****OFFICIAL Notre Dame Class of 2019 RD Decisions Thread****

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Notre Dame
1

It seems like decisions are coming in the next few days, so here is the thread for all RD applicants to post their decisions. Good luck to all!

Remove the "a"s below in your respective decision to color, bold and size it.
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted[/color][/size]**
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FFA500]Decision: Waitlisted[/color][/size]**
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FF0000]Decision: Rejected[/color][/size]**

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service:
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1:
Teacher Rec #2:
Counselor Rec:
Additional Rec:
Interview:

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?:
Intended Major:
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:
Ethnicity:
Gender:
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection

Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

General Comments:

2

Objective:
SAT I :2160 (can’t remember)
ACT :34
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):1
AP (place score in parenthesis):school doesn’t offer
IB (place score in parenthesis):school doesn’t offer
Senior Year Course Load: Calculus, English 4 Dual Enrollment, Spanish 1-2, Chemistry 2, cheerleading(I’m a guy) and football
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
Outstanding Statesman-2 outstanding MUN delegate-2
Subjective:
Most Valuable Choctaw, most likely to succeed
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Football 4 yrs
Coed Cheer 3 years
Leo Club
National honor society (vice pres)
Quiz bowl (captain)
History bowl
Youth in Government
Model United Nations

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major:Chem engineering (letter said I’d have to change)
State (if domestic applicant):Tennessee
School Type: large rural public, most kids Title I
Ethnicity:white
Gender:male
Income Bracket: around 100,000 between both parents

Reflection- wrote great essays I think, and my one about notre dame really helped. It’s my favorite college in the world so this has made my entire year!

Where else-
Accepted- William and Mary-ND- University of Tennessee(waiting on others)
Waitlisted-Vanderbilt
Rejected- university of Virginia

3

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
**ACT/b: 34 (36M, 33S, 34E, 34R)
**SAT II: ** Math 2 800, Literature 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.68
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc AB (5), CS (5), Macroeconomics (5), Literature (4), Psychology (5)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Bio, AP Lang, AP Stats, AP Euro, AP Micro, Spanish 3
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Econ Research Assistant at nearby university, Diversity Club (President), some academic clubs but I wasn’t too active in a lot of them
Job/Work Experience: Basic waitress/cashier job all 4 years
Volunteer/Community service: YWCA (intern), NEDA (Intern), Hospital (Volunteer), Anonymous eating disorder support group (Creator)
Summer Activities: Econ research, work, internships listed above
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9 for common app, 6 for supplement essays (in hindsight, they were pretty average)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 8 (focused greatly on personality rather than academic capabilities, but I had my senior year teachers write them)
Teacher Rec #2: 8 ^
Counselor Rec: 8 ^
Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Economics
State (if domestic applicant): IL
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: AA
Gender: F
Income Bracket: ~120k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Sibling attends

Reflection

Strengths: Test scores, relatively rigorous schedule (I self studied some APs not offered at my school)
Weaknesses: GPA by a mile (my worst grades were my junior year grades - I got 2 Cs, and around the same amount of As and Bs. My counselor offered some explanation [death of a close friend] and I did too in the additional comments section in the common app.), extracurriculars weren’t too great
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: If I didn’t have a sibling at ND, I definitely would have been rejected. But I think ND must have been pretty holistic with the whole application because my grades were pretty dismal for their standards.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted (UMich Preferred Admissions Ross, Boston College CSOM, Lehigh University CBE, UIUC Business); Waitlisted (Colby College); Haven’t heard back from yet (Cornell, USC, NYU, Wellesley, Wesleyan, Barnard, Smith, Scripps, Bucknell, Wisconsin, Colgate)

4

people already got their decisions??! I WANT MINE

5

Decision: Rejected

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1950
ACT (breakdown): 29
SAT II: Did not take
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4%
AP (place score in parenthesis): Psych (4), APUSH (4), Lang (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Marketing Management, AP Calculus, AP Gov/Pol, APES, College Prep English, ASB Officer
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Just DECA International awards

