Do I Have a Chance at Notre Dame?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Notre Dame
1

ACT:
33 (English: 34, Reading 34, Math 33, Science 31)

GPA:
3.41 Unweighted (Not including 1st trimester of senior year)

Rank:
N/A

IB:
Pre-Calculus, Calculus, Chemistry I, History of Europe, German III, English 11

AP:
Physics I, Microeconomics, German IV

Advanced:
Personal Law, Principles of Engineering, College Prep Biology, Civics, College American Government, Geography, US History, English 9, English 10, College Literature 12, Algebra, Trigonometry, German I, German II

Academic Awards:
High Honors 9th and 10th grade

Extracurriculars:
Business Partners of America (11th Grade) - I’m a Delegate. I earned 1st place in Computer Defense, 2nd in Interview Skills, 3rd in Computer Programming Skills, and 3rd in Information and Technology at a Regional Level. I was invited to the State level. I earned 12th place in Interview Skills and 23rd in Computer Programming Skills there.

Debate (9th and 11th Grade) - I’m a Captain. I competed one year Public Forum and returned my 11th grade year to compete Lincoln-Douglas. I competed regionally in both and have lettered twice.

Speech (9th Grade) - I competed in Creative Expression up to the State level and lettered.

Knowledge Bowl (10th, 11th, and Soon 12th) - I’m a Captain and I’ve lettered once. I’ve also gotten 3rd at a Regional Level.

Math Team (9th, 10th, 11th, and Soon 12th) - I’m a Captain and a Varsity Competitor. I’ve lettered twice and have gotten 2nd at a Regional level.

Mock Trial (Soon 12th) - Just started being offered this year.

Cross Country (9th, 10th, 11th, 12th) - I’m on Varsity. I’ve lettered twice. I’ve competed at State and Conference. (Also GRIAK)

Track and Field (9th, 10th, and Soon 12th) - I run the mile and the two mile on Varsity.

Swimming and Diving (10th) - I was a Varsity Diver and a JV medley relay swimmer. (breathstroke)

Varsity Choir (9th)

Concert Choir (10th and 12th) - Top Choir. Lettered Once.

A Capella Choir (11th) - Audition-Only Special Selection Vocal Group. Lettered Once.

Jazz Choir (11th) - Audition-Only Small Group Choir with a focus on jazz music.

Alba Chora (12th) - Audition-Only Chamber Choir.

Vocal Ensemble (10th, 11th, Soon 12th) - Duet in 10th grade that was awarded a Fair. Solo in 11th grade that was awarded an Excellent. Duet in 11th grade that was awarded an excellent.

German Club (9th, 10th, 11th, 12th) - I’m on my 4th year of German class and have been a member of German club since 9th grade. The group is focused on the study of the German language and German cultural enrichment.

Young Republicans Club (11th) - Founded my local chapter and was actively involved in the support of Minnesotan Republican Candidates for State Office.

Jazz Band (9th) - Played Piano.

Accompanist (10th, 11th) - Accompanied Vocal Ensemble Groups at Contest on Piano.

Drama Club (9th and 11th) - Played a Supporting Role in 9th grade in It Can’t Happen Here. Played a Leading Role in 11th grade in The Boyfriend.

School Talent Show Finalist (10th and 11th) - Sang the Israeli National Anthem in 10th and a duet version of Can’t Help Falling in Love in 11th.

Job/Work Experience:
Transcriptionist at Rev.com (1 Year)
Carpenter at Local Custom RV Shop (3 Months)
Cashier at Mills Fleet Farm (3 Months)

Volunteer Work:
Church Youth Group Leader (9th, and 10th) - Spent around 10 hours a week every week preparing for this. The church was nondenominational. I converted to Catholicism shortly after.

Church Worship Leader (9th and 10th) - Played piano for my old churches Worship Team. This took up around 4 hours a week.

VBS Counselor (9th and 10th) - 70 Volunteer Hours.

Feed My Starving Children Volunteer (9th and 10th) - 20 Volunteer Hours.

Armory Volunteer Work (10th and 11th) - Sang for Veterans and helped with multiple Holidays and celebrations. 15 Volunteer Hours.

Nursing Home Volunteer Work (10th, 11th, and 12th) - I play piano for the old folks and help set up TVs and the like. 1 Hour a Week.

Notable Hobbies:
Piano
Guitar
Attending City Counsel and School Board Meetings
Writing Essays (For Fun and Contests!)

Teacher and Counselor Recommendations:
Very very well recommended

State:
Minnesota

School Type:
Public

Ethnicity:
White, mostly Irish

Religion:
Catholic

Legacy Status:
Non-Legacy, neither parent even finished college

Preferred Major:
Aerospace Engineering and Japanese (John J. Reilly Program)

Second Choice for University:
Northwestern

Fallback School:
University of Colorado - Boulder

Other:
I will be enrolled in AFROTC and have been approved for the three colleges I mentioned.

