<p>Waitlisted</p>
<p>Not going to list all of my stats but 34 ACT and 3.81 UW GPA. Stellar ECs, but my essays were crap.</p>
<p>I’m attending USC in the fall so I could care less :D</p>
<p>dd got waitlisted today in NY. now she can decide on cornell vs westpoint :)</p>
<p>Accepted</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 2180 (M: 770 R: 690 W: 720)
[</em>]SAT II: Math 2 (780); US History (640); Bio (710)
[<em>]ACT: 33
[</em>]GPA: 3.94 UW, 4.51 W
[<em>]Rank: 18 of 635
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): English Language & Composition (5); Environmental Science (5); Calculus BC (5); US History (4); Chemistry (3); Biology (3)</p>
<p>[/ul]Personal[ul]
[<em>]Location: Southern California
[</em>]High School Type: public
[<em>]Ethnicity: Asian (Korean)
[</em>]Gender: female [/ul]</p>
<p>Congratz Domers! </p>
<p>I actually haven’t logged into this account since 2009. I’m not sure why I decided to log-in, but I felt like talking with future Notre Dame students. I probably won’t meet you any of you since I’m a senior and I’ll graduate this May. I am a Economics/Pre-professional studies (pre-medicine) major. I’m really, really sad that I have only have a month left at Notre Dame, so I’m really trying to make the most of it. If you have any questions, ask me anything!</p>
<p>@andlifegoeson: ND is, after all, a school. A school must emphasize grades and test scores when selecting students. It would make no sense to choose without serious consideration of those factors. Great essays could be professionally written, so those are very arbitrary. Simply wanting to go to ND is not enough. It’s about academics primarily. Hopefully, you have grades and scores that are competitive enough to get you accepted when combined with great essays.
Great essays are like legacies. It is said that they will heal the sick, but they will not raise the dead.</p>
<p>Decision: WAITLISTED</p>
<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2240 (1450 m + cr)
SAT II (if submitted): bio 750 english 690
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8 and 4.4 weighted
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5%
AP (place score in parenthesis): 8 exams taken, taking 6 more this year. lots of 5s.
Senior Year Course Load: 6 ap classes
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): national merit finalist, ap scholar with distinction, blah blah. not really major lol
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): president of club, swim team, VP of language club
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service: helped at shelter, church
Essays: well written but overused topic. (for those of you who have read my other posts, i changed my essay completely for most of my schools.) heartfelt why ND essay, my other two short answers were not as good as i wanted them to be. one of them was completely off, i was out of time and after i submitted and sat there in a daze wondering to myself, “what the hell did i just write?”
Teacher Recommendation: probably average.
Counselor Rec: probably avg
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: foreign language
State (if domestic applicant): ca
School Type: competitive public magnet, in the top 50 or 60 schools in nation
Ethnicity: asian
Gender: dude
Income Bracket: low
Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): first gen in US but that probably doesn’t count
Reflection
Strengths: good why ND essay. essay was well written but it’s up to the person who read my app to decide if it was a strength or not.
Weaknesses: recommendations, extracurriculars, other short answers, stats
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: not many things that helped me redeem my weak points
General Comments:
will not be taking the spot, i am going to georgetown</p>
<p>@newdomer: I appreciate the honest response.The truth is that Im “dead” and i guess the hope that I have had was all false hopes. Its hard to admit that I screwed up hs at this point but I have no other choice. Thank you so much and I wish you nothing but the best going ahead in whatever field you choose to pursue.</p>
<p>andlifegoeson, Don’t give up hope. Even if you end up rejected by ND, you could look into transferring next year. I know many students who ended up transferring into their dream schools. Everything happens for a reason. I hope you do get accepted, but if not, try and get good grades next year and reapply as a transfer.</p>
<p>You never really know until the envelope comes. A lot of people had much better stats than I did, I’m not a legacy, but ND saw something in me that made them give me a chance. If it doesn’t happen for you this year, decide how much ND really means to you and start planning your strategy to get here. You can’t just wake up one morning next year and decide to transfer. Go to a school that will prepare you well, choose your classes wisely, and work hard. You may decide you are blissfully happy where you are, but if ND is still your dream, you are ready to apply for a transfer. I hope you end up blissfully happy wherever you go. Good luck!!</p>
<p>Accepted</p>
<p>M: 670 CR: 670 W:660
ACT: 32
GPA: 4.93 W
Rank: 2/660
Four AP’s junior year, five AP’s senior year. Two languages.</p>
<p>Personal statement was touching and well written about my eating disorder
Teacher Recs: great
Counselor Rec: great-I have a solid relationship with her.
