****OFFICIAL Notre Dame Class of 2020 RD Decisions Thread****

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Notre Dame
1

Well folks, it seems like our decisions will likely be released by the end of this week. Feel free to post your decision here using the template below when decisions come out. Best of luck to everyone, and God Bless. (Also, thanks feartheENGR for providing this template in the class of 2019 thread)

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:
Counselor Rec:
Additional Rec (if used):

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?:
Intended Major:
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:
Ethnicity:
Gender:
Income Bracket:
Hooks (legacy, 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

That’s good to hear. I wasn’t sure when decisions were going to be released. Will it be released online? Through mail? I thought I read somewhere that they send out information via email giving us a link or info on how to check their decision once it is released. Does anyone have information about this?

3

@dtdbull20 There’s an online portal, and they should have sent you an E-mail that lets you register for the portal. You might want to check your spam folder - for some reason, mine ended up there. If it isn’t anywhere in your E-mail, you should probably send the admissions office an E-mail asking for access to the portal. All the decisions are going out through the portal this year

4

@wneely16 thank you so much! I found the email. - **Anyone have any idea of an actual date the decisions will be released? The wait is really a killer!

5

Anyone have an idea of when the regular admission decisions will be out for the University of Notre Dame? I know they said by the end of March…but I’m wondering if it could be as soon as tomorrow???

6

@dtdbull20 The other thread, titled “2020 Notre Dame RD Applicant Discussion” is full of discussion about the release date, especially in the last few pages :slight_smile: But personally, I do think it’s tomorrow.

On a side note, let’s try to not post here until decisions come out. Makes it easier for future students to see our stats and decisions without searching through pages of discussion.

7

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective

SAT I (breakdown): 2110 (800 M, 640 R, 670 W)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 710 Math 2
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA (out of 5.0): 4.6545 when submitted, 4.6230 on MYR
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/285 UW, 21/285 W
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Language and Composition (4), Calculus BC (5 [5 AB subscore]), AP US History (3 — Didn’t self-report), AP Psychology (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Guidance Counselor Aid, Stat and Prob, Sociology, AP Physics Mechanics, AP Physics Electromagnetism, AP Literature and Composition, AP Stat and Prob, Calculus 3
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National AP Scholar with Honor

Subjective

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Spanish Honor Society (Treasurer)
National Honor Society
Math Honor Society
Science Honor Society
FCA (Leader)
Peer Minister
JV/Varsity Baseball
Recreational Basketball
Academic Team
Tutor
Student Ambassador (Welcoming Committee)
Youth Mass Usher
Created a church youth group (Co-Founder)
Job/Work Experience: Cashier at grocery store
Volunteer/Community service: My EC’s contain lots of service attached to them, such as tutoring and being a peer minister.
Summer Activities: Camp Counselor for my school’s baseball summer camp
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App: 10/10. Wrote about my struggle with IBD. Made sure to emphasize that it wasn’t an attempt for pity, and I think it came off really well. It made all my teachers emotional, so I think I did a good job.
Why ND: 9/10. I wrote this essay 5 times, so I hope it was decent haha. I think I really showed my passion for wanting to attend ND, but I’m sure part of it was cliche
Provoking Question: 10/10
Incomplete: 10/10. Got philosophical here.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
(Didn’t get to read teacher/counselor rec, but will assume)
Teacher Rec: 10/10. Asked my Calculus AB/BC/3 teacher to write it. I’ve known him for 3 years, including time spent in FCA, so I hope the letter was awesome.
Counselor Rec: 10/10. Got to know her pretty well through being a guidance aid, and she seemed to like me.
Additional Rec (if used): 10/10 Asked my youth minister to write it. I did get to read this one, and it was phenomenal. I think it showed my dedication to religion extremely well.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Finance
State (if domestic applicant): Maryland
School Type: Public (~1400 Students)
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: ~$100k-$120k
Hooks (legacy, URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths: EC’s, course rigor, GPA
Weaknesses: SAT (Not awful, but definitely could’ve been higher)
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: Northeastern, University of Maryland
Waitlisted: Boston College
Waiting on: Georgetown, UPenn, Villanova, Wake Forest

General Comments: I demonstrated my interest in ND like crazy. I visited campus, went to ND on the Road, watched almost all of the webinars, and emailed my admissions officer many times (maybe too much haha). I even sent in a letter of intent, which was really only meant for deferred REA students, but my admissions officer said she’d add it to my application. Guess my scores held me back, as I really didn’t think I had much to worry about. I’ll probably accept the position on waitlist, but dang this sucks. Congratulations to everyone who got in though.

