***OFFICIAL Notre Dame Class of 2022 REA Decisions/Results Thread

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Notre Dame
21

Decision: Rejected

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1510 (780 M, 730 CR)
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: Math II (720), Literature (690) - honestly don’t remember if I sent these
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.87
Weighted GPA: 4.42
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Lang and Comp (4), AP Comp Sci (4), AP World History (3), APUSH (3) - didn’t send any scores though
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Calc AB, Earth Science Honors, AP Gov, AP Microeconomics, AP Macroeconomics, Entrepreneurship, Latin 3/4 Literature
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended Scholar, AP Scholar with honor, Various student athlete awards, Various national Latin exam awards/national latin honor society, Various state/national business awards

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): JV/Varsity Golf, JV/Varsity Basketball, NHS, Young Life (leader/counselor for Wyldlife), Local Community House Junior Board (president jr/sr), Freedom Golf Association Jr. Board (founder and pres soph/jr/sr), Business Professionals of America (nationals qualifier/exec officer and mentor), Yearbook writer, Athletes committed to leadership school club
Job/Work Experience: After school nanny jr/sr year, internship at a tech startup called simMachines 2017 summer, internship with Illinois Republican Party this semester for my AP Gov class
Volunteer/Community service: see ECs (hundreds of hours from these)
Summer Activities: ECs, attended Georgetown entrepreneurship institute, internship, counselor at camps
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Prob not the best because Notre Dame wasn’t one of my top choices but I still put time into them
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: (8/10) Apush teacher was the hardest class I have ever taken and I worked incredibly hard. I am traditionally really bad at any type of history so it’s a subject I have to work extremely hard at, so he can testify better than any other teacher to my work ethic, but I barely slipped by with As in his class and so I wasn’t one of his top students. I also somehow managed to pull out a 3 on the AP exam, but he wrote my rec letter before so hopefully his view of me wasn’t tainted by seeing that :confused:
Teacher Rec #2: (9/10) Latin teacher that I had freshman, sophomore, and senior year. I have had numerous awards in Latin and it comes to me very naturally as I’ve always had really high As in her classes. She loves my friend and I, and we always talk to her after class so she can testify to my growth in confidence throughout all of high school.
Counselor Rec: Really good, she’s an amazing counselor who I’m sure took the time to write a solid letter and we have a good relationship.
Additional Rec:
Interview:

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Honestly don’t remember but Mendoza School of Business
State (if domestic applicant): Illinois
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: large public
Ethnicity: white
Gender: Female
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection

Strengths: lots of ECs and leadership within them- tried to use my extensive athletic and community commitments as a reason for a lower GPA, personal statement
Weaknesses: lower GPA than most that get accepted from my school, essays idk?
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted:
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted: Accepted: Indiana (Kelley), Alabama. Waiting on Case Western, Michigan, Emory, Georgia Tech, Claremont McKenna, USC

General comments: Honestly I was kinda shocked and confused but oh well, I didn’t think I would go even if I got in, ND was pretty low on my list and that lack of passion must have come through in my essays. I’m not too upset and happy that people who had ND a their dream school got in over me

22

ACCEPPPPTEDDDDD!!

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1370 (didn’t report)
ACT (breakdown): 32 (R=35, E=33,S=34, M=27 lol)
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):3.7
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):school doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): 10 total. Ap Human (5), AP World (4), AP Bio (4), AP Environmental (4), AP US (5), AP Lang (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP French, AP gov, AP Stats, AP Lit, honors physics, dance, honors economics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): lololol many mock trial awards, nationally ranked individual Attorney + over 10 awards at the county, state, and national levels. Yale Invitational, Providemce cup etc. (this probably means nothing if you don’t do mock trial.
1st place in Florida for moot court
AP Scholar w/ Distinction
State ranked for French competition