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Honor Society (President), DECA (board member), Soccer (Varsity Captain)
Job/Work Experience: Summer Job
Volunteer/Community service: School District Foundation Coordinator for 4 years
Summer Activities: Job, Premier Soccer
Essays (rating 1-10, details): I’d obviously say they were 10s or else I wouldn’t submit them, but who really knows
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): Not sure

Teacher Rec #1: Marketing/DECA Advisor- very strong, went to Internationals in Atlanta together
Teacher Rec #2: AP Lang- I’d say strong, not as on a personal level
Counselor Rec: Pretty standard b/c large public high school
Additional Rec:
Interview:

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Marketing
State (if domestic applicant): Washington
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public HS
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: Not sure
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Unfortunately no

Reflection

Strengths: GPA, Extra-curriculars, Essays
Weaknesses: Test scores and no hooks
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: My test scores are pretty low for Mendoza, plus I am the average white female so no real hooks going for me
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted (University of San Diego, Cal Poly SLO, Pepperdine, Santa Clara and University of Washington) Waiting to hear (University of Southern California, UC Berkeley, Syracuse)

General Comments: Honestly not surprised, just went out on a limb with this one and tried my best! Congrats to all those accepted, I know you will all do great things!

6

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2130 C (one sitting)
ACT (breakdown): 33 C (one sitting)
SAT II: did not take
Weight GPA: 4.217
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 7/107 top 6-7%
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Environmental Science (4); AP US History (5); AP English Language & Composition (5)
Senior Year Course Load: Honors Econ, Clay & Ceramics, Band, AP Gov, AP Calculus AB, AP English Lit & Comp, AP Biology
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar, Academic Athlete

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NHS (President); Bio Society (Treasurer); Varsity Swim Team (Captain); Varsity Soccer (Captain on my spring club team); Reader at my Catholic church; Student Council (Head of Committee); Marching Band (Squad Leader); Volunteer Coach at my old synchronized swimming team (Coach)
Job/Work Experience: Lifeguard, Babysitter
Volunteer/Community service: Spent 100+ hours working a summer Autism camp as a volunteer. Taught vacation bible school at my church 50+ hours.
Summer Activities: Soccer and lifeguarding, for the most part. I went to Europe for 2 weeks which was fantastic. Also, this is when Autism Camp and Vacation Bible School take place.
Essays (rating 1-10, details): I talked about how I fell in love with the school; I thought my other essays were creative and insightful.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: From my favorite Science teacher; I was his Bio Society Treasurer, so I’d say we have a great relationship.
Teacher Rec #2:
Counselor Rec:
Additional Rec:
Interview: None for ND

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Science-Business
State (if domestic applicant): Ohio
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Small, wealthy, public, with a private feel
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: >150,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection

Strengths: I think my desire to attend ND showed in my application. I have a lot of leadership positions as well.
Weaknesses: My test scores aren’t phenomenal, and my grades aren’t perfect; I did get a B in an AP class.

Other schools I’m looking at: Accepted at Ohio State, Dayton, and various Catholic schools in the Ohio area. I got waitlisted to University of Virginia. I guess this all doesn’t matter now, though, because I plan on attending ND in the fall. Words can’t describe my excitement right now. Good luck to everyone in their college searches and remember that God has a way of working things out.

