Hello everyone. I am very interested in Notre Dame and was wondering if you all could give me any ideas on my chances of getting in.
Background: White male from the Midwest (IN), Mother- Associates, Father- Masters, Household Income- 200,000+
Current grade: Junior
Class Rank: 12/128, top 10%
GPA: Weighted: 4.45, Unweighted: 3.9+
Classes This Year: H. English, H. Physics, H. Latin III, AP Cal AB, French I, H. Theology, H. US History, AP CSP
Classes for Next Year: AP English, French II, Latin IV, AP Calc BC (whatever is after AB), H. Theology, AP Gov, AP Econ, AP Physics
(I go to a private parochial (catholic) school that doesn’t offer many AP classes but I’m trying to take as many as I can)
ECs:
-Varsity Tennis
-Varsity Track and Field
-Varsity Swimming
-On the Junior Board for a non-profit (might run for an office)
-National Honors Society member (might run for an office)
-Volunteer at the food pantry
-Raise money for Special Olympics (via the Polar Plunge)
-Traveled Abroad with the People to People Program (did service work while over there)
-Latin Club
-Student of the Month
-Student of the Year
-Job while in school
-(might do campus ministry next year)
-(going to start doing more service)
Looking into majoring in Foreign Language or Linguistics (minor?). I would appreciate any feedback on what I can do better and what you think my chances might be. Also, feel free to ask for any additional info. Excited to see your thoughts so far. Thanks in advance!
Getting those test scores up is my one point. Otherwise your profile looks strong, and a bonus is that you are looking at a less popular major. Maintain your strong GPA, and choose topics for your essays that align with the ND mission. Good Luck!!
To have a legitimate chance, your goal should be in the top 1% in class rank and/or to be in the 99th percentile on your standardized test scores. Obviously, even if you achieve one of these, it will certainly not guarantee acceptance.
Your class rank is right at 10%, but you do have an unweighted GPA of 3.9+. I’d be curious to know how much higher than 3.9 you are. If you are closer to 4.0 than you are 3.9, it could be an indicator of your school being extremely competitive or that your school gives “A’s” a little more liberally. While it would seem unlikely to get into the top 1-2%, your goal should be to try to increase your class rank as much as possible.
Your SAT is at the 86th percentile. It would be expected that your percentile would be a bit lower since you are a Junior. I’m certain it will improve, but again, you really need to be at the 99th percentile to have a legitimate shot. Some people have taken SAT/ACT prep courses, others have simply taken lots of practice exams in an effort to improve their performance on the standardized tests.
@GraceDad I believe I have closer to a 4.0 (I have all As and one A- currently). My guidance counselor told me that my school is going to stop publicly ranking us, do you think this might hurt me in the long run?
Most high schools these days don’t rank their students. But the non-ranking high schools provide enough information (usually through the high school “profile” that will accompany your HS transcript) so that the colleges can back into a rough approximation of class rank. Colleges do this many thousands of times each application cycle – it isn’t rocket science.
I would study very hard and focus on improving your standardized testing. From what I can see you are below the 25%th percentile. Here are the admission stats ND provides. http://admissions.nd.edu/apply/admission-statistics/