discouraged

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Notre Dame
1

<p>Folks, after reading some of the posts in this forum I am starting to feel a little bit down on my luck. I have grown up being an avid fan of all things Notre Dame. Heck, my walls are colored with Blue and Gold paint! I have been to many Notre Dame football games, and visited the school a couple years ago to see them play Michigan State. We came the day before and witnissed the pep rally which was truly amazing. (Those headpieces cracked me up.) The school is amazing! Notre Dame is one of my top schools of choice, and now that I see all these people who have amazing scores and EC's wondering if they'll even get in, I have to sit down and think...maybe I don't have as good of a chance as I thought I did?</p>

<p>Here are my stats:
wGPA: 4.0
Rank: 32/650
SAT1 - 790 math, 720 verbal, 680 writing
SAT2 - 760 chemistry, 750 math, 740 physics
Strong Courses: Honors English grade 9, Honors Biology, Honors Earth and Space Science (sort of like geology and astronomy combined), Honors Algebra 2, Honors Pre-calculus with Trig, AP Calculus, AP Calculus 2, AP Chemistry 2, Honors Physics, AP Bio 2, Honors Biochemistry.
ECs: Key Club, JV Lacrosse Captain (650 kids in each grade, sports teams are highly selective due to large pool of students and small number of spots to fill, so still no Varsity), Tudoring neighbors, Worked since end of Freshman year roughly 25 hours per week (3 different jobs with no breaks between them), National Honor Society</p>

<p>I'm starting to think that maybe my academics aren't as good as I may have thought they were. Also, my family has strong Catholic values, we go to church every week, however I do not go to a Catholic school (will that hurt me?)</p>

<p>One more thing, I have decided that I want to major in Biochemistry, and then possibly on to Med School. I do not want to go strictly Pre-med so as to avoid making Medical School be my only professional option out of college. I am not familiar with the Biochem program at ND, though I do know that the Pre-med program is very good, and most physical sciences do seem to parallel that at many colleges. </p>

<p>Note*** I do plan to apply EA, if that helps!</p>

<p>Please give me as much feedback as possible.
Thanks!</p>

2

<p>I'd give yourself a little more credit. You're not someone that i'd say, "oh, he's def. in" but you're also not someone who i think would have no shot. i too come from a catholic family but did not attend catholic school and i got in ea this year so....idk, i don't think it really hurt me. I would say that you need to find a "wow" factor....i mean, everything you have is solid, but nothing really jumps out to differentiate you from the 295939593584 other people who apply. it may be something that you need to go do OR, it could be something that you already do/have and just haven't realized is such a strong part of your application. Do you know what I mean? You need to play up your stregnths/uniqueness as much as possible to stand out in the crowd.</p>

3

<p>thanks a lot for the suggestion, i think finding that uniqueness is going to be tough, though</p>

4

<p>I think you have an excellent shot personally. Even if it doesn't work out, however, you can always think of transferring if ND is really where you want to go. That is how I finally forced them to let me in, lol.</p>

5

<p>will Early Action give me a noticeable boost in chances?</p>

6

<p>Given your scores I think I would apply EA but I do not think it will really boost your chances. You are in good shape, calm down a bit, lol. What will be will be and everything happens for the best anyways!</p>

7

<p>Definitely apply EA. Do not let anybody talk you out of this.</p>

<p>It will not hurt at all that you do not go to a Catholic high school. ND doesn't give any push to an applicant based on what kind of high school they attend. There are all kinds of public high school kids there, and my guess is it's probably about 50/50 and probably reflective of the applicant pool.</p>

<p>Now, on to your application. Solid stats, top 5%, good scores. You basically have only participated in two in school extra-curriculars, right? (Key Club and lax). You made it into the National Honor Society. You tutor neighborhood kids - (is this structured or on an "as need" basis?). BUT...you have worked 25 hours a week all throughout - that is a <em>lot</em> of time to put into a job. They will notice that, but you could easily point this out to them in the last section of the application (like you wanted to participate in more extra curriculars but you needed to work, that kind of thing). Working experience counts. What do you do?</p>

<p>Also - Twoforjoy is correct - you are more unique than you think. Start to tihnk about yourself a little bit more than you usually do. Your essay should reflect something about you that is not readily apparent in your application. Write about something fun you did that ended up with a positive outcome, or something weird that happened and how your decisions played into it. Every day your life is full of events that you are smack dab in the middle of, and some of those would make excellent essays. It doesn't have to be "the time you saved a kid from drowning" or "what I learned from a death in the family" or anything that deep. Just make it interesting and reflective and of YOU (and positive about you). </p>

<p>And think about the poor adcom when you're writing it. Think about how many "poignant" essays they have to read. I'm sure they just want to vomit sometimes. So make sure yours is not run of the mill.</p>

8

<p>tudoring was a once a week thing for 2 of my neighbors who were struggling</p>

<p>also, my mind does not flourish with creativity! It would take me a year to come up with somothing that was not run-of-the-mill. And even then, I'd find a way to make it conform to the template every average applicant uses. Can you give some examples of some outside the box topics that you've come across to get me acclamated with the brainstorming process?</p>