7

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2170 (730R, 700M, 740W)
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 5%
AP (place score in parenthesis): US History (5), English Language (5), Literature, Studio 2D, Psychology, Statistics
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Studio, AP Literature, AP Psychology, Honors Challenge, AP Statistics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
Scholastic Art & Writing Awards:
1 Scholastic Gold Key in photography, 1 Silver Key Photography portfolio, 1 Honorable Mention. 4 Gold Keys in writing, 4 American Voices nominations. And then I won about 6 Academic Achievement Awards of which each department head at my last school picked one student out of a pool of 5,000 as the most exceptional.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NHS, NAHS, Key Club, Spanish Honor Society, Science Honor Society, almost all with leadership positions
Job/Work Experience:worked at Brookstone as Sales Associate, was given Certified Gold Status, outsold throughout district selling over 8,000 a week while I was only 16
Volunteer/Community service: over 1,000 hours. I was homeless when I was younger so I was very motivated to dedicate my time to others in my previous situation. I feel so much gratitude to my community for helping me and getting ahead is how I feel I can pay them back for everything.
Summer Activities: the pool :smiley: lol besides volunteering
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App- by far my best writing to date. Talked about how being homeless shaped me and ingrained a sense of altruism in me, it won a Gold Key and was nominated for American Voices Recognition 10/10
Why Notre Dame?- Ended it with “Notre Dame is my home not because it is my dream or my highest aspiration, but because in my head: I am a Fighting Irish. The University of Notre Dame: the medium through which my cacophonic insanity is channeled into a soothing melody.” 9/10
A good story starts with a good beginning- it was very strong, I had a lot of fun with it and made it very exciting but it was very risky because it was essentially a girl dangling off a bridge lifting finger by finger from the ledge 9/10
How are you incomplete- Talked about how I was missing a piece to my intellectual puzzle and it lay within the University of Notre Dame and being a Fighting Irish in my head, I was dedicated to fight to the end for that last piece 9/10
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): from my AP Lang teacher who’s also the department head for the English dept, it was amazing. She absolutely destroyed it 10/10 and another from my APUSH teacher whose I thought would be ok but ended being incredible and saying that I was a prodigy and any institution would be lucky to have me. Incredibly humbling 10/10

Teacher Rec #1: oh we were supposed to put it here…
Teacher Rec #2:
Counselor Rec: generic
Additional Rec: none
Interview: I didn’t know they offered any

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: Mendoza
State (if domestic applicant): WI
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: small suburban
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: M
Income Bracket: <40,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): urm, very dedicated to community service after being homeless which I think ND appreciated

Reflection

Strengths: By far essays, and then letters of Rec, gpa, volunteer service
Weaknesses: test scores, generic ec’s, no amazingly huge awards like intel
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: no idea. Seriously there are way more qualified applicants even in this thread. I’m insanely blessed and am so lucky to have made it this far. I think it may have been because of my community service and the personal significance it held for me but my file could’ve easily been placed in the wrong pile :stuck_out_tongue:
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted- Duke (likely letter), UMiami with presidential scholarship, UC San Diego, UC Davis, UMinnesota with presidential, UAlabama with full tuition, UOregon with diversity excellence, UPittsburgh Honors with full tuition scholarship, UWashington Seattle, MSU with huge scholarship, SAIC with 89,000 merit, and UKentucky with big merit aid
Wait listed- UChicago, Vanderbilt
Rejected- UTexas at Austin (??), and UCLA (applied to film program with ~3% acceptance rate)
General Comments: Never stop believing in yourself. Don’t let others tell you how far you can go. Show them wrong. If it’s not Notre Dame, there’ll be another place that’s even better for you. Keep your head up. Believe in the impossible. And never, ever stop dreaming.

8

Decision: Rejected

Copy and pasted for the most part from another post so sorry if the format isn’t exactly the same.

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2150 (superscore) 2120 (highest composite)

1st: Math - 680 Reading - 720 Writing - 670
2nd: Math - 720 Reading - 690 Writing - 710

SAT II: Math 2 - 670 US History - 670

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.71
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 14/207
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calculus AB (3) Statistics (5) Macroeconomics (5) Microeconomics (4) U.S. History (4)

Senior Year Course Load: AP Government, AP Calc BC, AP English, Physics, Spanish 3, band, personal economics and finance, and computer applications

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction, but that’s not really major…

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Marching Band 9th-12th (Brass Section Leader 10-12), Symphonic Band 9th-12th (Section leader 10th-12th, placing in district band all three years, 1st chair all county 11th-12th and all-state qualification 11th) JV Soccer 9th, Varsity Cross Country 10th-12th, Beta Club 9th-10th , Varsity Track 10th-12th ( 11th placed in the conference, regionally qualified, and qualified for 3A state track meet for 4x800 m relay team)

Job/Work Experience: Started my own business, was able to raise funding and set to launch very soon. Personally a very big accomplishment but the money raised was nothing crazy. Paid teaching assistant at elementary school, three hours a week senior year only. Volunteer/Community service:

Summer Activities: Research on alternative method of education called SOLE.

