<p>....but it is also his dream school. We visited in March. He probably could have taken care of business a little better in the classroom, but it is what it is. Let me know if you think applying would be a total waste of time.</p>
<p>GPA: 4.0 W, 3.6 UW (quite a few B's in honors classes)
SAT: 1480 -- 2150 w/writing
ACT: 32 (retaking in Sept)
Rank: School doesn't rank, but he's probably just inside top quarter
EC's: quiz bowl; student ministry; altar server; freshman class president; service trip to Peru
AP: Got 5's on the two tests he has taken so far (US History, Latin).... taking 4 AP classes this year.</p>
<p>I would call him a longshot. 1480 is a respectable score, can that be brought up? EC’s look light, get involved this summer and fall. Straight A’s this fall would be good. He should get into decent schools but ND, I dunno.</p>
<p>It’s hard, but if he can get his scores up, he might have a shot. I had a comparable UW GPA and SAT and was deferred EA; then I got the SAT up significantly, put in another semester of As, and got in. So you never know. Is he taking the most challenging courses possible? If the answer is generally yes, and his more recent grades are higher, and he really pours himself into the essays, he might stand a chance, though he shouldn’t have any illusions of it being highly likely.</p>
<p>I don’t think he has any such illusions. That’s the good part. He has some real scholarship opportunities elsewhere, especially if he makes national merit (appears likely). But I think he will throw an app at Notre Dame and just see what happens. Takes Greek and has strong interest in Classics. High School is well known to ND and is very tough. And his curriculum is the most challenging the school offers. We’ll see what happens. Hopefully it will be something good, ND or no ND.</p>
<p>I think your S has a shot but is somewhere between a low and a mid reach due to his GPA and test score but mostly his GPA. I’d encourage him to give it a shot. I’ll feel even more encouraged if his essays and recommendations are really solid. Make sure he shows sufficient “demonstrated interest” by getting on their mailing list, attending info sessions in South Bend and/or college fairs locally, and communicating with his regional admissions adviser.</p>
<p>If he does become a national merit semifinalist, make sure he indicates Notre Dame as his first choice school (all NMSF’s designate a school as their 1st choice - it can be changed at a later date if necessary to accept a scholarsip offer at another school). Our HS college counselor advised my DD to do this. He said it could be the “tipping point” for a school like ND…because in the long run, the admissions office measures their success not only by the quality of students they admit, but the yield they achieve.</p>
I disagree; Notre Dame does not have a NMF scholarship and likely won’t be expecting (or caring about) such a list of notifications. It’s best to select a school with a NMF scholarship, so he actually has a chance to get a lot out of it.</p>
<p>You are correct, ND does not have an NMF scholarship. However, the designation did not make one bit of difference for my DD when it came to getting offers from other schools. She was given many, many full tuition and 1/2 tuition scholarship offers from many schools - public and private (most of which she didn’t even apply to) even though she designated ND as her first choice. Most of the offers clearly stated that she just needed to change her designation by the deadline (April 29). Also, most included precise instructions on how to do that through the National Merit Corp! Our counselor (who was a director of admissions at an elite college for years) said that schools realize that students make that initial designation in the fall before they have even started submitting apps. If finances are not a make or break deal for the OP’s son to attend ND, use the designation initally where it will give the most desired benefit.</p>
<p>I’d agree with others here, and your own assessment, that he is a long shot. GPA is an issue, but probably an even bigger issue is the class rank. According to the 2009-2010 CDS, 89% of the incoming freshmen graduated in the top 10% of class, and 97% in the top 25%. I’ve gotta believe that quite a few of the people who graduated at the bottom of the top quartile in high school, which is your son’s rank, have Saturday afternoon commitments at ND, or other significant hooks. </p>
<p>Just the same, since it is his dream school, and if you’re willing to pay for it, he should probably apply. He needs to ace it from here … straights As next semester, compelling essays, great recommendations. The SAT score is good, but probably needs to be great to offset weaknesses. Wouldn’t hurt to light a candle at the Grotto, either. Good luck.</p>