Notre Dame Class of 2023 REA Decisions/Results Thread

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Notre Dame
21

DEFERRED

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 35C (English 35; Math 35; Reading 36; Science 33) 36 SS
SAT II: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9UW/4.4W
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): Human Geo (5); World History (4); APUSH (5); Eng Lang (4); Calc BC (5); Physics 1 (3);
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Calc 3, AP Chemistry, Physiology, AP English Lit; Jazz Band/Combo; Orchestra/Band
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Commended Scholar

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Lots of music groups (Band, orchestra, Jazz); section lead in one band; all district honors
4 year varsity swimming;
4 year varsity water polo
Club swimming year round

Volunteer/Community service:
Almost none – NHS service only

Summer Activities:
Lifeguard; swim instructor

Teacher Rec #1: Should be pretty good
Teacher Rec #2: N/A
Counselor Rec: Pretty good
Additional Rec: No

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Undecided,
State (if domestic applicant): IL
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public, Suburbs of Chicago
Ethnicity: Half White, Half Asian
Gender: M
Income Bracket: $250-$300k
Hooks: None

Reflection

Strengths: ACT Score; EC’s include a mix of arts and athletics; Catholic
Weaknesses: Community service; leadership roles; awards
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: There are a lot of good candidates here; he just didn’t have enough to stand out in REA
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: SLU, Marquette
Where do you expect you will attend and why?

General Comments: Congrats to all who were accepted!

22

Deferred

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1570C, (780 ERW, 790 M)
ACT (breakdown): 35C, (36 E, 32 M, 35 R, 35 S)
SAT II: 720 US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A but probably top 5%
AP (place score in parenthesis): US History (4), Seminar (3), Lang (5), Statistics (5), Government (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Theology IV, Art I, AP Calc AB, AP Calc BC, Hn Anatomy, AP Psych, Hn Yearbook, AP Lit
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction, National Merit Semifinalist, Multiple School Awards (Chemistry, Geometry, Algebra II, Sophomore English, Physics)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
School Soccer Team (2 years Varsity)
Yearbook (Editor)
National Honor Society (Treasurer)
Job at Subway (15 hr/week)
Musical
Club Soccer Team (Captain)

Volunteer/Community service:
Make Blankets for Local Children’s Hospital
Summer Library Volunteer
Soccer Camp Counselor
Z-Club (Service Club) at school

Summer Activities:
Job at Subway
Soccer
Camp Counselor
Library Volunteer

** I didn’t get to see any of my recs but thought I had good relationships with all so hoping they were good**
Teacher Rec #1:
Teacher Rec #2:
Counselor Rec:
Additional Rec:
Interview:

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: Neuroscience
State (if domestic applicant): Ohio
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private, all-girls, Catholic
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: top 1%
Hooks
none? (almost but not quite first-generation, not minority, no siblings or parents attended)

Reflection

Strengths: grades, test scores, growth in leadership abilities
Weaknesses: essays?, leadership at beginning of high school (was really shy), strength of senior schedule
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: maybe essays? or they wanted to see more leadership earlier in high school?
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted - Ohio State, Dayton, Toledo, Miami Oxford
Where do you expect you will attend and why? Undecided

General Comments:

23

Deferred

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1490C (730 M, 760 ERW)
ACT (breakdown): 32 but didnt send
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0079
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesnt rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (4), AP Macro Econ (4), AP Lang (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Statistics, AP Lit, APES, AP Psych, honors spanish IV, Calc I
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar, bronze on national spanish exam

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): varsity field hockey (captain), varsity ice hockey, indoor track, outdoor track, Women in business club (co-founder, co-president), community service club (co-founder, co-president), model congress (secretary), volunteer field hockey coach, year round tournament field hockey team, National honors society, sales associate at jewelry company

Volunteer/Community service: Service trips through my church to Houston, Detroit, and Kentucky; created a mural in the school where I volunteer

Summer Activities: Work 3 jobs every summer (day camp counselor, front desk attendant at a swim club, and sales associate at a jewelry company), completed a week-long business leadership program last summer

