Notre Dame is my first choice college. My number one priority is getting in. Given my qualifications (below), should I apply RD or EA? (I’ve heard EA is more competitive)
-Iowa
-Catholic school
-32 ACT composite
-4.34 weighted GPA (mostly As and A+s)
-above average ECs, leadership positions
-double legacy at Notre Dame
Personally, I would probably go RD. Even according to the admissions website they are very conservative with EA decisions.
I would advise emailing your credentials to your local rep this summer and asking his or her advice on whether EA or RD is best for your situation. I think ND admissions is very responsive on that question. It doesn’t hurt to get your name in front of your rep. Good luck!
EA if you’re legacy and really want to go there and have little chance of substantively changing/improving your application before RD.
Which credentials, specifically, should I email? I am slightly nervous about potentially giving my admission rep a bad/subpar first impression and don’t want to sound uncommitted or unsure.
You’re not likely to develop better ECs, leadership positions or GPA in your senior year. It gets pretty hard to budge your already good GPA by any substantive amount even with perfect grades. The only part of your stats you can improve is your ACT, and even that isn’t a given. I can’t say for sure about ND, but a lot of schools hold the legacy benefit for the kids that apply early. You have to show them the love with an early app if you want them to show you the love of legacy benefit. Good luck.
Communicate with your admissions representative. From the many kids we have watched go through ND application, I’ve heard that – unlike many admissions reps who are generally optimistic but vague about a specific student’s chances and application strategy – ND reps provide more specific guidance about an individual student’s application timing and chances.
Write the rep for your region, explaining your interest in ND, identifying your legacy – who, grad year etc – and attach a resume with gpa and test scores. Ask whether the rep has suggestions about whether you should apply EA or RD.
I answered your other post on here, but I will answer you here as well.
EA~for sure. Get it done with a smaller pool. Your stats are good-what they are looking for! Write great essays, have them checked by a few people-but write in your voice and don’t change too much! Then, send it in and light a candle in the grotto…
Go Irish~best of luck!
I can see why you think that’s a tough call. You are right that EA is usually more competitive, but since you are a legacy, go for EA. Your stats are good and you seem like a good fit for them. Why wouldn’t they want to take you?
because of my ACT…
I’m in agreement with @Midwestmomofboys - I would email your regional admissions representative. I think you have a really good chance in regular, though a higher ACT would seal the deal. For early, it’s hard to say - although being a legacy (or double) helps, only 40% of them get accepted. So the competition is still stiff for that. Remember, legacy gets you a second read, but is no guarantee. You sound like a great student - I hope it goes well for you. Also, consider taking the ACT a few more times and focusing on the areas you are weakest in. They take the highest ACT - I would think 2 points would help a lot.
“40% of legacy who apply early get accepted”
Where did you get this statistic?
This year they said it was about a 1/3rd chance. There was roughly 1500 applications of legacies and roughly 500 got accepted. I saw that in the earlier thread referencing the video from someone in the Admissions office
regular. the ea pool is extremely competitive and although your act score is good, it is probably not considered elite for ND. your chances are probably better RD.
I would go EA because of the legacy. ACT is a tad low but still strong enough that I doubt you will get any worse than deferred.
REA at ND is ultra-selective. My daughter was #1 in her class for 3 straight years (and the fourth) at the time of application. She had SAT scores of 2260 (ACT 34), co enrolled at HS and college as a Philadelphia Diocesan Scholar, President of the NHS, Editor of the school paper headed Ministry and Service and ran track and CC. She was not accepted REA. She was crushed but stuck with it and kept in touch with her admissions counselor. She was admitted RD and is a freshman now. She loves it there. The point is do not give up if REA does not come through, stick with it.
Omg. That’s really hard to believe. What more could they possibly want in a kid? She is a star. I’m so glad she got in eventually. Your post is very specific and therefore, helpful. Thank you. My daughter has done a ton of service and ministry, good leadership, but she has a 31 ACT and has a few Bs in AP classes. She would love ND, but as a non-Catholic, I doubt she’d have a chance, even as a Hispanic. After seeing your post, I think she’ll pass on applying. It would be very disappointing for her to get rejected from there. If you don’t mind sharing, where did your other kids go to college and what were her back-up schools?
@Dadof4greatkids thanks for your post…great that she got in, but scary that she didn’t get in REA. Just curious…what was her SAT on the 1600 scale? Notre Dame doesn’t count writing. What were her CR/M scores for the SAT I? Wondering if that could help explain the initial deferral??
Hi-I felt the need to reply after reading @Isabel2017 's post. Two things come to mind: 1)my son is currently a sophomore at ND. He was admitted EA with 34 ACT/great grades, etc. That being said–he knows plenty of kids at ND that were admitted with ACTs more in the 32 range (NOTE: this is not something they talk about on a regular basis, but sometimes it comes up in conversations around admission time just because people have friends from HS that want to know their chances). Conversely, he also had a close friend from HS that was not admitted with almost identical stats from his own. (BTW-these are all non-legacies I am speaking of, including my son). My point is— who knows what the differentiating factor was? It could have been an essay, or something in a teacher rec. So I would always encourage anyone to apply–just be realistic about the chances. 2)On the other hand, if you really think it would crush your daughter, you know her best. But I would think that as long as she has a realistic picture of what the incoming class usually looks like, and isn’t counting on acceptance–if this is where she wants to go, I would put in an application. Now, they do mention that they only take the “for sure” applications in EA…but the only reason NOT to apply EA (in my opinion) is if you think you can strengthen the application with more time. Good luck with your college search!
**edited to add-I realize I mentioned EA but that deadline has passed 
Thank you for your kind, specific response. She comes from a huge public school of 3200 kids. It is highly respected for its AP and Honors curricula so that’s a plus. Perhaps she can get excited about some other schools in the meantime so she’d feel ok if she gets a rejection. We’ll see what she decides. I know she would love the emphasis on God and service, having mass in the dorms, the grotto and the school spirit.