I was accepted and attend a Catholic school (although I think I earned my spot haha if you look at my stats I commented earlier, it wasn’t just going to a Catholic school), but 100% agree with you. The val at my school almost ALWAYS gets into ND, but rejected from any other top 20s. This year the val got in, and I have no idea how, because he did NOT have very good extracurriculars, only one leadership position and it was minor. Notre Dame definitely gives preference to Catholic applicants imo, because almost every person at my school that gets in and applies to other top 20s does not fare well. It’s a known fact at my school that if you are valedictorian, you’re pretty much guaranteed an ND acceptance. Last year, they only took the val and one other person, who received a full ride to our in state school. The other person had a much more competitive app than the val.
Does anyone know when financial aid decisions are released though?
Hi! I can’t believe that! There doesn’t seem to be any reason for it! My daughter was deferred and we are also from MA at strong public high school. Not many kids apply from our school though - I think only 2 did EA and 1 RD. She has similar stats as you mention - 4.4, ACT 35, SAT 1530 both in one sitting, 10 APs (all 4&5), National Merit commended scholar, 3 varsity sports (2 captain) with lots of accolades, , strong volunteer and work experience mostly with adaptive sports programs which goes with her passions and values. Our school doesn’t rank but she seems to be close to the top 5%, definitely 10%. She’s not sure what to do now though and feels compelled to do EDII somewhere else given how crazy things are this year even though ND is by far her top choice.
Notre Dame doesn’t give much money to those without need. In 2018 they only gave 6% of their aid without respect to financial need. Definitely a downside when you look at the cost to attend.
I’m not Catholic, don’t attend Catholic school, am not a legacy, and not first Gen and I got in.
So if you are not financially needy (low-income), you won’t get aid?
I don’t know that you won’t get any but not much especially compared to other universities. In 2018 they gave $9.5 million in aid without respect to financial need, aid given with respect to financial need was $148.8 million. I got this information from a spreadsheet I downloaded after purchasing the book Who Gets In And Why. He sends it free if you submit your receipt. Very informative and includes some of the most popular schools. Also gives more information other than aide.
You sound very entitled. Don’t think your daughter or anyone else deserved a spot, and don’t bash a Catholic university for giving slight preference to Catholic students.
My cousin - valedictorian -Irish Catholic - Catholic schools his whole life didn’t get in - It’s just the nature of highly competitive schools. There are no guarantees and you can’t take it personally. Only so many spots for thousands of qualified applicants.
Congrats!
My son got in. 1580 SAT. 5’s on all 6 AP’s to date. president of senior class. Varsity baseball captain. Good essays. No legacy.
But even with all that, we were extremely worried. College admissions across-the-board has become more competitive, especially with test optional and increased # of applicants.
Congrats! My son was rejected. 1560 SAT. 2 5’s and 4 4’s on AP tests. VP of his class the last 3 years. Varsity baseball (not captain), Hockey captain, Civil Air Patrol Officer, Elementary school tutor, etc. Grandfather attended ND.
You’re not kidding about college admissions being more competitive this year. He’s been rejected form every “reach” and “target” school so far. In at one “safety” school.
We found ND to be generous with their financial aid, packages came out in March when my son applied.
It was in March when my son applied, he was accepted REA in December so it was a bit of a wait. It was very close to what the FAC numbers were.
@mendozaboi - As I remember it is a rolling notification. I would not expect anything before February. If you run the NPC, you should have an idea of where it will be.
I agree with above, I have found ND to be very generous, especially compared to other schools. UCLA was going to be roughly twice the cost of ND for my DS (we are CA residents). The difference with ND is the “need ceiling” is much higher than most schools. A family with $250k in income still qualifies for some need-based aid.
Anyone have the stats on deferred for Notre Dame that end up accepted during the regular admissions? I have heard 10%. That seems low to me considering how selective I hear the early admission process is. I would think deferred would put you near the top of the regular admissions but still learning.
Honestly, I’m not sure there are stats out there for this. I have been looking. It seems like a lot of people confuse deferred and waitlisted. Most stats I see are for waitlisted.
My daughter was admitted, she is really excited! Congratulations to all that were admitted and sending good wishes to all of those for RD.
Accepted REA. I usually don’t like to share my stats, but if it helps you guys out, I’d be happy to do it. (Note that I was also accepted EA w/merit scholarships to UChicago, which I will most likely be attending)
I indicated that I wanted to major in finance at the Mendoza Business School as my first choice and also major in philosophy at the College of Arts and Letters
4.43/4.0 GPA (3.98 UW)
1510 SAT
We don’t rank
National Merit Commended and National Hispanic Recognition
AP Scholar with Distinction
Winner of a Fatherhood Essay Contest
10 AP Classes (including multivariable)
Starting English tutoring program at our school (already approved) after teaching my mother English, cross country sectional, regional, and conference awards, executive board of three clubs, independently read a ton of philosophy and literature and met regularly to discuss the books with my ethics teacher and included the list in the additional information (some authors include Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Nietzche, C.S. Lewis—got through War and Peace last summer), Hispanic Scholarship Fund’s Youth Leadership Institute
LORs: One of the highlights of my application, had a really close bond with both teachers including my counselor
Essays: I have a habit of writing about odd topics for my college essays. I started my Why Notre Dame essay by talking about the notebook where I jot down notes about the books I read and connected that with how I hope the notebook will expand as a result of a Notre Dame education. Additionally, I selected the Lightning Talk prompt and talked about my passion for heavy metal and how it’s more complex than meets the eye.
Hooks: (half) Hispanic and first-generation
Reflections: You can chalk up my acceptance to my hooks, but I have been working extremely hard the last few years not necessarily to make myself a good college applicant, but more so to explore my interests, try to make a difference in my community, and develop myself as a person. I am immensely grateful towards everyone who has helped me in my journey including these forums. Having parents who don’t know much about college, these forums have made me aware of opportunities I never knew existed. I might throw a couple more applications to some T10 colleges, but right now, I am perfectly content with my college acceptances.
Great stats Ninja - don’t think you had to rely on any hooks to get accepted. Good luck at either UChicago or Notre Dame.