Chances for Notre Dame? I'm an extreme hopeful!

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Notre Dame
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Hi, I’m currently a very nervous senior waiting on RD for The University of Notre Dame. @-) I am in LOVE with Notre Dame and daydream daily of what I could do there and how it’ll feel to get an acceptance letter. :open_mouth: It’s so hard to get in here and I feel like I only just meet the standardized test score requirements…
If you could help chance:

Academic:
-Class rank: 4/404
-GPA: weighted: 5.2 unweighted: 3.99
-SAT: 2000, Math:710 Reading: 660 Writing: 630
-ACT: 32, Math: 33 Reading: 36 Science: 33 Writing: 29 (those scores are across different dates)
-13 AP classes, 7 dual enrollment (In the additional information I explained that I would’ve taken AP gov, econ, and spanish but the course schedule at my school conflicted with AP calc, chem, and physics).
-Majoring in Engineering
-I listed the AP exams I’ve had good scores in, 4 on human, and 5’s in psych, world, U.S hist
-Senior Year courses: AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Lit, Student Gov., AP Calc BC, AP Chem, AP Stat, AP Computer Science A, Dual enrollment: Trig, Macroecon., and gov.

Extracurriculars/work:
-Student Government Association (3 years): Senior class president, I’ve executed a community parade, school wide fundraisers like pasta for pennies and a canned food drive, prom, homecoming dance and court, talent show
-I’ve helped out at my parents restaurant as a server since 8th grade (15 hrs/week) but as a restaurant kid have been helping out practically my whole life.
-Best Buddies: treasurer senior year, set up fundraiser to pay for chapter dues and etc., 3 years
-I played soccer and lacrosse for 2 years each but then had two injuries that inhibited further seasonal play (wrote that in the additional information). Joined the swim team instead.
-Interact Club: volunteer club, 2 years, feed the homeless and other community volunteer events, part of local rotary club
-National Honor Society: 2 years, tutoring committee head senior year, we provide tutoring for all students in every subject and standardized testing
-Spanish Honor Society: 2 years
Beta Club: 3 years

Other Information:
-great recs from both counselor and teacher (teacher one was sent in late though D:)
-I think my essays are pretty good but I’m scared that they might not be perfect enough and missing a flow; ways of improvement always pick my brain. My theme was ambition in STEM field, critical examination, and appreciation for community.
-not a popular asian ethnicity (don’t know if that may play a role)
-not very wealthy, essay sort of explains in one part that I touch lightheartedly and in good humor and light.
-I did list as buddhist (does anyone know how this may play a role?)
-Female so maybe that may play a role in majoring in engineering?
-I heard expressed interest is a small helper, and I’ve attended an info. event they’ve had once as well have called but only because I’ve had a real question on advice about senior classes.

At any rate, as much as I love this school, I also think of reality and that tends to scare me a bunch. This is so specific it feels like if anyone actually knew me, they would know this was me. Thank you for your time, any input would help!!

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Female STEM helps. Asian is an ORM. Ignorant here, but how important is being Catholic?

Email your regional representative expressing your interest, introducing yourself, maybe asking a question that cannot be answered from a web site.

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Did you submit both the SAT and the ACT?

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@wisteria100 Yes

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@SeekingPam thank you for the input. Not sure if the Catholic question is rhetorical, but that is something I also question. I’m always wondering if it ups or downs my application. Would it seem too late and desperate to email my representative in a time like now?

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@AdmissionNerves

I would just sit tight. You have done everything possible I am sure, and I cannot imagine that emailing your representative is helpful when you have nothing new to say.

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@fallenchemist good advice, thank you!

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I don’t know what your chances are, but your academics are great, your ACT is OK and your ECs look pretty good. I like the Buddhist angle. I don’t know, but I suspect ND appreciates religious diversity. Good luck.

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Hi AdmissionNerves-
Your profile looks good, you certainly are in the mix–but, as you know it can go either way. I don’t think being a Buddhist will hurt you in the slightest. One thing you don’t mention (unless I missed it) is what area of the country you are from. That can sometimes hurt/help depending on if you are from a region that draws a lot of students. ND does not want to be a regional U, so if you are from Chicago and/or Indiana it can be especially competitive.

