My essay will be about standing up to a kid who was saying mental illness doesn’t exist and how I started a club in my school that strives to educate kids about mental illnesses.
You will need recs from a teacher and your counselor. Having influential donors write letters on your behalf won’t help you unless they know you well and can add something new/relevant to your application, other than saying what a great kid you are. Your great uncle having gone there does not qualify you as a legacy. (At ND legacy status is only conferred if one of your parents received a degree from the University.) Taking those out of the equation, your application, while not spectacular, is solid. I have two daughters currently attending ND so if you have any more specific questions, I’d be happy to try to answer them.
Thank you for letting me know about the legacy. I also already have a teacher and counselor recommendation. And the donor is a long time family friend so it isn’t just a random person. Thank you for the help again.
On the margin I think the letter might be neutral to your application. I could be wrong and it could be a tipping point, but it’s hard to say. The admissions people really want to know you, and the best way for them to do that, in the absence of interviewing, is through your essays. ND wants to build a class that not only wants to be there, but that will advance the mission of the University. This is one of the reasons the answers to your supplemental questions are so important. Absent any bump the letter may give you, as I said before your application is solid. Is your GPA on a 4.0 scale? You have also said nothing about your course rigor or ranking.
My GPA is on a 5.0 scale, I am an IB diploma candidate, and our school does not report class ranking. Thanks for the incite, I will definitely keep that in mind.
To answer a question a few above, last year decisions were mailed on 12/10 or 11, I can’t remember which. This year they have said they are notifying electronically.
