GPA: 3.86 on 4 scale
ACT: 28 (TERRIBLE test taker) Retaking it in December
GPA has shown big upward trend (4.2 junior year)
I will graduate with 4 APs (solid grades in all of them)
Rank: My school does decile I don’t know my exact one but definitely in top 40%
ECs
-Volunteer at Interfaith Food Pantry (once a week for an hour, 45 weeks a year)
-Eucharistic Minister and Usher at my church (one hour a week, all year)
-CCD Teacher at my parish. For two hours after mass I teach CCD to sophomores
-Future Business Leaders of America member (all four years, participated in events for business)
-Habitat for Humanity Volunteer (spent a week in West Virginia two summers in a row to help build houses. Won Rookie of the year which is hardest worker, total of 72 hours)
-I row crew for a competitive club for my sport (20 hours a week, 16 weeks a year)
-Board member for Special Needs Athletic Program (twice a week for an hour I help kids with disabilities play sports. 18 weeks a year)
-Work at an ice cream shop/cafe. (9 hours per week, all year except summer)
-Work as a director summer camp counselor in my town. (20 hours per week, played sports with kids. Some days I lifeguard at the town pool)
-Class of 2016 representative (includes planning events for our grade, fundraising, etc. meetings are pretty frequent and I put a good amount of effort into it)
English is my strong subject so I am confident in my essay and editors have said it’s excellent.
I have strong recommendations, one from the youth minister leader at my church.
Looks tough. Did you have any awards or placements in your EC’s? Win anything in FBL? You look like a great applicant and many schools would love to have you, it’s just that ND is SO crazy competitive! I would really try for the next ACT in order to get a look. Otherwise, I’m so sorry, but I think it’s a big reach. There have been some GREAT posts on transfers though and I would seriously look into that if ND is your dream school or first choice. Go somewhere that is a good match and try for a transfer! Look at the old posts on this~definitely a good shot!
It will boil down to whatever score you get on your Dec ACT. Your ECs are very, very solid and well aligned with ND’s mission. Your GPA is good enough. Course rigor is light but maybe your school didn’t offer a lot of AP’s. ND is very focused on admitting the very, very top in terms of HS class rank and standardized test scores. Good luck in Dec!
I’m not sure what else people can tell you. Below is the ND freshman class profile so you can see for yourself exactly where you stand. 75% of admitted students are in the top 5% of their class and 75% of admitted students have a 32 or higher on their ACT.
It is great to have ND as a reach school. But don’t get so set on any one school (especially a hyper competitive school) being the “perfect place”. There are so many wonderful colleges and universities out there and because you have done well you should have great options in the end.
You have posted a lot of “Chance Me” threads. You have gotten some good advice. Notre Dame is a high reach for you. Please check the Common Data Sets for the schools are are interested in. I am not trying to be rude, but you have received a lot of good advice and help on CC. Read through the replies and make a good list of safety, match and a couple of reach schools. Good luck to you. You have done a lot of good in this world! Keep that up.
Your ECs are really competitive. You really need to retake your ACT and do well, that’s all. It would not be a reach at all for you if you get the test scores thing cleared up.
Why are people even pulling up admission statistics? OP is recognizing that his test scores are low, and test scores are not even something that ND heavily emphasizes on. ND is really probably one of the few schools that really care about who they are getting.
ND may care more about “who” they are getting, but it still manages to admit students with exceptional test scores. Frankly speaking, it will be extremely difficult to gain admission with a 28 ACT.
Compare test statistics with peer institutions like Vanderbilt. I wouldn’t say ND has students with exceptional test scores. 1530 - 1590 vs 1400 - 1530.