Teacher Rec #1: from math teacher who I had for PreCalc and now APStat, probably good but couldnt read it
Teacher Rec #2: from english teacher
Counselor Rec: have a good relationship w/ her
Additional Rec: good one from the director of the school where I created a mural
Interview: None

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Business Analytics
State (if domestic applicant): PA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: top 1%
Hooks: good extracurriculars, only girl that applied from my school

Reflection

Strengths: extracurriculars, recommendation letters, essays, grades
Weaknesses: test scores, rigor of coursework (didn’t take any APs till my junior year), no connections to ND or legacy
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Probably b/c of my course load or because i would add no diversity to ND, and i’m not a legacy
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted PSU, U. of South Carolina (w/ merit), SMU (w/ merit)
Where do you expect you will attend and why? No clue lol either an honors college at a state school where I’ll get merit aid or one of my reaches that I randomly get into. Out of 7 people who applied REA from my competitive public high school, all of us got deferred or denied whereas we had 3 Northwestern and 2 Duke acceptances yesterday so i’m realizing this all can be by chance…

General Comments: congrats to everyone who got in and to all those who got deferred like me I guess I’ll see you in a couple months back on this page

24

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Did not send
ACT (breakdown): 33 (E34, M28, R35, S34)
SAT II: Did not send
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.56
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): unavailable (and my senior class is 40)
AP (place score in parenthesis): Did not send (I have taken 15)
IB (place score in parenthesis): None
Senior Year Course Load: AP Psych, AP Stats, AP Research, College Counseling, Post-AP spanish, science capstone
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Won an award for community service with special recognition from congress

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
-Speech and Debate (3x state qualifier, Team captain)
-Public Speaking Nonprofit (administrative role, working with organizations and project in Afghanistan)
-College Board YAC (leader, speaker at events)
-High School Democrats of America (two-term state chair, running about 20 state chapters)
-Theater
-NHS (treasurer, 400+ community service hours)
-StuCo representative
-Congressional Campaign Intern
-Work 25 hours a week at The Home Depot

Merits/Honors:
-Congressional District _ Service Award (special recognition from Congress)
-Distinguished Finalist Prudential Spirit of Community Awards
-President’s Volunteer Service Award (Silver)
-AP Scholar with Distinction
-US Senate Youth Program Alternate
-School Citizenship Award
-National Hispanic Scholar
-National Merit Commended Scholar

Volunteer/Community service:
-Teen Court (volunteer Attorney)
-Volunteering at senior home
400+ hours

Summer Activities:
Leadership insitute @ Arizona State
Summer @ Brown

Teacher Rec #1: 7/10, she has not known me for long but understands my work ethic
Teacher Rec #2: 10/10. My spirit guide. Knows ~too much~ about me
Counselor Rec: 10/10 I love her so much
Additional Rec:none
Interview: none

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: political science
State (if domestic applicant): AZ
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:Small AZ Charter
Ethnicity: White Hispanic
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: Lower Middle class (80k for family of 5)
Hooks: URM

Reflection

Strengths: My essays! I wrote the take a risk prompt as a love letter to target, which truly spoke to the core of my being. I think being able to dive into what I wanted ND to know was helpful.
Weaknesses: My GPA! I have 2 C’s on my transcript!
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Probably essays and EC’s/Awards
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to ASU and University of Arizona. Awaiting other decisions.
Where do you expect you will attend and why? No clue yet, but I’m leaning towards moving to South Bend

General Comments
YOU ARE NOT DEFINED BY YOUR NOTRE DAME ACCEPTANCE. Each and every human I met on this forum was spectacular in every way, and no matter what the decision is, I am confident that God has a university intended for us all!

