According to Notre Dame’s official “Common Data Set” submission for 2016-17, page 8 of the linked document shows that ND’s enrolled freshman class had a mid-50% ACT range of 32-35. https://www3.nd.edu/~instres/CDS/2016-2017/CDS_2016-2017.pdf
It’s clearly the data for the same class, as both links show a total of 19,505 applicants applying for a spot in the Class of 2020. But how come ND’s own published stat for enrolled students differs from its CDS submission for the ACT?
Anyone know? It’s just a slight difference, but I don’t understand why ND’s reporting two different composite scores for the 25th percentile on the ACT.
FWIW, ND says 33-35 for the 2017 entering class. But the CDS for that class is not yet available. Wonder what number will eventually show up in the CDS numbers
Yes, and the interesting thing is that this past summer, ND admissions ran a couple of Youtube videos of admissions counselors doing snapchat videos on campus. In the linked video, the mid-50% ACT range provided for the incoming Class of 2021 that entered ND this fall was quoted as 32-35 (go to the 6:09 mark in the video). And yet, just like last year, the official stats page on ND Admissions website that @northwesty linked still reflects 33-35 for the most recent Class of 2021. So it looks like the same mid-50% ACT issue that I called out for the 2016 applicants may hold true for the 2017 applicants as well.
I suppose the 32-35 could be the range for admitted students, but that would also be weird considering the mid-50% range for admitted students is generally slightly higher than the range for enrolled students, since some extremely high-scoring admits often choose to “take their talents elsewhere.” But in this case, that would mean the admitted student range was lower than the enrolled student range, which is not typical.
ND runs a very efficient admissions office, so this discrepancy just surprises me, as I’m just a high schooler interested in knowing the real range.
The range 33-35 is the Applicant Pool. This was explained to us at an admissions session. The admitted class range is 32-35. At the top of the page, it says “Applicant Pool” http://admissions.nd.edu/apply/admission-statistics/
@aleg the problem there is that the 33-35 cited is shown under the section clearly labeled as “ENROLLED Student Profile” and it was shown that way for both the application cycles of 2016 and 2017. Meanwhile, in ND’s Common Data Set submission for the class of 2016, the range given for enrollees was 32-35, and that was exactly what was published in all the usual college guides – Princeton Review, US News, etc.
@northwesty made the point that it will be interesting to see what the 2017-18 Common Data Set submission shows for ND, and I agree. I suspect the CDS enrolled student mid-50% ACT range will end up being 32-35 for the 2017 applicants, as that was the stat provided in the admissions snapchat video that ND posted in July this year (see earlier link).
Last but not least, ND shows a mid-50% range on their stats page of 1390-1530 for the SAT. But if you go to the video I just mentioned, the counselor gives a mid-50% SAT range of “1470 to 15”-something before that segment gets cut off. I would suspect that higher 25th percentile score may disappoint some folks.
Like I said, I’m just an anxious high school junior trying to figure out what I might need to score on my upcoming ACT. I don’t think it’s too much to ask ND to be consistent in the enrolled student ACT/SAT ranges it provides, or at least spell out why their own stats webpage (seemingly) conflicts with the official CDS input they submitted.
If this really concerns you, why don’t you call the ND admission office and ask? I realize the college app period is very stressful, my D just went through it last year. But it seems like you’re spending a lot of time on this question, and I’d hate to see you get yourself all tied up in knots over something that could be answered with a quick phone call to the one place that could give you a definite answer. It’s always a good thing to reach out to your regional ND admissions rep anyway, so maybe this gives you the excuse to touch base and have a conversation
^^Agreed. At the end of the day, is this really going to matter with regard to your testing strategy, OP? If it’s 32-35 instead of 33-35, are you going to study less? Just study hard and do your best.
@waitingmomla@suzy100 It’s a matter of principle here, and has nothing to do with my own ACT preparation/ process/ strategy. ND expects its applicants to represent themselves as accurately and authentically as possible, and yet on something as simple as the mid-50% range of standardized tests scores, ND’s own published stats for its enrolled class do not seem to accurately match what the school published in its Common Data Set for enrolled students. And while the ACT is slightly off, the range for the SAT in 2017 appears to be even further off.
I would never dare to call the admissions office about stuff like this. Guarantee you no college in this country wants some nosy high schooler questioning their stats.
Well, I was going off of this statement of yours: “Like I said, I’m just an anxious high school junior trying to figure out what I might need to score on my upcoming ACT.”
@suzy100 yeah, that’s really the root of my question – I’ll admit it. If the range is 32-35 vs. 33-35, it could also give maybe a tiny sliver of hope to someone like me who’s stuck in a rut of scoring 33 three times in a row.
Regardless of my own score, I’d still like ND to be consistent in its stats. Even posters on CC who know just about everything there is to know about ND such as @northwesty donn’t seem to know why the stats differed.
Are you really a future applicant? Or are you messing with this page? I’m honestly starting to wonder. Because as @suzy100 said, a 25th percentile score of 32 vs 33 should not affect the effort you put into preparing for the ACT. And if you think it will, then call the admissions office and get clarification on something that seems to be very important to you. You are incorrect in your assumption that they will view the phone call in a negative light. And if you truly fear that, then use a fake name. Otherwise, this continued analysis of an issue that is – in the scheme of things – relatively minor and easily resolvable is taking up way too much of your time and energy. Unless, you are messing with the page
It is just plain wrong. Since the heading says ENROLLED Students Profile. It does not say ADMITTED Students Profile with respect to test data.
I give ND admissions office penance of three Hail Marys. And they should change this.
Because the numbers do matter.
When my kid was a junior, the kid had a 33 and was trying to figure out whether to apply REA or not. The then current CDS said 32-34, so we figured REA made sense. Then we saw the 33-35 on the website which came out over the summer between JR/SR year. And then concluded that REA with a 33 was not the smart move. Especially since if ENROLLED students was 33-35, then the stats for ADMITTED students would likely be even higher.
We didn’t notice until after it was all over that the real number for enrolled students was 32-35. That was in the CDS and also in USNWR.
My guess is that the CDS will eventually say 32-35 for the 2017 incoming class.
So given all of that, the point still remains that the obvious solution is to call the admissions office for clarification on the correct range. Obviously there’s a mistake. The staff at the university, like any of us, are not infallible. I assume we all agree it’s not deliberate dishonesty
@waitingmomla I agree that just calling the admissions office is the way to go, but I’d rather not risk it, and I not want to lie and use a fake name. Maybe someone in the admissions office will stumble across this page and realize that maybe their data is not tied to the CDS.
@northwesty Any chance your daughter ended up getting into ND? Or did she have to bump up the 33? The point you made about the 32 vs. 33 is legit. It could impact the decision to apply REA or RD. Right now, with my 33, REA vs. RD is not an issue, but if I ever reach a 34, well a 34 might make sense REA if the real range was 32-35 rather than 33-35.
I promise this is my last post on this topic. Sorry if my frustrated tone irritated some of you… not my intent.
Kid got a 35 on the September test at beginning of senior year, applied REA and got in.
If you are a junior now, you’ve got plenty of time to bump your ACT score. All my kids maxed out their ACTs in Septemer of senior year after prepping over the jr/sr summer. Teenagers are still growing – your brain will be bigger (no joke) 6-9 months from now.