<p>I agree with a lot of what has been said already. If ND is really your dream, then don’t give up on it yet, but you can’t treat this as an all-or-nothing endeavor. You’ve already done amazing things to turn your life around for the better and that is very commendable. And yes, ND admissions will likely consider that, but it may not be enough to give you an edge over the kids with higher stats than you or those trying to transfer from better schools than your current school. That’s just reality and you may have to face that. But, if you can’t get into ND, you shouldn’t give up on your dreams of attending a Catholic college, getting your degree, or pursuing the career you want. You have a very good chance of transferring to another 4 year school and achieving those dreams. There really is nowhere quite like ND, but there are other schools that could give you a great college experience and a wonderful education and you shouldn’t cheat yourself of that just to “prove” that you can get into ND. Because the truth may be that you can’t. Admissions has already told you it’s unlikely to transfer directly from community college. You can’t prove them wrong, because the power is ultimately in their hands and they know most realistically what your chances are. BUT they did say its unlikely not impossible. So I’m not saying you shouldn’t try- just that if you try and fail, that’s OK too. You can still succeed in all the other goals you mentioned. And that’s what’s really important if you want to change your life and inspire other people in similar circumstances.</p>
<p>Do your best to put together the best application you can for ND, but apply to a few other schools as well. A quality 4 year institution will serve as a much better stepping stone to ND- or, if that fails- to you accomplishing the other things you’ve set out to do.</p>
<p>Good luck to you.</p>