In my own experience, I would wait until RD. ND is notorious for being overly selective during REA and does not defer many people. I applied RD last year with only a 31 ACT and a 21/361 rank and got in. However, all 3 essays I wrote plus the common app were killer. I don’t go to ND now, but there is some chance. Just make sure you give them what they want.
So what, in your opinion, makes someone eligible for REA?
@originalposter1, here is what ND says about candidates for REA: “Because the Admissions Committee is unable to extend all of its offers of admission in the Restrictive Early Action process, it is highly conservative when making Early Action admission decisions. The Admissions Committee advises students to apply in the Restrictive Early Action process only if they are in the very top ranges of our applicant pool.”
Here is a link to the stats for the applicant pool from last year: http://admissions.nd.edu/apply/admission-statistics/
With your legacy status, high GPA, and 33 ACT I’d say you have a very good chance of getting accepted. If ND is your number one, REA seems like the way to go for you. Your stats are certainly up to par. Even if you don’t get accepted initially, you will probably get accepted RD. I wouldn’t be too worried about getting denied REA. Good luck!
Thank you so much!