25

Denied

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown):33C , 34E, 30M, 35R, 31S
SAT II:N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):3.98
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):top 9 percent
AP (place score in parenthesis):Bio(4), Computer Science Principles(4), Chemistry(4), English Lang(5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Honors Shakespeare, AP Physics 1 and 2, Latin 5 Advance Honors, Forensics, AP Calc BC, AP Human Geography, Medical Microbiology(honors), Lab Manager for AP Chem Lab class
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):none

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Chick Tech Austin Game Level Design and Robotics
UIL Science
JV Softball(9th only, tore my labrum and couldn’t continue)
Uno Club(co-founded and co-president)
Chemistry Club
Book Club
Latin Club
Principal’s Council
Lab Manager for AP Chem Class
NHS

Volunteer/Community service:
Crew leader for my church’s VBS each year
100 hours through my school’s volunteer program

Summer Activities:
Summer Research at the University of Texas, Austin
Student speaker at the principal’s training session on the importance of science research on a high school level

Teacher Rec #1:my Latin teacher. Didn’t read, but I know she writes well and she told me she’d write me a really good one
Teacher Rec #2: N/A
Counselor Rec: Okay? My school’s really big, and while she got to know me a little bit, I’m still not confident it was overly compelling

Additional Rec: A letter from the doctor I did my summer research with
Interview:N/A

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: Chemistry
State (if domestic applicant): Texas
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: public
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female
Income Bracket: high
Hooks: None. I had a bunch of cousins who went to Notre Dame and made sure to have a lot of touch points with the school(campus tour, talked with professor of undergraduate chemistry admissions, reached out to alumni, attended Notre Dame on the Road). I transferred high schools from Illinois to Texas.

Reflection

Strengths: GPA, test scores, my research
Weaknesses: Counselor recommendation

Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:Honestly, no clue. Maybe because I never played a varsity sport and didn’t have hundreds of community service hours
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Texas A&M(accepted, but I was an auto admit)
Where do you expect you will attend and why? Don’t know. I’m still waiting to hear back from eight other schools

26

Accepted!!!

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1490
ACT (breakdown): 32 (one sitting, but didn’t send)
SAT II: History, 740
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 (school says this is unweighted, but technically, I got an 89 in an AP class sophomore year)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1st quintile
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5’s on Calc BC, World History, Stat, Bio ; 4 on APCS
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: My courseload is built around several internships, so I have considerably less classes this yr. Core classes, AP Econ, AP Physics, AP Lit mostly
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Didn’t list many.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): PM for extracurriculars. But essentially, lots of writing/creative arts/music + internships relating to career interests + cultural activities

Volunteer/Community service: My community service revolved around the concept of service-learning. I combined academic endeavors with community service to address local/community needs.

Summer Activities: Swim Team Captain (MY SCHOOL DOES NOT HAVE SPORTS SO I have to balance that out with something healthy over the summer), history research, Camp Counseling, Teaching

Teacher Rec #1: I didn’t read it, but I was choosing between a ND alum and my history professor. Ultimately, I chose my history professor b/c he would strengthen the humanities aspect of my intended major. Also, I’m assuming 10/10 b/c I not only did well in his class, I took what I learned from his class and partook in a whole research project just for the heck of it. (He also got a bunch of research grants from ND because of his unique interest in Catholic history, so that might have strengthened how ND saw me)
Teacher Rec #2: N/A
Counselor Rec: new counselor, but I made sure to meet him at the beginning of the year and talk to him, so 6/10 if I’m being generous.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: N/A

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?:
Intended Major: History
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:
Ethnicity:
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: middle middle class (100,000-130,000)
Hooks: minority

Reflection

Strengths: Essays 100%, extracurriculars (especially my internships)
Weaknesses: test scores were meh considering the school
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Ultimately, I think I showed myself most in my essays. I made sure to choose a topic I knew was special to ME and no one else could possibly have. I also chose Take a Risk Essay, which, according to the evaluation of my teacher-reviewers, was risky (totally out of left field) but rewarding/enjoyable (PM for details). In the why Notre Dame essay, I wrote the first things that came to mind, so it made it genuine.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: all my safety schools (UGA, Mercer), waiting on GATech, Brown, and Rice
Where do you expect you will attend and why? ND hopefully, but the tuition may be too high.

