OT: Getting into UofM
I am currently a junior in high school, and am beginning my college selection process. Since I was a kid, Michigan has been one of my dream schools. My question was: to all of the MGoBloggers who have recently attended and are attending michigan, what do you think helped you get in? While this is by no means the only research I am doing on the topic, I think it would be very useful for me and anyone else in a similar situation. Any info would be appreciated.
PS: i say recently because i know standards have changed over the years. My dad got into michigan with a 3.5, and i know that wouldnt get him in in 2010
Edit: thanks to everybody. The one highlight i am taking from this (and will tell my friends) is to enroll early. I didnt know to do this before i started this thread.
October 7th, 2010 at 3:25 PM ^
Surprised at all this GPA talk, I got in with a 3.4 on a weighted scale in 2004 (two week response late in selection and no alumni in family).
October 7th, 2010 at 3:25 PM ^
I had a great GPA, but my SAT score wasn't as strong. I just graduated from UM in 09. Definitely get involved in as many things as possible, volunteer, sports, student government, jobs. Numbers are important, but they look at the whole package. The essay can really set you apart, as well. I had fun with my essay. I dont know if it's still the same prompts, but I wrote about a difficult time I overcame. I wrote it in the style of the excitement of a football game: 1st quarter, 2nd quarter etc. I was hoping they hadn't seen that from many girls applying.
Good Luck and Go Blue!!!
October 7th, 2010 at 3:25 PM ^
I had a 28 ACT score and a 3.7 high school gpa (Admitted for Fall 2007). I took AP classes that were unweighted in my hs GPA so that probably helped out. The essays are key for the application. Show everything you have done outside of school. Volunteer work is good in general, but it also looks good to the U. Overall, just show you bring more than a good GPA. Everyone who applies (mostly) is intelligent. Its the things outside the classroom which put people over the top (unless you are so smart its ridiculous).
Also, get the app in early. You will have a much better chance if you get it in early. There are so many apps, you need to take any advantage you can to have your app stand out.
October 7th, 2010 at 3:26 PM ^
Have your application ready to be submitted by the start of your senior year of college. Ask for letters of recommendation towards the end of your junior year so that you don't have to wait for them. If you apply early, the standards are much lower based on the fact that you aren't being compared to anybody else.
Do well on your standardized testing and write totally bitchin' essays. Take classes that show you're challenging yourself. A B in AP calc is going to look a lot better than an A in whatever non-calc class your school has seniors take. Especially if you're from in-state, admissions officers have a good idea of what courses schools offer, and if you're opting for classes that are obviously easier, it's going to work against you quite a bit.
If you're hurting for extracirriculars, go to meetings for a few clubs or something so you can say that you were "in" them, but you don't need to kill yourself trying to be president of 8 different things.
October 7th, 2010 at 3:27 PM ^
A lot of times people cite specific reasons why they got in with what they perceive to be lower than what they would expect numbers. I think residency has a lot to do with this, as I am under the belief that admission to U of M is a bit easier if you have residency in state.
October 7th, 2010 at 3:46 PM ^
This is true. The University feels it is their civil responsibility to have a student body of roughly 2/3 in-state students and 1/3 out-of-state students (this comes from someone high in the president's office, not just my own reasoning).
October 7th, 2010 at 4:15 PM ^
And for getting state funding as a public school. I think it's capped at 60%.
October 7th, 2010 at 5:31 PM ^
my numbers weren't amazing 3.9GPA and a 29 on the ACT I had a few extracurricular's and I was able to get in to the CoE and honestly I don't believe I would have gotten in if I wasn't from Michigan
October 7th, 2010 at 7:14 PM ^
I'm pretty sure the filings in the Gratz case showed that in the formula for admission you got points for being in-state. Bonus points from being from an underrepresented part of the state (read: bumfark U.P. or something like that). They eliminated that points system but they still take all those same things into account.
October 7th, 2010 at 3:28 PM ^
-Definitely apply early. As mentioned, we have rolling admissions.
-Make sure to take challenging courses in high school. Getting a B in an AP course may be better than getting an A in a blowoff class. Take foreign language classes - those are big.