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Mock Trial (Captain), Moot Court, Multicultural Club (President), Dance (awards), French Club, NHS, French Club, French Honors Society, Pre-Law Club, Florida Law Honors Society, Congressmans Youth Cabinet, all star cheer
Job/Work Experience: one job sumemer/senior year at a good place 16-30 hrs a week
Volunteer/Community service: Church community volunteer, YMCA daycare, Campaign for Congressman volunteer work
Summer Activities: Work, YMCA daycare volunteer, campaign work
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 3 supplemental essays 9/10 each. Really put my own spin and talked about disney world in one lol, showcased my personality
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: Law Teacher/Mock Trial a Coach-like a second mother to me, probably her favorite student she’s ever had so I can imagine it being outstanding 12/10
Teacher Rec #2: English teacher who was eh towards me so ?/10 (I assume it was fine cause I got in)
Counselor Rec: Absolutely loves me, probably amazing letter 10/10
Additional Rec:
Interview: n/a

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Anthropology
State (if domestic applicant): Florida
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private. Really well-respected by prestigious colleges. GPA may see, low but people who go to ivied at my school don’t have 4.0s, no one at my school in many ap classes has a 4.0 but acceptances are usually top 40 schools
Ethnicity: Haitian
Gender: Femake
Income Bracket: 200k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM–black

Reflection

Strengths: My extracirruculurs and essays are really what make me stand out, mock trial isn’t very common and I’m also ranked highly. Also I think my application has 2 main focuses Law/Culture and Language. My common app Essay mentioned a brief part about my heritage (Haiti, daughter of immigrants)
Weaknesses: GPA and ACT because notre dame usually has extremely high scores, but I had an upwards trend 4.0 junior year GPA, and attend a school that is well respected
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Some may say it is urm, but my essays and extra curriculurs in my opinion are focused, interested, and relevant to not only my major, but my background, personality and career goals
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: LSU (Honors college so far), haven’t heard from any more

General Comments: Good luck, and message me if you have any questions/want advice

23

ACCEPTED

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1480 (didn’t send)
ACT (breakdown): 35 (33 M, 34 S, 35 R, 36 E)
SAT II: 760 Math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3 out of 190. However, our school does not send rank information to colleges.
AP (place score in parenthesis): US Government (5), Physics 1 (3), Biology (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: Advanced Chemistry, AP Lit, AP Stats, Theology 12, AP Calc AB, AP European History, Spanish 4
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended Student, AP Scholar Award, Rotary International Award for Outstanding High School Achievement

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NHS (service secretary), Tennis (4-year letterman, captain senior year), DECA (VP junior year; couldn’t be prez my senior year because school policy is if you are NHS officer, you can’t be leader of another club), Euphrates Club
Job/Work Experience: Worked full-time as an assistant to a project manager for a mechanical contracting company.
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteered to help residents in Flint, MI who have been affected by the water crisis
Summer Activities: Mostly work
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 7-9; hard to tell, I mostly stay away from comparing with other kids. My common app one was pretty unique, it was about my interest in space. In my others, I tried my best to come across as empathetic and portray myself as well as I could. How well I did that is a pretty subjective matter.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 9. Chose teachers I had multiple times, saw me grow as a person and student, and who challenged me.

Teacher Rec #1: 9. Sophomore Chemistry and AP Physics (junior year) teacher. There weren’t supposed to be any juniors in AP Physics but I ended up in that class as a result of a schedule problem. Was able to speak of my growth and response to challenges.
Teacher Rec #2: Spanish 1 and 3 teacher and NHS advisor. Was able to speak of growth, personality, and experience outside of just the classroom (NHS).
Counselor Rec: 7-8. We only have two counselors, but since we are a relatively small school they do a good job of getting to know each student really well. Spoke with him a lot over the last two years about college and trust that he had a pretty good rec.
Additional Rec: n/a
Interview: n/a

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yup
Intended Major: Computer Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): Michigan
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private Catholic (~700)
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: High
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): School is in flint and I did a lot of work on the water crisis here, both paid and volunteer.