Essays: Common app essay was a very personal and emotional background story and explained where my drive came from. Wrote about visiting the Apple headquarters for my ideal intellectual field trip, really liked that essay. For the what I need to make my education whole essay I wrote about my business failures and what I could learn in a specialized program like Mendoza. I thought both were pretty good.

Teacher Recommendation: One from my Stats teacher, he and I really got along and he’s a great person so probably wrote a very nice recommendation. Other from my physics teacher, he liked me because I did very well but I slept quite a bit in his class so I’m really not sure how that recommendation was.

Counselor Rec: Probably pretty generic

Additional Rec: Music teacher and I are very close so probably very good.

Other

State (if domestic applicant): VA
Intended Major: Mendoza
School Type: Public, smallish
Ethnicity: White (Middle Eastern)
Gender: M
Income Bracket: <$25,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None, everything I’ve read said being Middle Eastern doesn’t count as URM.

Reflection: Not too disappointed. Notre Dame was not my first choice but I definitely would have enjoyed having it as an option.

Strengths: SAT I and extracurriculars
Weaknesses: SAT IIs and GPA
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Stats are average, nothing too special in my application.

Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Only been accepted to UVa and VCU so far, waiting on a bunch of others.

General Comments: Congrats to all of those who got in!

9

Accepted

Objective:
SAT I: 2240 (770M, 730R, 740W)
ACT: NA
SAT II: Chem (750), Math 1 (720), Math 2 (730)
Unweighted GPA: 93.4/100, Weighted: 99.53/100
Rank: Top 5%
AP: Chem (4), APUSH (4), Lang (3 lol)
IB: NA
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics 1, AP Physics 2, AP Bio, AP Psych, AP Lit, AP Calc AB, Theology
Major Awards: Only minor awards- (Presidential Volunteer Award, A few science fair awards)

Subjective:
Extracurriculars: Environmental club (Founder + President), FBLA/Business Club (Vice-President), National English Honors Society (Secretary), Math Honors Society, National Honors Society, Sports…
Job/Work Experience: Camp Councilor (haha)
Volunteer/Community Service: Emergency room volunteer (150+ hours), Assisted living home volunteer (250+ hours), Church volunteer (100+ hours),
Summer Activities: Work, Basketball and Relaxing
Essays: Common App- hit or miss but unique; Supplements- very good, I put a lot of thought into them
Teacher Recommendations: Didn’t read but probably good (avoided teachers that use generic recs)
Counselor Rec: Very good
Additional Rec: Volunteer Coordinator: Decent

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
Projected Concentration: Chem w/ business minor
State: NY
School Type: Private Catholic
Ethnicity: White as bread
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Upper Middle Class
Hooks: I wish

Strengths: Grades, volunteer work
Weaknesses: AP scores
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Volunteer work helped and my essays were good.
Accepted to: Notre Dame, Boston College, Villanova, Binghamton Honors, Stony Brook Honors
Rejected to: Nothing yet
Deferred/Waitlisted: Cornell, Middlebury
Waiting on: Amherst, Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Hamilton, Harvard, Rice, Williams and Gtown

General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Be yourself, do what you like, and find time for enjoyment- The rest is all luck. Congrats everyone that got in, and those that didn’t keep your heads up- you will end up where you belong. Also don’t apply to too many schools or you will only make yourself crazy.

10

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): NA
ACT (breakdown): 31C 34E 30M 33R 27S
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9 UW 4.42 W
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3
AP (place score in parenthesis): NA
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus, Advanced Theo, AP Government, ACP Composition, AP Spanish IV
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none
Scholastic Art & Writing Awards: none

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Multi-Cultural Club (President), NHS (Treasurer), Environthon (Co-Captain), Student Ambassador, Campus Ministry(Retreat Leader), Freshman Class President
Job/Work Experience:none
Volunteer/Community service:a few service projects
Summer Activities: ND Visions
Essays (rating 1-10): Common App 9/10, Why Notre Dame 9/10, Good Beginning Essay: 10/10, How I’m Incomplete 9/10…I’ve been told by several teachers that I write very well, and I wrote very personally with these essays.