8

Decision: Rejected

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): None submitted.
ACT (breakdown): 34 C (32 E 34 R 35 M 36 S) + 36 W
SAT II (place score in parentheses): None taken
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.6
Rank/Percentile: 97/550
AP (place score in parentheses): None submitted
IB (place score in parentheses): None submitted
AP + IB Courseload: 12 by the end of this year
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus BC, AP German, AP Microeconomics, AP Physics II, IB Computer Science, Honors English, Honors US History
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar w/ Distinction

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Few student organizations for tech, service, hobbies
Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community Service: 6 years w/ same organization
Summer Activities: Service
Essays: Honestly my essays were not up to par with the rest of my applications. Still, it’s no secret which statistic in particular kept me out of an acceptance at Notre Dame.
Teacher Recommendations: Excellent recommendations from Comp Sci/Economics teachers
Counselor Rec: I imagine my counselor recommendation was quite decent.
Additional Rec: None
Interview: None

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
Projected Concentration: Economics
State/Country: USA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 250,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection
Strengths: Recommendations, decent ACT, good commit to my Community service, decent essays
Weaknesses: GPA/rank, activities, SAT score, ACT score could be improved, essays could have been better
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: GPA/rank are abysmal for a top school
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Safety + UNC, Northwestern, Duke, UChicago
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Congratulations to all who got in! I expected this outcome and I am not particularly disappointed. My only hope is that the people who got in truly deserved it.

9

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2070 (Didn’t Send)
ACT (breakdown): 33 (Math 36, English 34, Reading 29, Science 34)(one sitting)
SAT II: Chem 750
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.95
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 10%
AP (place score in parenthesis): Chem 4
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP micro, AP Macro, AP Latin, and a few honors
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): maybe 1 or 2

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Bowling Team (yes bowling lol), Ultimate Frisbee, Premed Society, etc.
Job/Work Experience: Baseball Umpire in summer
Volunteer/Community service: over 600 hours, leader of 3 initiatives, involved in 5
Summer Activities: went on a study abroad to northern Ireland for a month over the summer
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8-9
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): not sure didn’t read

Teacher Rec #1: probably a 9
Teacher Rec #2: probably a 9 (both knew me pretty well)
Counselor Rec: 10 (she knows me really well)
Additional Rec: study abroad teacher: 10
Interview: went really really well but it probably meant nothing

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes, but will get little
Intended Major: Biochemistry
State (if domestic applicant): OH
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Jesuit Private
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 110,000-160,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths: Really good essay, lots of service, study abroad but overall average applicant
Weaknesses: Race and small amount of APs maybe
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: good essay and volunteering
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:accepted OSU, BC, WUSTL, NEU, Case Western and Notre Dame is my first waitlist…waiting on everywhere else.

I am really shocked. I go to really good Catholic school that sends at least a dozen kids to Notre Dame every year and I matched the usual accepted lot… Well it is what it is. Good luck to everyone else that was accepted. My first choice was WUSTL or Vandy so this would just have been another nice place to say I was accepted at since WUSTL already said yes.

