What are my chances of getting into the University of Michigan?

What are my chances of getting into University of Michigan?

• I am a junior that is college searching. I want to go to a large school with a lot of kids. University of Michigan has certainly caught my eye because not only is it a very large school, it offers an even better education. Next year my overall GPA should be between a 3.8 and 3.9 hopefully. I take the SATs this weekend and I am very apprehensive as to what the outcome will be. I did poorly on my PSATs and hope to raise my score. I think I will do much better on the ACT than the SAT. I have not taken any honors or AP courses, which I already know will hurt me. I am afraid that this will be the biggest reason why I wouldn't be able to get in. It isn't that I purposely avoid those courses, I have tried to get into them, but for some reason my guidance office will not let me take the courses. I am well qualified to take them, too. That is a mystery to me. My school only offers 2 AP courses and I have signed up for the one that they offer senior year, AP Economics. I also have several college level courses under my belt this year, including Spanish, and will have many, many more next year, with two math classes, two english classes, and spanish all being taken for college credit. Will the abundance of college courses make up for the absence of AP and honors? This has got me very worried. I have a huge upward trend in grades, too, which I heard is good. My freshman year I had a 90% overall. Last year I had a 93%, and this year I am hoping to have between a 95% and 96%. What score should I aim for on the SAT and ACT? I don't know what type of score I am capable of, but I honestly do not think I am capable of getting in the 2000s. As for the ACT, I think a 30 would be the best possible score I can get. I will be out of state applying at University of Michigan, which will also hurt me. So what type of score should I try to get as a minimum? I am also looking at Ohio State, SUNY Buffalo (in state), Penn State, Indiana University, University of Washington, and UC Santa Barbara. Any input would be very helpful in my search, thank you!

• Answer:

  Just aim to do your best on the SAT and ACT. You are likely to get into several of the colleges you list, but the only way to know for sure is to apply. Add U. Wisconsin to your list. What do you want to study? Some schools are better in some areas than in others?