle class public school in the suburbs
[ *] Ethnicity: Indian
[ *] Gender: Male
[ *] major strength/weakness: No ECs that relate to Engineering (There were none available here), also never took Physics, aside from a rigorous class called Bio-Phys in freshman year (50% Biology, 50% Physics)
[ *] Other Factors/questions: I applied Early Action
@billcsho Does it matter that my school has a 50% acceptance rate to michigan and based on naviance graph, no one has gotten rejected anywhere near my stats.
@OMGDEVICE Admission history of your school helps, but you still need stat in the range. Try to improve your Math score. Naviance shows cumulated data from previous years while the OOS admission rate of UMich has dropped by half within the last few years. I chance based on the current admission stat. Also, you are looking at CoE which has lower admission rate and higher admission stat than UMich overall. I know an in state student from a local feeder with ACT 33 got rejected too.