9

<p>also, that tudoring has been during the school year since I was a freshman, and will continue 'til i graduate</p>

10

<p>So you've basically held two jobs all this time. That's good.</p>

<p>On to brainstorming for your essay. Here are just a few questions to get you started:</p>

<p>What do you like about tutoring? The kids you tutor? (and it's t-u-t-o-r, not "tudor" - that's a house style - fyi).</p>

<p>What predicaments have you found yourself in? How did you handle it? Did it turn out the way you anticipated? </p>

<p>What do you do for fun? What is your favorite thing to do alone? What is the finest quality and thing you admire most in your best friend? Your youngest sibling? </p>

<p>What was the last thing that happened to you that surprised you? Disappointed you? Elated you?</p>

<p>You get the drift. Think outside the box - take notes about ideas as they come to you and you'll train yourself to brainstorm all the time.</p>

11

<p>sorry about the typo, i knew that</p>

<p>thanks for the tips by the way</p>

12

<p>tjlax, just out of curiosity, if your walls are painted blue and gold, why do you say "I WANT TO BE A TAR HEEL"? Is Biochem better at UNC, or what?</p>

<p>You said that you were worried about everyone here being worried about getting in even though they have phenomenal grades, but thats just the natural CC mindset. In a chat session hosted by the ND admissions office last fall, they defined "clearly admissable applicants" as those that had either a 32 or higher on the ACT or a 1420 or higher on the SAT AND were in the top 2-3% of their class. You're not in the top 2-3%, but dont forget that a great amount of their applicant pool that is in the top 2-3% will not have taken as difficult of a courseload as you did. And those are only the CLEARLY admissable applicants, which would seem to represent probably only about 25% of those admitted (since the SAT range is about 1340-1470 and the average class rank is top 6%)</p>

<p>Although, when you like a school like you like ND, it is hard not to worry about not getting in, even if you are qualified. Don't worry, I feel the same as you. </p>

<p>P.S. - an interesting fact I received today in a letter my high school sent out highlighting the achievements of the senior class. They listed all the colleges that accepted 10 or more students from my school, and sure enough there at the bottom of the list was UND with 10 acceptances. (although one of them has two buildings at the school named after her family, so I guess you could say 9 fair acceptances...). Hopefully my school has established a good relationship with the school that will help me when I apply next year.</p>

13

<p>Wildcat, are you from NE Ohio?</p>

14

<p>about that other post, unc and notre dame are my top choices, and i am not sure i'll get into either of them, if i got into both, i dont know which i would choose</p>

<p>thanks for the reassurances, by the way</p>

15

<p>tjlax25 -- </p>

<p>I don't think you should be discouraged at all. Your 1510 score will put you safely in the top 25% of admitted applicants, and your class rank is certainly competitive as well. Also, going to a public high school will not count against you - 46% of the applicants do.<br>
The suggestions that you try to differentiate yourself in your essays is a good one. Here's what the admissions office says about the personal statement: "The Personal Statement portion of the application gives our Admission Committee the opportunity to get to know you. Whether 475 words, 537 words, or 500 words on the dot, we find your Personal Statements to be the most enjoyable part of the application reading process. Why? Because in your personal statements we learn about important decisions you've made, adventures you've survived, lessons you've learned, family traditions you've experienced, challenges you've faced, embarrassing moments you've overcome. We do not offer an interview as part of the admissions process, so it is through your Personal Statement that we are able hear your voice, learn your sense of humor, empathize with your struggles. We get to know YOU, beyond lists of courses, numbers, and activities. Reflect. Have fun. Share yourself with us."<br>
Also, it's nice that you are proud that you've grown up with strong Catholic values. You should not hesitate to write about your Catholic values and what that means to you, and how Notre Dame can help you grow in faith. There's a chapel in every dorm for a reason....</p>

16

<p>yeah, on a semi-related note...on my way into work i saw a car with a bumper sticker on it that said something like "religion is a crutch for people who cant think for themselves"...bothered me quite a bit</p>

<p>thanks for the tips, im starting to get the idea</p>

17

<p>Irishbrigade
I was looking into ND. I want to go pre-med is ND a good undergrade school for that or should I be looking else where. From what i have looked up it is great for law</p>

18

<p>ND has an 80% admit rate for medical school. The program is rigorous. There is also a branch of Indiana University's Medical School that is being constructed on the campus, which will offer the first two years of medical school on the campus of ND, and students will have the status of ND graduate students. IU controls admission to that program, however. I know several ND grads who were successful getting into medical school and becoming successful MDs.</p>

19

<p>That's great now I am sold on applying to ND. I was wanting to apply but didn't know if ND had what I wanted to study. Should I apply EA? I am in top 4% 33 ACT 36english first generation, hispanic. It says not to apply EA if you are not top notch so I am not sure what to do.</p>

20

<p>I'd recommend you talk with (or email) the admissions counselor who serves your area. You can find his or her name at nd.edu. Good luck!</p>