<p>I'm currently a sophomore in high school and I just want to know what I should focus on to better my chances to get into ND when senior year rolls around. Here are my freshman year stats.
3.9 GPA.
All honors accept for math.
I am in the National Beta Club, Spanish Honors Society, and FBLA.
I play basketball (last year JV, the next 3 Varsity)
2 days a week I mentor little Hispanic children in an after school program. </p>
<p>I plan on graduating with all of my classes being honors and finishing with 4 to 5 AP's and a 1700 or above SAT. (What should my SAT be getting into ND?) </p>
<p>I'm a white male, out of state, but not catholic. (Does this improve chances?) </p>
<p>Anyways I'd highly appreciate if I get feedback. I know all this was a little scrambled but I'm just trying to get a gist of what to do. Thanks.</p>
<p>You sound like you are generally on the right track with classes and activities. The biggest thing that jumped out at me was your projected SAT score. 1700 is way below the norm for admitted students at ND. ND focuses on math and reading (writing is not given much if any weight) and a competitive score for those is 1400. So if you are clocking in with scores in the 500s (which is what a 1700 estimates works out to) that leaves you far behind the average admitted student. As a sophomore, be sure and take the PSAT if it is offered at your school, which will give you a sense of where you stand and where you can improve.</p>
<p>According to the most recent Common Data Set for first year students enrolling in the Fall of 2011, the middle 50% for ND was 1910 (660CR, 680M,650W) to 2260 (750CR, 770M, 740W). The middle 50% for the ACT was 32-34. Remember, though, that a great proportion of the lowest quartile includes recruited athletes and legacies.</p>
<p>Irishbrigade- Just an observation, why would ND disclose the Writing SAT score on their common data set if it isn’t considered by them. Don’t you find that odd? Maybe they do consider it now. What do you think?</p>
<p>Here’s their official statement: “Note that for this upcoming year, we are still primarily focused on a student’s Math + Critical Reading scores; while we will see your Writing section and a strong score will help in the admissions process, it plays a smaller role in our evaluation.” Also, when quoting a “middle 50%” number they omit writing, which reinforces the limited value they attach to it.</p>
<p>Irishhopeful – ND accepts ACT and SAT equally. A 32-34 on the ACT is what they generally are looking for. The tests are different and some students do better on one than the other, so pick the one where you are strongest.</p>
<p>When it comes to Legacies, their test scores are not materially different from all other students admitted. It might help a handful, but the overall numbers are basically the same.</p>
<p>I was going to say the same thing! Legacy stats are very much in line with the overall ND stats. Yes, they do aim for a 25% yield of legacy students, however, they will not accept a legacy just to make the numbers. My daughter’s year, the legacy number was about 21%. Now, with my son getting ready to apply it is so tough to know whether he will get in or not. ND is just a really hard school to get in to! Good luck to all though!</p>