<p>I have a few questions about students who have applied to ND and have been accepted, and I think a few others have the same questions, so here they are:
1. What's ND REALLY like (the dorms, weather, athletics, school spirit, etc)?
2. What was the topic of your essay?
3. What types of grades did you get (A's or A's and B's or A's and one D in a single course, etc.)
4. What other schools would you recommend applying to?</p>
<p>Thanks, your input would be much appreciated.</p>
<p>1) Oh man I've posted on these so many times. I could write a book. PM me for my phone number if you want to chat.
2) I recycled my Caltech essay. It described my passion for the fine art of buffoonery---sorry, I meant bassoonery.
3) Straight A's except for one B+ in the course reputed to be the hardest at our school. I was salutatorian and had one of the highest GPA's in school history (academically we were the best class that my high school ever produced). To my knowledge only two people have ever gotten straight A's. Hurts us with the ivies but not with ND. Ten admitted, six matriculated. 2340 SAT.
4) This is a question only you can answer. What would you like to major in? What are the aspects of Notre Dame that are important to you? I am a physics/engineering guy. I applied to Caltech, Princeton, Notre Dame, and Purdue.</p>
<ol>
<li>What's ND REALLY like (the dorms, weather, athletics, school spirit, etc)?</li>
</ol>
<p>Dorms: Wonderful. I lucked out and currently reside in one of the newer dorms, but I haven't heard of anyone particularly disliking their dorm. It's amazing how most people get along and the friendships you're gonna make.
Weather: Bearable. I'm from southern california, so I got my first snow experience here. Yes, it does get verrrrry cold at times, but the only problem for me was walking across campus to get to my first class. Besides the winter, the seasons are beautiful at ND. Can't even describe it.
Athletics: Present. Lots of athletes, activities, places to work out, not a problem.<br>
School Spirit: Great. Even though our season was a bit sad, and school spirit did hit a low point, it was still amazing to support the team, even when we were playing USC and near tears during the Air Force game. The number of alumni who come to visit with their families on weekends is so strong, and it's really makes you feel close to the people around you, whether you're winning or losing.<br>
2. What was the topic of your essay?<br>
I chose to share a personal anecdote about one of my internships from high school, and its relation to my family and heritage. This probably won't help you, but write about something that shows a little bit of who you are and how you plan to go about succeeding your goals at ND.
3. What types of grades did you get (A's or A's and B's or A's and one D in a single course, etc.)
I went to a public high school that wasn't very competitive.. But I got straight A's and one B in an AP course.<br>
4. What other schools would you recommend applying to?
Like PutschCasusBelli said, this is for you to answer. I'm in pre-med and applied to UCLA/UCSD/Yale/Stanford/Northwestern/Notre Dame.</p>
<p>Thanks for your input! Anyone else care to share their opinions, experiences, etc.?</p>
<p>1) I am lucky to be in the greatest dorm on campus. There's no place I would rather be living... but you'll get that out of guy's dorms. I'm from the midwest, so the weather is comparable, not to much of a change for me. There are plenty of places and things to do athletically (both competing and watching, etc)</p>
<p>2) I heard that it may benefit you to pick the hardest essay topic. Don't write whatever you want, and pick the harder of the two remaining prompts. I am a humble guy, but my essay pretty much kicked ass because I wrote and revised it over and over during the course of three months and had everyone read it and give feedback. I wrote about Catholic leadership.</p>
<p>3) I got all A's and a B- in AP Calc my senior year in a competitive Catholic high school.</p>
<p>4) Other schools depend on what you are looking for.
If you want top-notch schools that will set you up for life, yeah the Harvards and Yales of this world are for you. This did not interest me.
If you want the Catholic atmosphere and family feeling, try Marquette or the University of Dayton (a gem as I found out-phenomoenal merit aid, a proud student body and a great campus). I was accepted to both.
I tried to get in Notre Dame, Northwestern, Michigan, U Dayton, Marquette and the Naval Academy. The only place I didn't get accepted was the Academy.</p>
<p>that's what this thread is for. :)
ND seems awesome though!</p>
<p>pizzahit, I believe that Notre Dame is also one of those "top-notch" schools.</p>
<p>Yes, that is what slightly bothers me. Notre Dame is slowly drifting away from being a top notch Catholic school to being, realistically, a second-tier "elite" school that the kids who don't get in to the Harvards and Yales will "settle" to attend. This influx of highly qualified applicants who don't have ND as their first choice and don't have a passion for Our Lady's University are consistently driving out the decent but not comparable applications of kids who dream of attending the University. What we need to be doing is finding the kids who truly want to come here and can give back to the community instead of the kids who couldn't get into the Ivies and still want to pick up top-quality degree as a back up plan. Instead of boasting how each class is more academically talented, we need to stop pushing test scores and admissions stuff to the nth degree and focus on the things that truly make ND such a special place.</p>
<p>pizzahut, I agree with you and I disagree with you. I love Notre Dame, but I also want top notch academics. I think that there is a way to attain both. As much as I want to go there, I would NOT if it didn't have the reputation for scholarhip that it presently enjoys. I know that it is a "safe school" for some Ivy applicants -- then again, it is not. The religion and atmosphere are not all that appealing to some.
