<p>Yes, just call your regional admission counselor and ask for it to be changed. Try and get some kind of written confirmation. Then regardless, a week later call and ask them to pull your file and ask how it reads -EA or RD. That way you can be sure that your file is in order. Truthfully, you should call all your schools and double check that everything is in the file.</p>
<p>You should have no problem.</p>
<p>Hi, NovaNation,</p>
<p>I’ve been watching this thread for awhile and agree with the advice you’ve been given so far. My daughter applied EA with an SAT score of 1410/2180, a GPA of 4.3, 6APs, 350+ service hours, 4 varsity letters, and stellar recommendation letters. She met with her ND admissions counselor twice before application and was told that she should not apply EA, even though early admission would not hurt her. After submitting her EA application, she got her ACT score of 32, was nominated for the St. Timothy Award in our diocese and went to El Salvador for a week, returned home and raised $4K at our church to send back to a soup kitchen for children in San Salvador. Even with this, her admissions officer cautioned her that she was unlikely to gain admission with that ACT score, and advised her to take it again. </p>
<p>One kind parent on this site recommended that my daughter stay in constant contact with her admission counselor and she took that advise. She updated the counselor via email with any update to her application that might strengthen it, and she constantly restated her interest in Notre Dame. In the end, my D did retake the ACT with no change in score but was accepted RD. She finished HS as a Senior Scholar, Valedictorian and St. Timothy award winner but none of those things probably helped her. We know that many people with stronger stats, plus legacy, were not accepted and we often wonder if her persistent contact with admission counselor made the difference for her. </p>
<p>One final aside: after visiting ND for the first time, my daughter had a very hard time deciding on a #2 school—until she went to Villanova for admitted students day. There she fell solidly in love with that school and after being admitted to ND had to go to both schools one last time to make her final decision. She did decide on ND and has not regretted it. However, had she not been admitted, she would have happily gone to Villanova and I am sure would love that school, too. Both of us were very impressed with Villanova for its warmth and friendliness, its vision for the future, its strong commitment to undergraduate education and the outrageously high school spirit. On our first day at ND orientation, we met another family from our state. The son turned out to have the same history as our daughter: applying to both ND and Villanova and loving both. Both those kids chose ND, which was their first love, but both said they could have been easily joined the Nova Nation.</p>
<p>Good luck to you. May your journey take you to the right place for you. God bless.</p>
<p>I completely agree with rckpgh. These schools need to get to know you. Some schools like ND are far more willing to speak to their applicants, either via telephone or email. Take advantage. Don’t become a pest but send them an email every once in a while with new things that your doing or experiencing. It really does make a difference. It demonstrates your desire to become part of that school and the fact that you are assertive.</p>
<p>to both of you, thank you very, very much. your input has made a large difference in my admissions perspective and it is in fact, a positive one. I contacted my Regional Director today. I successfully switched to RD. I am hoping and wishing for the best. I’ve done all that I could.
Thank you once again.</p>
<p>Good Luck…Let me know how things work out for you…I will keep my fingers crossed that you get to go where you most want.</p>
<p>Now that you are applying RD don’t you have time to retake the ACT?</p>
<p>I may actually do that now. I have nothing to lose then.</p>
<p>Hello again. You actually have 3 dates to retest for the ACT. The registration is past for the 10/22 date, but you can actually still test on that date. The ACT has some kind of walk-in registration, which will allow you to test if a site has an open seat on test day. We know: my D’s counselor was so emphatic that she repeat the ACT, my daughter had 48 hours’ notice to take the last possible ACT exam that would be scored in time for consideration under RD. We identified the test centers in our city and called the guidance counselor at one of the schools who told us that they almost always have an open, available seat.</p>
<p>You could also retest on 12/10/11 and 2/11/12. If you take the Feb exam, let your counselor know those scores are coming.</p>
<p>With an ACT of 30, if you really want to get into ND, you have three chances to get your score up to 32 or higher. Maybe that sounds excessive, but the sad truth is that scores count at ND. Some students will get in with ACT scores lower than 32 but those that do must have a very compelling hook in order to overcome that lower score. </p>
<p>In an overwhelmingly busy and stressful senior year, one of my daughter’s few expressed regrets was not repeating the ACT exam several times. In hindsight she realized that practice could have really helped her raise her scores and had she done that, she could have lessened the nail-biting and dread she experienced from December until April!</p>
<p>I’m with Dungareedoll: please come back to this post and let us know how you make out. Just don’t forget that your stats and an admission committee’s decision do not define you. You are already an amazingly accomplished young man. Don’t let anyone or any decision diminish your pride in what you have already achieved. </p>
<p>P. S. I just looked back at your original post and realized you went to Boy’s State. I didn’t know that program was still going. Once upon a time, I went to Girl’s State in Maryland!..But that was during the reign of Pope Paul VI, before Nixon resigned and the Beatles broke up, before PCs/cell phones/Facebook or tuition bills. Yikes!</p>
<p>Hi everyone, I remember you had all kindly asked if I would be able to come back to this thread after I heard of my result. Unfortunately, I was rejected in the Regular Decision pool. However, I appreciate all of your kind words. I am deciding between attending Georgetown, Villanova, Delaware, and the College of the Holy Cross. Once again, thank you for your interest.</p>
<p>Wow! I’m shocked but I keep hearing that this years admissions were extremely tough. However, you have some great choices and for what its worth I find, that kids that get into Georgetown are rejected at ND and vice versa. Georgetown is a great school, as is Villanova, HC and Delaware. You can’t go wrong with which ever choice you make. Good luck in your future!!! You’re gonna love college life. Its the best 4 years of your life!!!</p>
<p>D was rejected RD with a 31 after bringing it up at the last minute from a 29 and receiving a congratulatory e-mail from her admissions officer. She had the rest of the package. Tough standard. Not sure she would have gone there anyway - a little concerned about the somewhat stilted social environment.</p>
<p>I got in with a 26… Scores arent neccesarily everything. Show them how you contribute to the world beyond your own. Thats what ND loves about students. Just show them who you are through you activities and writing. You will be fine :)</p>
<p>just a btw this year 47% of admitted students had an act of 34-36</p>
<p>which means 53% has 33 or less.</p>
<p>ok look, average is 32-34 only 25% of kids have less than 32, and the vast majority of those spots are reserved for legacies, minorities, and athletes. </p>
<p>well i’m a legacy and didn’t get in with a 32, so scores either need to be really good or you have to have a really heavy honors/AP course load. In addition to extensive leadership roles, service work, and good grades. </p>
<p>Accepted with SAT scores that convert to a 29 on the ACT. You have to be more than just your numbers.</p>
<p>@loveneweng I am more than just my numbers…#offended </p>
<p>@NDgirl24 I am truly sorry if I offended you. I did not mean to insinuate that you weren’t. Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason to this admissions process as there are so many people with all the same qualities, grades and test scores. So many things come into play in this process that only the Admissions office knows. </p>
<p>There is an interesting document that every school produces called the Common Data Set. It really shows in detail how schools choose their incoming class and the breakdown of each group. Notre Dame rates it highest importance on the rigor of the secondary school record.</p>
<p><a href=“https://www3.nd.edu/~instres/CDS/2013-2014/CDS_2013-2014.pdf”>https://www3.nd.edu/~instres/CDS/2013-2014/CDS_2013-2014.pdf</a></p>
<p>@loveneweng thank you!! Sorry about that, i probably just did not read it how you meant. Messages over the internet are tricky. Thanks for sharing the common data set information, that is really interesting! This could probably just be God’s way of saying that ND is not the best place for me! </p>