Personal Details:
Male
Hispanic; Puerto Rican
Upper-middle class (can probably pay w/o aid, I think this is a plus)
UVA: In-state, Legacy (mother), applied to College of Arts and Sciences
Notre Dame: Legacy (grandfather and uncle), applied to College of Arts and Letters
Scores and classes:
1400 SAT; 770 Reading and 630 Math, 23 Essay
4.0 W GPA (had a mediocre freshman year but large trend upward)
School doesn’t do class rank
AP Scores so far: AP English (5), AP Macroeconomics (5), AP US History (4), AP Spanish Lang (5), AP US History (5), Current classes: AP Government, AP Chemistry, AP Spanish Lit; the rest are all honors except for calculus. I’ve consistently taken the hardest classes in every subject I could except for mathematics along with Physics in 11th grade.
Extracurriculars and honors:
Editor-in-chief of school newspaper with 4-year involvement, TV team member of Battle of the Brains, elected member of school missionary (religious community service) society for two years, English Club for 3 years (members are chosen by highest English PSAT scores), Politics Club, church acolyte with lots of volunteer activity, National Spanish Exam gold medalist, AP Scholar with Distinction.
Other details (these are just guesses based on what college advisers have said)
Essays: 9/10
Recommendations: 10/10-- English and Spanish Department Heads
I think you can probably tell from my info that I tend towards the liberal arts side of the spectrum, and my essays and activities do reflect this.
I would say UVA will be a high-match/low reach. Your legacy status will help you a lot. Your EC’s are pretty strong, as are your test scores. Math score is a little low, but based on your intended interests and majors, I would not worry too much. If you were applying to STEM majors, I would be much more worried, but because you are applying to A&S, your writing grade will matter a lot more. Notre-Dame is expected to have a really strong applicant pool this year, but your legacy status will help you. Notre Dame likes community involvement, so your church stuff will be good. I think essays and recs will be big for you, I think you are right on the line. Good luck!
I would say Notre Dame is a reach with your test scores and GPA. The mid-50 SAT for last year’s class was 1390-1530, so at 1400 you’re right around the 25th percentile. For GPA, I think given all the APs you took they will expect to see something over 4.0, but you’re correct that a good trend upward can help alleviate that, especially if it’s something you can explain in one of your essays. Your ECs are definitely good, but that is expected at a school at ND’s level. It’s good that you took the APs and received good scores on the AP tests, ND does look for rigor. As far as legacy goes, I’m not sure grandfather/uncle will help you, I believe legacy status is only given if one of your parents attended. You have a shot at both schools, and they are both great schools, good luck to you!
As the above poster said, you won’t be considered a legacy at ND. (One of your parents had to have received a degree for you to receive legacy consideration.) ND looks for “fit” much more than most other universities, and the environment and community there is somewhat unique, so your supplements really need to show how you will contribute to that. Your test scores are a bit concerning as the Math component is fairly low for ND. All in all, I would say it is a solid reach, maybe a high one. Being in-state for UVa will help, unless you are from NoVa, which tends to be more competitive. Your legacy status will help somewhat, but not as much as it would have at ND.If you have any questions about either, please pm me. I have two daughters who applied to both and both ended up at ND.
ND~ have you visited the campus or been to any regional events? They do track demonstrated interest. Agree with other posters that you will not be considered legacy at ND. My son is applying. Both my husband and I are alum, along with his grandfather and 5 aunts/uncles and it is my understanding they only consider one parent as legacy.
Good luck to you. Great schools you are applying to
Yes, I attended Notre Dame’s informational meeting at my school a couple months ago. I also visited the campus and went to the info session there last March, and visited a couple years before more informally.
@harear Congrats on UVA. In practice, it can give you anything Notre Dame can (minus the more Catholic experience) so I wouldn’t look back at all if you go to UVA.