Reflection

Strengths: Grades, Courses, Work Experience, Leadership Positions
Weaknesses: Nothing that stands out too much. Thought I was good everywhere, but not exceptional in any one thing.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Solid all-around as a student, leader, athlete, and citizen. Not weak in any one area.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: Michigan State (Honors College)
Applied: Michigan, USC (Southern California, not South Carolina), Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Duke, Stanford

General Comments: Congratulations to everyone that was accepted, and good luck to those who were deferred and applied regular decision. To those who were denied, good luck in your college search. Remember, it’s not where you go, it’s what you do with it. It might suck that you didn’t get in, but remember that it doesn’t define you. Work hard and be kind, and you’ll go a long ways, no matter where you go to college. God Bless.

24

ACCEPTED

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1560 (780 on both)
ACT (breakdown): 35 (36 E, 36 R, 35 M, 33 S)
SAT II: 780 Math II, 770 USH, 750 Lit
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): US History (5), Language and Composition (5), Human Geography (5), Calculus BC (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics, AP Literature and Composition, AP Microeconomics, AP Government, Spanish IV, Theology, College-Level Math Course, Academic Decathlon
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Semifinalist, AP Scholar with Honor, National Honor Society

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Academic Decathlon, Quiz Bowl (Co-President), Retreat Leader, Cross Country/Track, Young Republicans (Vice President), Math Club
Job/Work Experience: Internship with Congressman, Construction Worker
Volunteer/Community service: 250+ hours
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App (7), talked about how leading a retreat influenced me; Supplements (10), this was probably the strongest part of my application, I wrote about visiting Notre Dame and feeling at home, about how my family and faith have influenced me, and about how my faith affects my political beliefs

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 9, English teacher in 10th and 11th grade and academic decathlon coach, knows me very well
Teacher Rec #2:
Counselor Rec: 9.5, We have a very good relationship and from what I’ve heard he writes great recommendations
Additional Rec:
Interview:

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Finance
State (if domestic applicant): Nebraska
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private Catholic
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $250k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths: Test scores, essays, recommendations
Weaknesses: Grades, extracurriculars
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: My test scores along with my ND supplements and recommendations
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to in-state schools, also applied to Boston College and Georgetown

General Comments: I was slightly surprised and absolutely thrilled to be accepted! ND has been my dream school since I was 8 years old and it’s an amazing feeling to actually get in. Congrats to everyone else who was accepted and good luck to those who were deferred.

25

ACCEPTED

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1460 (760 M / 700 RW)
Weighted GPA: 4.22
AP : AP Capstone Seminar, AP Capstone research, AP Computer Science A, AP Biology, AP BC Calculus, AP Literature, AP Computer Science Principles, AP Spanish Language
Senior Year Course Load: AP BC Calculus, AP Computer Science Principles, AP Literature, Spanish 5 (post-AP), Principles of Engineering, Puerto Rican History, Data Structures and Algorithms (Post-APCSA)
Major Awards: AP Scholar, National Honor Society, AP Capstone diploma candidate

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NHS (president), Young Life (student leader, work crew), Girl Scouts (summer camp aide, bronze, silver, and silver trefoil awards), Music (trumpet and piano privates, national youth band, brass quintet), Soccer (JV 9th grade, Varsity 10-12th grade), track and field (Varsity 10-12th grade), School musical (9th-12th grade main cast), SPECTRUM (GSA), Science Bowl
Job/Work Experience: Internship with the American Wood Council
Volunteer/Community service: 400+ hours
Summer Activities: MITE Engineering at UofM, SCEEP Engineering at UofM, Volunteer for work crew at a young life camp, Nuclear Engineering program at NC State (I was published in research at the time)
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App (9) I discussed how diversity has shaped me growing up in suburban VA, to moving to Dubai, to moving to Puerto Rico; Supplements (7), I talked about Young Life, the different families I am involved in, and how I really wanted a Catholic school.