General Comments: I was attracted to ND’s vibrant Catholic community and student life from the start. I’m happy for all those who got accepted and wishing luck to those who got deferred. Excited to see how the future goes!
To those who plan on applying in the future - you don’t need an incredibly high SAT score or ACT score to get accepted. In fact, you don’t even need a varsity sport (my school doesn’t even have sports!) What you need is to show a genuine level of commitment to your passions and how you fit in with ND’s mission… those will be shown through your essays. I polished and worked on mine for months, but these essays have been dying to write themselves for years because all my hobbies/interests coincided to this exact point in my life. Whatever happens, have fun and allow God to take you where you need to go!

27

Accepted

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 1570 (790 Math, 780 ERW) (One Sitting)
ACT (breakdown): 34C 36E, 33M, 33R, 35S (Two Sittings)
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 Unweighted/5.05 Weighted
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 5%
AP (place score in parenthesis): WH (5), Bio (5), Calc AB (5), Eng Lang (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Chem, AP English Lit, AP Euro, Hon Rel, Astronomy
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Scholar Semi-Finalist, AP Scholar with Honors, Multiple academic awards issued by high school

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Tennis Team: Captain (11, 12) Varsity number one singles player 9-12
Leadership Team: 10-12
NHS 11 NHS Service Coordinator (12)
Finance Club 10, 11
World Language Club 9, 10
Photography Class outside of school 10, 11, 12
Part-time work tutoring math 12

Volunteer/Community service:

Miracle League Volunteer 10-12
Volunteer with local organization for children with disabilities
Countless hours volunteering with Parish

Recommendations:

Teacher Rec #1: Biology teacher with whom I have a very strong relationship. I did not get the opportunity to see the letter but assume it was a nice recommendation.
Teacher Rec #2: Math teacher with whom I’ve had class for three years. Again, I did not see the letter, but assume it was well-written and a good recommendation.
Counselor Rec: I did not see the letter but assume it was good because I have a nice working relationship with her.

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Biological Sciences
State (if domestic applicant): PA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Catholic
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: I don’t qualify for financial assistance
Hooks: None

Reflection

Strengths: Test scores, GPA
Weaknesses: I’m shy and it took me a while to come out of my shell and get involved in leadership opportunities.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Test scores, work ethic, essays. I put significant effort into writing the best essay I could and really articulating what Notre Dame means to me and why I thought I was a good fit for them.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Miami - Oxford, Ohio. Still waiting on Clemson, University of Michigan and Villanova.
Where do you expect you will attend and why? I am going to weigh all my options before making a decision.

28

Accepted!!!

Objective:

ACT (breakdown): C-35 E-35 M-36 R-35 S-35
SAT II: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/388
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calculus AB (4) Physics (4) US History (3) Macro(4) Human Geo (3) Biology (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Ap Psychology, Humanities, Anatomy and Physiology, Ceramics, Latin 4, Ap Government and politics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended, Ap Scholar, Minnesota Young leaders, Making A Difference Award, Cum Laude National Latin Exam

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Varsity Tennis 2015-19, Trap Shooting Team Varsity, Debate Team (Captain and Manager), Honors Society, Honors Choir of SE MN (Alto Section leader), Founder of Open Arms Open Hearts non-profit organization to raise awareness for Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome, Researched with the Mayo Clinic Department of Hematopathology on platelet flow cytometry, Published in “Clinical Laboratory Validation of Platelet Surface Glycoprotein Assessment by Flow Cytometry” abstract and invited for presentation at International Clinical Cytometry Society 2018

Summer Activities: Work at Odyssey exteriors and painted houses

Teacher Rec #1: Ap Biology teacher- good relationship
Teacher Rec #2:Latin teacher- had her for all years of high school
Counselor Rec: New counselor but established a close relationship through several meetings
Additional Rec: President of the Hermansky-pudlak syndrome network
Interview: NA

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: Pre-professional studies
State (if domestic applicant): MN
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: the highest
Hooks- first in family to go to college in America

