<p>ya, I agree but i dont think Irish's goal is to freak us out....... even if he is.. hah</p>
<p>See, if they accepted students soley on numbers (sat and GPA)... then honestly I wouldn't have a shot..... but what I like about ND is they take the actual PERSON in to account..... the whole picture......</p>
<p>Oh and DD..... BORAT was absolutly hilarious........ive seen it 3 times..... and i always get more laughs out of it.....</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
I've ceased to buy "very reliable sources", because so many of them give directly contradictory information. Some of the "very reliable sources", the students who work in admissions and participate in the official online chats, have given answers that directly contradict other answers given by admissions office people in the very same chat session!</p>
<p>I have also read a number of things in those chats, again, by the people who actually work in admissions, that I know for a fact are absolutely untrue. For instance, one chat rep stated that the rec letter had to be written by a "core" instructor--math, science or English only. I checked that out with Saracino himself by e-mail, to clear my daughter's choice of recommendation writer, and he was totally fine with it. To me, Saracino is the ultimate "reliable source" (for those unfamiliar, he is director of admissions). In the course of doing this twice, I've checked in with him a few times by e-mail to clarify things, and clarify conflicting information within the admissions department itself and also the rumor mill of this board. In each case, the information that was put forth, by people who actually work in admissions, was not the case.</p>
<p>What I don't understand is what purpose there is to some of you trying to freak people out on this board, using information that is of dubious authenticity. A junior or senior working in the admissions office, even if they are working the Chat Time sessions sponsored by that office, is not a reliable source. I'm not particularly sure the regional reps are all on the same page.</p>
<p>Bottom line is, as much as we'd like to statistically handicap things so as to have an answer in advance of the one so many of us are waiting for, admissions is not a black and white phenomenon; it deals in all shades of grey. The ND admissions office has turned away perfect score recipients and valedictorians, and accepted non-legacy non-minority non-athletes with scores below the norm, because they are trying to make a judgement about people.</p>
<p>There is no test score for character, which is what ND hopes to have, most of all.</p>
<p>**To all of you freaking out right now because we've heard for the umpteenth time about "very reliable sources" about this or that stat, remember how frequently those sources are downright wrong. If you don't believe me, look up the transcripts of a few Chat Times and you can find the abundant contradictions yourselves.</p>
<p>To those of you posting information about "very reliable sources", if you are not willing to be quite a bit more specific about who those "very reliable sources" are, then kindly do folks the favor of refraining from panic peddling. If you've been chatting one on one with Saracino, by all means, have at it. Otherwise, all you are doing is scaring people, which does absolutely none of them any good.**
[/QUOTE]
</p>
<p>This is why I said PM me if you would like to know the source, I just didn't want to post names on this board. I guess I am left with no choice. My source is Dr. Anita Kelly from the Psychology department who heard it at a faculty dinner from Mr. Saracino. Does that help?</p>
<p>DD, why didn't you PM me and ask about my sources or reasons? You could have, and you know me? I hope by now you trust me as a poster and could come to me about this. I really appreciate all the help you have given me, I honestly do, but I felt attacked by your post (perhaps that was the intent) and I wish you had come to me and asked.</p>
<p>So, for those of you wondering what my intent is, here it is. I don't want to add to your anxiety or freak you guys out, and I probably did with the timing of this. I should have waited for next year around October, and I aplogize for that. What I was trying to say is that these are things you have to think about. If you have no hooks, you may not want to settle for a 1350, but if you just knew the ND average you might. I tell you so that you know the full story behind and you can best position yourself to get into ND. I tell you the information I wish I had known when I was applying (though it probably would have freaked me out as well).</p>
<p>That was my intent. I tried to say that there are also a lot of other factors and I think we all know people with lower SATs that got into Notre Dame. It isn't the only factor and may not even be a deciding factor on its own, but it is important. </p>
<p>Perhaps in my old age I have become to separated from the process and the emotions involved. I hope not, especially with how important ND was and is to me, but it is possible and it is something that I wonder about. If that is the case then I don't bring value and I should move on, and I might. I have been here a long time and overall I hope I have had a positive impact. I want all of you to get into ND, and I want you to have the information to do it. I also want you to have the very best information about what this school is all about so you can make the best decision for yourself. I hope I have always done that. </p>
<p>I have NEVER, EVER posted a statistic with the intent of scaring or hurting people. What would be the use? This is why I really wish you had talked with me DD because if that is how it came across I would have liked to try to fix it without all of this, because it definitely seems like you think that is the kind of person I am, and that truly saddens me. I don't always post the most uplifting statistics, like this one, but it is with the intent of trying to give everyone the best information I can so they are educated about how the process works. </p>