Recommendations:

Teacher Rec #1: 10th-grade physics, 12th-grade engineering, ND Alumni, NHS advisor (I’m president)
Counselor Rec: She and I know each other very well and I meet with her a lot.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Computer Science
State (if domestic applicant): Puerto Rico
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: $250k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Other information:
Waiting to hear from: Boston College, Tufts University, Villanova University, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Tulane University, University of Michigan, University of Colorado - Boulder, Gonzaga University

26

@starbucksdj — My son is currently double majoring in Vocal performance and PLS. He loves the music department and we feel that it too helped him gain a REA acceptance. Good luck to you!

27

Accepted

SAT 1480
ACT 33
Wt GPA 4.2+
Rank: 1/600
AP: Spanish, Calc, Physics, Lit. Basically AP when avail, if no AP then Honors
GS Gold Awd/Triple Awd (Bronze/Silver/Gold), 4 yr varsity–Team Capt–does sport as club yr round when not in school, Lead Delegate Model UN, Club Officer, Fed Res Bank Student Board, NHS, Language NHS, Summer Lifeguard
State: IL (downstate)
Applied for Fin Aid
Major listed: Pol Sci/Pre Law
White Female
Public School
Has a sister already attending ND

28

[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FFA500]Decision: Deferred[/color][/size]**

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1570 (800 Math 770 R/W)
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: 790 Math 2
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.898
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): 4 on Psych, Calculus, and Bio
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: (H) Calc 2, APES, AP Euro, AP Stats
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Semifinalist

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity Quiz Bowl 4 years, Captain for 3 years, Co-President for 3 years. Qualified for Nationals all 4 years. Competed at Nationals last year
HOSA-Qualified and competed at States all 4 years
Research, Did Neonatology research
Shadowing, Did over 150 hours of shadowing doctors
JV Track- 2 years
JV Tennis- 2 years

Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service: Did over 180 hours of volunteering through Rotary, Honors Society, and a non-profit
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common app- 8/10
Notre Dame 1: 7/10 Talked about being Hindu and how I can fit in at Notre Dame
Notre Dame 2: 8/10 Talked about serving the community. Mentioned Hinduism which may have not been a good idea.
Notre Dame 3: 9/10 Talked about how laughter is the best medicine.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 9/10 Algebra Teacher knows me very well
Teacher Rec #2: 9/10 AP Bio Teacher knows me very well
Counselor Rec: 5/10 My Counselor left right before College Apps started so a different counselor wrote it.
Additional Rec: 10/10 Doctor I did research with wrote it.
Interview: None

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Biological Sciences/Premed
State (if domestic applicant): Michigan
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large Public
Ethnicity: Asian (Indian)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths: Test Scores, EC, GPA
Weaknesses: Not being Catholic?
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I probably should not have talked about being Hindu. No legacy.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Got into MSU and UPITT, waiting on UofM, Yale, Stanford, Northwestern, USC

General Comments:
Disappointed I did not get in. Do not know what else I could have done in High School to increase my chance of getting in…

29

ACCEPTED!!!
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): n/a
ACT (breakdown): 34 composite 35 superscore (even though they don’t superscore)
SAT II: 770 Literture 710 American history
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1st
AP (place score in parenthesis): chemistry (4) APUSH (4) AP gov (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP literature, AB calculus, AP Human Geography, physics, french
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): national merit semifinalist

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): multiple service clubs at school
Job/Work Experience: internship
Volunteer/Community service: I do service at a local food pantry every Saturday, member, have run several fundraisors that have raised $20,000 each
Summer Activities: camp at northwestern, marine biology class, studied abroad with Notre Dame my junior year of high school
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Why ND: 10/10 I used some humor but focused on why Notre Dame specifically appeals to me through my faith, very personal
What do you know for certain 10/10
I wrote a poem about my experience studying abroad with ND and what I know for certain is that ND is a perfect fit for me
Something that happened in your community 7/10
wrote about service, kind of cliche topic but really well written
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 7/10
Teacher Rec #2: 8/10
Counselor Rec: 10/10
Additional Rec: 10/10 I had my boss at my internship write one and she showed it to me and it made me cry
Interview:

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: English
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): US
School Type:
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection
I am SO excited that I got in!!!
Strengths: grades, summer experiences, essays
Weaknesses: my school doesn’t offer that many AP classes
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: my grades and essays
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: This is the first school I heard back from

General Comments:

30

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

ACT (breakdown): 34C (33R, 35M, 34S, 35E)

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0

AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (4) (didn’t report)

Senior Year Course Load: AP Biology, AP AB Calculus, AP English, Government, Spanish II

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended Scholar

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): 4 years varsity track (team captain Senior Year), 3 years varsity cross country (team captain Senior Year), 2 years student council (executive council Senior Year), Emu Club (Vice President Senior year), 2 years concert band/pep band (vice president sophomore year), four years of musical/play experience

Job/Work Experience: swimming lesson assistant/demonstrator for 6 years

Volunteer/Community service: about 50 hours throughout h.s.

Summer Activities: Mission trip to Honduras

Essays (rating 1-10, details): I think I did well on these, tried to incorporate as many different aspects of my life into them as I could
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): not sure, probably pretty good

Teacher Rec #1: Biology teacher
Additional Rec: Track coach

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Business
State (if domestic applicant): Michigan
School Type: Private Christian
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: probably highest

31

For my nephew

ACCEPTED

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 34 (36 E, 34R, 34M, 31S)
SAT II: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 96
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): Chemistry (4), APUSH (5), Calculus BC (4), Physics (4), Environmental Science (5), Statistics (5), English (4), Spanish (4) can’t remember the others, but, I know he took 9 APs
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Honors, National Honor Society

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Eagle Scout, Junior Assistant Scout Master (only high school kid in history of troop), Varsity Golf (state champions), Young Life, Robotics Team (Regional Champions), Spent Spring Semester of Junior Year in Semester School in Vermont, 2-month Mountain Climbing expedition in South America, active in Baptist Church
Job/Work Experience: Caddie at local country club
Volunteer/Community service: 250+ hours
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details): no idea what he wrote

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

No idea

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Arts & Sciences
State (if domestic applicant): Georgia
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $250k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths: Significant leadership roles in Boy Scouts, strong demonstration of independence by living away from home for a semester and two months away from home in South America, strong introspective essays, recommendations. Not a cookie-cutter set of ECs like many other applicants.
Weaknesses: 34 ACT and 96 UW GPA seems average for ND (but, he only took the ACT once)
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: A very atypical applicant with a strong sense of DEMONSTRATED confidence, maturity, and independence who has “on par” academics.

Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted at University of Georgia Honors Program (likely with the Foundation Fellows Scholarship). Awaiting word from Vanderbilt, UNC Chapel Hill, and Duke.

General Comments: I was not surprised that my nephew was accepted. He is confident, mature, and interesting. Having read through these threads for the last few years, my sense is that ND is a place where they are looking for those that have “sufficient” grades (which are very, very good), while having DEMONSTRATED ECs and Leadership stories that are both unique, passion-driven, and self-motivated. My sense is stellar academic scores with “me-too”, parent-driven, generic EC and leadership stories don’t cut it at ND.

32

Deferred

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): did not send
ACT (breakdown): Composite: 35, English: 35, Math: 34, Reading: 35, Science: 36
SAT II: did not send
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): school doesn’t do gpa, 88% average
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): Physics 1 (4), Literature (4), Language (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C, AP Environmental Science, AP Statistics, AP BC Calculus, African American Literature, Woodcarving, Global Studies
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Stage Manager in theater (Head for 2 years)
Circle of Women (Head since sophomore year): club that does fundraisers to raise money to help girls get educations in countries where it is not the norm for girls to go to school
Tutor in Math and Physics since Junior year
Student Director of a play
Tour guide for 4 years
Job/Work Experience:
Work at the local swim/tennis club in the daycare
School Photographer (head 2 years)

Volunteer/Community service:
Helped teach kids with learning disabilities how to skate since I was 8 (once a week in the winter every year)
Volunteer at a soup kitchen once a week

Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 10/10 Math teacher who I have had for 5/7 semesters, including the past 4
Teacher Rec #2: 9/10 English teacher who taught me in AP English (combined Lit & Lang) junior year
Counselor Rec: College counselor who has known me since I was a child
Additional Rec: n/a
Interview: n/a

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: industrial design
State (if domestic applicant): MA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: private prep
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): legacy (mother is graduate)

Reflection

Strengths: Standardized tests
Weaknesses: Essays (English is my worst subject, but my school has a very good english program)
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: unsure, although my average is not an A, the school I go to is a private prep school so it is very hard to maintain an A average.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted at Santa Clara University & Butler University

General Comments:
I am very happy for everyone that got in, and I hope that I pass through the second round of applications and get to go to school with you all next year!

33

Accepted!

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 34 (R: 34 E: 36 M: 30 S: 34)
SAT II: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 97 (School doesn’t use 4.0 scale)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH, Gov, Lang, Lit, Stats, Bio, Chem
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: 4 APs and rest honors
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Hispanic Scholar from College Board

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Quite a few, most important were probably my service trip to the DR, School Newspaper (EIC), Key Club (President), NHS, Two jobs, Medical shadowing program, and some other stuff I can’t recall right now
Job/Work Experience: Two jobs, one with a medical office
Volunteer/Community service: Service Trip, Tutoring with NHS
Summer Activities: Medical program at a university and shadowing program with a physician
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8, 9, 8
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): Assuming they were good, didn’t get to read. Had a relatively new counselor but tried to get to know her.

Teacher Rec #1: 8
Teacher Rec #2: 9
Counselor Rec: No idea, probably good
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: N/A

Other: have an aunt and uncle who went, not sure if that helped.

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Pre-Med, Bio
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private Catholic
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: F
Income Bracket: >200,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): National Hispanic Scholar?

Reflection: So happy I got in, you have no idea :slight_smile:

Strengths: Scores, essays
Weaknesses: Took all of the APs offered at my school, wish there were more to strengthen my course load.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Honestly because of my essays, I worked really hard on those, maybe scores too.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted at Boston College, SMU, Pitt. Waiting on a bunch of others

General Comments: Go Irish!

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Congrats to everyone who was accepted and good luck to those who were deferred! Also, for those who were rejected, remember that God has a plan for all of you and he did what was best for you!

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Decision: Accepted!!!

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): n/a
ACT (breakdown): 34 Composite (35 Reading, 35 English, 33 Science, 32 Math)
SAT II: n/a
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98 (4.4 W)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): 10 AP Classes throughout HS 5 on Human Geo, APUSH, European History, Lang & Comp and a 4 on Chemistry
IB (place score in parenthesis): Not available at my school
Senior Year Course Load: 5 APs, 1 honors
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
WAFLT Award of Excellence in Study Language 2017
Honorable Mention on the National Spanish Exam 2017
Mathematics League Certificate of Merit 2015 & 2016

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Forensics, Soccer, Math Team, Orchestra (first chair viola, part of quartet), Choir, Theater Arts Program (Dance Captain, female lead (?)), Peer Mediation (founder/leader) Student Ambassador Leadership Union (chair), Spanish Honors Society

Job/Work Experience: I’ve worked at Target for about a year and a half, I babysit(?)
Volunteer/Community service: Over 100 hours with Spanish Honor’s Society
Summer Activities: Studied abroad in Salamanca, Spain this past summer for a month (received 6 credits in Spanish)
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8, 9, 8
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 10 (Spanish teacher and advisor of Spanish Honor’s Society, I know her very well)
Teacher Rec #2: 8 (History teacher I know very well, but I don’t think his writing is very strong?)
Counselor Rec: It was only my counselor’s second year at my school, but she knew me better than she knew some of the other students, I met with her on a few occasions junior year
Additional Rec: The parents of the children I have babysat for the past 4 years. I am practically a part of their family, and their letter was so heartfelt and I felt like it added a lot to my app.
Interview: N/A

Applied for Financial Aid?:Yes
Intended Major: Pre-Med & Spanish
State (if domestic applicant): WI
Country (if international applicant): n/a
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Studied abroad in Spain this summer? Part of ND Ignite 2.0 program 7th-9th grade

Reflection: I am so glad & relieved!!!