Supplementary Material: humorous (take a risk-described trying out for the cheerleading squad at my hs when I had never cheered before)
legacy, catholic
Location: Mid Atlantic
High School Type: large public 2600 students
Ethnicity: caucasian
Gender: female</p>
<p>Extracurricular 800+ volunteer hours, president of three clubs(NHS, Keyettes and Latin club)three season athlete 9th-12th grades, maintained a year-round part-time job
Awards: Academic excellence in all areas, The Jefferson Cup, Governor’s School for Chinese (STARTALK) </p>
<p>I was hesitant to even apply because of my relatively low SAT scores, however I did and got in. I feel like Notre Dame wants really “well-rounded” driven students. Good luck!</p>
<p>WOW very aggravated still haven’t received anything in SC. Anyone from South Carolina gotten any mail?</p>
<p>To newdomer and CMA1:Thank you so much for those words of encouragement and support. I realized that I could have worked much harder during my time in hs and that would have put me in a much better position to get there as a freshman but now I have to face reality and accept whatever college i can get. I will decide if I want to transfer maybe sometime in my freshman year if I feel that wherever I am isnt suited for me, I am interested in pursuing finance and going into banking so I’ll see how Mendoza weighs out for me. Thanks again for all your kind words.Good luck to all of you as well.</p>
<p>NC got mail Saturday- Charlotte</p>
<p>size=+1]Accepted[/size]</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: N/A
[</em>]SAT II: Mathematics Level I: 750, U.S. History: 720, Chemistry: 710
[<em>]ACT: 34, Score Breakdown: 35 Eng., 34 Math, 33 Read., 35 Sci.
[</em>]GPA: 4.57wtd/4.00
[<em>]Rank: Top 2%
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): AP Chemistry: 4, AP US History: 4, taking AP Biology and AP US Government this (senior) year</p>
<p>[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: “I was…greatly touched by your essay discussing the importance and impact your aunt has had on your life–job well done!”…“P.S. I am happy to hear of your courage to move in with your aunt and uncle.”–Chris Perkins, Notre Dame Admissions Counselor
[</em>]Teacher Recs: I only asked teachers who have taught me within the last four semesters and who have clearly enjoyed having me in their classes–makes sense, right? 
[<em>]Counselor Rec: My counselor is truly a great writer and because my school is relatively small and I have spent much time throughout high school in her office of my own volition, she made sure to write the best letter of Rec which she possibly could.
[</em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): Nobel Prize before college? Really? Haha. But my hook was/is likely applying EA.</p>
<p>[/ul][ b]Personal**[ul]
[<em>]Location: StLMO
[</em>]High School Type: Private Catholic all-male college preparatory school.
[<em>]Ethnicity: White/Caucasian
[</em>]Gender: Male</p>
<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>]Extracurriculars: Varsity tennis, History club, Math club, Photography club, Student Leadership Council, High School Nights, NHS, HOBY, MO Boys’ State, Allsup Academy, Kairos I leader, Varsity band, Jazz band, TASK Camp, De LaSalle Tutoring, three different jobs at different periods throughout high school
[</em>]Awards: President’s Silver Service Award, Archdiocesan Essay Award/Scholarship, KMOX Student of Achievement, Missouri Bright Flight, President’s Scholarship Award, Most Valuable Student Ambassador
[li]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[/ul] Honestly, I don’t know who else feels like this, but I have somehow managed to maintain a degree of humility since receiving my acceptance letter in the middle of December. My family, friends, and friends’ relatives have not stopped bragging about my accomplishment and how “awesome” it is that I was accepted to UND. While, I am extremely grateful to have been accepted and believe that I, at least somewhat, deserved this fine honor, I have tried to remain as absolutely humble as possible.</p>[/li]
<p>[*]Where else you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted: Accepted: Saint Louis University, Boston College, University of Miami; Waitlisted: Washington & Lee (after receiving invitation to Johnson Scholarship Weekend hahaha), Vanderbilt University–I applied RD to each of the schools from which I received a waitlisted letter.</p>
<p>I’ve spent the last year and a half scrutinizing and reading through this site! This really helped me during the application process and I can’t believe I am now one of those students who can post their stats! I hope my stats help, but just so everyone knows, it’s not all about numbers. My GPA was/is lower than most of my competition at the schools I’ve gotten in and I believe I got in because of my well-rounded application, thoughtful essays, and amazing teacher recommendations. Everyone is different and my hard work, not just in school, has paid off! </p>
<p>Accepted</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 2010 (did not send)
[</em>]SAT II: 740 Math II, 710 Chem
[<em>]ACT: 34 (the second try)
[</em>]GPA: 3.9 (see, there’s hope for none-4.0’ers!)
[<em>]Rank: top 20%
[</em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): 5 Lang, 4 US History, 4 Chem</p>
<p>[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: I didn’t think my Common App Essay was very good, but I talked about how I learned how to accept and grow in my differences in culture being Asian and how I wove them in with the American culture as I grew up (my English teacher liked it though). My Notre Dame Essay, I wrote them in two days, but they were thoughtful and creative. The first one I wrote about how morals are integrated into my academics in my bioethics class and I talked about how I had to write an essay this year explaining what defines a “Human Being.” The second essay I wrote about my “bucket list” that’s filled with silly goals and serious goals, but that there is one goal that I would like to do in my lifetime: rock-climb in Greece. The third essay (Take a Risk) wasn’t really as risky as they wanted I guess because I am more of a story-teller; I wrote about a time I TOOK a risk during my swimming career which is really important to me.
