While these stats are putting me at ease, i’m still super stressed about the decisions ? Now we wait and see!
Also- kind of a weird reterospective, but did any of you (or your children) write the “Take a Risk” prompt? I took a big, quirky risk on mine and my overanalysis of what I wrote is killing me!
@bachbend D did take a risk. D’s homeroom teacher (ND grad) read it with her husband and she said they cried laughing. Don’t over analyze it. You did exactly what they asked, you took the risk.
Does anyone know the exact date that decisions are released? All I could find on the website was “mid-December.”
Most likely it will be December 12 at 6:42 pm
Is that Eastern Standard Time?
Do you think ND routinely rejects scores of 33 in REA? I feel like they want to see 34+
Yes eastern standard time because that’s the time zone the school is in. Also I hope not with rejections of 33 in REA since that’s what I have!
I don’t think that ND “routinely” rejects anyone. The reference to the Don Bishop video above is useful to understand ND outcomes by test scores in a broad sense…but there are other factors at play. Plus the data is dated, which is particularly important when looked at in the context of the increasingly competitive applicant pool ND is seeing. Don Bishop told the Class of 2022 at orientation that “11% of the Class of 2021” would not have been admitted to the Class of 2022. That is a very specific reference which obviously reflects some serious analysis. With an overall 17.6% acceptance rate in 2022, it is hard to imagine that the acceptance rates by test score tiers referenced in the 2016 video still hold. Not only is the overall acceptance rate down (which is a function of application growth everything else equal), there are more high quality applicants. Bishop has mentioned that while applications grew 4% last year, applications from highly competitive candidates grew by more than 10%. So fewer applicants are being accepted (percentage wise), and they are higher quality candidates.
Everything being equal, higher test scores will offer enhanced acceptance opportunities - but nothing is ever fully equal. There is a litany of stories on College Confidential alone that attest to “lower test score” applicants getting admitted while “higher test score” applicants got rejected. It is hard to believe that students with a 32/33 ACT score are demonstrably weaker students than those with a 34/35 score - and Notre Dame does, in fact, practice holistic admissions that take into account all other factors. But having said that, Notre Dame (and other universities) are sensitive to the test score profiles of their accepted and enrolled classes - which can drive them to be a little more ready to give a nod to the “higher test score” applicants. And higher test scores may well correlate with positive performance in other areas.
Bottom line, overthinking all of this is a painful and pretty useless exercise. It will be what it will be, and it will, most likely, not be purely a function of test scores. 33 is a great score! 32 is a great score! You all are strong applicants and great people! But reality is that only 17% of the total applicant pool is going to get accepted, with perhaps only about one third of the most qualified applicants gaining admission.
Good luck and keep your heads held high - whatever the outcome of a single college application process. And be confident that Notre Dame will be “fair” and give all a good look - within the context of the usual college admission constraints. Notre Dame does, in fact, look for different types of students than many of its peer colleges. And many students are at Notre Dame (rather than at other peer or higher ranked schools) due to a strong degree of self-selection. There are many great universities, but only one Notre Dame for many of its applicants!
I did the take a risk prompt as well. I wrote haikus about my favorite foods. 
It’s ok to feel a little unnerved because it is unlike any standard college admissions essay. Like @HM0527 said, don’t over analyze it. If you don’t mind me asking, what did you write about?
@NDhelp my son was deferred last fall in the REA. He had a 33 and 4.0 GPA, unweighted. You never know what they are looking for year to year so keep thinking positively! Best of luck to all of you.
Yep, that’s my daughter’s profile: 4.0 unweighted and 33 ACT:(I
@NDhelp why the 
your daughter has just good a shot as ANY student!!! My daughter applied REA with a 32. D will be crushed if there’s a denial but she felt her app was the best it was going to be. Lots 34, 35 and even 36 ACT Scores get rejected. ND does not want a bunch of kids that all think and act the same. Don’t give up. I know we aren’t. This website has a lot of haters on it (take it with a grain of salt) but there’s also a lot of good people on here too…
My concern is that ACT is a convenient barometer which selective schools use to reject otherwise qualified students - with no other hooks, I can see this being a problem for her in REA though her application was the best it was going to get. It’s insane that a 33 (99% percentile in the country) seems borderline. As is an unweighted 4.0! I hope you’re right!
@HM0527, Is there a way you can help your daughter not be crushed if she is denied? I’ve been working on this with my daughter, telling her she will do fine if she goes to the state school instead. Because her older sister got into Notre Dame and she felt very confident she would get in because she felt like she had a better record than her sister: similar classes, grades, and test scores but better extracurricular activities. Someone on college confidential sent me this article:
This sentence was in the article: “Among applicants with a 33 to 36 ACT score or a 1510 to 1600 SAT score, just 49.8 percent were admitted this year, down from more than 80 percent seven years ago, reflecting a more holistic approach to admissions that relies less on test scores.”
Her older sister applied to Notre Dame seven years ago and got in. She had a 1540 on the SAT.
I felt like I needed to prepare this daughter for the possibility of not being accepted into Notre Dame, and I also wanted to encourage her to consider schools other than the state university where she has been accepted.
She still decided only to apply to Notre Dame and the state school. She said to me, “Mom, Notre Dame is looking for kids like me.” That may be, but they may not find her. I wish she was more open to other options but she has done her research and made her decision.
Where I have succeeded is in convincing her she may not get in. I’m staying away from talking with her about college at all now that she has made this decision. And we are keeping busy. Family gathering for Thanksgiving. Helping with Santa’s breakfast next weekend. A trip out of town the following weekend. She’ll be prepared no matter what Notre Dame decides. Life goes on. As a mother, my heart will break for her if she does not get in. I saw her just sparkle when we toured. But I will keep that to myself!
In fact, writing to you in part is helping me to tell myself that she may have to accept that she won’t be accepted.
@katrina1 In all honesty we asked our D how she would like us to handle a denial. This is her experience
and asking her really helped her! having her tell us, “I’m gonna need some space” “I don’t want to hear they don’t deserve you” I think it let her be in control of the outcome good or bad. I’m not sure if that makes any sense but that’s all I have…D has no hook, 4.0 UW 4.3 W, in the running for Valedictorian, over 300 quality service hours through the church and school, all girl catholic school, excellent letters of rec, very involved choral ensemble and theater and so forth…but in the end this her story and however it is written I know and deep in her heart she knows, she’s gonna be ok.
Our daughters sound very similar. I am right there with you, but we don’t talk about admission vs denials at all. I know it will be difficult for a time if she is denied but she says that she will be happy wherever she goes and that if ND rejects her, it wasn’t meant to be.
@sj2019 ooh I almost wrote haikus about ND. Then, I decided to write about one of my passions, and as a result I ended up writing a love letter to Target (which has been with me through it all) and it really spoke to the journey I’ve had
Oh I like that! I’m sure the admissions people will too, and it will be something different
@HM0527, Your daughter sounds very accomplished. Test scores may be important, but I bet Notre Dame most wants fit. We’ll know in 18 days!