Reflection

Strengths: Essays were very reflective of my personality
Weaknesses: Counselor letter probably wasn’t as good as it could be since he was new to the school
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I reflected my desire to attend Notre Dame in almost every way possible
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted- University of Minnesota, Loyola,
Waiting for decisions on- Boston College and UVA
Where do you expect you will attend and why?- I will most likely attend Notre Dame since it has been my dream since i was little :slight_smile:

29

Denied
33 ACT
3.87/4.7 GPA
varsity golf captain
125+ service hours

30

Invited to HC/ND Gateway Program
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1410 (730R, 680M)
ACT (breakdown): 32C (35R, 35E, 30S, 26M)
SAT II: n/a
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3/190
AP (place score in parenthesis): World History(4), Stats(4), US Gov (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP AB Calc, AP Environmental Science, AP Lit, AP Macroeconomics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar, various in-school awards, HOBY presidential volunteer award, named a Semper Fidelis All-American by the Marine Corps

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
4 years varsity xc (captain)
3 years varsity track
2 years NHS (president)
4 years SADD (president)
4 years class officer/student council officer (president)

Volunteer/Community service:
Volunteer with Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Camp (over 175 hours logged)
Have gone on 6 mission trips with my church to Kentucky (over 144 hours logged)

Summer Activities:
This past summer I attended Battles Won Academy put on by the US Marine Corps for the 96 All Americans chosen through an application process

Teacher Rec #1: AP Gov teacher- not sure what he wrote exactly but I am interested in going into gov/polisci so i asked him to write me one, he wrote a letter for a friend I have who got into Rice
Teacher Rec #2: AP lit teacher- read this one over, extremely well composed, was not long but I was happy with it
Counselor Rec: i’m close with my counselor, was happy with her letter
Additional Rec: Director of youth ministry at my church- wasn’t anything special but was well composed
Interview: n/a

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Y
Intended Major: Political Science
State (if domestic applicant): Michigan
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: F
Income Bracket: Mid-High
Hooks

Reflection

Strengths: GPA, extracurricular/awards, personal essay
Weaknesses: Notre Dame specific essays, test scores
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Test scores were right on the border, I was not able to put as much time into my essays as I would have liked to due to sports, extracurriculars, etc
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to Michigan State and Loyola Chicago, will hear from U of Michigan and Boston College this week
Where do you expect you will attend and why?
I plan to attend Holy Cross/ND, the only reason I would not would be cost. If not here, I plan to attend U of Michigan (as long as I get accepted)
General Comments:
Was extremely happy with the opportunity to attend ND, even through going through my freshman year at Holy Cross. Can’t wait to see where I end up & congrats to everyone who was admitted!!

31

Accepted
Accepted to Mendoza

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1400 680M 720E
ACT (breakdown):-
SAT II:-
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):3.9
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Eng (4) AP Micro (4) AP Psych (4) My school had a restriction on two APs per year starting 11th grade.
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Macro AP Calc BC AP Lit
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

Varsity Knowledge bowl (Captain)
Model UN
DI (Captain)
NHS
SGA (Rep)
House Cap

Volunteer/Community service:
300+ hours of working with terminally ill children

Summer Activities:
Paid Intern at big Bank in my country
Paid Internat at a Factory in my country
Notre Dame ILED Programm
Georgetown College Prep

Teacher Rec #1: AP Lit teacher and Kbowl coach
Teacher Rec #2: Math teacher (she gave me a unique curriculum as to not set me behind considering my skills)
Counselor Rec: Pretty good my school only has about 120 people and we have two counselors so she knew me pretty well.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: Interviewed with about 5 people ranging from admissions to Global Development to the people who get donations

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: NO
Intended Major: Finance
State (if domestic applicant): N/A
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: Male
Income Bracket:
Hooks:

Reflection

Strengths: Community Service, Recs, Connections
Weaknesses: Test Scores
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: My app really showed ND was where I wanted to be
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted SMU
Where do you expect you will attend and why? ND, it is where I always wanted to be

General Comments:

32

Deferred

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1520 (M 770 R 750)