-Study hard for the ACT and take it multiple times if needed (colleges are not informed about how many times you've taken it, whereas they are in the case of the SAT).
-Mention in your essay that you're a legacy (it may sound lame, but this helps)
-Try to do extracurricular stuff where you can. This can include things like volunteer work. Think about what might separate you from another applicant.
-Do not slack off academically as a senior. Your grades as a senior can be used to evaluate you - and it's even possible for an admitted student to have his/her spot revoked if the second-semester grades fall off a cliff. I can assure you that college is 100 times more fun than high school, so it's worth it.
Good luck!
October 7th, 2010 at 3:29 PM ^
Echoing sentiments... A quick rundown of my "stats" I applied in October, got in in January (2005 grad)
4.67 weighted GPA (3.2 unweighted, but all honors/APs) and I got a 34 on the ACT. I did decently on my SAT IIs, but did not take the standard SAT. Involved in a few clubs and played sports all 4 years, was a captain a few times. Didn't write particularly well but got a LOT of help from English teachers/others on my essays.
Good Luck!
October 7th, 2010 at 3:30 PM ^
and test scores, NHS, sports, Boy Scouts etc., I think I really nailed my essay and my advisor would always talk to me about that. I honestly can't remember (this was 1996) if you could choose any topic at all or if they give you a broad list of them to choose from but do your best to not pick the road most traveled.
October 7th, 2010 at 5:25 PM ^
I still don't understand the purpose of that organization.
October 7th, 2010 at 3:30 PM ^
Essays essays essays. The University is huge on its diversity, and will have essays on the topic when you apply. Make sure you spend a lot of time on these and have several people revise them for you before submitting the app.
October 7th, 2010 at 3:37 PM ^
One of the essays this year is on diversity.
October 7th, 2010 at 3:48 PM ^
It's always there. This is the University's middle fingered response to the voters of Michigan for taking away affirmative action.
October 7th, 2010 at 4:02 PM ^
Yeah, but you can emphasize diversity in a lot of ways. I wrote my MBA diversity essays about how I've led and worked with people from many, many different backgrounds and education levels, adding in my desire to start an unoffered club. I'm as white bread as it gets, but it made me seem very different from other applicants.
October 7th, 2010 at 3:42 PM ^
It's interesting getting all these profiles on MGoUsers. I would never have been able to get into Michigan for undergrad. Hell, I was barely let into the regional branch of my state's school.
Thank god for grad school.
October 7th, 2010 at 3:42 PM ^
There are a variety of factors that go into your acceptance:
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<br>1. Your gpa. Now a 3.5 at Monroe high school is not the same as a 3.5 at Ann Arbor pioneer. If you go to a very good school and your gpa is okay that's better than going to a bad school and having an okay school.
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<br>2. Act/sat score. This matters not as much as the gpa. It's like in recruiting the main thing is looking at film and camps just help you get exposure but it's just one day to show off your aptitude compared to everyone else.
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<br>3. Your essays are important but the things that you need to keep in mind for those are that admissions counselors are reading thousands of these so
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<br>A. Make sure that spelling and grammar are perfect
<br>B. Make it interesting. Make it different. Everyone writes about the same experiences. Write out things that aren't in your transcript.
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<br>4. It depends on what you're applying into but of you're applying to the school of nursing or are looking at going into service fields volunteer Work
<br>Is highly encouraged.
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<br>5. Take hard classes you senior year. Take AP classes. Dual enroll at college. A lot of people blow off their senior year but it's important not to because in a year you're going to be at Michigan so you'd better try to get as well prepared as possible and not slack off.
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<br>6. The last thing I can think of right now is one of the most important. Get your application in early. 2 identical people will apply one early and one later. The earlier one gets in the later doesn't (like in recruiting the class fills up and you wanna hold out for those 5* academic prospects getting rejected by harvard)
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<br>When I applied way back in 2003 I went to a shitty high school. Took 3-4 college classes at community, took pretty much every AP class at my high school (around 5-6). I had a 4.0 gpa unweighted and was #1 in my class along with 28 other students (so dumb everyone above a 4.0 is number one). I also applied to engineering with an overall act of 29 with better math and science scores.
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<br>Supposedly admissions has gotten harder so competitively you should be at least 3.5 with at least a 25 on the act (wait did they change it so the top score changed hell I forget).