10

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective

SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 32
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA (out of 5.0): 4.6
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/500
AP (place score in parenthesis): Didn’t send 15 classes though
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Ap Calc AB/BC, Ap Physics C, Ap Gov’t, Ap Economics, Drafting 3+4
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Ap Scholar

Subjective

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Baseball
Mu Alpha Theta(State officer and school president)
FBLA(School VP)
NHS

Summer Activities: two internships + Started a web development business
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App: decent
Why ND: really good
Provoking Question: decent
Incomplete: 10/10. decent

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec:good
Counselor Rec: New Counselor
Other: good

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Comp Eng.
State (if domestic applicant): Florida
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: ~$100k-$120k
Hooks (legacy, URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths: EC’s, course rigor, GPA
Weaknesses: ACT
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:ACT
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: UCF, USF, UF, UT(texas), FSU
Waitlisted: Notre Dame
Waiting on: UPenn, Vanderbilt, Princeton, Stanford, Duke
Rejected: Northwestern

General Comments: Midwest rejection week, oh well. Congrats to those who got in.

11

Decision: Accepted

Objective

SAT I (breakdown): 2310 (CR 760 M 800 W 750)
ACT (breakdown): 33
SAT II: M 800 Chem 760
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98uw 4.46w
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): NA
AP (place score in parenthesis): took all APs at school except for BIO, Calc 5 Physics C 5, Stats 5
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
1 international awards
3 state awards
4 regionals awards (placed 1st or 2nd)

Subjective

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Job/Work Experience: nope
Volunteer/Community service: 3 volunteer clubs. Habitat for humanity. Meals on wheels. Churches. Volunteer as a teacher. (A ton don’t wanna list all)
Summer Activities: ND summer camp
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details)

Teacher Rec: 10!!!
Counselor Rec: 8 prob?
Additional Rec (if used):

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: computer engineer
State (if domestic applicant): IA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Catholic
Ethnicity: not white
Gender: gal
Income Bracket:
Hooks (legacy, URM, first generation college, etc.): nope

Reflection

Strengths: I LOVE ND FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE END
Weaknesses: not much leadership positions
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: GOD SEES!! (Thank you God thanks!!)
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: accepted to all the schools I applied to so far: WUSTL, Michigan, penn state, etc.

General Comments: congrats to all accepted!

12

Decision: Accepted

Objective

SAT I (breakdown): 2140 (I didn’t send this to most schools but stupid, Junior me chose to automatically send it to a couple, including ND) 800 CR, 680 M, 660 W
ACT (breakdown): 35 (36 S, 36 R, 35 E, 32 M)
SAT II: 780 Lit, 720 Latin
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (5), World (5), Bio (4), Latin (4), plus five more this year
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: All APs and Honors
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing major

Subjective

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Don’t want to list them all for confidentiality, but I have 3-4 things that are really important to me and I tried to show that in my application.
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service: A lot
Summer Activities: Community Service
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App (8-9/10), Why ND (9/10, I think it was well-written, but not super unique), Reflect on current state of Civil Rights (10/10), Helping young people to completion (6-7/10, this was one of my weaker essays)

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec: 10/10- teacher I’ve had all four years of high school, really well-written
Counselor Rec: 10/10- I think she really likes me, I’ve gotten to know her really well over the past two years!
Additional Rec (if used): N/A

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: History
State (if domestic applicant): OH
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Catholic, Private (we usually have ~10 accepted to ND every year)
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: I do not qualify for financial aid
Hooks (legacy, URM, first generation college, etc.): None- unless going to a Catholic school counts.

Reflection

Strengths: GPA, test scores, essays
Weaknesses: Everything I’ve done EC-wise in high school has been really important to me, but I don’t know how much they pop out to an AO because they’re nothing spectacular. I don’t have any hooks or anything either
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: ND accepts a lot from my school every year and I guess they liked my application!
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Harvard (deferred SCEA), University of Michigan- Ann Arbor (Accepted Honors), University of Virginia (Accepted), University of Massachusetts-Amherst (Accepted Honors), Boston College (Accepted Honors), George Washington University (Likely Letter). Still waiting to hear from 6 others!

General Comments: I’m so excited!! I visited Notre Dame and absolutely loved the atmosphere and everything about it. I was nervous about not getting in because, though a lot of people from my school are accepted, ~20 applied and a lot had legacy. The only thing holding me back is the fear that it will be too similar to my small, Catholic, midwest high school :confused: but it’s for sure one of my top schools depending on what I hear from some others! Go Irish!!