Teacher Rec #1: 10/10. I had one of my theology teachers write one for me. She was very excited that I asked her to write my ND recommendation, and I’m fairly close with her, so I’m confident that it was a very good one
Teacher Rec #2:—
Counselor Rec: 8/10 She’s fairly new so I don’t know her all that well, however, she had each student fill out a questionnaire highlighting our traits and achievements, so I’m sure it was very personal about my characteristics.
Additional Rec: none
Interview: did not have one

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: Chemistry
State (if domestic applicant): IN
Country (if international applicant): United States
School Type: small Catholic/Private
Ethnicity: Hispanic/White
Gender: M
Income Bracket: >160,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Being Hispanic?

Reflection

Strengths: Most likely my essays and recommendations. Although my ACT scores and GPA aren’t superb within the scope of ND applicants, I still feel they allowed for my application to still be competitive.
Weaknesses: test scores, gpa, generic ec’s
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I really let my desire to attend ND shine through in my application
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted- No other prestigious schools, Indiana University- Bloomington, Loyola University, Butler University, Ball State, Toledo
Wait listed- none
Rejected- Vanderbilt
General Comments: I really downplayed my desire to attend ND amongst other people, but I was so excited to receive the acceptance package in the mail yesterday! Not sure if it would be smart financially for me to attend considering the scholarship money I’ve gotten from IU, however, hopefully things will work out and I’ll be a fighting Irish next year

11

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 1840 - didn’t submit
ACT (breakdown): 34 (34S, 33R, 34E, 33M)
SAT II: 700 Chem, 640 Math II - didn’t submit
Unweighted GPA: 3.91
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 14/230
AP (place score in parenthesis):5 (APHG), 4 (AP Comp, APUSH), 3 (AP Bio, AP Chem)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP US Government, AP English Literature, AP Stats, AP Calc BC, AP Physics I, Economics, Ceramics I
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): QB CPS, QB NCM Finalist, AP Scholar with Distinction, scored in top .1% of Math Contest - attending nationals this month

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Swimming (11 x Reserve Conference Champion, 3 x Captain, 2 x School Record Holder, Mental Attitude Award Winner, Most Valuable Swimmer Award), Equestrian (Reserve World Champion, 3rd All-Around at World Show, National Direction of Association, Multiple State High Point Awards), National Honors Society, internship at Notre Dame in the Chemical Engineering department
Job/Work Experience: lifeguarding every summer
Volunteer/Community service: 400+ hours as an assistant swim coach for our middle school, and about 100+ hours for volunteer lifeguarding at community events
Summer Activities: working, competing in swimming and equestrian events
Essays: Pretty good I think! My Common App was awesome IMO
Teacher Recommendation: Both of my teachers gave really good recommendations - I’ve had both for 3 years and one said she “made me sound like a rockstar”
Counselor Rec: Really good. I go to a small school, so she knows me pretty well! She’s very excited about my college applications!
Additional Rec: N/A
Short Answer Questions: I think good! I don’t really remember them
Interview: N/A

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Accounting and Mathematics (pre-approved for Mendoza)
State (if domestic applicant): Indiana
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Rural Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: <30,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): legacy

Reflection:

Strengths: Scores, I think my EC’s
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: I really focused on my hardships from my QB application
Weaknesses: GPA, probably some of my awards aren’t as astounding as some people
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: sheer luck!!!
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: IU (Honors + Direct Admit to Kelly), Purdue (Honors + Direct Admit), Northwestern (ISP), Waitlisted at UChicago, Denied at MIT
Notes: Awesome job everyone! Keep your head up! You will find your dream college! :slight_smile:

12

Decision: Rejected

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1960
ACT (breakdown): 30
SAT II: 720 US History, 680 BioM
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.998
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 6/57
AP (place score in parenthesis): English Language & Composition 4, APUSH 4
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: English 12 and Spanish 3 (both dual enrollment at cc), Physics, Religion, AP Bio, Multivariable Calculus
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): zilch