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<br>Good luck.
October 7th, 2010 at 4:01 PM ^
Expanding on bouje's answer (which was really good), I would add that it also depends on the particular college at the University you're applying to. For example, I graduated in the late 90's and was a member of LSA's student government when the lawsuit was filed challenging the admission policies to the law school and LSA s alleging U-M unfairly considered race as part of the equation. I attended a presentation that discussed exactly how applicants are admitted to LSA. This formula was later reprinted in the Supreme Court's decision, 539 US 244, 277-78 (2003):
"When the University receives an application for admission to its incoming class, an admissions counselor turns to a Selection Index Worksheet to calculate the applicant's selection index score out of 150 maximum possible points—a procedure the University began using in 1998. Applicants with a score of over 100 are automatically admitted; applicants with scores of 95 to 99 are categorized as "admit or postpone"; applicants with 90-94 points are postponed or admitted; applicants with 75-89 points are delayed or postponed; and applicants with 74 points or fewer are delayed or rejected. The Office of Undergraduate Admissions extends offers of admission on a rolling basis and acts upon the applications it has received through periodic "[m]ass [a]ction[s].
In calculating an applicant's selection index score, counselors assign numerical values to a broad range of academic factors, as well as to other variables the University considers important to assembling a diverse student body, including race. Up to 110 points can be assigned for academic performance, and up to 40 points can be assigned for the other, nonacademic factors. Michigan residents, for example, receive 10 points, and children of alumni receive 4. Counselors may assign an outstanding essay up to 3 points and may award up to 5 points for an applicant's personal achievement, leadership, or public service. Most importantly for this case, an applicant automatically receives a 20 point bonus if he or she possesses any one of the following "miscellaneous" factors: membership in an underrepresented minority group; attendance at a predominantly minority or disadvantaged high school; or recruitment for athletics."
Now, although the SCOTUS undergraduate admissions policy found the above formula to be unconstitutional, it did so on the basis that "diversity" factor was given too much weight. I would bet that the formula admissions uses today is similar so that you could *roughly* determine your chances of getting into LSA. Like I said, the college of engineering has its own criteria but this should give you an idea of your chances.
Good Luck.
October 7th, 2010 at 3:52 PM ^
In addition to what other posters have listed, I'd suggest taking a close look at people from your high school who applied successfully in recent years. That will give you the best clue of what will "make the grade."
UMich had (and maybe still has) some sort of "degree of difficulty" factor that they use to do some rough GPA leveling. In plain terms, a B+ at a top-end school might be worth more than an A- at a semi-rural high school where the competition isn't as good.
Echoing what others have said, definitely smoke the SAT/ACT/both. Big ROI in that area ... if you get 1600 on the SAT no one will care whether you volunteered at the hospital (although that may be useful when applying to med school).
October 7th, 2010 at 3:52 PM ^
Applied and admitted back in 1999, so I'm sure the standards have changed. The most important suggestion is to have a clear idea of your major (even if it changes) when you apply. I wanted to be an ME when I applied, so my application, my schooling, my work experience, etc. were all tailored with that goal in mind. The fact that I changed to EECS once I arrived is irrelevant - make it clear you have a goal, and you are able sell yourself more effectively.
Make it clear in your essays why you are applying to UM and why you are a great fit - don't try to reuse applications for other schools or stick to generalities. College admissions officers have to read thousands of applications, so something that sounds generic will be treated as a throw-away application.
Raw numbers mean something, but from what I've gathered they are not the be-all end-all. I forget my GPA (decently high, top-10 of my admittedly small HS class of 160 or so), and I think my ACT scores were pretty solid (29) before I retook them (32) - I do believe that I was admitted with the 29 before the 32 scores were received by UM, but I'm not sure. Taking a challenging workload as a junior and senior definitely helped, because honors, AP, and IB classes are definitely viewed favorably because they simulate (to an extent) the college workload. Beyond that, be a member of clubs, volunteer, play sports if you can (I was a captain for the Track and CC teams, and that definitely helped), and in general by a civic-minded, well-rounded individual. Of course, if you are excellent in some field that will definitely help, but for most applicants just show that you are a good candidate and by yourself.