13

Objective accepted Mendoza

SAT I (breakdown): didn’t send
ACT (breakdown): 34 (one sitting)
SAT II: 760 Chem 750 US 720 Math 1
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):-10%
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP scholar with distinction, 1st place regional state FBLA public speaking II and economics

Subjective

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):student body president, founder and president of FBLA chapter, president of the chess club, Prep hockey player (received NCAA looks and an offer), yearbook photographer, chemistry Olympiad, peer tutor for refugee children, mock trial lead attorney defendant/prosecutor
Job/Work Experience: part time at C21 Real Estate
Volunteer/Community service: volunteered for a judicial campaign, other assorted hours
Summer Activities: travel soccer
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Commonapp I compared the show Finding Bigfoot to a chess strategy and then connected it with curiosity and exposing false fears in life… For the ND I talked about being religious and asking questions about Life and death… Explicitly how going to a religious school would allow me to ask the big questions (somewhat ironically, religion seeks to give all the answers) I also compared the Christian message of bettering oneself to prepare for transcendence to my outlook on everyday life and my education
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
They were really solid, I go to a small private school and know them all well…
Teacher Rec:
Counselor Rec:
Additional Rec (if used): I had a student at Notre Dame write me a Rec… We grew up together

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: Mendoza
State (if domestic applicant):NY
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: small private
Ethnicity:white
Gender:male
Income Bracket: pretty average
Hooks (legacy, URM, first generation college, etc.): just a good dude

Reflection

Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: accepted Boston College, University of Rochester, full rides to UB and Michigan State… deferred Cornell and haven’t heard back again

General Comments:
O captain my captain, our fearful trip is done. Our ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won.

14

Decision: Accepted (and pre-approved @ Mendoza)

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2400
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: 800 Math II, 760 Chemistry
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.89
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): not offered
IB (place score in parenthesis): not offered
Senior Year Course Load: won’t disclose for privacy reasons
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing too great, just National Merit Finalist and Presidential Scholar Candidate

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Debate, Literary mag (editor-in-chief), peer tutoring + community service, some econ and CS stuff, golf, tennis – all in all pretty mediocre, if you ask me
Job/Work Experience: 2 summer internships, 1 at a bank and another at a commodities company
Volunteer/Community service: 250 hours of tutoring
Summer Activities: Went to Stanford’s Summer Institutes, Princeton’s Philosophy Seminar, interned, taught myself some CS, traveled around Europe.
Essays: Common App was in the 9-10/10 range. It really spoke to my identity as a multiracial kid growing up in a really white neighborhood, and how that shaped me. Very heartfelt, zero pandering (I discuss how I loathed my culture at one point), and I think they liked the honesty. The supplements were pretty corny, tbh.“Why ND”: a sycophantic appeal to “faith, family, and football” with a mention of good academics shoehorned in (8.5/10); “What question fascinates you”: a fun, albeit random, meandering piece on how I love linguistics, nostalgically recalling all the dictionaries I read as a kid (9.5/10). “What’s broken, and how would you fix it”: a truncated analysis of America’s increasingly divisive political climate, perpetuated by a biased media. Talked about how Trump’s emergence was an offshoot of that, and how we should install comprehensive current events teaching in public schools to ensure kids care about the issues and learn how to gut a source (7-10/10, depending on the reader’s political bent).

Teacher Recommendation: Didn’t see, but from my English and Physics teachers. I’m not somebody who’s especially outgoing around teachers, so they didn’t really know me that well on a personal level. That said, I did great work in their classes. At the worst, generic praise. 6-9/10.
Counselor Rec: Again, didn’t see the rec. I got to know him pretty well though, and he saw lots of my writing and knew what made me tick.
Additional Rec: n/a

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: Finance
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private (Catholic)
Ethnicity: White/Hispanic/Asian
Gender: M
Income Bracket: rather not say
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM i guess? Twin got in EA?

