Happy end of summer.
Welcome to the Michigan thread for Early Action. Hope you had a great summer. Ask questions but it’s helpful to have your unweighted GPA, Act /Sat scores, Major
We are here to help. I will more tomorrow but just wanted to get this up first. Go Blue!
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Hello Knowsstuff,
I lurked on the UMich boards last year to glean a bit of information and you and your colleagues, including Sushiritto, were incredibly helpful, patient, and supportive of the many people seeking advice and information. Thank you for participating again this year and I look forward to your insight in the EA process.
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To start things off,
D25 is an OOS (Kansas) student at a rural noncompetitive high school.
UW GPA: 4.0
Rigor: Will have taken by graduation 4 years each of English, Math, Science (5 years), Foreign Language (Spanish), and Social Studies. APs in World History (4), Biology (5), APUSH (5), English Lang (4). Will take AP Comp Gov and AP English Lit this year.
She has qualified as AP Scholar with Honor and the Rural / Small Town Recognition Program.
Standardized Test Score: ACT 34 (math is an outlier at 30 - Eng 35, Reading 36, Science 35). She has taken twice and has no desire for a third time. School average is 16.7.
She will be applying to LSA as a biology major. She has a particular interest in plant genetics.
Extra curricular activities:
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Forensics / Speech:
State Qualifier - Freshmen year in two events, Sophomore year in two events (finishing 4th in one event), Junior year in three events (first time in state history a student qualified in 3 events during same year - finishing 4th overall in one event).
National Qualifier - Sophomore year and Junior Year
President of Forensics Club and Team Captain
National Speech and Debate Honor Society: Superior Distinction -
Orchestra
State District Orchestra member as freshman, sophomore, and junior
High school select ensemble member - qualified for state competition as a freshman, sophomore, and junior -
Math Team (team member as a freshman, sophomore, and junior) and placed individually in several tournaments and winning one
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Attended HOBY on behalf of school. Learned of Zero Reasons Why and started the club at school. Half of the school is now a member of the club.
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Attended Girls State on behalf of school. Elected to City Council and House of Reps. Highest score on bar exam for represented city.
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Tennis: JV as a freshman, Varsity as sophomore and junior. Track as a freshman and sophomore.
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She is also president of school NHS and co-president of Zero Reasons Why club.
Relevant Biology Activities:
- Lab Intern for bovine genetics lab
- UChicago summer program in modern biology
- Paid research program with local university
- Internship with hydroponics company
Mostly just interested in whether she would be a competitive applicant out of state EA.
Thx. That is kind. I will add more as we go.
Yes! She’s a Rock star at a school that is not. That is perfect positioning. What is the past success with students getting into Michigan from your high school/ Region?
No need to retake the Act. 34 is like the Gold Standard for almost any school.
But… With close to 100,000 apps these day’s it’s a very difficult school to get into. FYI.
I cannot really say that anyone from her HS has ever applied to UMich. I have no idea about the region. The vast majority of the students either do not go to college or go to a community college, a subset go to one of several local / directional 4 year schools, a handful go to KU and KSU. Close to zero go to a 4 year out of state with any name recognition. That said, two years ago a student got accepted to Columbia and this past year another student got accepted to the joint Columbia / Tel Aviv program.
Talk to the student advisor. Ask. Would also look up her Michigan advisor assigned to your school /Region on the Michigan site under admission. Have your daughter ask them if they are coming to your region to give a presentation. It’s a nice light touch to let them know she’s interested and has the goods to get in. But have her look that information on the website also. There is more she can do but this is a start. Have her focus on a great essay.
Has anyone who has applied received their portal? We have been waiting a bit now. Happy to wait just wanted to check to make sure nothing is wrong.
@Knowsstuff and/or others: While we know that UMich is test optional, do you know how important submitting scores is for OOS students? Is it feasible to get accepted OOS without scores or is that a long shot?
I could not find data just for OOS, I would assume assume OOS admissions are much more competitive. About 52% submitted SAT scores and 18% ACT last year. See below …
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Yes. Not only feasible but happens yearly. My personal observation is having scores is a boost. It’s hard to unsee a 34 Act.
The essay counts. Write a good one.
I think it’s more important to see if you can afford the school. No sense of getting in and not being able to pay for it actually. Good luck.
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Some basics on applying to Michigan.
What kinds of student does University of Michigan look for? This comes up yearly.
Selection Process | University of Michigan Office of Undergraduate Admissions.
Essay is more important than you think. Take your time and write a good one.
Apply EA also. Very few cases that this would not apply.
How to get “real” information that Michigan uses? Common Data Sets. Most schools have their own. Look at section C and like C5-C7. Wealth of information on statistics, GPA, Sat/Act scores and chances of getting in. Do this for every school your applying to.
I noticed that in the most recent common data set it says they recommend scores.
Facts and figures…
4 years of Foreign Language is also recommended.
I posted the cds above for what they are looking for BUT, Not everything is written in stone. They evaluate you holistically. They really do. My son graduated Michigan in Industrial Engineering (Business Engineering). He had 3 years of Mandarin in high school, but in his senior year wanted to fit in Economics. He explained his rationale in a section on the common app that asked if there was something else to let the schools know about.
With any school you want to try to meet and better yet exceed their minimums.
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Should you apply EA? What schools can’t you apply EA? Answers are here…
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