<p>Hi all,
I know there are threads on this, but I really want to know the specifics. Would ND reject someone in EA that could get in RA? Is EA more stats (gpa, rank, test scores) based? If admissions reps say they are more conservative in EA, why would you apply early? Or am I thinking to much into this?</p>
<p>My daughter applied EA last year, and was accepted. She then didn’t apply to three or four other schools that she would have. The summer before her senior year, she wrote the Admissions Rep for our area and asked whether she should apply EA or RD. The rep thought she had a shot at EA, so that helped with the decision. I don’t know what ND does for EA rejections or deferments, so can’t help you there. I’m not sure that EA is exactly stats driven, but say if you had some bad grades freshman year, and need an extra semester to show consistent good grades, RD makes more sense. </p>
<p>The reason to get accepted early besides how it will simplify the application process is that then you can visit before your other acceptances and not have the rush at the end. there are some special events between Jan and March that early Action kids can attend - for Engineering and for some of the honors programs and so forth.</p>
<p>Also if you are applying for the Hesburgh Yusko scholarship, you have to apply EA.</p>
<p>Don’t worry, you can get deferred during EA, and then they’ll take another look at your application during RA. This happened to my friend, and now we’re both attending Notre Dame. </p>
<p>There is the chance that they will outright reject you, but I don’t know how common that is. Best of luck, and Go Irish!</p>
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<p>My guess would be no. If they feel you’re a possible candidate for admission, but aren’t ready to accept you EA, they will probably defer you to RD. It wouldn’t make sense to outright reject someone EA if they “could” get in RD. I would guess that most people who are rejected EA would also be rejected RD (unless they got super lucky).</p>
<p>Thanks for the help. So if you’re competitive (33+ ACT and top 3%), should you apply early for a better shot at getting in? Or will it not hurt to wait until regular action?</p>
<p>My opinion is that if you are ready to submit your best application early, then do it. If you are competitive, then the worst that will happen is that you will be deferred. Both of my kids that got in (one graduated in 2011 and one is a current freshman) applied EA. I have seen loads of kids apply to ND both ways. I just don’t think it makes sense to wait if you are ready to submit! Good luck!!!</p>
<p>Notre Dame actually visited my school last week, and it sounds like EA is pretty competitive. The woman who visited said outright that there are several people who apply EA who could have gotten in had they applied RD, but didn’t because they were not competitive within the EA applicant pool. She said that there were two girls who got rejected EA last year because they had low test scores. Later on, they called the school and said that they had retaken the ACT and got higher scores. However, the university could no longer admit them because they were already rejected EA. So, my advice would be that you apply EA only if you think you are truly competitive (look at the average SAT and ACT test score ranges on the Notre Dame website and make sure you measure up, and think about whether your GPA is in the range). Of course, Notre Dame also wants to look at the whole person, so you won’t JUST be a test score, but I think right now they’re really trying to obtain impressive admissions statistics so before they look at your essay they’re going to make sure you’re in the mid-50% of their student body in terms of test scores & such. (In RD, they seem to be more lenient about this).</p>
<p>BmIrish868: IMO, if you can get in, either EA or RD you will. However, if you are ready to apply now, and have your best scores and GPA, then why not? You can still apply to other EA schools (but not single choice EA). It is nice to know in December so you can plan visits.</p>
<p>Can you apply early action at ND then apply at some other school? IUPUI has a “priority date” of November 15. It allows you to be considered for any scholarships they have… so it’s not early action. I also want to apply to ND early action. </p>
<p>Notre Dame’s early action is non-binding. </p>
<p>I want to apply regular decision so I have time to boost my grades and ec’s but my mom (an nd alum) is telling me that if I “was really interested”, I’d apply early action. I’ve read that applying early action is more difficult and more competitive, so in this way I think rd would be more beneficial to me. Should I apply ea anyway, even though it will hurt my chances? In terms of test scores, I’m just below the competitive level (i.e. 32 ACT), but I have few ec’s…</p>
<p>Early action is much more quantitative. The best result you would get with a 32 ACT is a deferral. Show interest by contacting the Admissions counselor for your state and showing interest by that communication. Make sure you visit and send follow up thank you notes. You can actually give them your stats and ask them what their advice is for you. My son with a 32 ACT was told to apply regular decision. He had a very good relationship with the admissions representative by that point and was accepted from the wait list. Good luck.</p>
<p>thank you!</p>
<p>My DD was admitted EA with a 32 ACT. I also know of students who were with a 31. None of them were URM or being recruited for sports, either.</p>
<p>hmm… I’m thinking now that I probably will apply EA anyway. My brother got in EA with a 31 ACT and TONS of EC’s and because of it, I don’t think my mom will be very pleased with me if I don’t at least try for it. Just me mentioning the possibility of applying RD caused her to go on a rant about how it will make me seem ungrateful to the admissions staff (apparently I’ll offend them because it will seem like ND isn’t my first choice) 
Hopefully being a legacy will help me a little bit, too.</p>
<p>Here are the statistics from the last admission’s cycle: </p>
<p>The University of Notre Dame admitted 1,960 Early Action applicants who attended 1,240 different high schools in 46 states and 30 countries.</p>
<p>The students were selected from a record number of 6,551 Early Action applicants. In addition, another 900 were deferred to the Regular Action admission process where they will receive another full evaluation for admission in March.</p>
Based on the admission statistics alone, it looks like EA chances are substantially higher than RD. For example, according to http://admissions.nd.edu/apply/admission-statistics/, the overall (EA+RD) acceptance rate for 2015 was 3593/18157=19.8%, while for EA alone the number was 1400/4700=29.8%, from http://admissions.nd.edu/connect/news/55566-notre-dame-admits-1-400-early-action-applicants-to-the-class-of-2019/
Is it true that EA increases one’s chances to get in, or is there some sort of bias so that EA applicant pool is so much stronger than RD pool?
I applied RD instead of EA because I wanted the extra semester of grades/more time to review my essays to bolster my app. That being said, I understand where knowing early could be beneficial. I emailed my admissions counselor and asked if I’d be a better candidate for EA or RD, which helped. It seems like the vast majority of my friends here applied EA out of the ones that I talked to
Nicobella, not to be difficult or contrary here on this issue, but a year ago you posted that you had an unweighted 4.0 and a 33 ACT and were maybe #1 in your class or at least very close. How did you intend to bolster your app? It was totally excellent at the time. Did you take another ACT? Essays? Yes, they require time and attention and best effort, but for people of your ilk, how much time can you really spend? A week or two of focused thought and editing and re-writing? I would think that’s the max. I just don’t get this hesitation to go EA. You may not get in, but if you have a really good app, you’re not going to get denied EA but accepted RD. Deferral seems the worst you can expect. A good GPA, for all intents and purposes, cannot be brought up more than about 1% with even a 4.0 first semester senior year ( 3.7 cum thru end of jr year with 1st sem senior 4.0 gets you to 3.74, which is 1.1% increase). That can’t be very significant in an holistic approach to admission. Anyway, hope you’re enjoying ND or wherever you ended up.