<p>Anyways, I really am not sure what else to say or what to do about this. I apologize to the people I freaked out and I will take some time to re-evaluate things and figure out if I still bring value to this board or if I am too distant. I don't want to sugar-coat things, ND is a hard school to get into and I want you to know what you are up against. However, if my judgment is off on what to share or when to share it, then I would argue I do more harm than good.</p>
<p>I will watch this thread and reply here but I am going to take a break from the others to re-evaluate things. You know where to find me, but know I am sorry to anyone I hurt. I really was just trying to help and I am sorry if people viewed my attempts at doing so as anything other than that.</p>
<p>I don't believe your intent is to freak anyone out, Irish, but I think the effect might be there anyway. There are many things you share on line that are eminently helpful, about the university, about student life, about your own experience. It's when the actual decision basis comes into play, the decision process, that I think pretty much anyone on this forum is just making educated guesses....</p>
<p>I know for a fact, though, that people freak out. I see it on here, and I think it is a shame when it happens. There are all sorts of published statistics that admissions releases--those I think are reliable. Anything else is just a guess.</p>
<p>I realize that the place means a lot to you, Irish, as it does to all of us. I probably should have PM'd you--my apologies for that. It's just that I see so many people get freaked out...</p>
<p>Gotta go to a soccer game.</p>
<p>My apologies again, Irish!</p>
<p>I think people freak out regardless....</p>
<p>Irish is trying to help all of us out, and bring the reality to the situation</p>
<p>for that I thank him even if that was his last post</p>
<p>You guys know it won't be, though I probably will take a bit of a break from the boards just to make sure I am in the right place. Also, just so you know chillin, it does email your first version so I did see the part about me being touchy about it :). I hopefully am not THAT touchy, but it is important to me that you guys get the best help available.</p>
<p>I apologize as well DD. The reason I responded the way I did is I felt attacked by your post when I think you were just trying to calm others down which I really can't argue with. I just was bummed when I saw your original post because I have a lot of respect for you and I was concerned that you thought I was bringing it out just to make people freak out, and I hope that isn't the case. I don't think it is now, but that is why I responded the way I did. If there is ever a case where you wonder about my intentions though, please PM me, you won't believe it from this thread but I do usually handle it well.</p>
<p>Anyways, I am going to take a little break (probably not that long) from the boards because I may be too touchy right now, and it is probably in part due to my own finals and applications. If you need me though, email and IM are always open to you. </p>
<p>I am sorry for those I freaked out and I apologize to DD as well for my post. I just felt like you were questioning my motives hence the way I responded.</p>
<p>hahah... ya i was trying to find a better way to say what i was thinkn....lol</p>
<p>you get all of the messages emailed to you?</p>
<p>Every thread that I write in. It is actually quite handy but fills up the mailbox quickly!</p>
<p>Soccer game is over... Having a fourth grader in the house is a welcome relief from the stress of the college admissions thing!</p>
<p>This whole thing is about perspective. Everybody has a story.</p>
<p>Irish, your story is that you applied EA to ND as a hs senior because you loved the place and it was your dream, and you were crushed to be rejected. You want to prevent others from going through the anguish you did, by bracing them with reality. Thing is, though, that no matter how braced someone is for disappointment, when the moment comes, it still hurts. It's the nature of the beast. You can't prevent the fact that there will be kids on this board that will go through the same thing you did; cannot brace them for the inevitable disappointment some will get.</p>
<p>You can, though, serve as an inspiration, because yours is a story not only of happy ending but of character. You never did give up on your dream, as so many would. Instead, you stuck with it, studied hard, and transferred in. That's an inspiring story. The best stuff you write is when you talk about how much you love the place; the greatest aspects of student life. Your love of the place is palpable--believe me, I understand that, because I share it, both as an alumna and a parent. Your enthusiasm for the place is contagious!</p>
<p>The next stories are those of the high school kids on these boards, who dream of attending ND as you did at their age. If they didn't care immensely about it, they wouldn't be on these boards. Look at chillin--he's a junior! A million emotions are going through their heads and hearts as they wait, hope and dream. Many already have apps in the coffers, and more than a few doubts not only if they will in, but if they did the right thing applying EA. Probably a few second thoughts about what they wanted to say, but didn't, or did say, and wished they hadn't. At this point, though, there is nothing they can do but wait. It's a little late for discouraging news. I think you nailed this one, Irish, when you noted that the SAT stuff was best stated in October, before the deadline. </p>