Lastly, please don’t be scared! You have an idealized impression of ND in your head that is probably a little off from the reality. My S is a freshman at ND right now and loves it-but it is not perfect. He has a few close friends that applied but did not get into ND and went to other schools. Guess what? Those friends LOVE their choices and can’t imagine being anywhere else. My son has visited a few of them, and as much as he enjoys ND, he can see why his friends love their choices too. You are a good student and will thrive wherever you end up.

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@doubtful I hope my pointers and other factors will pull in my favor of acceptance. Thank you!

@bjdkin Hi, I’m from the southeast area which I’ve read is the least percentage aside from international students. The region that I generally live in does have many good schools with it’s high population. I wonder how that may factor in. Yes! My anxiety gets carried away at times, so I’m trying to work on it. Thank you for the support and advice! College anywhere should be what I make of it.

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Have you looked up the common data set for Notre Dame? Here’s a link to the 2014-2015 year: https://www3.nd.edu/~instres/CDS/2014-2015/CDS_2014-2015.pdf .

A few things about Notre Dame, they don’t superscore the ACT, so do you have a 32 on one sitting? Then that might be a strong enough score in regular decision. Also, I believe ND still only looks at CR and M for the SAT, so your reading is just at the 25th percentile and math a little higher. Your test scores are a little on the low end of the middle fifty, but still in range.

If you look at the enrollment by racial ethnic category, you can see that there were 101 Asian students enrolled within 2011 total students for the 2014-2015 year. It is possible that Asian students are at an advantage in admissions at Notre Dame. I think ND is a very accepting place, and I think Buddhist students would be very welcome both from an admissions standpoint, and for students on campus in terms of making friends.

The other parts of your profile look good too. Your grades and rigor are very very strong and do indicate that you would be successful at Notre Dame. Your activities are great too!

I remember a talk given by an admissions officer when my D was applying (she’s a junior at ND). He said that essays can be a big factor. He related a story about a student who was “a little light on the numbers” (that’s a quote), but she was admitted due to her essays. So if your essays successfully expressed what they are looking for, then I think you have a decent chance.

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My D’s counselor encouraged her to email her regional representative to show interest through at least the end of January if not later. I know that is something that is not encouraged by the more experienced people here but this is what she very strongly recommended. If it is your first choice and you will attend no matter what (not subject to finances which I am not sure you can say) you should let them know. Also if you have any updates, awards or if you have a question that is not answerable on their web site (although I would not ask about being Buddhist) I would email. I would not mention financial issues in your email.

The reason I asked about Catholic is that there is a prominent high school near me that you must be Catholic to attend. I know that colleges who receive federal funds cannot be limited in that way but I would check the numbers and see where they fall. Your religion might give you diversity, I have no idea. We are not Catholic and ND is not someplace my kids were interested in.

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I feel like emailing regional counselor is something you should’ve done earlier, especially since you don’t really have any hooks.
But still I think you have a great chance of being accepted. Your ACT and SAT is a little low for ND, but your ECs are nice. Best of luck to you! Hope we can see each other in Stinson-Remick Hall next year :wink:

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Hi @Ruby789 That’s my first time seeing the common data set, thank you for introducing it to me. I do have the 32 score in one sitting. I wonder if they look at the individual parts because you fill them out that way too on the common app. Since there’s no “super score,” I’m hoping they might still take into account how high I have scored on certain parts. I wish I had gotten all my highest subscores in one sitting though as many do.

I’ve heard from others that the environment is welcoming and comfortable even if you’re not Catholic too. I really hope my essays will give me the chance to send me there! Thank you for the time you put in giving advice, help and input! I really appreciate it.

@SeekingPam Yes, I’ve been pondering over the past few days if I should send one. I do have one question in mind that isn’t overly extra but rather lighthearted and genuine regarding their own experience. There is a Catholic school like that near me as well. Thank you again for the time in helping me with this discussion. I do wish I would’ve looked more into the effort of emailing a regional rep. earlier though.

@tina23 I’ve scoured across other forums and first generation is often listed as a hook. So might that be a help? May the odds be in my favor here haha. I often ponder the fact if I studied more instead of going on a run for whatever day before testing, but that is the past so I try to put that behind me moving into my future work. Thank you! It would be a dream turned into reality.