Chance me (Notre Dame)

Demographics: Asian male
Religion: None (will this hurt me?)
Application: RD

SAT: 1500 (710 CR, 790 M)
SAT II’s: Chemistry (720), Math (740)

NOTE: My school has removed most AP courses (some of which are not even considered as “advanced” and do not give GPA bonuses such as AP psychology as they are considered trivial). Most of our courses are replaced by dual enrollment, which we received direct credit from the University of Connecticut. These courses, by our school, is considered just as good if not better (“advanced” gpa consideration) than some of our AP’s.

Classes: 6 college (taken directly at the University of Connecticut with college students, very rare for HS students), 8 honors, 8 dual enrollment, 3 AP
GPA UW/W:3.41/4.017 (not sure how people get 1400’s and somehow have 4.0 UW GPA’s. Perhaps our school is just harder?)
NOTE: College courses taken directly on campus does NOT weigh into our high school GPA. I also have a very high upward trend from sophomore to Junior year (3.33 W 1st semester soph year → 4.6 W 1st semester jun year)
Rank: N/A

EC’s:
-1st place ACS/CVS team quiz (Chemistry Olympiad)
-2 seasons varsity swimming
-1 year novice, 1 year varsity Crew
-1 year Model U.N.
-1 year Debate club
-2 American Mathematics competition testings (no awards, almost made states in last one with ~97? score)
-1 year Drama
-15 hours community service
-National Math honors society
(Forgot to mention things like AP scholar/merit scholar on college app. Oh well…)

NOTE: Since I have taken 6 college courses at UCONN (usually some time after school), I could not take many EC’s junior/senior year. This was mentioned on my college app.

Of course, my GPA is quite bad and it is a shame that our school does not have class ranking. How much will it impact me?

Thanks in advance!

You have two glaring things working against your chances:

GPA - 3.41 UW is well below the range of admitted students. Keep up the good work and get that up as high as possible.

Community service - Is this 15 hours total? There is a large emphasis on finding students who will be generous with their time and talents. You will really need to find some way to help others and be able to write about it. Really, it helps you grow as a person whether or not it helps you with college acceptances.

The rest looks good, right in line with what is typical for the applicants.

Would these stat’s also be alright for these schools? All of the following are reaches that I applied to. I am all set for my safety (Uconn).
Tufts
WashU St. Louis
USC
Georgetown (previously deferred in EA)
Williams (Liberal arts, might not even consider even if accepted)
Emory
Vanderbilt (Early Decision 2)

You really went reachy-reach heavy, Eustruria. My son’s list was looking similar if he had not gotten into ND REA. If you are already set on UConn and are ok with attending, then it is fine to aim high like this.

If your goal was a ranked private and those were all you applied to, then you needed better guidance and more balance in your list. Good luck next week for Vandy and let us know.

@Eustruria
Why didn’t you apply to any matches, these are all Reaches.

My parents work at uconn (free tuition), and due to the dual enrollment/college courses, I can skip 2 years (60 credits already). This is extremely tempting unless I get into a good college.

@Eustruria
Well okay never mind, seems like you have it figured out.
Emory, Tufts, USC, Williams- Low Reach
GTown, ND, WashU, Vandy- Reach
I’m just guessing by the way.

OK, as everyone above has said, your list is all reaches, due mainly to your GPA and, at least for ND, ho hum ECs. ND really values “fit” and that applicants have an understanding of and willingness to contribute to the community and culture of the University. A lot of times, depth and/or breadth of extra-curricular interests and commitment are what will show this. What they will also be paying close attention to is how you expressed yourself in your supplemental statements. Also important is how you stand in the context of your school. If, even with a sub 3.5 GPA, you are at or near the top of your class, that will help. My guess is the one you are most likely to receive good news from would be Emory, but that is purely speculation, as the only two I have direct experience with are ND and G’town. As far as the free tuition at UConn, that would be very, very tempting to pass up, even if you did get in to one of the other schools, especially if you are , like so many, in that middle area where you are not full pay yet won’t qualify for substantial amounts of aid. Also, and I know it is early, but if you see yourself potentially going to grad school, not having to pay for undergrad would be very tempting.
Forgot to mention this, but not being Catholic won’t hurt you. While the applicant pool and undergraduate community is somewhat self-selecting, both of my kids know plenty of non Catholic, non religious people who have attended ND and thrived.

Well balanced.