Hey everyone! I hope all your days are going well, and that you’re not on here stressing about upcoming admissions like I know many people are at this time.
I am planning on applying to the University of Our Mother of the Lake this autumn, in the early action phase. Here are my statistics, and a few things to set me apart from just my numbers. Thank you for any input that is constructive or otherwise helpful!
Note: I have taken the most rigorous schedule available at my school, having gotten 2 credits in 8th grade.
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2120 Cum. (1440/1600, 750 CR, 690 M) 2 sittings as of now
ACT (breakdown):33 C, 35 E, 30 M, 34 R, 32 S <- Will retake
SAT II: Math Level I: 730, US History: 750, Chemistry: 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):3.76 Weighted: 4.40 (4.71 junior year) <-- A’s for us are 93%-100%
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):Top 10% out of ~166 students, at a private, Catholic school that sends 1-3 students to ND each year, on average.
AP (place score in parenthesis):
Sophomore year: US History: 5
Junior Year: Psychology, European History, Chemistry, Spanish Language & Culture: 4’s on all
IB (place score in parenthesis): Not offered
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics 1 (self-studying in addition to Honors Physics program offered by HS), AP Statistics (same as Physics 1), AP US Gov, AP Calc BC, AP Bio, AP Lit & Comp, and the mandatory Religion 12 class.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit (the lowest level of recognition, as I only got a 202/240), Eagle Scout (will have completed by the Nov. 1 deadline)
Subjective:
Extracurriculars:
- Involved in the international community of an online game that was started in Perm, Russia. I started the game's first and only official English language newspaper online, that is read by a couple thousand people every month. Has been going strong for over 3 years now. Also, I starred as the only English speaker in an advertisement for the game, which now has about 2,000,000 views on Youtube. These took a lot of work on my part, but I'm happy with what I've learned, done, and the friendships I've made with people from around the world. -Self-studying Russian this summer
- Wrote a 35-page research paper on Russian History from 1900 to 2000 in 8th grade, when the next-longest one was 10 pages. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing. -Boy Scout involvement: Chaplain's Aid for 4+ years straight, Troop Guide and Assistant Patrol Leader for 1 year each -Student Ambassador for my school, which recruits from 50+ ZIP codes. I lead retreats welcoming students coming in from China, and for both news students and ambassadors. -Church Service: Won a Sierra Club award for outstanding commitment to my Parish. (It's a Knights of Columbus award) -I run every night, and lift weights every other. May use this in an essay. -Will be starting a school Ping Pong club this semester. -4 year Varsity men's volleyball player Job/Work Experience: 3 years working at the local Recreation Center, first as a rock wall belayer and fitness attendant, then as a custodian, earning above minimum wage. I still do all three nearly every weekend, even during the school year. (10-15 hours/weekend).
- Varisty Quiz Bowl for 2 years -Made lesson plan and taught my AP Euro class the section on Russian history from the serf emancipation of 1861, to the disbanding of the USSR in 1991. I will teach the section again this coming year. Volunteer/Community service: ~50 hours to community (25 of which were spent tutoring underprivileged urban youth), and 100+ to my Catholic parish as an altar boy, lector, and Eucharistic minister. (My school's curriculum mandates service for graduation) Summer Activities: FTE's Economics for Leaders at Yale University after Junior year. <- Very good course, I would recommend it to anyone! Out of my entire class, one boy and one girl were chosen to attend an EFL course this year, completely reimbursed by a local foundation). Other than that, I have worked every summer, both online and at my actual job, 20+ hours per week. Never had an opportunity to go on a service trip. Also, working on my Eagle project this month, at the little neighborhood park across from my house. Fixing the play surface, replacing the stolen park sign, cleaning vandalism (Harry Potter symbols, haha), and landscaping.
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: I will
Intended Major: Russian and (Applied) Physics I really want to double major in these!
State (if domestic applicant): OH
Country (if international applicant):USA
School Type: Private, Catholic, located downtown
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Middle (100,000$/year)
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):Fourth-generation legacy. STORY: My paternal great grandfather attended in 1918, had Knute Rockne as a chemistry teacher, and let George Gip sneak out after curfew to go party on the town, via his bedroom window in Sorin Hall. Then, two of his sons attended in the 50’s, and four of his kids (2 uncles, 1 aunt, and my father) all attended as well. (My grandfather was president of our local alumni club, and was nationally recognized for his work by the University).My parents met there, in the mechanical engineering department. My mother had a sister attend after her, as well. I have 2 cousins who have graduated recently, and also a sister who graduated 3 years ago from the Physics department. I have another sister, however, who was valedictorian of her class of 160 (same school as my sister and I attend(ed)) and had many good EC’s, who was rejected because her best SAT was 1260/1600. We feel her application was not even read because of that alone. But, I know that ‘legacy’ is only counted via parental graduation, and it gives a ~20% boost, according to my regional adcom.
Strengths: Legacy + Unique intended major
Weaknesses: GPA relative to other applicants, standardized test scores are only on the 50th percentile mark.
General Comments: Notre Dame has been my dream school since before I can recall. I have had this application in my mind since kindergarten, and the stress on me right now is…well, a lot. This University is my top choice.
I will have taken 11 AP exams by the end of this year, which has set a record at my school, along with one other guy who I have gone to school with since preschool. He will be valedictorian, with a 4.0/4.8 GPA (4.83 is the max due to everyone having to take the standard religion class every year), and a 2340/35 ACT/SAT, with a lot of EC’s, and no legacy. He will be applying REA, as well.
I honestly appreciate anyone who read even half of this - this is a lot of who I am. I really wish the best of luck to every other applicant in this class, and thank you to whoever can offer me some insight on my relative chances of being accepted REA to Notre Dame. I want those monogrammed waffles and milkshake masses!!!
