<p>First off, on the paper applications there is a section to explain anything else pertaining to our application that we could not express somewhere else. (where i was going to show how much i really would like to go there) and im not seeing it anywhere on the online application. :-\
Second, our school before this year has always offered College Chemistry, and i scheduled it... of course this year the college sponsoring it dropped the colleg credit, so it is now called Chemistry Honors. My problem is, most people take either Chemistry or chemistry honors... but the class is still the same as before, just a different name. I talked it over with my guidance counselor and we decided that after i put in my classes, where you can explain a class selection, that i would say that its not the same, but rather a college class with a different name. What do you all think? I'm just worried they will think i took checmitry twice and look down unpon that.</p>
<p>I think if you explain it in the application....the people at ND will be smart enough to figure it out. Good luck and I hope you get in!</p>
<p>I don't think they are going to look down on you with the change of the course title, you should be fine. They just want you to challenge yourself and regardless of if it is honors or college, you are doing that. They won't accept the college credit anyways unless it is AP so really there is little difference.</p>
<p>I bet there will be a build your own topic version in the online app eventually, that may be an oversight. However, really, I would be careful about just telling them how much you want to go to ND because some of that is a given since you are applying here. It would be better to give them a real clear view of you and how you fit here, but that is just my opinion.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Just a side note: even if they do accept the college chemistry credit (if you take the AP test or something), I wouldn't recommend skipping chemistry freshman year if you are planning to go into the sciences. I took AP chem in high school and I'm relizinga now in my chemistry class just how much we didn't go over in AP and how much more work it would have been for me to try and make up the lost ground in orgo!</p>
<p>aright, first off for irish: i wasnt meaning the "make your own topic" section. i understand that you should avoid telling them how much you love it. but on the paper appl. there is a seperate section where you can write a small comment about anything that could have been missed or a side note to tell them something else about yourself. Im not seeing that on the online app.</p>
<p>and shellzie: I took chem my soph year, i took college chem this year, but they changed it to where it looks like i just chem all over again. Understand? Sorry for the confusion</p>
<p>Instead of saying how much you love ND, you should say you would definitely attend there if accepted. And mean it.</p>
<p>The 100 word additional section is meant to explain things like the Chemistry class situation. Just word it well. You can have several bullet points in that section.</p>
<p>docmom,</p>
<p>You said, "you should say you would definitely attend there if accepted. And mean it."</p>
<p>Do you think this should go in the essay/personal statement itself or in the "Additional Information" section? If it's in the essay, how would you reccomend incorporating the desire to attend with the "What are you passionate about?" prompt?</p>
<p>My opinion would be to leave it out of the essay altogether. The essay should not talk about desire to attend ND. I'm guessing they see that on every other essay, if not more often.</p>
<p>If it is indeed true, and thus a <em>fact</em>, that you would, for sure, attend ND if accepted, put it in your 100 word additional information section. If it is not true, do not state it! But ND, just like any other top 20 school, wants to accept kids who really want to be there, and not just applying all over the place. It helps their yield percentage, as well. But you have to be honest.</p>
<p>I'm of the mindset the essay should show something about you that is not readily apparent from the application. There is so much more to all of us than a school or job application. Since ND doesn't do interviews, you have to make the essay clearly show insight into you the person, not you the piece of paper. Most older teens your age aren't good at thinking about their strengths -they just don't see themselves very objectively. I think you should spend some time thinking about all the quirky and individual things about YOU, then think of a situation or something you could write about that shows this. </p>
<p>And remember, all this is only my opinion. I am not an admissions expert by any means. I do, however, empathize with admissions employees in a very big way. That is one tough job.</p>