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Student Council/National Honor Society (both VP), Varsity Football/Swimming/Track. Math Tutor, Outdoor Club
Job/Work Experience: lifeguard
Volunteer/Community service: a lot in tutoring, fire department, helping veterans
Summer Activities: lifeguarding, community service, sports, taking classes at community college
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8.5 on average, some current ND students I know proofread them and liked them. I thought they were good, but I guess they could’ve been better
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 8-9, science teacher/track coach
Teacher Rec #2: ~7.5 english teacher, I only had her for one year
Counselor Rec: ~7, he came to my school this year, so I didn’t really get a chance to know him before he wrote it
Additional Rec: ~8, came from my calc teacher, she’s a little crazy, but definitely liked me
Interview: none

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yep
Intended Major: mechanical engineering (bioE concentration)
State (if domestic applicant): OR
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private/Catholic
Ethnicity: Good Ol’ Fashioned White
Gender: Boy
Income Bracket: about 100,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I could have a hook for a hand jk

Reflection

Strengths: GPA, 12 sport Varsity Athlete, loads of Community Service
Weaknesses: Standardized test scores for sure, no awards
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: perhaps I’m too “average”
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: accepted to University of Portland, Oregon State Honors College, Gonzaga, Santa Clara; waitlisted: Baylor (lol); denied: Colorado School of Mines (again, lol); still waiting for the reaches of Duke, USC, Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Stanford

General Comments: I’ll admit I knew I wouldn’t get into every reach school, but I was pulling for Notre Dame to be the one. Congratulations to everyone who was accepted, best of luck next year :slight_smile:

13

Decision: Accepted to Mendoza College of Business!

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 660 M 660 W 630 CR
ACT (breakdown): one-sitting: 32C 35M 34 E 30R 27 S, superscore: 33C 35M 34E 33R 30S
SAT II: 770 Math2, 700 physics
Unweighted GPA: 3.98
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3/42 when applying
AP (place score in parenthesis): didnt send
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP’s: Physics, Calc, English Lit, USH, Micro and MAcro
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):None

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Non Profit Ecological Org. (Founder and CEO), Student Council (Pres), Debate Club (Pres.), local TEDx (Speaker coordinator), NHS (Sec), SNHS (Co-founder and Sec), Math NHS, Drama Club
Job/Work Experience: Interned at Central American Bank for Economic Integration
Volunteer/Community service: over 1000 hours, founded a pro-life club in school, worked with my non profit and many other local orgs.
Summer Activities: Vanderbilt Summer Academy, Wake Forest summer program
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App: 9/10, talked about the challenges I’ve faced with my family and how they have shaped me… …Why ND 10/10: talked about its broad academic curriculum, great faculty, mendoza, and commitment to service, it was very specific.
The other two: 9/10, I chose a good story starts with a good beginning and the ideal field trip options

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 9/10 English teacher for three years, have a really good relationship with him.
Teacher Rec #2:
Counselor Rec: 10/10, we are very close and I know she wrote a great one.
Additional Rec: submitted two, both 10/10, one from StuCo advisor, the other from my boss at TEDx
Interview: didn’t have

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: Mendoza
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): Nicaragua
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: M
Income Bracket: <100k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection

Strengths: GPA, EC’s, Essays
Weaknesses: Test scores, maybe? and had a huge problem with my financial aid information
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: showed a lot of interest, and fit the profile of people from my country who are accepted.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: accepted: Northwestern, Gatech, UVA, Tulane, Trinity… Waitlisted: WUSTL, Vanderbilt.

General Comments: Be creative, show passion and curiosity in your essays because I think they take those a lot into account! If you are interested, PM me and I can gladly send you my essays :slight_smile:

14

@npswimmer44‌ you commented on one of my chance me threads, I’ve been looking out to see if you’d be accepted, glad to hear you were! Congrats!

15

@BNIbruh Thank you! I saw you were accepted also!!! Perhaps we will see each other next year on campus!

