OT(?) UofM Admissions
Summer is here, and that also means the class of 2013 seniors are going to be applying for colleges come fall.
There are a lot of high school students and current uofm students/alumni on this board, so while the offseason gets us down, I was wondering if you guys could share tips/insight on applying to michigan, or share your own experiences?
As others have said, apply early if you are set on attending UM, and make sure your essay is solid. While I know people talk about doing public service and extra-curricular events to boost your resume, if you only start now it might look disingenuous and could hurt your application simply because it appears to be a cheap grab at attention. I'd say, focus on what you have done and how you are a good candidate, and don't worry as much about trying to wow them with last-minute altruism.
Beyond that, make sure UM has the degree program you want to pursue. It's a great school, but it has its strengths and weaknesses, and the last think you want to do is spend money and years pursuing some career that UM is a less-than-ideal fit for. Again, UM has more opportunities than most, but I knew people who had to cobble together two-three different disciplines to get the degree they kind of wanted, and perhaps had they looked somewhere else it would have been easier.
Good luck.
For the love of God, apply early. Spend your summer getting everything out of the way. You shouldn't be that busy, anyway. You'll want to enjoy your senior year. Granted, I would never have accomplished this without my Mom breathing down my neck for half the summer between my junior and senior year (thankfully she's an editor, so I got massive amounts of free help on my essays, too), but I got 12 of my 13 applications done before I even started senior year. I think Michigan was the last one, and that was because the application didn't come out until after school started.
Ask teachers for recommendations the first week of senior year. If you wait too long, they will be so busy writing recommendations for other students, that all their start to blend together all of a sudden, and your reccomendation sounds very boring and mundane when it is read by an admissions department.
If you suck it up and get all your applications done as early as humanly possible, you will be very happy you did. Tulane was very high on my list until I found out I had been accepted to Michigan. I found out I was accepted by Tulane in the middle of October. I could have stopped my college selection process right then and there, maybe a month and a half into my senior year, and been lined up for a good school. I can't tell you how many kids at my high school ended up putting off doing their applications until a month or two into their senior years. They adopted a "yeah, I'll get it done later" attitude, and they ended up regretting it when they had to wait until the end of March or early April to find out if they had been accepted to any schools or not.
Do not put off college applications. You will regret it.
(I wish I was being sarcastic)
I'm sure you've heard this plenty of times, but your standardized test scores will not make or break your getting into UM. There really is no cutoff point. I got a 1220 on the SAT, which I think rounds out to around a 27 on the ACT. Its a good score, but its not a great one. But, I still got accepted. No deferrment. I also applied early, so that helped.
I had a 3.72 GPA in HS, and my school didn't really offer that many Honors or AP courses. But I'm convinced that the reason I got into Michigan was based on my extensive extracurriculars. I did a ton of community service, way more than was required at my school (and I went to a Jesuit school, no less), had a part-time job for 3 years, worked in Model UN, etc. And, I also wrote great essays on my application.
Don't spend so much time worrying about your ACT score. You have essentially the same score I got on the SAT, so its entirely possible to get into UM on your score. If you really want to get a better score you can retake the test, but its extra stress that I don't think you really need. Just spend a ton of time perfecting your application. Get as much help for revisions to your essays as possible. The world needs people who know how to write correctly, and if you can't show the admissions department that you know how to write, your application will immediately be thrown out.
Think of every extracurricular activity you were involved in on some level, and include it in your application. That will be what separates you from the students that don't get in.
I know this is getting really long, but in short, think of the whole process this way: UM receives thousands of applications every year, and the number is growing. The people who work in the Admissions Dept are looking for any excuse you can give them to throw out your application and lessen their work pile more quickly. Don't give them any excuses to throw yours out.
Good luck.
I got into Michigan with a 24 on my ACT. However I had a 3.9 (non weighted) GPA in HS, I was Student Council VP, in charge of the Senior Retreat and involved in sports. A 27 won't get you turned away from Michigan. If you are well balanced through out your application you should be fine. Just make sure you get involved with as many extra curriculars as you can, become friendly with teachers that you will ask recommendations for and constantly improve upon your essay.
I had several friends that worked at Michigan's admission's office and they all told me that they looked for well-rounded students that would create a unique student body. Of course the 4.0 GPAs and 36ACT kids will get into Michigan, but the admission’s office wants a diverse group of kids in order to create a unique and well rounded student body. After all, in college, you will learn as much from your friends and classmates as you will from your professors.
Hard as hell. I only got a 3.5 and 26 ACT so I was not expecting to get in even though I thought I did a pretty good job on the essay. The kid I sat next to in Physics had a 3.8 30 ACT and didn't even get in. He's pretty dissapointed that he'll be going to sparty next year since he's a Michigan fan too. I thought about going there, but why should I when I can take the same classes at the University of Toledo, pay in-state tuition for Monroe County, and transfer to UofM in two years?
