What is the recommendation for applying REA to Notre Dame vs regular as far as SAT scores? I know there isn’t a cut off, but for the best possible outcome, what is recommended?
the middle 50% of this new scored 1410-1540 on the SAT according to the press release
We were told that if the scores and GPA are near the top of accepted students then apply REA. Admissions reps are very open to discussing this with you.
@Magnetron Does that mean you can send your respective admissions counselor your stats, and they will tell you what application round is best suited for you?
Yes, that is exactly what it means. A phone call might be better because you may pick up other hints that way.
I wouldn’t trust everything your admissions rep says. Nearly 100% of our HS admits applied REA. And you better be a top 10 ranked student. Legacy, catholic vital as well.
@mark89unc do you mean top 10 rank in high school?
Both of my Ds were admitted REA. High tests scores and GPA, but no legacy and neither was ranked in the top 10 at their school (650 kids/class), but they were ranked under 20. Also, we are not Catholic.
Yes. Top 10 in your class. Chances slim otherwise.
@suzy100 D applied early. As of now her ACT score is 32. We heard ND is superscoring now so she’s taking it one more time. She is #1 in her class, all girl Catholic school, has the most service hours in her class (over 300) letters of rec are awesome and her essays in my opinion were REALLY exceptional. She is just a good kid. Praying so hard for her acceptance.
Fingers crossed for her, @HM0527!
Strongly suggest getting that ACT to 34 or higher. Keep taking the test. Good luck.
She just attended a Day Host a couple weeks ago and the young lady she shadowed was a freshman and scored a 32. I know test matter a lot but I also think other things come in to play during the decision process. Thank you for the “Good Luck”
Listen to what your rep says.
But I personally think it is an urban myth that (assuming zero change in the application) a kid who was REA denied would have gotten admitted if they only had applied RD instead. Given the percentages, that just doesn’t make logical sense.
So if your application, essays and test scores are as good as they are going to get, I say go ahead and apply REA. If your app is on the margin, you’ll get deferred and get considered again in RD. If you get denied REA, you know and can move your process along.
“We heard ND is superscoring now so she’s taking it one more time.”
True, but recognize that means that everyone else’s ACT is now going to get the benefit of super-scoring too. So there’s really no relative advantage to your kid from super-scoring. The benefit is primarily to ND, since it may now be able to report higher scores for its students than before (but with no change in the students). Especially true because many of ND’s USNWR ranking peers currently do not super-score the ACT.
32 is still below the 25th percentile for admitted students. While that means that some kids do get admitted, you have to recognize that the lowest quartile for ACT scores is the place where lots of “hooked” applicants are – athletes, URMs, etc. So the obvious reason to apply RD is so that your kid can keep prepping/taking the ACT to get a better score. Admit chances will go up a lot as the ACT goes up. Good luck.
@northwesty thank you. Everything you said was of great help. D already applied and at this point it is what it is. What you said about others taking the ACT again with the superscoring, didn’t even come to my mind. I really think it’s gonna be the luck of the draw and what they’re looking for at the time. Husband went to college but did not receive a degree so who knows maybe that’ll help?!?
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/03/education/edlife/first-generation-college-admissions.html
It might help, or it might not. “First gen” is a pretty new hook (as compared to low income or minority) and schools use a lot of different definitions for who they consider to be in that category. Funny, until my kids started applying to colleges, it never occurred to me that I myself was first gen – it wasn’t a thing back then.
The good thing for you and your kid is that you’ll find out sooner. And I really doubt applying early vs. regular will make any difference to the ultimate outcome.
@northwesty I don’t think applying early has any advantage. D just didn’t want to wait would rather find out sooner than later.
Unlike at ED schools, there is no admissions advantage to applying REA at ND.
The question at ND is whether there is actually a disadvantage. ND actively tries to discourage REA applications and folks on these board often speculate that there is a disadvantage.
Personally, I don’t think there is any disadvantage. If the application is the same at REA or RD, my guess is the ultimate outcome is going to wind up the same. Since a borderline REA admit will most often get deferred over to RD. So it seems unlikely that an REA deny might have had a good chance of being an RD admit.
But there’s no data to prove/disprove that hunch since kids have to pick one path.
@northwesty in your honest opinion why do you think ND tries to discourage REA?
My D17 applied REA, was deferred and ultimately admitted RD. She is a sophomore civil engineering student at ND. Her application did not change for REA to RD. She had a 34 C ACT, 100 + average in HS with solid EC.