I’ve asked her to consider other colleges. I’ve brought up several which she has rejected. Olin. Purdue. U W Wisconsin. Carleton. That’s why I’m on this board trying to come up with some other colleges. She would be able to make do with her sister’s school, but she would not be thrilled with it. Her Notre Dame legacy is her grandfather got his PhD from Notre Dame. She was asked if parents, aunts, uncles, cousins or grandparents have attended Notre Dame, so she could put in that her grandfather had. She already applied to her safety and now is working on her essays for Notre Dame. I’m not going to say much to her until she has submitted her application. It might be a good idea for me to find out the profile of those who were admitted Early Restrictive Action. That could help to spur her. She is definitely a good candidate but is not a shoo in.
Ok. That’s good to know. Any school she’s considering must have an ABET-accredited civil program. You can check that here http://main.abet.org/aps/Accreditedprogramsearch.aspx There’s a thread on CC about ABET accreditation in engineering, but what you need to know is that for civil, it is a must. I believe the schools mentioned so far are all accredited.
@momofsenior1 is right - she needs to apply to more schools she’d be willing to attend. Maybe you need to do some quick visits. What is her definition of “fit” and which state are you in? Is she willing to go far from home?
@roycroftmom makes good points, and we can figure this out! Class of 2022 REA rate of acceptance was 25% (1636/6598), total was 18% (3608/20371). That makes RD acceptance rate 14%, 1972/13773. 2,070 enrolled. Class of 2022 stats: https://admissions.nd.edu/apply/admission-statistics/
If the total class composition is similar to 2021s (haven’t seen this for 2022 yet), there are 24% legacies and 8% recruited athletes, the majority of which go thru REA, but we don’t know exact proportions. We also don’t know the % of other hooked applicants in REA: questbridge applicants, trustee recommended students, professors’ kids, URMs.
If we apply 100% of the legacies and recruited athletes to REA, to make up for the other hooked components we don’t have, that gives you 663 students. (24% x 2070 enrolled + 8% x 2070). That leaves 973 REA accepted students in the 6598, for a non-hooked acceptance rate of 15%. One can certainly make the case that there are likely even more hooked applicants in the 973, so it’s pretty clear there is no bump at Notre Dame for REA vs. RD. At least with ND’s REA, one can apply EA to other schools, so one only loses the opportunity to apply ED1 at another school. Many of you already know (or suspect) there is no bump in REA/SCEA at many schools, but it’s fun to go thru the calculations. Based on this info I have the same recommendation as others: OP’s D needs a few more schools on her list.
2021 class composition link https://news.nd.edu/news/class-of-2021-intellectually-and-globally-diverse-dedicated-to-service-and-leadership/
She is the fourth – and last – kid and and has been dragged along on many college visits. I think we’ll probably wait on more college visits. I am trying to figure out what she means by “fit”. Having an engineering program is a must.
That ABET accreditation link looks very useful. I just downloaded the list and can go through it to scout what colleges might have a good program for her.
It’s not that she is so arrogant that she knows she will get into Notre Dame. Her older sister had similar classes, grades, and standardized test scores but no extracurricular activities and she got into Notre Dame which is why she thinks she will get in. What she doesn’t appreciate is that her acceptance is a function of this year’s candidate pool which may be stronger than the candidate pool back in 2011 when her sister applied.
Yes, 2011 is a long time ago in college admissions.
Yep. I am leaving her alone for the moment so she can focus on her Notre Dame essays. Once she has submitted her application, then I’ll talk with her about what other colleges might work for her. It would not be a catastrophe if she attended the local university, but I think she could find a better fit if she does not get into Notre Dame.
Mwfan1921, That Notre Dame article was just what she needed to see! With her GPA and test scores, she would have had a much higher chance of acceptance 7 years ago. I don’t mind if she decides to risk just going to the local college now that she has the facts upon which to make that decision, and you have provided them. Thanks!
For ND applicants considering RD vs. EA, talk directly to your admissions rep as they will give you specific advice. We are in Indiana, and a lot of kids apply to ND, we have heard from many families over the years that ND admissions reps are known for giving specific, individual advice about RD or EA for an applicant.
