<p>bump it up.</p>
<p>"100% Polish and Catholic"</p>
<p>haha, I like how you incorporated religion into it.</p>
<p>If you came to US at the age of 9, you should write about it in your essay.. don't write a pitiful essay seeking sympathy; show them how you've surpassed your hard obstacles in life to get to where you are right now/</p>
<p>it'll be an advantage to be admitted to Notre Dame if you're polish and Cathoilc.. however, that can only help you so much. You need to have at least borderline stats to back you up.</p>
<p>If ND is your first choice, write about WHY you want to go to the school. Have specific reasons.</p>
<p>good luck!</p>
<p>thanks! Anyone else can chance me up with schools or offer advice? I am interested about ND mostly, but definitely the others!</p>
<p>University of Notre Dame - doesn't hurt to try, but a reach
Amherst College - reach
Wesleyan University - reach
Tufts University - reach
Boston College - Slight reach</p>
<p>The SAT/ACT optional schools you might have a pretty good shot at as you come from unique circumstances. </p>
<p>And def. write about your immigration in your essay.</p>
<p>Hoping to get into one of those reaches. I hope Bowdoin will take me. ND would be so great, but things don't look good. Anyone else?</p>
<p>OK, here are my guesses, as promised. Keep in mind that I don't know much about some of these schools.</p>
<ol>
<li>University of Notre Dame: Reach, but you knew that. Your scores are low, but I think that ND is one of the schools most likely to look at you as a whole applicant rather than just stopping after seeing your test scores.</li>
<li>Amherst College: Reach.</li>
<li>Bowdoin College: Maybe a slight reach since its SAT optional.</li>
<li>Wesleyan University: Reach.</li>
<li>Tufts University: Reach.</li>
<li>Boston College: Slight reach.</li>
<li>Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: ACCEPTED!</li>
<li>Boston University: I wouldn't worry too much about this one.</li>
<li>College of Holy Cross: Match.</li>
<li>Providence College: ACCEPTED!</li>
<li>University of Connecticut: Safety.</li>
<li>Fairfield University: ACCEPTED!</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li>University of Notre Dame: Rejected/Waitlisted</li>
<li>Amherst College: Rejected</li>
<li>Bowdoin College: Rejected/ Waitlisted (the fact they dont count scores goes in your favor....but still very hard to get in)</li>
<li>Wesleyan University: Rejected</li>
<li>Tufts University: Rejected/ Waitlisted</li>
<li>Boston College: Rejected </li>
<li>Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: Accepted</li>
<li>Boston University: Accepted</li>
<li>College of Holy Cross: Accepted</li>
<li>Providence College: Accepted</li>
<li>University of Connecticut: Accepted</li>
<li>Fairfield University: Accepted</li>
</ol>
<p>I'm noticing too many safeties and not enough "targets/matches"</p>
<p>One of my aunts and uncles teach or head departments at Notre Dame (can't obviously reveal exact positions). It's a tough school, but my aunt is involved with admissions for a particular program and knows the general admissions people and process pretty well. She says they consider the individual as a whole more than most other universities. If you've made contributions to the Catholic community or done a lot of community involvement or have SOMETHING extraordinary to offer besides your test scores, you have a chance.</p>
<p>It does you no good to state your ethnicity; Roman Catholics make up 98%+ of the student body.</p>
<p>obviously it might be too late to apply to others, but what do you view as targets or matches?</p>
<p>I don't know why Tufts or BU are impossible with your profile. To me the only one there that's waaay too reachy is Amherst, since last time I looked they were the most selective LAC in the country, taking 1 out of 17 applicants, only have l800 kids while the other schools on your list seem larger.
You've gotten into 3 already EA so that indicates some goodness in your ap. It'll be a long winter waiting, but you did your best and included some dreams, too. What else more can you do? Now try to feel proud, realize that the very highest stat kids get rejected and accepted to some of their dreams, too.
Some of these admissions are so chancey, hence these forums. Nobody can tell you what you want to hear on this forum because nobody knows. I can only offer you good hope. You have a lot of shiny EC's that show care and concern. Tufts is a very social-justice oriented place, so they might notice that from your EC's</p>
<p>obviously its too late now...but what i would say is a target or match is a school that has about a 30% to 40% admittance rate. your list includes 6 schools that have about 10% to 20% admittance rate, and 6 schools with about 50% to 60% admittance rate. for example, i would even say cornell would be a "match", even though its bordering stretchy</p>
<p>Call me crazy, but I just think the fact that he came from Poland as a kid and has a strong Catholic faith makes him a unique and interesting prospect for Notre Dame.</p>
<p>Will he get in because he's from Poland? No
Will he get in because he's a strong Catholic? No
Do the combination of the two help? Definitely.</p>
<p>heh thanks for the help guys, I appreciate it. I know I probably won't get into Amherst but my parents and my friend wanted me to apply. My friend got in there with terrible scores, but he was a track star. So, that is why. I will give it my best. Thanks for the opinions. I like hearing what people think.</p>
<p>You were right to give it a try at Amherst. My eldest graduated from there in 2005 and often mentioned, appreciatively, that not everyone there had scores in the stratosphere, but offered a talent needed to round out their college community. They do need to know (from evidence in the pieces and parts of application) that you can perform the work at the level they teach it. Nobody wants you to come somewhere and then not be able to do the work; and you above all want to be successful on whichever campus you finally decide to attend (from among those that accept you). My son's understanding about Amherst (and I don't know where he got it) was this: some students are the "double 800's with everything going for them" and they have a great chance for admittance, but no guarantee. They don't want a college full of them. There's another group with some strong scores and reasons to add to the community. Finally there's a group with something that makes you think (upon meeting them) "why did he ever get in?" but when you get to know the person better you discover some astonishing talent or point of view that adds to the life of the community at Amherst. With the last group, they might EVEN have a course they once got a "D" on in h.s. or an SAT score that doesn't sound like Amherst...but no single thing should cause you to say they shouldn't have applied. Some applications are "curiosity applications" and no matter what your outcome from the Amherst ap, I have a feeling you'll always be glad you applied and not wonder, "what if I HAD applied." Good luck on all of your aps, including Amherst.</p>
<p>thanks. Yeah you will always wonder if you did not apply.</p>
<p>Well.......none can really tell ur chances except adcoms.....
I can comment though.....
well..........
as OP's stats r ok........
his activities seems good too
but ACT is really a weak point
so......
wat he need to do is
he should tell his teacher to write bout his extenuating conditions.......
all bout the sibling care...BLABLA
coz it is always better if a teacher points this out
n as for his EC
he should choose d best thing that intrests him..n
should also show his well-roundedness, i.e.,he should b able to present himself as a passionate person towards his major..n his grip in all other VARIOUS activities
And remember one thing, it is always worth applying....</p>
<p>thanks for the opinion!</p>
<p>Well, the admissions department told me that they look for variety. With your polish background, I see it as a plus. They don't just want the kids with the 34+ ACT scores and 4.0 GPA. So, like others have said, don't give up hope on ND.<br>
Also, a little known fact: When you send an ACT score to a college, not just the specified score is sent.. all of your ACT scores are sent. Kind of messed up, right? ND will see my first ACT (24 as a sophomore) and then my very next (31 as a junior). I don't like the fact that they'll see the 24.</p>
<p>thanks! I appreciate the opinions. Anyone else wanna chime in as well? Interesting opinions so far.</p>