I was wondering about my chances of getting in to Notre Dame. I’m not in the top 10% of my class (more like top 15%), and that won’t change with the few classes I’ll take in this upcoming senior year before I apply. My grades have increased pretty dramatically from a ~3.5 freshman year to a 3.9 in my junior year, and I also got a 35 on my ACT. I was wondering if this would be enough to even be considered for admission, or if the class rank makes it out of reach.
In short, yes. I estimated myself to be around 21% unweighted GPA, and 17% weighted. I had a 34 ACT, so I’m fairly similar to you, and I was admitted. Rank is a very small part of admissions, and it is more dependent on everything else (rigor, EC strength, essays, etc.)
90% @ ND were in top 10% of their HS class. So a high class rank is strongly correlated to being admitted.
So your school didn’t report rank? Do you think this helped you out? My school reports my exact class rank, weighted and unweighted. Does this put me at a disadvantage?
still, top 15% is pretty good, and coupled with the upward trend and 35 ACT I don’t think it will count against you too hard. Good essays and strong EC can definitely overcome that. do you know what major you’re writing on your application?