Finally, don't freak out during the waiting process, and don't internalize whether you are admitted or not. If you are admitted, it just means you overcame the first hurdle in the millions college will throw at you. If you are not admitted, it doesn't mean you are not a smart, successful person, just not the right fit for UM at that time. Keep your head up, keep working hard wherever you ultimately attend, and keep rooting for the Wolverines on Saturday. Good luck!
October 7th, 2010 at 3:55 PM ^
I applied to the College of Engineering late summer / early fall of '99.
I had a 34 on my ACT, and a 3.8 - 3.9 GPA. I had been involved in extra curriculars (drum major of high school mmb), and won a citizenship award from my city.
I ended up waitlisted, while most of my friends (most with worse grades / scores) got accepted.
It was probably a combination of the college, luck, and my essay.
But I finally got accepted in late spring. The one friend who didn't went to a different school, applied as a transfer student, and got in the following fall.
If it's what you want don't let the first no, or wait list discourage you. Consider it a challenge and keep working.
October 7th, 2010 at 3:54 PM ^
How's your pad level? That matters...
Good luck, I'm applying to business schools, and it's cutthroat. I've been out too long to give you specific pointers about undergrad, but the below certainly holds true for graduate admissions and will likely benefit an undergrad as well (I've tried to edit this for undergrads, forgive me if I'm too out of touch).
Spend the time and effort prepping for the SAT and continue to get strong grades in school. Get a prep book and spend the time at a minimum. Your competitors are spending the time. You can't change what you have or have not done to this point, but you can work hard to mitigate any weaknesses and make yourself stand out. If you've got some grade issues, think about taking classes this summer at community college. If you decide to do that, get As. Ensure you've got solid activities and community service in there as well.
I think Michigan switches to the Common Application this year. Go to https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/DownloadForms.aspx and study the application. The application itself is pretty basic, but you need to have answers to potential majors, academic interests, something called "Decision Plan," your academic record, test scores, and extracurriculars. There's about ten spaces in extracurriculars, so have something to fill up a large portion of them.
The essays are a great area to make yourself stand out. Remember, a school like Michigan gets thousands of undergrad applications each year. Assuming an applicant meets their minimum GPA/test score criteria, someone has to read each essay and grade them. These are HR people at heart. They like good stories and would prefer to be engaged by an essay. Imagine reading 1000 essays about global warming that don't have a personal slant, for example.
With that in mind, the short essay asks you to elaborate on an activity. What have you done that demonstrates leadership potential or is really interesting? If you are an average high school football player, writing about liking football isn't too interesting--a lot of people will say that. If you're a captain of the team and can talk about how much you've grown as a result of that experience, it becomes a much better read.
There are six general essays on this year's common application. They aren't going to change too much, because there are only so many good essay topics. Again, think about how you are interesting and look at it from the perspective of an admissions officer when deciding which to pick. Stay away from politics--far, far away. You never know what the reader's perspective will be. If you're very conservative and they're very liberal, they may not look favorably on you, regardless of the quality of your essay. This is a big deal for me because I'm in the military. Walking the line discussing my experiences overseas is difficult.
The first topic this year seems like a great way to stand out. It basically asks you to describe a particular experience that had a profound impact on your life and why. This allows you to talk about why you're special and why you should be admitted. You have an experience in the last year or so that really matters to you that will make you sound awesome--everyone does. Find that experience and write about it. Focus only on the positive. Don't talk about how stupid your teacher, coach, friend, etc is--focus on you and positive teamwork. Negatives don't work. You're joining a community, and admissions people want to know you'll fit in and contribute. Again, don't spend the whole essay talking about the experience, talk about the experience relatively quickly and then get into its effect and why you are special. The essay has a 250 word minimum, but no maximum. Don't take that as an invitation to write 25000 words. Don't write about hobbies that make you seem anti-social. Playing Warcraft all night, every night is fine, but don't talk about it--again, community.
Finally, have someone smart proofread the essays and your application. Typos make you seem lazy and/or not intelligent.
October 7th, 2010 at 3:55 PM ^
4.0 the next two years, idk what your GPA is now but it's probably the biggest factor they take into consideration, unless you have exemplary test scores (Talking 32+ composite on ACT).