Reflection

Strengths: SAT, ethnicity (especially for ND’s cultural homogeneity), Catholic who goes to a Catholic school, essays, summer activities, service
Weaknesses: ECs, potentially tepid recs
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Basically my academic credentials
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Rejected SCEA Stanford, likely letter at Cornell, accepted ND. Waiting on Williams, Duke, Brown, Princeton, Gtown, and Vanderbilt.

General Comments: Not surprised by my acceptance, but grateful to God nonetheless. Oh, and I’ve noticed from these forums and older friends that if you have >= 35 ACT or >= 2250 SAT, pretty good grades, and some service, you’re pretty much a lock for ND. So future applicants, I’d take aim at those numbers and hope the rest works out.

15

** Decision: Accepted (LL) **

Objective

SAT I (breakdown): 700CR/680M/670W
ACT (breakdown): 35E/31M/32R/24S
SAT II: …a 580 in physics and 590 in Math 2
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.865
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 10/832
AP (place score in parenthesis): WH(3), USH(3), English Language(4), Spanish Language (5), Spanish Literature(4) & taking 7 this year
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Physics 2, AP Bio, AP Chem, AP English Literature, AP Gov, AP Macro, AP Stats, Computer Maintenance
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none. Got National Hispanic Scholar, AP Scholar with Distinction, and QuestBridge College Prep Scholar along with a few school awards

Subjective

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Spanish Club (officer 2 yrs), StuCo (senior class treasurer), HOSA, some babysitting, Physics tutor
Job/Work Experience: nah
Volunteer/Community service: 100 hrs
Summer Activities: nah
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9 – it was on empowering women in STEM and some other stuff I don’t recall
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 10. I read them and was from my calc teacher, who loves me.

Teacher Rec: 10. Explained above.
Counselor Rec: she doesn’t know me.
Additional Rec (if used): nope.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Si
Intended Major: Physics
State (if domestic applicant): TX
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large public
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: XX
Income Bracket: $60K-75K
Hooks (legacy, URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, first generation

Reflection

Strengths: none, idk. Omg.
Weaknesses: everything. Ahhh.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I don’t know. Especially not about the likely letter. Ahhhh.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

Texas A&M (accepted)
MIT (rejected)
Waiting:
Harvard
Yale
Columbia
Cornell
Dartmouth

General Comments:

EEEEEEEEEEP.

16

Decision: Accepted

Objective

SAT I (breakdown): 2240 (800 CR, 710 math, 730 writing)
ACT (breakdown): 34 composite, 36 English, 31 math, 35 reading, 36 science
SAT II: 740 physics, 720 math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9ish
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): World History (4), APUSH (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Spanish, AP Bio, AP AB Calc, AP English Lit, Advanced Morality (via a local college), AP Econ (Micro and Macro), Honors Band, Advanced Leadership
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist

Subjective

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Band (section leader), Orienteering, literary magazine, econ challenge team, track
Job/Work Experience: Small business owner, lawnmower
Volunteer/Community service: 79 hours with True Friends, some church service
Summer Activities: ND Summer Scholars, work, church trips
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Maybe a 7-8. I could have done a bit better on the essays.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 9-10, I imagine. I have not read either essay written for me, but I am on pretty good terms with both recommenders.

Teacher Rec: ^
Counselor Rec: 10, I think.
Additional Rec (if used): N/A

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Physics
State (if domestic applicant): MN
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: Private, Catholic
Ethnicity: Doesn’t matter
Gender: Ditto
Income Bracket: $100k ballpark
Hooks (legacy, URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation

Reflection

Strengths: I’m a pretty good writer, get good grades, and am well-liked by my teachers.
Weaknesses: Not too many extracurriculars, and my standardized math scores could have been better.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I’m well-rounded and pretty good at what I do.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: MIT: rejected (those darn math scores!), UChicago: waitlisted (along with half of the universe), BC: Accepted

General Comments: I’m pretty happy!

