Just wondering what my chances are of getting into Notre Dame.
My mom received her doctorate there and my dad did his postdoc.
I currently am finishing up junior year, ranked 1st in my class with a 4.0 UW GPA with 3 AP courses completed (AP Bio, AP Chem, AP Calc). I have done every honors course available as well.
My course schedule this year included
AP Calc, Anatomy and Phisiology, Health Services, French 3, Physics, AP Chem, Honors English, and US History.
I took the ACT for the first time and got a 27. I will take the SAT for the first time on June 6th. I plan on taking both again in the early fall next year. Next year I am also planning on dual-enrolling with the local college to take more advanced classes.
I do many extra curriculars, but a few are:
Varsity Soccer
Multicultural Soccer Captain since freshman year.
Key Club member and Officer
Volunteer with Delete Blood Cancer
Intel Science Fair 2015 2nd place regional winner and 3rd place state winner for physics and astronomy
Robotics Team Captain freshman and sophomore year
I’ve also done many programs with the local hospitals and high-tech companies and I hope to get in to the Notre Dame Pre-Med program.
What can I do to better my application? Any suggestions? Thank you!
Also I forgot to add, how do their scholarship programs work? Do I apply separately from the application or is that all they look at?
ACT probably needs to be raised to 32 or so. I think their mid 50 is 32-34. SAT will probably have to be above 700 for M and CR to be competitive. As far as scholarships go, ND offers relatively few merit based awards. I do know there is a separate application for the Hesburgh-Yusko program, but I’m not sure about the others. If you dig around the ND website, I’m sure the info is there. As far as the application goes, give great attention to your essays and work to improve your test scores.
I wouldn’t focus on scholarships. The merit scholarships are very hard to get, and with what I see on your app I would say ND is a reach for you, largely due to the ACT score. However, if you improve you test scores (you need to improve quite a bit) you will have a decent chance.
I think you need to boost your ACT score by about 4 or 5 points if you can. Only 2% of Notre Dame incoming freshman get a merit scholarship and you need to apply early to compete. D was admitted to Notre Dame and is attending in the fall unless Williams waitlist changes things. Notre Dame’s average ACT score range is 31 - 34 your grades and academic rigor are fine. D had 4 AP’s completed and only a 3.8 UW GPA when applying but she had a 36 ACT. Legacy advantage at Notre Dame will boost someone’s chances by about 20% but I think you need the test score to begin with before this helps. I think both your parents going to Notre Dame counts as legacy, should anyway. Regardless of where you want to go to college if you boost your ACT like this it opens a very wide range of colleges. It is possible you will do much better on the SAT this happens sometimes. If you are shooting for Merit Scholarships you need stronger test scores and you need to apply to colleges that award a lot of merit aid. You will find that some colleges award generous merit aid and others simply do not. Case Western, Kenyon, GW, SMU all awarded D $20 - $25K/year. You can tell by looking at a college’s Common Dataset what percentage of students are awarded merit aid and, on average, how much.
Retake ACT; my son’s score went up 3 composite from first to second ACT; practice tests with focus on good pacing for the ACT which is more time sensitive than SAT. When you get your scores from SAT get the extra score report so you can find the subsections that you need to focus more on for the second time; ND does not count writing section so you can focus on math and CR. Use the SAT official blue book to do practice tests again and again. There are 10 in the book; if you can get your score into the 25-75th range for ND consider applying early as your legacy status will help you. Contact your admissions counselor for advice regarding early application. This will show interest also.
@Wje9164be Hi! I’m an incoming freshman to ND and I noted that Williams waitlist is a factor in your D’s college choice. I know this is a bit late, but I just saw this thread. I was accepted to both ND and Williams and had the opportunity to go on an all-expense paid visit to both colleges back in April. In the end I chose ND over Williams, but Williams is an absolutely phenomenal place as well! If you or your D have any questions concerning either ND or Williams, feel free to ask! It was an agonizing choice to make but I’m confident I, personally, made the right choice for ND. Go Irish! 
D is going to Notre Dame in the fall. Only 2 percent of students are awarded merit aid and I think you need to apply early in Nov. Not sure if you need to complete a seperate application but I seem to remember it was. Given how strong the applicant pool is I would not recommend planning on merit aid. Service would probably be helpful
Like most people said, I definitely recommend raising your ACT at least a couple points. But honestly, I think you have a fair shot of making it in even with the 27. Notre Dame cares a lot about class rank so being 1st really helps you out, as does being a legacy student. As for scholarships, I wouldn’t set my heart on getting one if I was you. Im starting as a freshman at ND next year with a merit scholarship, but honestly the criteria for getting one is very hazy. I know someone who got a perfect score on the SAT and who started an organization to help cancer patients and he didn’t get any aid whatsoever, while me, with a 2350 and no very strong extracurricular got one. It’s hard to know what they’re looking for. GOOD LUCK though, and I hope you get in!!
(1) Retake ACT/SAT after practice, (2) contact your regional AO to get advice regarding EA or RD, (3) write excellent essays, especially the “Why ND” one and be prepared to explain what/how you will contribute to campus life. Lastly, if there is still a disconnect between your class rank (1st) and your percentile ranking for your SAT/ACT (<25%), perhaps your guidance counselor needs to acknowledge this fact in his/her letter and state (hopefully unequivocally) that you will be able to handle the rigors of Notre Dame. Good luck with your application.
Congratulations @runnrunaway. Which merit scholarship did you get? When did you find out? Were you asked to write any additional essays or was it based solely on your common app and ND supplement?
@lucytbde I got the Trustey scholarship for intended science/engineering majors. They contacted me in early March to tell me I was a possible candidate. First, we had to take a personality test online that was supposed to reveal our skills in decision making, innovative thinking, coachability, etc. Then, I’m not sure if they eliminated people based on the personality test alone or if everyone who completed the test made it through, but about a week later they emailed you tell you that you were through to the next round. Then they asked you to make a video of how attending Notre Dame would help you address/solve a global scientific challenge. I actually think you can find the instructions for the video online somewhere if you type in “Trustey family scholar instructions notre dame”. Ummm and then in early April they finally tell you if you got it!
Wow @runnrunaway. Thanks for all the info. Sounds like you hit it out of the park!!! Good for you. Have a great 4 years at ND. Hoping my D will be joining ND’s 2020 class.
@runnrunaway My sister had a 27 ACT, was valedictorian of a respected school, and would have been a fourth consecutive generation legacy, and was denied after applying RD 3 years ago.
Smaaa, I have to say congratulations for all those extracurriculars (the Intel awards look especially nice 
), but if you want a more reasonable shot at acceptance, and a scholarship on top of that, without being a minority, you should get your SAT/ACT equivalent up to at least a 30. Other than that, just be yourself in your essays, and you should be set to go. Good luck!
@Redazz007 Hi! My top two schools are Williams and Notre Dame, and I was wondering if you would mind sharing your stats so I can get a better idea if I’m close enough to not! Thanks!