ACT (breakdown): NA

SAT II: Math II:760 Biology E: 740

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 2%

AP (place score in parenthesis): Psychology (5) Biology (5) BC calculus (5 with AB sub score 5) Lang (5) Macroeconomics (5) Microeconomics (4)

IB (place score in parenthesis): NA

Senior Year Course Load: AP Environmental Science, AP US Gov, AP Physics I, AP Stats, AP Literature, American History II, Art Appreciation

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist
DECA state champion
DECA International finalist
School Junior Marshal
2nd place in US on National science league Biology Exam

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
DECA (VP community service as Junior, now President)
Student Government
Recycling Club (president)
Speech and Debate
French, English, Science, and Math Honor Societies
Rec Basketball
Lector at largest Catholic Church in US

Volunteer/Community service:
Organized own nonprofit collecting and donating used sports equipment (over 200 items donated)
DECA VP community service: organized week long service partnership with the boys and girls club of my county
Tutor AP Lang students 2x/week and PreCalc students 1x/week
School projects for student council

Summer Activities:
Week long leadership camp at NC State (Shelton leadership challenge)
Took online courses over summer before Senior year
Organized drives for my nonprofit

Teacher Rec #1: AP Lang teacher
Teacher Rec #2: DECA Advisor
Counselor Rec: idk
Additional Rec: none
Interview: none

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: finance
State (if domestic applicant): NC
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: public
Ethnicity: white
Gender: male
Income Bracket: 100-150k
Hooks: family relationship with former ND President Monk Malloy

Reflection

Strengths: GPA, class rank, extra curriculars, essays, community service
Weaknesses: SAT score maybe? Incorporated humor into essays

Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
I think SAT score but idk, if someone can provide insight that would be helpful

Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: so far South Carolina and full scholarship to Fordham
Where do you expect you will attend and why?
If I don’t get in Regular Decision to ND, probably either UNC or Villanova.

General Comments: If anyone could offer any advice or insight, that would be really helpful and appreciated because ND is still my dream school even with the deferral.

33

Accepted/Denied/Deferred: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown): 35 English, 31 Math, 36 Reading, 33 Science, 34 composite
SAT II: 740 Math 2, 720 Bio (Ecology)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 (unweighted), 96.5 (unweighted)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 6%
AP (place score in parenthesis): Physics 1 4, English Language and Composition 5
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Macroeconomics, AP BC Calculus, AP Bio, AP Literature, Dual enrollment College Spanish, Intro to clay
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

  • Captain of Track/XC team
  • Documentation manager of MATE Robotics team
  • Started two clubs
  • Work at a Soup Kitchen
  • Peer Leaders
  • Tutoring
  • Created online study guide source for my school
  • Serving breakfast to the homeless in Manhattan

Volunteer/Community service: ^ see above

Summer Activities:

  • Taught sailing

Teacher Rec #1: Precalc Honors teacher from last year. He knew me really well I went to him for help all the time and wrote about how inquisitive I am and my thoroughness/success in the class.
Teacher Rec #2: Didnt’t have another
Counselor Rec: My counselor and I are very close she wrote me a stellar reccomendation
Additional Rec: My deacon! He’s been a family friend for years
Additioal Rec #2: A family friend who is a very active alum of Notre Dame wrote me a letter as well.
Interview:

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Neuroscience
State (if domestic applicant): New York
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: <150 grand
Hooks: I am hispanic, my father is an immigrant from Cuba. I am also a female very interested in a STEM career. Very Catholic.

Reflection

Strengths: My essays were fire. I took a major risk for the “Take a Risk” supplement and really focused on my desire to be a member of the Notre Dame community. Also discussed wanting to explore my faith and my affinity for asking questions about everything.
Weaknesses: My courseload of Junior year was not very rigorous.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I hit all the diversity points they were looking for this year (minority, STEM, female)
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Deferred Georgetown
Where do you expect you will attend and why? Notre Dame!!! GO IRISH!!!