October 7th, 2010 at 3:58 PM ^
I was shocked when I got in (got in 2004). I literally had just put the stamp on my application to little brother's house after going 2 months without hearing anything from U of M (my dream school as well). My GPA was median at the time (3.75) and my ACT was median as well (27). Being white and middle class and a devout Christian (which all of my charity work was under such an influence) kind of made me expect the worst.
And looking back at it, there was nothing to make me stand out except I busted my butt on the essay. Revised unnecessary sentences. Made it exciting. Part of it was acknowledging my lack of exposure to diversity ( I am assuming we have similar essay requests) so I think that kind of self-deprecation helped. But Primarily my goal in my essay was not to be boring and use humor. I didn't care if it they ended up laughing at my essay and rejecting it. I knew that making my essay uniform and ordinary would get me rejected as it was. So i had to go on a limb and be risky with my essay and allow my personality to come out. Maybe I am overestimating my essay's value in getting me in, but from what I can tell there were many others i came across who got higher GPA's and slightly higher ACT scores and didn't get in. The only thing i can think is my essay won out.
October 7th, 2010 at 4:10 PM ^
1. Apply as early as possible
2. Have a good GPA
3. Have ok to great test scores
4. Don't mess up anything else in the application: essays, recommendations, etc.
It's pretty formulaic and straightforward. Your best plan of action is to work as hard as possible on your grades before it's time to apply.
October 7th, 2010 at 4:11 PM ^
...would be to very seriously consider going to school outside of the United States. With the price of higher education in America spiralling upward (and most entry level salaries remaining flat) the risk of graduating into a debt trap is very real. Even if you are paying international student rates in many foreign countries the cost may still be much less than comparable schools in the US. You'll experience some true cultural diversity and, should you later decided to apply for graduate studies in law, business, medicine, etc (hint: U of M has some top ranking in these categories), you will likely be a much more attractive candidate at that time.
In retrospect, I'd also consider doing a "gap year." I know that's not really answering the question of the original post, but it is the sort of thing that I wish I now could have told the high school version of myself.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
October 7th, 2010 at 4:38 PM ^
I got in this past year with a 3.6 unweighted (4.2 w) and a 31 on my act. Extra factors that helped me out was attending a fairly prestigous private school (40 kids accepted to U of M out of a class of 160), taking the hardest possible courseload I could (including the IB diploma program) and possibly my position as track captain.
October 7th, 2010 at 4:47 PM ^
In addition to everything said here, it also wouldn't hurt if you could play DB.
October 7th, 2010 at 4:51 PM ^
I'm a freshman in CoE at the moment. I applied around September last year, and got accepted the week before the PSU game, so getting in your application early most certainly does help. My metrics (at the time of application, senioritis got me on the gpa my senior year) 4.0 GPA, 32 ACT, NHS Treasurer, 4 years in marching band, failed attempts at athletics, 2 AP's junior year and 3 senior year.
But yeah, strive for the most rigourous coursework you can handle while still maintaining a high gpa, rock the ACT, and apply as early as possible would be my suggestions.
October 7th, 2010 at 5:06 PM ^
I got into UM with a 4.0 GPA (unweighted) and a 33 ACT. If I had to do it again I would have taken an ACT prep course, because taking those exams (ACT and SAT) with no preparation was foolish in hindsight. The high school extracurriculars were fun, but I doubt they made much of a difference.
Going to Michigan was the best decision I ever made because it rounded me out as a person and was the starting point for several relationships that have shaped my life in a positive manner.
October 7th, 2010 at 5:20 PM ^
If you have a 3.8+ and a 30+ ACT, you'll be fine.
October 7th, 2010 at 5:27 PM ^
Is an excellent excuse for alumni and current students to post their academic bona fides while pretending they're not bragging. You have done a great service for the egos of the MGoCommunity, OP. This can only be good karma for the admissions process.
October 7th, 2010 at 6:12 PM ^
I think I applied right around this time as well. Over Winter Break (in Feb) I called the acceptance hotline thingy and got:
Woman's voice: "You have applied for ...[pause]...LSA"
....[pause, I take deepest breath of my life]....
