<p>A close friend of mine is dying for Notre Dame. He refuses to use College Confidential, but I use it, and we're both curious to see what competing students think his chances are. Here are his stats:</p>
<p>1) He wants to major in architecture
2) He's half first-generation Lebanese
3) We live in a tiny town on the Oregon Coast (about 8000 people)
4) His uncle is the assistant swim-coach or something</p>
<p>GPA - 3.5-3.7 (unweighted)
SAT - 1800's
No Sat II's</p>
<p>Senior Schedule:
1) College Pre-Calculus (our school is underfunded and doesn't offer Calculus)
2) Art/Ceramics
3) AP Gov (the first AP class offered in our school in three years)
4) College History of Western Civilizations
5) College Writing and Composition
6) Leadership/Student Council
7) Architectural Drafting (4th year)
8) Physics</p>
<p>These are his strongest extracurriculars:
4 year Varsity X-Country and Track
-State champion every time
-Qualifier for multiple northwest running competitions
Student Body President
Key Club President
Summer job with construction company, roofing company
Spent a summer volunteering at an orphanage in Mexico
Member of church band
Active member of Nazarene Church</p>
<ul>
<li><p>So he's got an average GPA...</p></li>
<li><p>How about the SAT I breakdown by subsections. You say 1800's for his score, so is that what he got on the new SAT I. If so he should remember that ND is only looking at math and verbal sections for the next couple of years, I quote an article explaining this in another thread...</p></li>
<li><p>NO SAT II's...no real loss, they might have shown he knew the material in the classes he took if he had good scores in them, but since ND doesn't use or consider SAT II's except for foreign langauge, I doubt this will matter.</p></li>
<li><p>Will his academic courseload at HS hurt him, I don't feel I can offer an opinion there without knowing a bit more? How are grades this year v past years? Hypothetically was freshman years GPA lower than senior? Do his grades suggest he is blowing off senior year? I have no way of knowing from what you include. That having been said, I know people up here with records like his, but I know plenty who came in loaded with AP credit. Really it boils down to the fact that his application is considered in terms of him as a whole person.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Two questions:
- Is he being recruited or talking at all with the coaches here at ND with his athletic record from high school that you have mentioned?</p>
<ul>
<li>Is he sure he wants to do architecture. It is a 5 year program here, involves one full year spent in Rome and while many seem to like it, I have heard some things negative about the program. Such as how there is such a focus on traditional styles of rendering and design and little/no focus on auto-cad which is the industry standard for design. This is partially due to the classical emphasis of this institutions architecture program. If he is serious about architecture, make sure he is getting facts about not only ND's program but others and comparing them. He ought to be able to look up faculty online and if he is motivated, email them, ask them questions about the program....</li>
</ul>
<p>My thoughts: yet another applicant who seems qualified, whether exceptionally or marginally I'm not going to say until I hear answers to some of the points I raised.</p>
<p>I am curious about the SAT breakdown and if he is being recruited as well. Assuming he has a 1200ish SAT and is not being recruited, I think he has a pretty poor chance, sorry to say. I will be interested to see the answers as well so maybe I can change my opinion. I hope so, wish him good luck.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I have no idea what is SAT Breakdown was. Our school only offers two years of Spanish, no AP, so I don't think it would be a wise decision for him to pursue the Spanish SAT II. I don't know the name of his uncle, or the exact title of his occupation at ND, but I know for sure he is employed there. So far as I know, his GPA has hardly wavered through out high school. I have a feeling his interest in ND sparked from his uncle when they went back to the midwest (where his family is originally from) last winter. My buddy never really mentioned Notre Dame until after that visit. I know he has received letters unsolicited letters from Notre Dame through his track/x-country coach, so I would say there's a pretty high possibility he's being recruited.</p>
<p>I think he has a great shot. I've heard that Oregon and Washington have the best xc teams in the country, so if he were the state champion every year, he must be top in the nation. Also, 1800's is decent for recruited athletes.</p>