Chance me: Norte Dame class of 2022 (ED and RD chances)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Notre Dame
1

I’ll use the same format as the decision threads…

Objective:

ACT (breakdown): 35 Math, 35 Reading, 35 English, 31 Science (34 composite)
SAT II: Math Level 2: 740, Biology 730
GPA:
-4.0 unweighted (4 AP’s and 6 honors classes before senior year, will be taking 6 AP’s senior year)
-4.2 weighted before senior year(only weighted based on AP classes because our honors classes are on a 4.0 scale)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Not sending due to extreme competition at my very well respected school (about 90th percentile)
AP scores: Macroeconomics: 5, Microeconomics: 5, Statistics: 4, Literature: 4
Senior Year Courses: AP Spanish, AP Calc AB, AP Language, AP Biology, AP Psychology, AP Governemnt
Major Awards: Academic letter 2x, Debate letter 2x, High Honors every semester

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): soccer (played every year of high school and was all-state my junior year while going to the National Championships for club soccer twice), volunteerism (150 quality hours at a Food Pantry that I am on the leadership board for (not a regular volunteer and have genuinely quality experiences over a 3 year span))

Teacher Recommendations: Getting them from debate teacher/coach, English teacher I’ve had twice, and gov teacher - all will be amazing. 10/10 on each.
Counselor Rec: Knows me extremely well, will be fantastic. 10/10
Interview: I haven’t done my interview for NU yet but I’ve had two great on-campus interviews at other schools. I interview very well in general.

Other:

State (if domestic applicant): Ohio
Intended majors: Biology and Psychology (following the pre-medicine track)
School Type: Large public, very well respected
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male

Strengths: test scores(?), essays, recs, ECs, and progression from freshman to senior year in terms of challenging myself
Weaknesses: I should have taken more APs prior to senior year (less than desired GPA)

Where else are you applying (feel free to chance me for these if you so choose, but you don’t need to): Penn, Brown, Cornell, Columbia

Please chance me for both ED and RD and tell me if there is a considerable difference in my chances! Any help, advice, and ideas are sincerely appreciated!

2

You look like a competitive applicant. The only thing that gives me pause is your class rank. Although it looks like that can be explained. I would probably wait and apply RD with the thought that taking your 6 AP classes your senior year will likely improve your weighted GPA and class rank. Given that you have a 4.0 unweighted GPA, everyone in the top 10% must have very close to 4.0 unweighted and have taken at least 5 AP classes.

You stated you aren’t sending class rank. I’m not sure if that is wise. If your high school does rank, the rank will most likely be on your transcript that you have to send. Putting down “None” as your answer on the common app will potentially lead admissions reps to conclude that you are being less than honest if they can see it on your transcript.

3

I can abolsutely see why that led you to ponder the honesty of my application. However, I should have specified what the “not sending” portion actually looks like for students at my school. Because I go to the fifth best high school in Ohio, my transcript is pre-set as stating that the “extremely competitive nature of the school may create a disparity between the actual merit of the student and the merit that the class rank portrays.” Furthermore, I was approximating 90th percentile and I am more likely to be closer to the 95th percentile as we are not told exactly where we stand until early in the fall of this upcoming school year.

With this being the case, do you still suggest that I wait to submit until regular decision? I am confident that I will have straight A’s at the end of the semester, but would prefer to apply early so I can make an informed on how to approach any applications for regular admissions.

4

Also, if I am only above the 90th percentile at the one of the highest rated schools in the stats do you think I should still include my class rank?

5

I’m sure that the ND reps are aware of which schools are the tops in each state. Given your explanation, I’m sure you would be fine applying REA.

However, I saw you have another thread asking about Northwestern. If you apply ED at Northwestern, you can’t apply REA at ND.

6

@derekrubadeux Is the class rank on the transcript, but it just has the comment that you stated earlier? or Do they not show the class rank at all?

7

In regards to the dilemma of applying to Northwestern and Notre Dame early, that is a decision I have been attempting to sort out due to the restrictions involved.

The class rank is not shown and the comment is provided unless students decide to include their rank. I have the option to, but am not required, to submit the information.

8

I guess it just depends on how familiar each of the schools are familiar with your high school. If Notre Dame (or any other university you are interested in) has a lot of experience dealing with your high school, then they would know that some transcripts from your high school contain a class rank and some don’t. In that situation, if you submit a transcript that doesn’t include the class rank, then Notre Dame would possibly conclude that you don’t have a very good class rank.

I don’t know what the right answer is. Maybe other posters can give you input.

9

northwesty counted up the results from this year’s REA thread:

I would say, if this is your first choice, go ahead and apply REA. Make sure you play up your community involvement outside of school stuff.