2

Nobody will really be able to say one way or the other what your chances are…off the top of my head your unweighted GPA stood out…I’m assuming 4.0 scale, so it seems low but that could be offset by ACT score…33 is probably on lower end, but I know some 32s that were admitted. The other thing that stood out was your activities, you have a ton of stuff listed which is fine, but many students who apply to ND pad their resumes with an overload of clubs, community service, athletics, etc…so I think what you need to ask yourself is what makes you stand out from all other applicants…and you need to communicate that in your essay.

My experience, and I’ve had 2 sons attend ND, 1 had a 34 the other a 32 on ACT, both carried 5.8 GPA on 5.0 scale, both ranked top 5 in class, both team captains multiple sports, clubs, leadership and community service…not much different than you or other applicants but they had strong strong essays that took a single circumstance in their life that demonstrated their character…and they told their story…you want your essay to be impactful to the admissions officer who reads it. Also, if you already have the ROTC scholarship mention that in your application. I know they say the scholarship and admissions process are separate, but what does it hurt to mention. Best of luck.

3

You have very impressive extracurriculars and a lot of them. I’m just curious how you have time for all of them. I know Speech, Debate, drama, at a minimum, take up huge chunks of time.

4

Congrats on your hard work. I would say that I would seriously look at expanding beyond your three schools. There are so many wonderful schools with similar characteristics as your top two and would be better statistical matches for you. No harm in trying of course and perhaps you have a story to tell. No one knows for sure. My best guess would be a small group of students with a Chance with your basic profile. Those are reserved for special cases imho. If you have good physical fitness have you considered the academies ?

5

Does it help that the grade dip was because I was mistreated and kicked out to live with my grandparents for being Catholic?

Well, Debate takes place in fall and Speech takes place in winter. Drama club fit nicely around everything. Most of the other extracirriculars beside sports mainly took place in the morning and had meets every other week during the school day. To fit in sports, I had to wake up at 5 every morning to fit in my runs. I should also mention that I’ve run 2 marathons and 1 half-marathon. Hopefully that helps.

I have but I was under the impression that it might be too late to look into those and I don’t want to be committed to USAFA if I end up getting accepted into Notre Dame. I would really love the opportunity though if I knew Notre Dame was out of the picture.

6

You seem to be a very talented individual with diverse interests and activities, and potentially an interesting personal backstory. Explaining your grade trends would help, as would getting straight As your senior year. If you could get your ACT science score up a bit, you might be able to superscore to a 34 on the ACT. On the face of it, a 3.41 unweighted GPA at a public high school and a 33 on the ACT place you at the lower end of the applicant pool. To me, the issue is mostly about your grades. You seem to have tried to challenge yourself academically within your high school’s offerings, and boast a number of academic (as well as athletic) extracurriculars. A great set of essays which highlight who you are as an individual together with a explanation of any hardship that impacted your grades will go a long way. But keep in mind that even those with much higher grades and ACT scores, together with a host of extra-curriculars, have perhaps a 20 - 25% chance of admission. But absolutely no reason not to give it your best shot! Best of luck!

7

@gpnnynd89 @4Family4 @privatebanker @CCSavant
Just figured out how to tag. I answered your questions in an above comment.

I am also going to retake the ACT, take the SAT, and three SAT subject tests (Chemistry, Math Level II, and German with listening) my GPA is also projected to be 3.75 cummulative by admissions date. ARe my chances getting better? WHat else can I do to increase my odds? Thanks so much for your help! You’ve really inspired me to do better!

8

Remember Note Dame loves legacies too. So it’s very competitive even for a student as highly qualified as you.

I would also take a look at Georgetown. They love the languages and perhaps school of foreign service. Lots of rotc options in the region too.

9

Hey Everybody!

I am an international student looking forward to apply in Regular. I have written great essays and probably my teachers would write great letters of recommendation for me. I will be taking my subject test on nov 2. I am hoping to get 800 on Maths level 1 and 750 in US history. I have 105 in Toefl. I have 1340 in SAT. That’s a setback. I have always been in top 1 pecent in my class with 95 percent in senior year.
I did an exchange program in USA for a year on U. Department of State Schoalrship. I have represented my country in many International confrences BUBW, GYLC and many more. Apart from them I do have other more wonderful extracurriculars of national and international levels. I have held several leadership positions in my school .

Overall, I am strong on extracurricular part. What are my chances at Notre Dame? Do I have a shot ?

Please share your suggestions. Please be brutally honest in sharing your views.

10

@rmaxbulldog123 You have to start your own thread. You can’t hijack @JJMantaRay25’s thread.

JJ, you appear to be a competitive candidate. Your GPA is a weak spot, but if you can get that up to 3.75 it will help. Notre Dame is big on kindness and volunteering. Also, a very high percentage of their students participate in sports, if only in intramurals or friendly games between dorms. I would lump your volunteer work together (20 hours isn’t really impressive, unless you’ve done something particularly impactful in that time frame), and highlight your sports participation, even the marathons. Each activity isn’t by itself all that impressive, but if you group them together to show increasing progression and challenge, you will tell a much more powerful story.

Visit if you can. While ND doesn’t consider demonstrated interest, their info session is particularly useful in explaining exactly what they’re looking for.

Run the NPC too to make sure it is affordable. While they meet full need, their idea of what you need and your idea of what you can afford may be far apart.

Good luck to you!