I’m currently a senior at a small, private, catholic school in IL and I was wondering whether it would be better for me to apply to ND’s EA or RD. Here are some of my stats:
Ranked 1 of 66 in my class
Weighted GPA: 4.29
UW GPA: Believe it's around 3.7
31 ACT
I've taken 3/4 AP classes offered at my HS
Member of NSHSS (National Society of High School Scholars)
Illinois State Scholar
Taken 3 college courses (Psychology, Speech, Music Appreciation)
Member of several clubs
3 sport athlete, tennis captain
100+ hours of community service
Brother is currently attending ND
Some people say that it’s only a good idea to apply EA if your’re a strong candidate, so I’m a little unsure because my ACT of a 31 and my UW GPA of around a 3.7 are a little below the average for ND. I’m afraid to get flat out denied if I apply EA. Would it be better for me to retake the ACT, improve my score, and apply RD?
Yes, it would be better to work on improving your score, retaking the exam (and possibly the SAT as well) and applying RD. Commit to a significant investment in study and time if you decide to go this route.
What does your admissions counselor say? I’ve heard that ND reps will work closely with specific students to advice what is better option for them individually, regular or early. For what it is worth, we know a number of students at ND, and the students we know were advised to apply early ONLY if they were at the high end of applicants. Midrange and lower range students were advised to wait, bring up fall grades, and compete against the general pool.
I know I’m kind of a clanging gong on this, but what I don’t get is the concept of bringing up fall grades. Let’s say you have a 3.7 which is lowish by ND standards. The 4.0 first semester senior year gets you to a 3.74. That’s a 1.1% increase. Does that really prove you’re a better student than you were with the 3.7? Plus, while 3.7 is lowish overall, it has to be taken in context and your context is that it’s the highest GPA in your class! Is that small possible increase given by a 4.0 this semester likely to be a tipping point in a holistic application review? Maybe it is. The worse thing that happens to the OP by applying EA is deferral to RD. Are EA deferrals to RD considered second class citizens compared to the kids that only applied RD? I’ve never heard that. Still have to do well first semester but valedictorian at a school ND probably knows, 31, good ECs has a fighting chance EA. I do think taking ACT again is a good idea. I think you could make a significant impact on your app there, but bringing up fall grades for the valedictorian of the class just doesn’t seem like a reason to wait with your app. I’m not claiming any special insight here; it’s just the way I see it. FWIW, my kid’s college counselor sees it that way, too, but that doesn’t make it fact either. Good luck!
Maybe another way of looking at it or phrasing it would be to say apply EA if you think you have your best possible app at that time. If you can make a substantive impact on the quality of the app during the first semester senior year, consider waiting until RD. I think the key word is here is substantive and what that encompasses.
I agree with doubtful. I worked as an admission volunteer for ND for many years and at information nights the Admissions Officers always said, “If your app is as strong as it can possibly be now, apply early. If not, wait.” It’s really as simple as that. They only admit the “slam dunk” applicants early, but they will defer to regular decision rather than deny anyone who is viable. The hardest part of EA is getting deferred and then denied. It’s a double whammy of pain (depending on how badly you wanted to go there.) We’ve lived through it in our house…
I would retake the ACT. There is no denying that scores are important at ND and by retaking the test there is the possibility that you can improve your score. In last year’s cycle, ND denied well over half their early applicants, and given A) a test score below the 25th percentile, B) a decent but low by ND standards GPA, C) no hook, and D) strong but fairly garden variety EC’s, anything you can do to improve is important. With a month and a half to prepare, you would give yourself a fighter’s chance of improving a point or two, which could tip the scales in your favor. Both of my daughters applied EA and were deferred, but fortunately accepted RD. As someone who knows how special ND is, I would hate for you to be denied not having done everything you can to get in. Best of luck!
Here is last year’s thread with results for the REA round. This might be helpful. If you were my child, I’d advise trying to take the ACT again to try and bump that up and apply RD.
Thank you all for the advice. I’ve decided to apply RD instead, hoping to bump up my ACT score.
One more question, is it in any way detrimental to take the ACT more than three times? If i do take the ACT again, which I think I will, it will be my fourth time. I was just wondering if colleges see that as somewhat unappealing.
Nope. She definitely did not submit all of them. Even if you do, I believe their system will automatically record the highest composite and that is the one Admissions sees. Could be wrong on that though.
The ACT has a different way of submitting scores than the SAT. You can submit one set of scores and they will have no idea that you took it any other time. You also have to pay for each test and each school when you send scores through the ACT, so it’s best to just send the highest unless your subscores show improvement in some areas.