I do agree with you on the point of deserving and motivated students being shut out. Neverltheless, I have friends that attend Notre Dame. It is a tough school -- it is no cake-walk. It is first and foremost a school, and it is a selective institution of higher learning. it is exactly that that makes it so desirable to so many. Although I have great respect for your views and do agree to some extent, in my opinion, scholarship and academic excellence should never be compromised. That would be unfair to all concerned.</p>
<p>I must add, what I am finding troubling is that the university seems to be "recruiting" those Ivy applicants, even though such students may regard it simply as a safe school. I could only hope that the admission personnel would be able to ascertain who is a passionate and ardent Notre Dame person and who is looking at it as a safe school.</p>
<p>Have to agree--we are paying the price for son to obtain the best possible education at a college or university. We did not encourage him to attend based on football, etc. In our opinion, one attends college for an education.</p>
<p>ND is NOT focusing on recruiting Ivy rejects. I was a potential Ivy applicant and decided it wasn't for me, so I only applied to ND and Texas, with Tulane as a safety. I got in to UT Plan II Honors and was accepted to ND with Notre Dame Scholar and Reilly Scholar honors.</p>
<p>The Ivy applicants aren't making it a second tier school. If ND accepted more of the "decent" kids who love ND, the yield would go WAY up and they would have to lower the acceptance rate significantly. The higher level applicants who don't accept are accounted for in the fact that the school accepts more students than they expect to enroll.</p>
<p>I agree, in the sense that it's unfair that many kids who regard ND as a safety instead of one of their top choices get in, whereas many kids who have ND as their one and only school that they really wish to attend don't get in. The fact that ND doesn't offer interviews doesn't help because those kids who really want to get in can't show how much ND means to them either. I think interviews would help a lot.</p>
<p>It seems to me that for every 1 Ivy hopeful/reject that gets into Notre Dame, there are probably about 3 people for whom Notre Dame is their first choice/dream school. I don't think that's too bad of a balance.</p>
<ol>
<li>My roommates, who are dudes, were actually watching Rudy on a weekday night last year. I didn't think that actually happened. But then these are the same guys who made snow angels in speedos, so take what you will from that.</li>
<li>Something about having a conscience, it was a good essay, but not one that I originally wrote for colleges, so I had to tweak it slightly.</li>
<li>Mostly As, I did get hammered by my psychology teacher senior year, even though she is a Domer, which I didnt like very much. I still got a 5 on the AP test so at least she taught me something.</li>
<li>University of Dayton is sweet. And if you want some California loving University of San Diego</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li>What's ND REALLY like (the dorms, weather, athletics, school spirit, etc)?</li>
</ol>
<p>As a class of 1984 graduate with a son currently in the class of 2009 and a daughter in the class of 2011, I can say that ND has been a great experience for all of us. Dorms are awesome. Weather sucks in the depth of winter and that stretch in the fall where the sun never shines--the rest of the time, it's just fine. A beautiful campus makes up for it anyway, but warm clothing is a must. It is a lifelong athlete's dream--with an abundance of interhall and co-rec athletic activities, as well as great workout facilities and drop-in sporting events. School spirit is beyond compare, a phenomenon which lasts decades after graduation. </p>
<ol>
<li>What was the topic of your essay?</li>
</ol>
<p>Mine was done on a typewriter (yes, I am ancient). I basically talked about how I saw gifts and talents not as a measure that made me better than anyone else, but as a God-given responsibility to utilize them in ways that make the world a better place. My son's and daughter's both talked a lot about character issues, and the broader purpose in life.</p>
<ol>
<li>What types of grades did you get (A's or A's and B's or A's and one D in a single course, etc.)</li>
</ol>
<p>I was a valedictorian of an all-girls' prep school, had all A's, except one B in typing class, and a second-semester B in Calculus after I'd already been accepted as a Notre Dame Scholar. My son had pretty much all A's, except two or three B+'s in honors science courses (he's now a history and Arabic double major), and tested in the stratosphere. My daughter had all A's except a B+ in one semester of honors biology, and test scores within ND's median acceptance range, but not as high as her brother's, which were above the range.</p>
<ol>
<li>What other schools would you recommend applying to?</li>
</ol>
<p>I think St. Louis University is a tremendous university with a long history and a president who is driven to dramatically increase the stature of the place. The housing options are unique and very cool, the campus has been expanded and streets have been permanently closed to give it a true pedestrian quad feel. With Rick Majerus coaching and a new on-campus arena on the way, the basketball program is about to take off. It is in the thick of the theater and arts district, one mile from Forest Park, a mile or two from downtown, near several other universities, including Washington U. St. Louis is a cool city, particularly when one is in the center of it. SLU is also actively looking for top-tier students and has lots of generous merit aid on the table to attract them. Mean ACT composite scores have increased from 24 in the 80's to over 27 now. SLU was the backup school for both my kids now at ND.</p>
<p>Would anyone who is a current student at Notre Dame who didn't have the average class rank ND is looking for, which I believe is top 1-3% (maybe top 5%), but had great SAT/ACT scores, great ec's, etc, mind sharing what the believed was the key thing that got them accepted? It would really help!</p>