Answer 1

The University of Michigan has in recent years, become more and more competitive. As many students look alike on paper in regard to both grades and test scores, it is often the essay, the recommendations and the out-of-class activities that will make one student stand out over another. Be careful though in how many activities you opt to be involved with. Quality over quantity matters.

If a student presents an extensive list of activities, an admission rep may wonder how committed they have been. I have had students involved in  activities only because they wanted their applications to be considered more than others. I had a student  with a 3.98 GPA  that played varsity soccer and was a member of the township EMT working every weekend (he has held the EMT spot for 2 years).  Another student with a 4.2 GPA, taught violin at the local daycare center once a week for 3 years to a group of 15 pre-k children. In addition, he was involved with the drama department which staged 2 productions each year. During the summer months he cleared trails for special education students making safe pathways for camping sessions in August. In his spare time, he took lessons for both guitar and piano and undertook two years of Music Theory, one at the Honors level and one at the AP level. Now, in comparison to several of his classmates he was not as involved as many others, yet his quality of activity far outweighed that of his peers.

You need to think about what activities you have or are involved with. Do your activities reflect quality? If you can answer yes, then you are probably involved with enough activities while also keeping your grades up.

Good Luck!