17

** Decision: Accepted **

** Objective: **

SAT I (breakdown): 800M 780CR 700W 10E

ACT: 34C 35R 35M 35S 32E 8E

SAT II: 800 M2, 770 Chem

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.79U/W 4.53W

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 6/850W 23/850UW

AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc BC 5, Chem 5, Physics 1 5, Macro 5, US Gov 4, Lang 3

Senior Year Course Load: AP Bio, AP Physics C, APUSH, AP Lit, AP German, Calc 3, Linear Algebra, Diffeq

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): WYSE 2015 Chemistry State 4th place, National German Exam Gold AP Scholar with distinction, NMF, National Chemistry Olympiad Qualifier

** Subjective: **

Extracurricular: Scholastic Bowl Varsity Captain, WYSE Team, Science Club, Math Team, German Club, German Honor Society, Chem Olympiad, Founded Paintball team

Job/Work Experience: Seasonal Worker at Bestbuy 2014/2015

Volunteer/Community service: 25 hours tutoring

Summer Activities: Summer Research Internship at Notre Dame with grad students in chem department.

Essays: Common App 9/10, Why NU 9/10 (I thought they were great but I guess not)

Teacher Recommendation: Physics C Teacher 6/10 (generic), German teacher 10/10

Counselor Rec: 10/10

Additional Rec: PI at Notre Dame internship

** Other: **

State (if domestic applicant): IL

School Type: Large (4000 students) Public

Ethnicity: White/Polish

Gender: Male

Income Bracket: 70K

Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First Generation

Major: Applying as Chemical or Materials Engineering

** Reflection **

Strengths: ACT/ SAT Score,

Weaknesses: GPA, Class rank

Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Likely combination of stats and rec letter from professor

Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted: Alabama, UIUC, UMN-TC, Notre Dame; Waitlisted: UChicago; Rejected: Northwestern

General Comments: Very happy since I was disappointed from the Northwestern results yesterday.

18

Decision: Accepted and pre-approved for Mendoza!

Objective

SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): Composite: 35 English: 34 Math: 36 Reading: 35 Science: 36
SAT II: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.731
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 12/346 (3%)
AP (place score in parenthesis): European History (5), US Government (5), Psychology (5), Language and Composition (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Literature and Composition, AP Calculus BC, AP Macroeconomics, AP Statistics, Business Communications Technology, Senior Health and Gym, Earth/Space Science
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Honor, Distinguished Young Woman, FBLA State Qualifier, Regional Irish Dance Awards

Subjective

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Journalism (Editor in Chief), Open Championship Level Irish Dancer, Future Business Leaders of America (Committee Chair), National Honors Society, Distinguished Young Women, Forensic Accounting Competition Team, Marching Band Color Guard, Yearbook
Job/Work Experience: Park Worker
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer with non-profit organization founded by a friend, 10 year volunteer with a nature center, various service with NHS and Distinguished Young Women, Peer Tutoring, Middle School Forensics Judge
Summer Activities: Summer job
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8, I put a lot of effort into my essays. My “Why Notre Dame” essay had a theme of community and I made sure to highlight the things that were important to me in my other essays. For example, I wrote the Civil Rights prompt and connected it to environmental rights for minorities since I am the daughter of a Naturalist.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec: 10: Teacher I have had for 2 years and advisor for Journalism club which I lead, also a huge Notre Dame fan.
Counselor Rec: 10, made me cry!
Additional Rec (if used): 10, did not submit additional rec for Early Action round but after being deferred submitted one from my Distinguished Young Women advisor.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Accounting (Mendoza College of Business)
State (if domestic applicant): Wisconsin
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Other
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 70,000-85,000
Hooks (legacy, URM, first generation college, etc.): Irish dancer, if that’s considered a hook at Notre Dame.

Reflection

Strengths: Showed extreme interest and put lots of time and effort into my essays. Was deferred from Early Action originally and sent in an additional letter of rec and letter of interest that definitely showed Notre Dame was my top choice.
Weaknesses: Not in the top 1% of class, not as much community service
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Definitely a combination of test scores, interest shown and effort put into application. I went and visited, went to information sessions in my city and had correspondence with my Notre Dame counselor.

Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Drake University (National Alumni Scholar), University of Minnesota Twin Cities, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin Madison

General Comments: If you are deferred do not lost hope, email your counselor right away and work on a letter of interest. Congrats to everyone else who got in. Any future prospective students feel free to message me!

