<p>Any advice is more than welcome. </p>
<p>State: New York</p>
<p>Intended Major: Economics</p>
<p>ACT: Composite: 30 English: 33 Math: 30 Reading: 30 Science: 27 Combined English/Writing: 28(6 essay)</p>
<p>GPA: 101.4(Weighted)
Class Rank: 2nd or 3rd overall
Class size is roughly 600 students</p>
<p>AP Classes: AP Physics, AP Calculus BC, AP Chemistry
All other classes are honors or college credit</p>
<p>Extracurriculars: Student Gov't(Treasurer(9) Vice President(10,11,12))
Newspaper: Sports Writer(9, 10) Sports Editor(11,12)
Baseball(9,10)
Winter and Spring Track(11,12) I lettered in winter and spring and was a county and section champion in the spring
National Honor Society(11-12)
Science Honor Society(11-12)
Math Honor Society( Mu Alpha Theta) (11-12)</p>
<p>Awards/Distinctions: Male Student of the Year(only recipient of my grade)
Served as a delegate for New York State's Boys State Program</p>
<p>See if you can get tutoring for the ACT science section and retake. The science section is about reading graphs and charts, not real science. An hour of two with someone who knows the techniques that work on the test will do wonders and not cost a fortune. Did you take the SAT? Some people do better on that test. Your class rank is great, but a 30 on the ACT is not helping you. Good luck.</p>
<p>Gotta get it to 32 bare minimum, even then you could still be a longshot.</p>
<p>^ agreed. I applied to Notre Dame with a 30 ACT composite (33 English, 27 Math, 32 Reading, 27 Science) and was flat out rejected. Not trying to scare you, but they really want high test scores there.</p>
<p>My niece got in with a 28 on her ACT, 2150 on the SAT and she was ranked 2/88 with a weighted GPA of 98. She had lots of community service, school service, played some sports and had excellent letters of recommendation.</p>
<p>…And my son with a 30 ACT, top 5% of his hs class, 6 AP classes and all honors, prez of the student council, VP of our state association of student councils, captain of the lax team, with a ton of church and community service was rejected…even as a double legacy.</p>
<p>Advice: retest for at least a 32 on the ACT as suggested. Or apply to Villanova as your screen name suggests (and where my son ended up).</p>
<p>Keep in mind that if your stats are on the lower side that you should apply regular decision. (Thats what my niece did.) They only take the top students for EA. My S got in EA and they nominated him for the hesburgh-yesko scholarship but he had a 34 on the ACT and a 2170 on the SAT, with a GPA of 102.7 and rank of 8/614. He had tons of service, both community and school plus lots of leadership, his recs were very good, and his common app essay was fantastic.<br>
BTW he didn’t get the scholarship and will be attending a different school this september. But ND is a great school, just not for my S.</p>
<p>Archiemom, did nova give your son good merit/financial aid? If you don’t mind me asking.</p>
<p>Nova was your question meant for me? If so, here’s my answer. My S got the $3800 provost scholarship but not a penny of finaid. Unfortunately, my spouse and I make just enough to put us in the “Not a penny” zone. I find it unfair because my niece recd $15K plus $3800 provost scholarship and her mom makes a little less than us but our cost of living and family size is more than double hers. Hence, it would have been nice to get $7500 but instead we get zero. Once you make a certain amount of money you just get thrown out of the equation. It sucks!!!</p>
<p>Nova: My son did not receive any merit aid. As I understand it, merit at Villanova is very limited, going to very high stats kids with outstanding ECs and also to URM candidates. However, we were surprised that Villanova met our FAFSA EFC with no gap both years. Our FA package did include Stafford loans and work study but we expected this and wanted our son to participate in college funding. In addition, he received pretty generous Villanova grants both years that are completely need based. I have no idea if or how his resume figured into that calculation. We are solidly middle-class with one income, a small business and non-retirement assets.</p>
<p>[Villanova</a> Scholarships and Grants](<a href=“http://www.villanova.edu/enroll/finaid/scholarships_grants/]Villanova”>http://www.villanova.edu/enroll/finaid/scholarships_grants/)</p>
<p>Oophs, sorry Nova I thought you were referring to ND not Nova</p>
<p>any advice? thank you</p>
<p>Nova I still think your chances are good. You can definitely try to bring up your ACT score that could never hurt, but your GPA is excellent, your rank is in the top 1% and your ec’s are good. Make sure your essay is memorable. You need to stand out. There were be many kids with your stats so your essay has to separate you from everyone else. That will be your hook. Good Luck</p>
<p>I am applying EA. Will this hurt my chances severly?</p>
<p>Yes, I think your a better RD student. I would say the 30 on the ACT is just too marginal for EA. My S applied EA and afterwards when I spoke to the admissions officer he explained that that is the toughest acceptance to receive. They absolutely take their top/most competitive applicants from that pool. My niece, who got in, did RD. If you decide to apply EA then the good news is that if they like you they can still defer you to the RD applicant pool. You won’t be out of the running completely, but that is a chance you take.</p>
<p>Nova,
I agree that EA may be tough with that 30 ACT. Speak with your local admissions rep about it. Ours (Philly western suburbs) recommended that my son (current freshman) absolutely apply EA.
His stats were
33 ACT
1470/2190 SAT
7 AP classes
4.25 GPA weighted
top 15 in a class of 375 + or - (no actual class ranking)
Legacy.</p>
<p>Legacy may be the EA kicker here as it is my understanding that his numbers combined with Legacy status made his EA application attractive. I may be wrong about that.</p>
<p>I agree 100% with Ksqdomer. The admission officers at ND are fantastic. Definitely call.</p>
<p>would it be possible to change to RD if I already submitted under EA?</p>