16

**Decision: Rejected **

Objective:
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2240 Superscore (670 CR, 770 Math, 800 Writing)
[] ACT (breakdown): N/A
[] SAT II: 710 Math II, 720 Biology, 730 U.S. History
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): I think around a 3.9(?), 94.316 appears on my transcript
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 54/362
[] AP (place score in parentheses): 5 World History, 5 US History, 5 Language, 5 Environmental Science, 4 US Govt., 3 Biology (did not submit Chemistry or Calculus BC lol)
[] IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Literature, AP Psychology, AP Statistics, AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Physics C: E&M, Speech/Debate, Economics
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): N/A[/li]
Subjective:
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Red Cross Youth Board (Executive Committee), Debate Team (Captain), Student Council, led the Student Section for athletic events at school, a few other ECs that filled up Common App slots
[] Job/Work Experience: N/A
[] Volunteer/Community service: Red Cross Youth Board
[] Summer Activities: lifting weights lol
[] Essays: They were OK. I spent the last few days before each deadline planning them and often times executed the day of the deadline. For CA essay, I just copy-pasted my National Merit essay which was decent.
[] Teacher Recommendation: Two teacher recs; one from my Debate team “coach” (Speech/Debate teacher) and the other from my AP Psych teacher. I never read them but I’m sure they were solid.
[] Counselor Rec: It existed… that much I do know. I assume it’s generic.
[] Additional Rec: My Red Cross Youth coordinator wrote. Again, I don’t know much about the quality but I’m sure it was pretty good.
[] Interview: Georgetown interview went great (lasted 1 hr 30 min; conversation spanned the school’s environment to Hamlet to politics). Vanderbilt interview was good but not quite at that tier (roughly 30 min; I did not relate much to the interviewer, who was a CS major).
[] Supplementary Material: N/A

Other
[]Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[] State (if domestic applicant): Georgia (GA)
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: East Asian (Chinese)
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): $100,000 - $150,000
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None. I suppose I’m quite generic.[/li]
Reflection
[] Strengths: I thought my commitment to extracurriculars (Red Cross, Debate) and SAT score should have been the strongest points of my application.
[] Weaknesses: However, I feel like my application was very much more flawed than strong. For one, I did not put much effort into it (especially compared to some who spent weeks, months to perfect their applications). I felt that being a strong writer would carry me through despite not investing much time into the writing supplements. In addition to this, my GPA and class rank were not quite “elite” material. SAT IIs were also decent at best.
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Weaknesses listed above
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to UGA (EA), Northeastern (EA, 3+3 program). Rejected by Vanderbilt (RD), Notre Dame (RD). Still waiting to hear back from Cornell (RD), USC (RD), and Georgetown (RD)!

**General Comments: ** Congratulations to all who were accepted! If you choose to indeed attend, you’re signing yourself up for four years you’ll love and a lifetime of benefits afterward!

17

Anybody on the west coast been accepted yet?

18

Decision: Rejected

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1830
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.29
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 7/342
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (4), AP Lang (4), AP Bio (3)
Senior Year Course Load: Psychology, AP Statistics, AP Government, Physics, and AP Literature

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Cheerleading, Swim Team, and President of the California Scholarship Federation
Job/Work Experience: Two years as a lifeguard (year-round)
Volunteer/Community service: 400+ hours volunteering at Kaiser Permanente, and a summer spent volunteering in Colombia teaching English
Summer Activities: Camp Counselor, and a UC Irvine Summer Premedical Program
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 10 - worked very closely on all essays with a college counselor who reads for UC Berkeley

Other

Intended Major: Science - Business
State (if domestic applicant): California
School Type: Public (Freshman year at Catholic Private School)
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: > 200,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Catholic

Reflection

Strengths: Extracurriculars and GPA
Weaknesses: Test scores
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: It was kind of a long shot, I am way out of the range for test scores!
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to: Tulane, SMU, TCU, University of Denver, UC Irvine, UC San Diego, University of Miami, American University, LSU, and University of Alabama. Notre Dame was first and only rejection!

General Comments: Congratulations to everyone who got in!!!

