<p>I recently visited Notre Dame and absolutely loved it! I would do anything to go to college there!</p>
<p>Here's my stats:</p>
<p>GPA: 4.0+ (I've taken all the AP classes my school offers, and made A's on all)
ACT: 34 composite
Class Rank: #1
Collegiate Interests: Biology/Pre-Med</p>
<p>Extracurriculars:
Varsity Basketball 4 years
Envirothon team member 4 years (3-time state champs)
FFA Land Judging team member 2 years (state runner-up)
FFA Meats Judging team member 2 years
FFA Parliamentary Team President 4 years
Farm Bureau Watershed Heroes EcoTeam member (national champs)
BETA Club member (4 years)
Student Council President
Boy's State Delegate
Catholic Youth Ministries President and Treasurer
Youth Advisory Council member
I also shadowed a doctor for a day this summer.</p>
<p>Those of you who currently attend Notre Dame, could you please share your stats and what kind of financial aid you received?</p>
<p>Also, would having a relative work at the university be beneficial to my admission chances?</p>
<p>As long as you have a good essay, I think you should be fine. I really don't receive financial aid but that is because my parents do very well. However, if you need it, they are normally very generous.</p>
<p>Lastly, I don't think having someone working at ND would help, though I also don't think you will need help! Good luck!</p>
<p>Notre Dame's behavior towards valedictorians is very interesting. It seems as if the better the student is, the pickier they become. This year out of about 800 #1s, about 400 were rejected. If I were you, I'd still try my best and not get too confident along the way (not that I'm saying you are right now). Keep on working hard and even harder on that essay.</p>
<p>If I had to guess, I think that is a bit of ND pride and a bit of Valedictorians taking ND for granted. We have talked a lot about the essay, and I think what happens is that it is apparent that the person is treating ND as a safety (or sure thing) and admissions doesn't look at that too kindly.</p>
<p>Now I don't know this, it is purely speculation, but there have been some people that I know whom have been rejected and it just boggles the mind!</p>
<p>Write a good essay and make it known somehow how interested you are in Notre Dame (have a teacher put something in your rec letter, etc.) and you should have no problems. Also, you would be a good candidate for EA. I was accepted EA with a 3.91 UW GPA, 3rd in my class (although officially unranked), a 34 ACT, and a 2320 SAT. I'm not eligible for any financial aid. Hope that helps!</p>
<p>Well, the only thing about being #1 in my class is that I only had to beat out 21 other kids. </p>
<p>Would I get ranked less than someone who is #2 or 3 out of 500?</p>
<p>Also, I am having a hard time deciding what to write my essay on. Once, I get started, I can write a pretty good essay, but I can never decide what to write about.</p>
<p>The rest of your stats are solid, so I don't think so. You can't help that you go to a small high school (well, maybe you can, but you know).</p>
<p>As for the essay, what makes you you? If you had one chance to tell them something that would make them say "now this is a ND kid" what would that be? The best advice I can give you is that their essay is your best chance to show them who you are in the application, make it count. Don't tell them how much you love ND, or cookie-cutter things that everyone else will say. Tell them why you are special and what makes you you. You can do it without bragging in most cases, lol. I hope that helps a bit. I have an essay page on my website which may help. Yes, it is a transfer website, so ignore some of the transfer only stuff but it may still help. <a href="http://www.nd.edu/%7Emnadorff/transfer%5B/url%5D">www.nd.edu/~mnadorff/transfer</a></p>
<p>I'm also a bio/premed major. I think you have an excellent chance. For your essay, write about anything that shows your unique traits and personality. The admissions counselor at ND told my younger sister something along the lines of "if you were to lose it without your name on it, anyone who knows you should be able to pick it up and think 'This is (your name here)'s essay.'" For example, mine was about my childhood obsession with the weather.</p>
<p>Since I'll be a freshman, about stats and financial aid:
I did not qualify for need based aid, but I know that Notre Dame is extremely generous with need based aid if you qualify. As you probably know, there are no academic merit scholarships.</p>
<p>My stats: Just outside top 10% (with unweighted GPA of 3.92/4.0 when I applied), 10 AP classes by graduation, AP scholar with distinction, National Merit Finalist, 2290 SAT (800 V, 720 M, 770 W). State level swimmer all 4 years of high school, NHS treasurer, peer tutoring, international ministry at church, competitive 6-week biomedical research internship in Boston. Admitted EA as a Notre Dame Scholar and invited to join honors program. </p>
<p>By the way, definitely apply EA with your stats. Good luck, you sound like a great fit for Notre Dame.</p>
<p>If you think it would tell them about who you are and really can show them the person you are, then I think that would be fine. The main thing is writing an essay that truly speaks of who you are, you know? Overall though, I think that sounds fine. Worry less about being original and more about making the essay your own, if that makes any sense.</p>
<p>Yeah, I would talk about how my school only offers 3 AP classes, but I've taken them all--and made A's in each. Let them know that I've done everything I can--even if I haven't had access to all the AP/Honors classes and extracurriculars other students from bigger schools have.</p>
<p>Very true, I was just going to let it go but that is a good reminder :). Thank goodness we are Domers, I don't think I could handle being a Notre Damean!</p>
<p>i think you should go whatever you chose, but dontbase that thinking that not very many people for small towns apply, because i dont think i agree with you there. Thousands of applicants, about 1/3 of which are mid-west states. I thought about the same type of esaay. (my town has 35 people within like a 5-mile radius.)</p>