Stats
UW GPA- 3.6 due to a poor freshman year but tremendous trend upward
W GPA- 4.374
ACT- 31 composite and 12 on the writing
School-
Chicago. Ranked #7 most competitive in IL class of 1000 and no rank given
Activities:
Band-2 years
Orchestra- 3 years and signed up for next year
Model United Nations- 2 years and president
Boys and Girls service club
Various intermural sports throughout the years
Extras:
Done something academic with all of my summers throughout high school
-took chemistry over the summer before 10th grade
-took shakespeare studies at the University of Oxford in England the summer before 11th grade
-Lifeguard summer going into 11th and 12th grades
-Intern at University of Illinois of Chicago Diabetes Research Lab summer going into 12th grade. this lead to a publication so I am published and also I got a college rec from a world renown transplant surgeon
-Taken the most rigorous courses after freshman year including 6 sciences (Physics Chem Bio AP Chem AP Bio and AP Physics C) normally a student takes four, very rarely a student takes five and I am the only kid in my class of 1000 taking 6.
-Also aside from those AP sciences I will or have taken- AP Psych and AP Calc AB as well as 5 years of language.
-I have also each year taken a class before school to fit more majors than normal into my schedule.
-Recomendations- One from my Intro bio teacher who also taught my AP bio class amazing rec. One is from American History teacher which will be good but not great and one more.
Leadership
-Phyllis Leadership program- program that aims to connect kids from the affulent north shore with kids from the south and west sides of chicago.
-SILC- Student Instruction Leadership Core- basically a TA, for biology
-Senior Helper- Senior that advise freshman through their trannsition and year through high school. I am practically their homeroom teacher.
I have heard that getting into ND from the Chicago area, let alone New Trier is cutthroat - that aside, you have a lot of EC’s which are good, but you should probably try to bump up your ACT at least a point or two, and work really hard this next semester with your GPA. Your grandfather attending ND won’t affect your decision - only parents are counted as legacies. I was a legacy applicant with a 3.9 UW GPA and a 34 ACT and was deferred REA, then accepted RD. I do see a lot of similarities - lifeguarding and the research lab (which I hope is a good thing for you!)
I would recommend that you try to work on your ACT or maybe take the SAT to try that out and definitely contact your admissions officer - it will 10000% help you in getting into ND. They can also advise you on whether or not to apply REA or RD and what you can do to strengthen your application. Feel free to message me if you have any questions about ND or anything else! Good luck!
Well you go yo a superb, widely known public high school and that helps. You have done a great job with summer involvement in research and academic pursuits. A few more ACT points would really help you. Notre dame prided itself on having more than one half of admitted students in top 2 percent of test scores or class rank. Your UW GPA is a liability, hopefully it’s offset by rigor
Re-take the ACT. If 31 was your first try you should be able to improve some with taking practice tests as the ACT is all about time management.
Try the SAT; you may find that you do better due to the different nature of the test. Use the official SAT practice book and do all 10 of the practice tests. It works.
Agree with the importance of developing a relationship with the admissions counselor.
Start working on your essays early and polish them well. Make yourself stand out.
You may even go down for a visit this Summer to ND and make sure you try to meet your counselor in person.
I agree. Your ACT is below the typical range for ND. Study hard over the remainder of the summer and retake ACT in the fall (or if you feel you can’t do better on the ACT, study for and try the SAT in the fall). http://admissions.nd.edu/apply/admission-statistics/
Hi-
I believe that applying EA will not give any statistical advantage w/regards to GPA/Test Scores. Because EA is not a commitment from the student (unlike ED where the student applying indicates that if they are accepted they will attend) there is not really an “EA bump” in that respect. Now, because less students apply EA–if you are a strong candidate it offers a way to show interest as well as it might be a little easier to stand out as it is a smaller pool of applicants.
At our HS, at least, the students that historically have been admitted to ND during the EA round have been statistically stronger (according to Naviance) than those admitted during RA. This is in contrast to the admission statistics (on Naviance) for schools that practice ED, like Northwestern, Vandy, etc.
Please don’t take this as discouragement. I just wanted to point out that EA does not generally offer the same advantages as Early Decision. . Follow the advice of the some of the posters above. ND offers you a great way to show your personality through the various essays. Really try to convey who your are in those essays–you seem like a really bright student with lots to offer the ND community. Good luck!
@20152016senior If you contact your admissions counselor for your area, they will be able to advise you on whether to apply REA or RD. Also it will give you a “bump” in admissions, because interest in the university is taken into account.
