<p>A girl from the local high school was admitted regular decision. Her class rank was approximately 27 out of 690, and she scored a 32 on the ACT. No hook, no legacy, no URM and a strong need for financial aid. What was shocking to me was that she had NO EXTRACURRICULARS whatsoever. No leadership activities, no service to the community, no involvement in the Church, no part time job. NOTHING on the resume. I never thought she would be admitted but she's attending in the fall. She must have written an incredible essay. It is really hard to figure out why some that are so strong are denied while others such as the example given without the full package are admitted.</p>
<p>momtofour,
Admissions can be hard to decipher, especially when one doesn't have all of the facts. A student with considerable financial need could be a first generation college student -- many schools, including Notre Dame, have special outreach efforts to applicants whose parents did not have the opportunity to attend college. A student with no ECs and no part-time job might be struggling with medical issues of which outsiders are unaware, or might be needed at home to help a parent or sibling with special needs. Unless you had access to this student's application, you might not be aware of all the circumstances surrounding her acceptance.</p>
<p>Claremarie,
Your insight is true; we don't know all the circumstances....but the possibilities you outlined are not true. Her parents are both college educated, but business owners struggling with the economy, thus the need for aid. Both siblings are very bright, in gifted programs. I know of no pressing medical needs in the immediate family. When talking to the mother after she was admitted, I again questioned her lack of ECs. Her mother once again indicated that she "did nothing in high school. She didn't join anything. She was home every day by 3:00."</p>
<p>A year later and stories like that still make me bitter.</p>
<p>Admissions at any college is indeed a crapshoot, a gamble, a lottery ticket, etc. It is difficult to explain admissions of certain students. The best thing for a student to do is not to become too attached to one college. And, hopefully, playing the admissions game does not become addictive like gambling can. You go thru it once, twice if a transfer, and a third time, I guess, for graduate school. One really has to keep the whole process in perspective, if possible!</p>
<p>
[quote]
The best thing for a student to do is not to become too attached to one college.
[/quote]
...or a parent...</p>
<p>I was just checking my inquiry and am so grateful for all the responses. You all sound so knowledgeable.
My D's school doesn't rank students. And she got 2 c's this 2nd semester of junior year, one in calculus and one in the hardest general chemistry class at the school. She did have a 3.7 and dropped to 3.6.
I'm sorry to hear that GPA is so important. Since she has always taken the hardest courses, the rigor won't be a problem.
My D doesn't even know Notre Dame exists. She barely knows anything about any college, and sure isn't wedded to any one in particular. She knows she wants to go to college, and otherwise is pretty oblivious. that will undoubtedly change after an upcoming college trip. I'm the one who is interested in ND. It has always sounded like such a great college.
I thought ND was a great place for aspiring writers. I'm really surprised one respondent didn't consider it to be one of the better colleges for writing. I really never heard of Kenyon. Maybe I should start a thread asking what colleges have strong writing programs.
Thanks to all respondents! My d will apply, and we will see what happens. I'm wondering whether to take her to the campus, though, since it is so unlikely that she will be admitted.</p>
<p>Don't over-react. Your daughter has a decent chance of being admitted to ND, depending upon the applicant pool. But she better have back-up plans.</p>
<p>Kenyon is a great school (D2 was admitted this year and turned it down because of its isolation). But, it is a very different school from ND. It is a small liberal arts college - its emphasis is entirely on undergraduate education since it has no graduate schools. That could be a very good environment for an aspiring writer.</p>
<p>I would recommend that your daughter visit ND and a school like Kenyon in order to help her decide what type of school she would like to attend. The more college visits you can make, the better. Each school has its personality and "fit" is important. It might turn out that ND does not suit her as much as some other places. Or, it might turn out that she just falls in love with ND. But, even if she falls in love with ND, it's not the end of the world if she does not get admitted. That is what happened to D1 and she's doing fine at her back-up school.</p>
<p>Finally, I would not have her apply to any school because you want her to. Have her apply because she wants to apply. This is about where she would like to go, not about where you would like to see her go.</p>
<p>"Is ND really that hard to get into?"</p>
<p>Ask a simple question, get a simple answer.....</p>
<p>YES.</p>
<p>I got in the 2011-12 class RD with a 29 ACT, 1930 SAT, 3.84 UW GPA, 2nd in my class of 94 from a small school public school in ID. *I played basketball for 4 yrs, *football for two along with quizbowl. *I was SBVP, involved in NHS, Key Club, Skills USA, had a job my whole senior year, took Calc as a junior, had four years of Spanish and one of Chem and of Physics also took a few honors classes but no AP. *I am half Latino and marked so on my application. *My parents both graduated from college but none like ND, and I had significant financial need which they provided about 90 percent of what I need to attend.</p>
<p>This is an old thread, though I do feel compelled to respond to the people disparaging others that they don’t think “deserved” to get in. You don’t have their applications, you aren’t an admissions committee, you’re likely getting your information from your bitter children who aren’t about to paint these students in a good light.</p>
<p>
Did you get this information from your child? It seems unlikely that this girl did nothing outside of school. Maybe she is involved in church, just not your church. Maybe she’s in clubs/organizations that are more low-key at the school, so your child is less likely to notice. Maybe she has an extensive at-home hobby that has garnered her recognition in one way or another. Maybe she does extensive work with charity organizations you don’t know about. Maybe she has to work to help support her family. Maybe she has lots of family responsibilities, like caring for younger siblings or elderly/injured family members.</p>
<p>You don’t know her situation, so you’re in no place to question her admission. She’s top 5%, high ACT, and could be doing any number of things out of school.</p>