General Comments:

34

This one hurt. Denied
This has been my dream school since middle school
6 APs (this is high at my school) , 3.7 unweighted (also high for my school)
500+ community service hours
1460 SAT
varsity captain of 2 sports
Head of 2 clubs, founded 1
Was selected for 6-week research internship, to which I wrote a 20 paper research paper for.

Family responsibilities are caring for sister with disabilities
would be triple legacy.
good essays.

I’m writing this just because I need to get it out, that pain of having your dreams crushed. But I truly believe this happened for a reason, and as much as it is said, it is truth that you aren’t defined by college descisions. God has a plan for all of us. Best of luck to everyone accepted, and to those like me. Life goes on, we all have great things ahead.

35

@jdesloge11 Your comment is so raw and genuine: “I’m writing this just because I need to get it out, that pain of having your dreams crushed.” It captures what many are going through. You will succeed out there.

36

Deferred

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1550 (M 800 R 750)

ACT (breakdown): NA

SAT II: Math I: 740 Math II: 750 Biology M: 780

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 2%

AP (place score in parenthesis): Biology (5), BC calculus (5 with AB subscore 5), English Language (5), Environmental Science (5), Physics I (4)

IB (place score in parenthesis): NA

Senior Year Course Load: AP Computer Science Principles, AP Statistics, AP Psychology, AP English Literature, AP Computer Science A, AP Physics II, Honors American History II

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist
School Junior Marshal
1st place in US on National science league Biology Exam
AP Scholar with Distinction

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Employment at Kumon Math and Reading Center (office management position)
Science Olympiad (President)
Maverick Science and Engineering Fair (Vice-President)

  • also completing a research project on biomedical compatibility as part of the club
    French Honor Society
    National Honor Society
    Beta Club
    Private Math Tutor for high and middle schoolers

Volunteer/Community service:
-Serve as a session volunteer and teen catechist at St. Matthew Catholic Church’s Faith Formation Program (which is also the largest Catholic church in the US) on a weekly basis throughout the school year.
-Help tutor AP Lang students on a weekly basis

Summer Activities:
Continue working at Kumon as I do during the school year (usually consists of 3 days or about 12 hours each week)
Took a language-immersion trip to France with my French 4 class

Teacher Rec #1: AP Lang teacher
Counselor Rec: I have a strong relationship with my counselor - wrote my recommendation even though she is not my assigned counselor
Additional Rec: none
Interview: none

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: Biology
State (if domestic applicant): NC
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: public
Ethnicity: white
Gender: male
Income Bracket: upper
Hooks: family relationship with ND professor
Reflection

Strengths: SAT Scores, Class rigor/performance, GPA/rank, employment at Kumon, volunteering through my church, extra-curricular leadership, essays, research
Weaknesses: Not enough community service? Essays not compelling/special enough (although I believe them to be)?

Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Not exactly sure, maybe not a strong enough hook? I guess good objective credentials but application does not stand out enough in general.

Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: so far accepted to Clemson and a full-tuition scholarship to Fordham
Where do you expect you will attend and why?
I expect to attend either Notre Dame or Duke if I get in. If not then potentially Vanderbilt, Chapel Hill, or Georgia Tech

General Comments: Any feedback/insight would be much appreciated. Despite my deferral, I still have a strong interest in attending Notre Dame.

37

Accepted (Mendoza)

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1520 (780M and 740 EBRW)
ACT (breakdown): Did not submit (34C (35M, 35E, 31R, 34S))
SAT II: 800 Math II was the only one I submitted.
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/300
AP (place score in parenthesis): Government (5), World History (5), US History (5), Human Geography (5), Computer Science A (5), Calculus AB (5), Statistics (4), Computer Science Principles (4), Psychology (4), Physics 1 (3)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Macroeconomics, AP Microeconomics, AP European History, AP Spanish VI, AP Calculus BC, AP English Literature, AP Environmental Science, C++ Programming
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing major. Some volunteering awards and model UN competition awards. National AP Scholar

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Lots of student council and political work on multiple different levels. Ran varsity cross-country and competed in model UN. Founder of a service club.