[</em>]Teacher Recs: extremely good, better than most students’ (according to my counselor)
[<em>]Counselor Rec: one of the best recs she has written for a student
[</em>]Supplementary Material: extra letter of rec from a teacher (who is a brilliant English teacher and knows how to write) who went on a spiritual retreat with me and got to know me as not just a student, but as a friend and person.
[li]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): none</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul][ b]Personal[ /b][ list]
[<em>]Location: Northern Virginia
[</em>]High School Type: small, elite, and competitive all-girls private and Catholic high school
[<em>]Ethnicity: Asian (but well-integrated; i am the only Asian American girl in my class)
[</em>]Gender: F</p>
<p>[/list]Other[ul]
[<em>]Extracurriculars: Varsity Swim Team (4 yrs), Tutoring/Mentoring middle school girls (3 yrs), Photography Club, Yearbook Club, Political Club (VP-2 yrs), Summer League Swim Team (11 yrs), Swim Coach (5 years), Lifeguard (3 yrs), Secretary at School (Job- 3 yrs)
[</em>]Awards: National Spanish Honors Society, AP Scholar, Silver Medal National Spanish Exam Award, National Merit Semifinalist, School’s Award for the Top 20% (past 3 yrs)
[li]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[/ul] I think one of the most important things in an application is the essays (this is where the admissions team really see who you are and what’s important to you, so spend enough time on them so that they can see it!) and the recommendations (this is another way the team can get a feel of who you are as a person and student from another perspective). But that’s not to say you can slack off; keep your grades up and work as hard as you can. If you know you’ve done your best then the admissions team will be able to see it through your application.</p>[/li]
<p>But anyways I am so happy about Notre Dame! It was a last-minute thing, but I’m so glad I decided to apply! </p>
<p>[ *]Other Acceptances/Rejections:[/list] Accepted: BC, Holy Cross, UVA, W&M. Waitlisted: Bowdoin and UPenn. Rejected: Williams and Brown</p>
<p>Actually I don’t know if teacher recs are that important. I guess a good one helps, but I’m pretty sure one of my teachers hates me. LOL I had no choice but to ask her though cause most of my past teachers got pink slipped…):</p>
<p>[ size=+1][ color=green][ b]Accepted[ /b][ /color][ /size]</p>
<p>[ b]Stats:[ /b][ list]
[ *]SAT: 2320 (M800, W 790, R 730)
[ *]SAT II: Match2C 800, Chem 800, USH 750, Bio E 750, Bio M 760
[ *]ACT:
[ *]GPA: 4.06/4.11 Weighted
[ *]Rank: 1st decile, top 10%
[ *]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): AP all 5s bio, chem, english language and comp., ushistory, calc ab, calc bc</p>
<p>[ /list][ b]Subjective[ /b][ list]
[ *]Essays: they were okay. i think it helped show the real me
[ *]Teacher Recs: im sure they were okay?? I think both teachers liked me and i was one of the top students in both of their classes, but i guess you never know since i have a tendency to sleep or do whatever i want in class LOL
[ *]Counselor Rec: i think she wrote a nice rec?? she was new this year but she’s a sponsor for a new student club im doing so she thought i was like a nice kid and all
[ *]Supplementary Material: none
[ *]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): maybe one of my supplement essays for nd? i wrote about an eating disorder i recovered and how i wanted to research to help others overcome it.</p>
<p>[ /list][ b]Personal[ /b][ list]
[ *]Location: Korea
[ *]High School Type: Private
[ *]Ethnicity: Asian
[ *]Gender: F</p>
<p>[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[ *]Extracurriculars: cheerleading 4 years (JV captain in 9th grade, Varsity captain in 12th), Dance Club( 10th activities coordinator, 11 treasurer, 12 co-president), MS Cheer (4 years, president), PTV(school broadcast program; Advertisement editor), SEOTV (MUN broadcast program: 2 years, reporter, editor in 12th grade), NHS (worldwildlife committee leader), Student Senate, New Student Group (Founder&President), Community Service at a community service center as a tutor, cheerleading in the middle of a street for blood drive campaign, intern at biotech. company, intern at a newspaper company, tutoring, etc.
[ *]Awards: WSC 1st place persuasive writing individual & team, regional math competition, school department awards for Chinese and math
[ *]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[/list] I think essays and scores are really important for ND. For the schools I got into, I think I really did get to show the real me in the essays, and for all the schools i got waitlisted or rejected, I don’t think I got to really express myself well. I felt as if I had to shape my responses in a certain way but i guess that didn’t work. Anyways, I was really happy I got in as early action ! It was an awesome feeling to know that I had a good school in hand even if I got rejected by all my RDs and I was very comfortable and happy even before all the results came out <3</p>
<p>Anyone else who still hasn’t heard? I’m in Florida and am still waiting!</p>
<p>^I might call to ask if they sent it or if something happened to it.</p>
<p>I guess FL mail is just S-L-O-W.
WIsh me luck!</p>