I’m a high school junior and I absolutely love Notre Dame. I just came here to see what you guys think my chances would be for getting in are. I live in an suburban area in Florida and my GPA is 3.94/4 unweighted. I got a 2180 on the SAT (1410/1600). I am taking the ACT Saturday and scoring 33-34 on practice tests… I’ll give you my courses and final grades along with ECs.
9th:
English 9- B+
Geometry Honors- A
World History- A-
Physics 9 Honors- A-
Spanish II- A
Religion- A-
10th:
English 10 Honors- A-
Algebra II and Trig Honors- A-
AP Euro- A
Chemistry Honors- A
Spanish III- A
Religion- A
11th (so far):
English 11 Honors- A-
Pre-Calculus Honors- A
AP US History- A
Biology Honors- A
Spanish IV- A
Religion- A
ECs:
Cross Country 9, 10, 11 - Captain 2 years
Golf 9, 10, 11, 12 - Captain 2 years
Debate Team 10, 11, 12 - Head for 2 years
Mentor to Middle Schoolers 9, 10
Choir 9, 10, 11, 12
Volunteer at local clothing bank - 9, 10, 11, 12
I’ve played guitar since 6th grade
Newspaper - 10, 11, 12 Editor for 2 years (Editor-in-Chief as senior)
Community Service Club 9, 10, 11, 12
Spanish Club 9, 10, 11, 12
I am a retreat leader next year (only seniors can do this)
I’m also very involved with breast cancer. A friend and I started a group for our town to support the cause and I joined the club at school and have done community service for the cause too.
If you guys could give me any kind of feedback or advice I would really appreciate it.
All I can say is that your stats put you into the discussion. There were lots of people this year that I felt pretty good about their chances, and they didn’t make it. It seems like each year it gets more competitive and the resumes get more impressive. The middle 50 percent this year for the SAT was 1420 to 1540. I don’t know if your score you gave was on the old SAT or the new SAT. Middle 50 percent on the ACT was 33 to 35. The one thing that they look at that you didn’t mention is class rank.
Below is a link to The Observer article about this years class and it has some good comments from the admissions staff about things that they are looking for. The fact that you have been captain of the Cross Country, Golf and Debate teams for two years already will certainly help. It appears that the main things that can be deciding factors are leadership and service. They can usually pick out the people who are simply logging service hours as opposed to people who have a heart to serve others. They are looking for people who want to be part of the ND family and can have a positive effect on others that they come in contact with.
I would encourage you to start building a relationship with your admissions rep and start working on your essays early as they are often the difference between getting accepted or getting denied.
@GraceDad thank you for your response! it was the old sat i took and my school doesn’t do class rank. the thing that i am worried about is my act score and what it will turn out to be, though.
My daughter was admitted with the class of 2020. My advice (in addition to everything @GraceDad stated) would be to take as many AP and honors classes as your school offers. ND will look at what you could have taken to really test yourself versus what you did take. The process is uber competitive from that standpoint. Continue with your EC activities.
Your essay is also important. You need to convince the admissions staff why ND is the right choice for you. What does the school offer you and what do you bring to the school? Take time to read the article in the link that @GraceDad pinned. It really explains what ND is looking for beyond just a student with an accomplished academic record.
We visited with my daughter’s admission officer (geographically set) over the summer and asked advice as to what she could do to strengthen her chances of being admitted. I believe it helped if nothing other than to put a face with name on an application. My daughter applied early action and was deferred. She sent a letter to the admissions officer thanking her for keeping her in consideration and re expressing her desire to attend Notre Dame over all the other schools she applied to.
My daughter was first in her class for all four years at a very completive private catholic girl’s school. He HS graduating class has students admitted to and matriculating to U of Penn. U of Va, Stanford, Vanderbilt and a host of honors programs at top 40 Universities. She was co enrolled at a local university for 2 classes each semester (as an Archdiocesan Scholar) during her senior year in addition to taking her core courses in HS, running CC, editor of the paper, completing her duties as the President of NHS, and leader of ministry and service. I know that he involvement in so many activities as a leader helped her application.
I wish you the best of luck. The University of Notre Dame is a very special place. I hope you get admitted. Work hard and yes pray.
I am a current ND student. Going to be a Junior next year (also haven’t been on CC in a while). But can’t emphasize enough to really put your heart into your essays. Make them personal, make the admissions committee see what drives you, and make sure you specifically note why you want to be there. Also make sure you make it clear that you will contribute to the university and add something unique to campus. It’s a wonderful school and a ton of fun to be a student there.
Like others said, your stats get you in the discussion and are pretty average for an ND student. Set yourself apart with ECs, essays, and letters of rec. You seem like you have pretty solid ECs. You have a decent shot but I would call it a reach.