<p>Then, there are the parents, the vast majority of us moms. We've been watching vigilantly over our kids since those days when they were infants in their cribs, and we'd tiptoe in their rooms in the middle of the night, just to make sure they are still breathing. We want nothing more than for their dreams to come true. If it were possible, we would spare them from all disappointment. Thing is, though, it isn't. Any more than it was for our own mothers. Doesn't stop us from wanting it, anyway. That's not vicarious living, that is instinct--the same one that will cause a mother tiger to risk her life battling any predator who might harm a single one of her cubs. Ask any mom. If someone kicks me in the shin, it might sting a bit, but I've been through enough hard knocks in 44 years of living--as has anybody who has reached my age--that I can shake it off and keep going. Ah, but if someone kicks my son or daughter in the shin, it is as if I myself feel the pain a thousand-fold.</p>
<p>You students reading this, whether you are high school kids or Domers, may know that this is true, but I don't think it's anything you can fully understand until you are actually in the situation. It's an amazing bond, the parent thing. Moms--and dads--you know exactly what I'm talking about. </p>
<p>As such, we are programmed to worry, particularly when our kids' dreams are basically sitting in a pile on some committee's table, waiting to be decided upon. The threat of rejection, of the pain of crushed dreams, to our kids, is very real. Unlike the mama tiger, though, we can't go out their and claw and fight a predator to keep them safe from the threat of disappointment. So we do the next best thing. We worry. Like crazy. To the point that if they, being adolescents prone to think we're all a bit off anyway, knew the extent of our anxiety over this on their behalf, they would think we were just goofy neurotic. So we come here, on to this board, because here we know there are other people who know exactly what it is we are going through. We seek support. Our anxiety level is on high alert. Every time we hear of a negative possibility, it opens a whole new realm of things to worry about.</p>
<p>Bottom line, though, is that it is all about love. We are all here because of our love--of Notre Dame, of a dream, and of our children. Having been there, as a student and now as a parent, I can tell you unequivocally that is what sets Notre Dame apart from every super selective school on this board. The love. The place is full of it.</p>
<p>God bless you all... Now, I have to write a newspaper column on deadline!</p>
<p>Darn it DD you make it very hard to stay away from this board. You are right, we are all here for love, and my timing did stink :( sorry about that guys. ND is a very special place and I really hope that it is in the cards for most or all of you on this board. Know that I pray for you and you are being remembered here at ND.</p>
<p>Also, I do know a bit about what you mean with the parents, I remember my parents worrying about me applying as a transfer just because they didn't want to go through it again. They actually made me pay for my application fee because of it, but as it turned out, it worked out well.</p>
<p>As I always say, it is alright to worry but in the long run, this decision means very little. There are about 150 students who transfer into ND every year and most of us got the little envelope the first time around.</p>
<p>You know......
I recently had a conversation with my parents about ND....</p>
<p>My mom makes me make a Christmas list every year because she simply has given up on guessing what we want</p>
<p>so subsequently all of my items one way or another had something to do with ND... lol.. I'm serious</p>
<p>sweatshirts, jerseys, shirts...... all ND</p>
<p>She told me that I had to get ND off my mind...........
She said that the worst thing is seeing my disappointed, and she realized that If Imp not going to be accepted, then that would be the ultimate disappointment......</p>
<p>So I totally understand with the past posts about the parenting thing.......</p>
<p>So yes my "dream" is out of her hands, and she is worried......</p>
<p>ND is huge for a lot of kids, and thousands of kids get disappointed each year.......</p>
<p>Even though I truly believe I can get into Notre dame, i try to tell myself that there is a great possibility that i wont be accepted.....</p>
<p>The stats that Irish say are the reality, so they don’t add to my "freaking out"
they kind of of just justify it....</p>
<p>I wouldnt say I'm freaking out, because Im only a junior.... Im more like anticipating what could be....... excited about the future (but not down living the future) .......</p>
<p>If Im rejected.... sure I'll be disappointed and a huge let down, hell an enormous let down............. but its a possibility and theres no reason for me freaking out......... </p>
<p>This reminded me of a quote from teh movie AMERICAN HISTORY X</p>
<p>a racist named Danny has a small revelation and says that " Life's to short to be ****ed of all of the time"</p>
<p>That’s applied to this situation in saying that life is to short to be freaking about something like a college admissions decision.. and that you should be living life to the fullest… and just taking what life throws out you…. Whether that be a small or large envelope from the University of Notre Dame</p>
<p>^ wow I hope that made sense......</p>
<p>Chillin, it makes total sense... I hope that when the time comes, you get in. Surely, ND would do well to add a thinker to their mix. You are an impressive kid! (And I can say that because I'm old! :))</p>
<p>ahhaha... thanks</p>
<p>Irish, how do you get them emailed to you?</p>
<p>Told you via IM</p>
<p>thanks... got it</p>