Chances (I got my ACT back...ugh)

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of Notre Dame
1

<p>what are my chances. I recently got a 30 on the ACT, which kinda sucks, but oh well. Also, is there something I can play up that can get me in?</p>

<p>Stats:
demographics:
*I am an Asian Indian Male
*From a competitive public high school in Oregon: Beaverton High School, which was also rated the best AP school in Oregon, so yeah, its a smart school.
*student body at school = 500+</p>

<p>The Numbers/ECs
*ACT Composite 30 (haven't gotten essay yet, but it doesn't affect composite from what I've heard)</p>

<p>-English 30/36 (Usage/Mechanics 15/18 Rhetorical Skills 16/18)
-Science 24/36 (ouch..my chances)
-Reading 31/36 (Social Studies/Science: 17/18 Arts/Literature: 15/18)
-Mathematics 34/36
(Pre-Algebra/Elementary Algebra 18/18
Int.Algebra/Coord.Geometry 16/18 (again ouch)
Plane Geometry/Trigonometry 18/18)</p>

<p>*Freshman year:
Language Arts (Honors): A/A
Social Studies 9: A/A
Advanced Algebra 2: A/A
Bio/Chem/Phys 10 (Honors): A/A
SAT Math Prep: A
SAT Verbal Prep:A
Spanish 1:A/A
Team Sports:A
Health 1:A
Web Design:A
Computer Programming:A</p>

<p>*Sophomore Year:
AP Chem: B/A
Lit Comp 10 (Honors): A/A
Physics 2: A/A
Pre-Calc: A/B
Social Studies 10 :B/A (can explain this B)
Spanish 2:A/A
Symphonic Band: A/A
Team Sports: A
Health 2: A</p>

<p>*Junior Year: (Projected Grades for second semester)
Human Anatomy: A/A
IB Biology: A/A
Spanish 3: A/A
IB Calculus: A/B (might be able to get an A, but our teacher is hard)
IB Psychology: A/A
Team Sports: A
IB Seminar: P (pass, no credit class)
IB English: A, A
Study Hall: P (pass, no credit class)
IB TOK 1: B (our TOK teacher is sooo hard!!)</p>

<p>IN SUMMARY: I should finish high school with around a 3.85, or at very worst 3.8 UW for fresh-senior year.
*I know however that stanford, UCs, and Umich weight grades differently, so this number should go down slightly for these schools</p>

<p>*class rank UW right now = 38/515. Weighted = 30/515 (will go up because not many kids have taken hard classes yet)
*IB Diploma Candidate (to be)
*NHS (2 years)
*Varsity tennis 4 years (will have 4)
*Science Team 4 years (will have 4)
*World Quest Trivia 4 years (will have 4)
*Science Club Treasurer (1 year)
*Science Club VP (2 years)
*Math Club (4 years) (VP 2 years)
*Portland Youth Philharmonic (2 years)
*Mathfest Algebra 2 1st place freshman year
*Oregon Invitational of Mathematics Tournament Participant Fresh Year
*Mathfest Participant (will have 4 years)
*6th Place at World Quest out of 32 10th grade
*Oregon Museum of Science and Industry Rising Star Program (will have 150-175 volunteer hours done)
*Mathcounts Tutor (about 50+ volunteer hours)
*Want to major in either Biomedical Engineering, Economics, Math, Physics, but then go on to med school, dental school, or investment banking/B-school</p>

2

<p>Is Asian Indian a URM?</p>

<p>My best guess is that you are borderline. A little below average on ACTs and a little below average on class rank. ECs look good and rigor of courses looks good. If application numbers are up and if you don't have a "hook" it may be a "coin flip."</p>