Strengths: Scores, essays
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Extracurriculars
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted at UW-Madison, waiting for a ton of others. I’ve only heard back from these two schools.

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Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1480 R: 770 M: 710
ACT (breakdown): 35 C, 35 E, 32 M, 36 S, 36 R
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): school doesn’t have UW, W: 4.52
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 10%
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (5), AP Lang (4), AP Calc AB (4), AP Physics 1 (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Lit, AP Spanish Lang, AP Physics 2, AP Human Geo, Contemporary World Issues
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended Scholar, Cum Laude, AP Scholar

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Honor Board member 10th-12th (Chairperson); Service-Learning Board, helped create the program 10th-12th (Student Ambassador); Christian Community Awareness Program 9th-12th (Treasurer); Campus Ministry 9th-12th (Leadership Team), Varsity Track and Field 10th-12th (Captain)
Job/Work Experience: Special Events Assistant @ Karate Dojo; babysitting
Volunteer/Community service: Camp/Club Umoja Counselor (work with inner-city kids) 9th-12th; Delegation to Panama (11th) through Courts for Kids
Summer Activities: Camp Umoja (see above)
Essays (rating 1-10, details): CA (7) wrote about service trip to Panama, not sure if I talked enough about myself in
addition to what we did. Supplements (8) for the main one I talked about a teacher/alumna
who emulated values that make me excited to be a part of the community in 175 words.
The others show more about my passion for service and interest in the global community
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: English teacher in 8th, 10th, and 11th (9) I’ve gotten to know her really well and am sure that she wrote nice things about me as a student bc I work hard in her class.

Teacher Rec #2: Physics teacher 11th, 12th and track coach (8) I don’t know if she writes as well but we’ve been great friends for three years and I’m confident she could reveal my personality

Counselor Rec: (8) we have guidance class for two years so I’ve gotten to know her pretty well and they do interviews so they can learn what to highlight about each student
Additional Rec:
Interview:

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: undecided College of Arts and Letters
State (if domestic applicant): MD
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private, Catholic
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: not sure, but upper-middle class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A

Reflection: I think my test scores helped and maybe they were looking for a service-oriented person. My essays had good content but I’m not an amazing writer. Very excited and surprised!

Strengths: Scores, GPA
Weaknesses: essays
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: see reflection
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted BC, Villanova, Fordham; Waiting to hear from UVA, Richmond, UMD, and Vanderbilt

General Comments: Congratulations to everyone and best of luck!

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Doing this a little late but why not

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Taken only as a state-mandated test, didn’t send
ACT (breakdown): 30 C, 36 E, 24 M, 27 S, 31 R
SAT II: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.77 UW, 4.44 W
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Euro (4), AP Lang (5), APUSH (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Spanish Lang w/ WE Service, AP Economics (Microecon sem 1, Macroecon sem 2), Honors Journalism (newspaper), AP Gov (sem 1), Honors Consumer Education (required grad credit, sem 2), Precalculus with Statistics, Honors Debate
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): QuestBridge National College Match finalist who ranked ND, 1st place news story and multimedia story package from Illinois Journalism Educators’ Association, AP Scholar

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Family commitments (oldest child in family with younger siblings and cousins to babysit, grandparents to keep company), school newspaper (editor-in-chief), varsity debate, Variety Show
Job/Work Experience: Internships at a Congressional campaign in fall 2016 and a gubernatorial campaign in summer 2017
Volunteer/Community service: Tutor at school library and Onward House (elementary school kids in Chicago), Key Club, Interact Club
Summer Activities: Medill-Northwestern Journalism Institute with half scholarship
Essays (rating 1-10, details):