Woman's voice: "You have been accepted to ...[pause]...LSA"
I then proceeded to run into my parents' room and do the whole push-button thing all over again with the thing on speakerphone...
Woman's voice: "You have applied for ...[pause]...LSA"
Dad: "Is that it?"
Mom: "Shhhhh - I ca...."
Woman's voice: "You have been accepted to ...[pause]...L..."
At this point my dad and brother (now a Sparty who hates when I remind him he spent 2/3rds of his life a huge Michigan fan) are jumping on the bed and singing "HAIL TO THE VICTORS" while my mother waves her hand at us going "Quiet, I can't hear what it's saying!"
October 7th, 2010 at 7:34 PM ^
I hope you see this. In my case, my grades weren't great (~3.6 GPA, shitty grades early on, better later), and I basically had no extracurriculars (some sports), but I did a couple things that I think really helped.
First, I took a class at a nearby community college - it wasn't hard at all, but it showed the U I was serious about my education. I also took two APs, I think, and did well in them, so I'm sure that helped.
Second, I had killer ACT scores. I'm not going to say what to be pretentious, but as far as tests go, they don't mean everything, but it seems like they're the edge-case factor. Meh everything else but killer test scores and you've got a good shot; vice-versa, probably a good shot. I'd say anything from a 26-30 is nothing the U would blink at, but once you get above that, the test scores start getting impressive.
I got deferred but got accepted like 3 weeks (just after the new year) after getting my deferral notice. I'm pretty sure this is because they received my new test scores after choosing to defer me, seeing as no one else that got deferred really got in until the spring.
My best advice is to take the ACT a ton of times (or take a ton of practice tests). I took like 10 practice tests (and not just did them, I took them in a test setting, with all the constraints of the real test), and by the 10th time, you kind of just figure the test out. There's the same type of problems in each sections, so there's a strong pattern to the test.
Hope this was helpful. Good luck.
October 8th, 2010 at 2:56 AM ^
I didn't get into to Uofm out of high school, and I'm looking at transferring. I'm a freshmen at central, with 18 credits my first semester (five classes plus 3 ap from high school). Any advice on applying to uofm? maybe if they prefer you taking certain classes? I checked the uofm website and all but one of my classes transfer. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
October 8th, 2010 at 9:24 AM ^
DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!
I did and it was the best decision of my life. You still miss out on that crucial freshmen year where you make a ton of friends, but you still live in the dorms your first year after transferring so you have that opportunity to make great friends. And you're a year closer to buying beer than everyone else, so that's a win.
I transferred with probably a 3.7 at UM-Flint after taking a year of classes. Take basic classes - your lower level math, physics/chem, english classes. I cannot stress how awesome it was to come to Ann Arbor and have my English requirements done! If you're in/applying to LSA take your foreign language at CMU. Credit may or may not transfer (I didn't do this, so don't konw), but you get tested on your foreign language at Transfer Orientation. If you know your shit, you could pass out of your language completely. (I passed out of one class, then struggled with the advanced stuff... hated foreign language).
If you get above a 3.5 at CMU and do something to show your well-roundedness, I think you get in. I had a job that I worked 20-30 hrs/week while at UMF as well as coaching high school soccer. I think I wrote a great essay. Applied in February or March (so, late I think) and was able to get in. If I were you I would apply as soon as your first semester grades are posted.
Seriously, do it. Unless you're completely in love with Mount Pleasant, there's no reason not to. If you have any more specific questions, let me know. Like I said, it was the best decision in my life so I like to help people out who may be facing a similar decision.
October 10th, 2010 at 3:22 PM ^
Thanks for the info. I dont think I have any specific questions right now, but Ill find this thread again if I do. Thanks a lot!
October 10th, 2010 at 4:27 PM ^
I am going to be the person giving you the other set of advice. Try getting in. You may not make it. Then take classes somewhere that you know transfer to U of M, a lot of community colleges have agreements with Michigan on courses that are accepted.
I assume you are male. Apply to the school of nursing as a transfer student. They run like 6% male so they accept about any male transfer applicant who has As in community college algebra and chemistry.
Do a semester in the school of nursing taking more basic courses, then internal transfer to LS&A or engineering.