Volunteer/Community service: In the above club, I do a good amount of volunteering and raising of money and awareness for the cause.

Summer Activities: Notre Dame Leadership Seminar!

Teacher Rec #1: 8/10 didn’t read
Teacher Rec #2: 8/10 didn’t read
Counselor Rec: 8/10 didn’t read
Additional Rec: did not send
Interview: did not occur

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Management Consulting (Mendoza)
State (if domestic applicant): MD
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Hooks: None. My older brother went to ND if that counts for anything.

Reflection

Strengths: Grades and extracurriculars
Weaknesses: Essays were not perfect
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I think ND saw my commitment to and interest in my extracurriculars and political work. Because of this, I think they could visualize my place on campus.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to Georgetown
Where do you expect you will attend and why? Legit no idea because I am so indecisive and money will be a factor.

General Comments: Posting this only because I used to be obsessed with these. It is so weird to finally be sharing my own results. Go Irish!

38

accepted :slight_smile:

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): n/a
ACT (breakdown): 34C (32S 34M 35R 36W)
SAT II: n/a
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): n/a (~3.9UW) 4.33W
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 5%
AP (place score in parenthesis): Didn’t send scores, took Euro, USH, US Gov, Stat, Calc AB, Physics 1, Physics 2, Chem, English Lang, English Li
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc AB, AP Chem, AP Physics 2, AP US Gov, AP Lit, Religion
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Placed two years at regional level science fair, various school awards, nothing too impressive

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Varsity softball (2yr captain)
NHS (president)
SNHS (VP)
Environmental Club (treasurer)
Mu Alpha Theta
Travel softball
Key club
Campus ministry
Science Fair

Volunteer/Community service:
Haiti service trip
Chicago service trip
Philadelphia service trip x3
Mini-THON captain (cancer fundraiser)
Jimmy V volunteer (cancer fundraiser)

Summer Activities:
IEP at ND
Travel softball

Teacher Rec #1: 9/10
Teacher Rec #2: 10/10
Counselor Rec: 8/10
Additional Rec:
Interview:

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: environmental engineering
State (if domestic applicant): PA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: private catholic
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female
Income Bracket:
Hooks: legacy

Reflection

Strengths: essays, legacy, extracurriculars, strength of schedule

Weaknesses: test scores, no really impressive awards
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I really conveyed that ND was my top choice
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: Alabama, Penn State, Minnesota, Deferred: Michigan
Waiting on: Clemson, Virginia Tech, UVA, Duke, Northwestern, WashU, Vanderbilt, Lehigh, Villanova, Purdue
Where do you expect you will attend and why?
ND
General Comments:
Good luck to all future applicants! Go Irish!!

39

@mm201923 CONGRATS!! Go Irish!

40

Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 680 M 710 R/W
SAT II: 800 Physics, 770 Math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.99
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1
AP (place score in parenthesis): Euro (5), APUSH (5), AP Lang (5), Stats (5).
Senior Year Course Load: AP’s are Art History, Physics C: Mechanics, Calculus AB, Biology. Also had British Literature, Senior Seminar.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
Does being a Questbridge Finalist count?

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Two years of varsity rugby
NHS member
Helping siblings with homework
Working on weekends/breaks

Teacher Rec #1: math teacher who taught me for three years
Teacher Rec #2: AP Lang teacher who taught me for two years
Counselor Rec: I imagine she said good things
Additional Rec: physics teacher (two years)

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: stated chemical engineering in application, but in reality plan on physics
Country (if international applicant): Kenya (but am a US citizen)
School Type: private
Ethnicity: white/hispanic
Gender: male
Income Bracket: essentially $0 per year
Hooks:
Low income URM who has lived his entire life abroad in different countries. Also applied (and matched) through Questbridge.

Strengths: In-school academic achievement and letters of recommendation
Weaknesses: SAT I score
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I felt like my supplementary essays were strongest for Notre Dame; they were the most genuine and fit well with the university’s vision for itself.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: accepted to UAH
Where do you expect you will attend and why? Notre Dame; the decision is binding.