I guess you could call me a walmart wolverine for the next two years though. /spartyed
Don't be afraid to retake the ACT if you are a glutton for punishment like that. The more familiar you can be with it, the better. Make sure you count EVERY extracurricular you I've done. The more personal you can make the essay, the better. If you can talk about how you've overcome some trial and how it made you a better person, etc, etc, all the better. Hopefully you've been a teacher's pet to at least a couple of teachers, but make sure you ask them for a reccommendation promptly. They like it if you give them plenty of time to write it. If you're applying for the Honors program, just make sure the essay best showcases your creativity and thinking process, and you'll be fine.
That's all I remember from 5 years ago when I applied. Good luck, and Go Blue!
But I had good grades and was fortunate enough to belt the ACT's and SAT's. Mind you, I'm so old that my pet dinosaur had to wait outside the test center when I took those tests. Sent a copy of my app to coach Farrell. Got in. Choice between going out east and staying close to home and decided that I wanted to be near home. I have 2 nieces that are the 5th generation of my family to attend the U of M though. My children all love U of M, but I make no predictions if they will end up applying there.
Best decision I ever made. Made a ton of friends. Got going on credits I'd need four years later when I was taking lighter course loads. Learned Ann Arbor. Just Ann all-around great move - and I was thankful to the university for giving me the opportunity. I'm a proud Alum.
I'm class o 97, so like the poster somewhat above, was issued a pet dinasour during orientation.
Grades you can't change now (FWIW 3.7 with loads of AP courses), 1370 on the bad old SAT, in-state. GPA wasn't stellar, but from a good high school (Bloomfield Hills Andover) that was a traditional feeder school to UM. Lots of extracurrics (2-year varsity football, hospital volunteering, played decent piano).
hope it helps, good luck! If you are really motivated, taking a couple of years to rock coummunity college and then transfer is a good cost-effective option.
It would be a great service to the HS folks on the board if someone(s) would publish some of their "winning essays" on-line so that applicants could see the tone and sturcture of what good ones look like.
There is always a good deal of struggle for kids about where their essay should be on the continuum between personal/folksy/authentic/genuine, but too amateurish vs. polished/professional/worldly, but too contrived and slick.
Not to sound smart-assish, but being able to clearly convey why you want to go to a particular university is a pretty important criteria for entrance; if you can't clearly articulate this, goint to said university may not be for you. Not bashing you personally, please don't take offense.
This is my stock response for folks who ask for examples of other people's essays for entering medical school, residency, and fellowship as well. And I have been on admissions comittee stuff for residency and fellowships.
Don't try to copy someone else's style. Be true to your own writing style. Just make sure there are no spelling/grammatical mistakes.
If you're currently in high school, really push yourself right now. Take challenging courses and strive as much as you can to do well. Try to do as many extracurriculars as you can reasonably fit in. Push yourself now because frankly, college is a lot more fun than high school, and the better your credentials are, the better a choice of college you'll have. Your college experience is what will stay with you. High school? You'll forget it pretty soon after you leave.
One big tip for any high school student: be on very good terms with your HS teachers. Go the extra mile in your classes and find ways, big or small, that distinguish your from your classmates. It can be the most banal thing, like making small talk with your teacher about something he/she likes. This might not only help your grades (teachers will give the benefit of the doubt to students that they personally like - they're human beings, not robots), but can be very important when it's time to get those letters of recommendation.
Your college applications may say "optional" next to the spot on the application about letters of recommendation. That's a trap. If you apply to a prestigious school without submitting any, you'll probably get rejected. Letters of rec are huge and can help differentiate you from other candidates. (This is also true in the job market.) It's one thing to write an essay bragging about yourself, but when other people - adults, too - can do it, that's really, really important.
If you're a HS senior, identify the teachers that you think you have a good relationship with, and contact them ASAP about writing a letter. Most will be happy to do so, but if you contact them at the last minute, the letter they'll write won't be as good because they'll be pressed for time. Give them ample time to reflect and write, and you'll get a good letter. (Of course, when you ask them, make sure to stress how much you enjoyed their class and how you'd be honored to have their recommendation, etc.)
The essay is also very important. Again, this is a chance to show what you're made of besides the generic grade/test score criteria. Choose a topic that is personally meaningful, and spend time over the summer thinking about. it Write the essay in your head before you begin typing. Really put your heart into it because this is your chance to sell yourself. Do not wait until the last minute to write it.
For me writing always was the hardest thing. I am just not good at it. So now I am practising a lot. And for some of my works, I am using https://paperap.com/grade-my-paper/ . So I hope that such an approach will work out and at some point, I'll become a better writer.