University of Michigan?

Transferring to the University of Michigan from community college?

• Hello, I'm hoping to be able to apply as a transfer student to Michigan for Fall Semester of 2013. I'm currently attending a local community college, and have decided to work my way up to 60 credits before applying to Michigan, Michigan State, New York University, and several other schools. This past semester was a rough one for me. My courses themselves weren't very difficult - it just so happened that I was distracted by work, and wound up skipping a great number of classes. My 4.0 GPA will probably drop to around a 3.5 or 3.6, though I've done the math and am positive I can get it back to around 3.83 by the time my transfer applications will be due. Aside from maintaining good grades for the upcoming summer, fall, and spring semesters, what can I do to make myself a better applicant? Here's some information: - My high school GPA was terrible. I think I had a 2.86, though was on the honor roll for most of my senior year. - ACT score of 28. I had a 35 in Reading and 34 English, but didn't perform well on my Math portion due to my terrible study habits and undocumented truancy. - I've sat on the governing board of a student organization at Michigan State University - I've been involved with several other student organizations at Michigan State, each for over a year - I've volunteered in the Emergency Department at a local hospital for four years, and can easily obtain great recommendations - I frequently performed orientations for the now-defunct teen volunteer program, as well as several for Michigan State groups - I've fenced for six years, figure skated for three, and have basically been forced into Theater on Ice (I'm quitting after this summer) - President's List and Dean's List for my first semester of university; probably nothing this semester, but I'm positive it'll pick back up again. I had a blip, and I know I can't afford any more errors - I worked at McDonald's for several months, and have been employed with another business for about a year I'm trying to volunteer in the pathology department at a morgue in another city. My local hospital won't let me into their program, as I have a juvenile record (it's from when I was 14 - hasn't stopped me from getting any jobs, and most universities have said it shouldn't be a big deal). As you can tell, I made quite a few bad decisions as a kid. What can I do to make myself a better applicant? My grades should be good, but I know I have some baggage in the form of a record and poor high school grades. I plan to retake the ACT. Any more advice? I'm double-majoring in physics and psychology (I know it's a bizarre combination. I want to go to medical school, and am strongly opposed to selecting a major for convenience. If I have go to graduate school and reapply, so be it. I'm not going to be yet another human bio pre-med).

• Answer:

  Transfer admissions at the junior level are usually based on college grades and whether prerequisite courses for the planned major and other university/college lower division requirements have been completed and not on high school grades or Act/Sat scores, though Michigan asks for Sat/Act scores for students who took them in high school. "If you did not take the ACT or SAT as a high school student, these scores will not be required as part of your transfer application to the University of Michigan and you should not sit for the exams as a college student." http://www.admissions.umich.edu/drupal/requirements-transfer-students " If you have been in college less than a year, your high school record will be an important consideration for admission." http://www.nyu.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/applying-for-admission/transfer-applicants/the-transfer-admission-process.html Chances for transfer admission can also be dependent on the major or field of major a student is planning to pursue and at public universities whether a state resident and whether transferring from a community college. See page 5... http://students.berkeley.edu/files/Admissions/12626_5.Info_TransAdm.pdf http://students.berkeley.edu/admissions/transfer.asp Good Luck!