19

Decision: Accepted

SAT: 2240
SAT II: 760 / 780
Unweighted GPA: 4.0 / W 4.8
Rank 1 / 632
AP 14 – 5s
SY Course Load: APs all the way (so, jr & sr)
Major Awards: the usual

Subjective

Extracurriculars Many. Varsity Sports / Church / Clubs / Started a Charity
Job/Work Experience: Sports
Volunteer/Comm service: Many
Summer Activities: Volunteer / Sports / Reading
Essays: 10? Based on the opinion of others
Recommendations

Teacher Rec: 10 – Amazing. I looked better on paper than in real life!
Counselor Rec: 10 – Same
Additional Rec (if used): 10 – 2 Diff Coaches that pretty much want me to marry their daughters

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: YES
Intended Major: POL SCI
State (if domestic CA
School Type: PUBLIC
Ethnicity: W
Gender: M

Income Bracket: AID
Hooks : Does being Catholic count?

Reflection: It’s overwhelming. I wish my grandma was alive to see it.

Strengths: Knowing that being # 1 in a HS means nothing. There are 40,000 just like you!
Weaknesses: Many too many
Why accepted: It’s God’s Will and the letters of recommendation.
Where else: Yale, Berkeley, UCLA, USC, NU, JHU.

General Comments: I am going to wait to the 31st and see what’s in store. I seriously doubt that anything is going to hit me as hard as this one did. Just re-read my short essays and they truly reflect my desire to become part of the fighting Irish family. I think they say right through me.

20

Decision: Accepted

Objective

SAT I (breakdown): did not send
ACT (breakdown): 35C (35E, 35M, 36R, 35S)
SAT II: did not send
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 UW, 4.65 W
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 2%
AP (place score in parenthesis): Euro (5), Stats (5), Calc AB (5), US (5), Lang (5), Macro (4), Micro (4), Chem (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Bio, AP Physics 1, AP Gov, AP Calc BC, senior english electives, required art class
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended, AP Scholar w/ Distinction, local awards for soccer, honor roll, etc.

Subjective

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity soccer (captain), student volunteer program (co-president), anti-drug/alcohol youth mentorship program (program coordinator), Mu Alpha Theta (secretary), school’s leadership conference (planning committee member), NHS, club soccer, a few other minor ones
Job/Work Experience: worked at a vet hospital one summer
Volunteer/Community service: 250+ hours total; spent around 120 hrs at a top ranked hospital
Summer Activities: working/volunteering, soccer
Essays (rating 1-10, details): common app 8/10 - pretty good but I would have liked it to be better; why ND 10/10 - this one was one of my favorite to write, very creative approach; what’s broken 9/10 - talked about global healthcare, I think my passion for medicine really came out here; completeness 7/10 - a little rushed but I talked about gaining a more global perspective through my future plans
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec: 10/10 - she loved me and is really good at writing these; 9/10 - had him all 4 years either for class or EC’s and it should’ve been good
Counselor Rec: 8/10 - she likes me and is in charge of the anti-drug program I run but my school is large so I’m not sure!
Additional Rec (if used): Family friend/next door neighbor who played football for ND; not sure if this helped at all but he insisted and I certainly wasn’t going to say no!

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Biochem (premed track)
State (if domestic applicant): OH
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large, competitive public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $200k
Hooks (legacy, URM, first generation college, etc.): None lol

Reflection

Strengths: test scores, GPA, EC’s to an extent, some of my essays
Weaknesses: no hook, last essay could have been better
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Good academics and decent EC’s, plus solid essays and recs
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to OSU, CWRU, UNC, UVA, WashU; waitlisted at Northwestern; still waiting from Duke and Brown

General Comments: Very excited to be accepted to Notre Dame!! It is definitely one of my top schools and this is a dream come true! Not sure if I will attend due to the cost but I feel so blessed! Congrats to everyone else accepted, and to those rejected or waitlisted, I wish you the best of luck and I know that you will all end up at an amazing school where you will be happy and successful!