  • CA (7) I talked about immigrating to the U.S., being undocumented despite living here for virtually my whole life and helping my mom study for her citizenship exam. I wasn’t wild about it but my school brought in a retired teacher who, before teaching high school English, was an admissions counselor; he loved it.
  • Why ND? (7) Don’t know if this was especially well-written but I think I did a good job focusing on the ND culture of family and tradition (housing system, first-year seminars, football games, etc.)
  • “What is something you know for certain?” (9.5) This essay is my favorite I’ve written in the whole college admissions process. I talked about how I study at the library every night and will take periodic breaks to roam through the shelves and open random books. I said I know for certain I’ll never be able to learn everything I want, but will always strive to learn everything I can.
    Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
    (I waived my right to read so I won’t rate)
    Teacher Rec: APUSH teacher from Junior year. I did very well in that class and worked really hard but also have a really good relationship with the teacher. I came in for help, particularly with a research paper that was basically the course’s capstone project.
    Counselor Rec: She became my counselor junior year after the one I had as a frosh/soph retired. Didn’t get to know her super well until senior year, but when I became a QuestBridge finalist I was there all the time. She’s seen me go through some really rough patches - not sure if that helped or hurt - but we’re friendly and it should be good.
    Interview: N/A

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Political Science
State (if domestic applicant): Illinois
School Type: Suburban public
Ethnicity: Filipino
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: ~$75,000 but 9 dependents (including me) in the household
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation at U.S. university, immigrant

Reflection: I wasn’t expecting this at all! So stoked and relieved to have an AMAZING school in my back pocket for when I get only rejections come March.

Strengths: Essays, maybe extracurriculars??,
Weaknesses: Grades and test scores lol
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I’m a pretty good writer, so I’m thinking my essays helped - particularly the third one. As a QuestBridge finalist I ranked Notre Dame, effectively applying ED, so I think that helped them gauge my interest. I think I had two hooks as an immigrant and low-income. Shortly after getting an acceptance, I was also invited to the Reilly Spring Visit which I think is geared towards diverse admits (judging based on the other people I’ve seen get invited).
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted Marquette, Lake Forest College; Rejected UPenn ED (Notre Dame said this was okay to do because probably because they had already looked at my application and come to a decision during the QuestBridge process); waiting on 26 more schools (I know that’s an insane number)

General Comments: I think my case goes to show that test scores aren’t everything. I can’t say anything about other univeristies, but this shows me that ND’s process is truly holistic. Shoot your shot, y’all - even if you’re doubtful.

Good luck & go Irish!

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@User1555 I know this is about a year ltr but Inwas wondering if you enrolled at ND??? Daughter applied EA with a 32 (said she felt a peace with that score due to all of her other “qualities”) she has strong EC and service hours. Essays looked over by her homeroom teacher and ND grad. She loved them. Letters of Rec didn’t see but I’m guessing pretty solid. D basically has ran SADD club since 9th grade and counselor knows that. 4.3 W and 4.0 UW - in the running for Valedictorian. No hooks. I guess I’m just asking what you think her chances are??? Most on CC knock down her score so idk???

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@HM0527 Hello, I just so happened to check college confidential about 6 months later. I actually do not attend Notre Dame, but Northeastern and I have many friends who love Notre Dame. I think her chances are just as good as anyone else’s. Personality (essays, letters of rec, and extra curriculars) is such an important factor in college admissions. 32 is by no means a low score, especially when paired with solid classes and a solid GPA. I think her chances are strong, my 32 got me into all the schools I applied to with the exception of Ivy Leagues, and I was accepted into Notre Dame’s honors program. Best of luck to her!

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@User1555 thank you so much for responding!! I’m a nervous wreck. I appreciate your positivity about her score. Unfortunately. I keep hearing ND’s median scores are between a 33-35 and that was last year. She is solid student for ND. I just pray that ND looks at other things. She has NO “hook” We keep hearing next week is the week so we’ll keep praying and thinking positive. One of her essays was something to laugh out loud at. D did the “take a risk” essay and wrote about The Office (she put her name in the one liners from the show) we hope someone from admissions loves The Office or at least gets the humor of the show. Take care and God Bless!!!