19

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t Send
ACT (breakdown): 28
SAT II: None
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.7
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 8/127
AP (place score in parenthesis): English (this year)
Senior Year Course Load: Pretty light honestly, but stuff throughout the day, only one AP.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):Scouts,Band,Theater,Quiz Bowl, Various Clubs, Started a literature club, Ohio State Fair Band for a year, Class Pres for four years.
Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community service: Probably around 15 hours.
Summer Activities: Ohio State Fair Band for a year (Sophomore).
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Honestly probably a 10, I explained why Notre Dame was perfect for me and why I am passionate abutting studying Medieval History.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 8?

Teacher Recs: Decent but nothings special.
Counselor Rec: Average at best.
Additional Rec: A family friend wrote an amazing extra letter about me and why colleges should value me, I really appreciated the effort he put in.
Interview: None

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Medieval Studies
State (if domestic applicant): OH
School Type: Public (not highly ranked)
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 250,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None at all, other than honest passion for learning my major.

Reflection

Strengths: Essays, really defined who I am and what I wanted to do in college.
Weaknesses: ACT for sure, very much lower than accepted average.
Why you think you were accepted: I explained very well why I wanted to be there and what I can offer the school, my writing has always been a strength of mine.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: Capital, OU, St Andrews in Scotland. Waiting on: Reed, NYU, OSU Rejected: Cornell Waitlisted: Rhodes, Kenyon

General Comments: I hope anyone who took the time to read this over can see that I shouldn’t have gotten in on my stats alone, that is why I am imploring you kids wanting to get into those elite schools to never give up on your dreams, because you never know what can happen. I might have been accepted based on my intended major, but regardless I tried my best to work with what I had to explain my love for ND. Thanks to everyone who believed in me, and I am glad to have shown those people who said I never had a chance at getting into an elite school. Can’t wait to meet you all next year!

20

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2070 overall, 700M, 670CR, 700W
ACT (breakdown): 33 composite, 33M, 34R, 32E, 31S, 32W 10/12 Essay
SAT II: 740 Math I, 700 Math II, 620 Chemistry
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97 unweighted
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 8/160
AP (place score in parenthesis): Took all AP courses available, Calc AB (5) US History (3) Lang. (4) Bio, and Lit. (Calc 2/Stats is a dual enrollment class)
IB (place score in parenthesis):not offered
Senior Year Course Load: AP Bio, Honors Physics, Calc 2/Stats, AP Lit, Latin IV, two required classes
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist, AP Scholar with Distinction

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Soccer all 4 years (2 varsity letters), selected for St. Thomas Aquinas STEM program (participated and won first place in TEAMS Engineering competition at the University of Cincinnati), Captain of the Regional Science Bowl team for 3 years, Eucharistic Minister and Mass Coordinator for school masses and Altar Server and Lector for Parish Masses, National Honor Society, Ambassadors Program (club that is geared to recruiting eighth graders for the high school, Tutor for 4 years, School Leadership position
Job/Work Experience: Work construction job doing remodeling for 20 hrs/week since sophomore year, Certified Level 8 referee and ref ages 4-18 games for 4 hrs/week for half the year since sophomore year
Volunteer/Community service: 150+ hours of service, founded my own service organization for the elderly and handicapped (BCF Service Organization)
Summer Activities: Went to Ohio State Engineering Summer Experience (2nd place in robotics competition there) and the Dayton Honors Engineering Camp both junior year
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9-10 I thought they were pretty good, had them reviewed many times. One essay included a word search so I thought that was unique.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 9-10

Teacher Rec #1: 9-10 my teacher and soccer coach for four years and went to ND
Teacher Rec #2: none
Counselor Rec: 10-10 loves our family and really spent a lot of time writing it
Additional Rec: none
Interview: none

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Aerospace Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): Ohio
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: <80,000 (9 kids)
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Legacy (Dad and Grandpa went there, mom went to St. Marys)

Reflection

Strengths: Essays and involvement in a wide variety of extracurriculars
Weaknesses: ACT was only average for Notre Dame
Why you think you were accepted: I think that my essays really helped and my status as a legacy had to have counted for something as well
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Ohio State Waiting on: Duke, Johns Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon Rejected: None Waitlisted: Northwestern

General Comments: I am very happy to have been accepted as Notre Dame has been my dream school for a long time! I’m looking forward to attending next year!