3

<p>My advice, for what it's worth...</p>

<p>1.Do practice tests and keep taking the ACT until you apply. You'll get the score up a few points and they'll only see the highest test.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Take 2 SAT Subject tests to see how you do. If you score high (700+) send the scores to ND. If your scores aren't good-don't worry, still focus on ACT. This is on the advice of ND admissions. My son got in EA and followed her advice and sent subject scores.</p></li>
<li><p>The strongest things you listed are the tennis, the Philharmonic, the Academic teams and the volunteer hours. Work these.</p></li>
<li><p>Write a really, really strong essay. Something out of the box here. Have somebody who DOES NOT KNOW YOU read it. This area will make/break your essay. Nothing typical. Your whole app is pretty typical...no offense. You need to shine here.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>I think you could pull it off -but you need to be solid in every area. Your grades are goodand your courses are tough.</p>

<p>DO NOT APPLY EARLY!</p>

<p>Good Luck.</p>

4

<p>Definitely take the tests over. My daughter took the ACT once, and essentially duplicated it with her first SAT. Then, when she was deferred from Early Action, she took the SAT over, went up 10 points overall, but up 50 points in CR and down 40 points in Math (She had a very good Math score the first time and was not likely to improve on it much, if at all - she didn't). Since ND will pick the best Math score from any SAT taken and add it to the best CR score from any SAT taken (superscoring), she effectively improved her score by 50 points. It may make the difference in her getting in. We'll know in about a month. On the other hand, ND only uses the best composite score on the ACT - it does not look at the subscores. Take both the SAT and the ACT and, if your tests are still a little low, take the SAT over if you think you can improve one of the scores, take the ACT over if you think you can improve the overall score. Take both over if you are not sure.</p>

5

<p>cali love - I agree with previous posters here. Practice, take the ACT again, and submit the highest. I also received a 30 on my first try and was able to raise it to a 34 by the 3rd try, which is far more impressive. Good luck!</p>

6

<p>Sounds like you are a junior. You have forever! You can take the ACT three more times before early action. If you have a chance to try EA, you're foolish not to do it.</p>

<p>Take the ACT in April, then June--I'll bet you can ramp it up. Your EC's, coursework and academic accomplishments are already impressive.</p>

<p>Don't let anyone talk you out of EA if you are even in the range!</p>

7

<p>ya, I agree with DD</p>

<p>Bus, Why are you so enthusiastic about telling him/her not to apply EA</p>

8

<p>My $.02 may not be worth much, but your Indian-ness and your west coast-ness are an asset. Keep plugging away bringing those ACT scores up and have a real interest in ND-why do you want to go there as opposed to a million other schools?</p>

<p>What do your teachers think of you? D. got in early with a less impressive list of classes and extracurriculars; we think it was her teacher rec that made her stand out. We are west coast and we hear ND is not as popular here so that may have helped as well.</p>

9

<p>I would like to clarify that unless you get a much higher ACT score, I would check with your ND Admissions Counselor about applying early. They are very helpful and will give you an honest opinion. </p>

<p>We are from CA and my S had the almost identical load and GPA, plus Varsity sports but a 34 on the ACT. That got him in early. Many similiar kids with 32s on the ACT were deferred. Check the thread.</p>

10

<p>Mombot, my teachers so far have a decent perception of me. They know that I'm not that smart, but they also see how motivated I am and how much work I put in. My calc teacher for example said that I am one of the most motivated people she's ever worked with and that I do extra problems to make sure I understand things. The only thing bad though is that she says I worry too much. Not sure ND would like to hear that...</p>

11

<p>Definitely have to write a good essay - I have a friend who got a 29 ACT, and doesn't have perfect grades, but wrote this amazing essay about how her life is defined in her hamster and she got accepted ED to Emory, which has pretty much the same standards as ND... but I would agree that you probably wouldn't want to apply early, as RD would probably help your chances & give you more time to add positive things</p>

12

<p>LOL, how do you get a B in TOK? No offense, by the way.</p>

13

<p>dude TOK at our school is hard, its different at every school. And at ours, TOK isn't like an IB PE class or something, it actually requires you to work. There was a kid who got a 1540 on the old SAT, and was like math and science top 5 finisher in the state that nearly got a B in the class (until he aced the final), so don't talk crap just because you guys probably have it easier in that class.</p>