@katrina1 your daughter is a great candidate and many schools will be delighted to have her. I hope it works out with ND, and it’s good advice to speak with the admissions rep too. Keep us updated and best of luck.
Has no one mentioned Tulane? Its very focused on community service. Has a special community service scholarship as well.
Tulane is a great suggestion if she is interested in Chemical Engineering or Biomedical Engineering. Do they have other engineering majors @jym626 . They eliminated a number of engineering programs in about 2006…was that Katrina?
I was going to suggest Rice. Great engineering…and you know…you can find community service by becoming involved with service clubs there.
Good idea @jym626 but Tulane doesn’t offer civil engineering.
My nephew attended Rice. He loved it but it is more of a geeky school that would not be a fit for her. I am very happy about having her read the article out of Notre Dame news that she has about a 50% chance of acceptance based on GPA and test scores alone. I did speak with the admissions rep seeking advice on band, and he pointed to a website which was helpful. The admissions rep will be giving a presentation in the area next month. What should we ask him? She definitely wants to apply Early Action because then she won’t apply anywhere else if she gets in, so she would not ask about that.
Is that a typo, “not” ask him about that? Because ND is known for giving specific advice about whether a particular applicant should apply EA or not. ND is reputed to reject students in EA who might have stood a shot at RD round, so admissions is known to give pointed advice about whether to apply EA or not. Super high stats kids are probably not getting rejected EA, but the idea is, if the individual feedback is available, and it truly is someone’s top choice, then take advantage of all the resources out there to develop the best application strategy.
I guess I don’t understand why an admissions rep would recommend against EA. If the student has her heart set on Notre Dame, wouldn’t it be best if she applied and maybe found out in December that she was accepted?
Reading your note, I assumed that applying EA and being deferred admission to Notre Dame would increase the chances of being accepted RD because the admissions counselor knows that a student applying EA is very interested in Notre Dame. It didn’t occur to me that a student might have been accepted RD had they not been evaluated and rejected EA. We can ask. Thanks.
Didn’t see the target major. Yes Tulane dropped several of its engineering majors but still has a school of engineering. My younger son has a Chem E degree from Tulane. Other son has a Mech E degree from Rice. Yes they are different environments but I am not a fan of calling Rice “geeky”. It perhaps a bit more intellectual of a climate, IMO.
She may not need to have a question prepared. She could simply introduce herself, shake hands, express her interest in the college and why, that she’s likely applying Early. She should have a solid idea of Why Us when she does-- and the service interest would be good. Sometimes. CC focuses on asking, when there are other ways to approach. The equation isn’t only that a hs kid goes with a question.
I went through a similar ‘fit’ search with my daughter. She made a spreadsheet with endless columns for everything from major departments to libraries, dorms, major departments, interdisciplinary approach, labs, students, diversity…on and on. It helped her guidance councilor and I give some direction to the search. For example: He added UVA to her list. She summarized after visiting: great environment and size, not quite diverse enough, cute town but I want city. That lead him to add her #1 pick. We were only looking at schools with ABET accredited programs in both her #1 and #2 engineering major interests. I did not want her to transfer if she decided on another engineering major.
UVA engineering has a special environment within a university with a rich history and wonderful college town. The engineering students were helpful and very engaged in the endless opportunities on campus. They also have the opportunity to dip into the excellent business program.
Most students in the Northeast attending ND had BC on their list as #2. Unfortunately most similar Catholic schools do not have engineering departments.
See if your daughter can list the characteristics of fit. My son did not, but it was also not as much of an issue because there were going to be many MEs with similar personalities at any of the schools on his list. With a smaller number of students in my daughter’s major (plus male/female ratio) university fit was more important. Ironically, they wound up at the same school.
Way back in the day, we just trudged through our engineering schools (nerdy environment of course) but tuition was reasonable, so our parent’s expectations were limited to core education.
She might be more open to describing fit now that she realizes that she needs to look beyond Notre Dame and her safety school. She has underscored the need for an engineering program which is why I was surprised that she isn’t going to consider Purdue. We’ll talk more. Right now, she is working on her Notre Dame essays.