@mombham, thanks SO much, that is very helpful. Our daughter has already committed (I paid the deposit so I told her I am committed!). That is good to know about sports though trying to think of other activities that might get her involved in case sports does not stick for whatever reason. It really sounds like more you put into it, more you get out of it (like anything).It seems like Gateway kids may be very similar to traditional students on paper (grades, activities, rigor etc) but perhaps come out 4 years later with a stronger more resilient can-do attitude, which is all a parent can ask for from a college.
@TrifectaRents “…admission counselors nominate 700 candidates for Gateway. Of those ~120 are accepted and ~75 attend.” Very interesting information. It translates into a Gateway yield rate of 62.5%, which is even higher than ND’s last year’s overall REA/RD yield rate of 57.4%, and clearly talks to the attractiveness of the Gateway program. It also highlights the high admission competitiveness for the program, with an admission rate of just 17.1% of those originally nominated for the program by ND AOSs. Thank you for sharing these insightful pieces of information.
@hpcsa, yes I was surprised at #s. Not so much at yield (I thought it would be closer to 75% myself) but how difficult it is to get an offer. Of 18.5K not granted admission, less than 5% are nominated, and of those 17% actually offered a spot. The fact that gateways graduate with same GPA as rest of class highlights academic aptitude, and in my humble opinion, probably a more resilient, humble nature than the average grad, qualities that hopefully serve them later on. We are looking forward to SOAR and move in day!
@Fin2019 curious as to what your thoughts are on the program after your visit?
We had a great visit. The GW program was everything they said it would be. Outside the tour, our child spoke with some other current and former GW students and they all had great things to say. Also spoke with some non-GW ND students and they all had GW friends. Our child will send in the commitment papers once we get back from Spring Break and is very appreciative and excited for the opportunity. We also talked with some waitlisted students who were on a tour and they would’ve done anything to be added to the GW program.
I am under the general impression that the yield rate of the Notre Dame Gateway Program is continuously improving, over and above the 63% from previous years, due to the excellent track records of Gateway Alumni and the good impression accepted students and their parents have during Gateway Visit Days.
Already last year, the above Gateway yield rate was noticeably above the 53% yield rate for non-legacy admits at Notre Dame and will probably be approaching the high sixties/low seventies in the very foreseeable future, not overly far from the 78% yield rate for admitted legacy Notre Dame students. This in turn will make admission to the Gateway program, which already had been highly competitive with an admission rate of just 17% of those originally nominated for the program by ND AO’s, even more competitive in future admission cycles. This also, without doubt, will have implications for the Gateway program itself and Notre Dame sophomore transfers in general.
They said they cut the invitations to 100 this year because the acceptance rate has gone up very quickly. HC is hoping to bump the ND # to 100 GW students.
@Fin2019 Very interesting - this suggests that Notre Dame expects a Gateway 7.0 yield of 75%, which would be quite extraordinary indeed in comparison - numbers below are for Fall 2017:
Students accepted Students who enrolled Yield
Harvard University 2,037 1,687 82.8%
Stanford University 2,085 1,703 81.7%
Brigham Young University 6,738 5,440 80.7%
MIT 1,452 1,097 75.6%
University of Chicago 2,419 1,736 71.8%
Yale University 2,277 1,579 69.3%
Princeton University 1,990 1,306 65.6%
University of Pennsylvania 3,757 2,456 65.4%
Columbia University 2,263 1,398 61.8%
Kennesaw State University 8,487 5,237 61.7%
University of Alaska 1,251 750 60.0%
Brown University 2,799 1,639 58.6%
Dartmouth College 2,093 1,217 58.1%
University of New Mexico 5,604 3,219 57.4%
Cornell University 5,962 3,349 56.2%
University of Louisiana 5,309 2,982 56.2%
Georgia Southern University 6,284 3,508 55.8%
University of Notre Dame 3,702 2,051 55.4%
Honestly, it is a very smart way for ND to have at least part of the sophomore transfer class already well integrated on campus and the students are well known quantity at that time. I think over all transfers are about ~200, so about 40% of “transfers” are for all intents and purposes, ND students. More schools should consider that approach. @hpcsa, those are interesting stats on legacy and non legacy yields. I had not seen those before. I know ND over all is low 60s in yield so little surprised that non legacy is “only” in low 50s. Keep in mind that there are legacies in Gateway so not quite apples to apples comparing to non legacy rates.
Frankly we can crunch the #s all we want, it is now up to our students to make the most of this opportunity, all we can do is encourage and support them (and pay the bills!).
Does anyone know how many students joined the Gateway Program for next Fall?
@Fin2019 For Gateway 7.0, the academic year 2019-2020, ND/HCC seek to build a class of around 75 students. If they were able to fill 75 class seats or slightly above with the 100 students admitted to Gateway during REA and RD, this would translate in an extraordinarily high yield of 75%, comparable to First-Year legacy students at Notre Dame. If they were a few seats short by next week, Notre Dame would simply offer those to students from the Gateway waiting list. At this time, the actual Gateway 7.0 yield is not yet available.
HCC would gladly expand Gateway class size to 100 students as from next year, yet basically this will be ND’s decision as it would have a noticeable negative impact on the remaining external Sophomore transfer seats. It still might be the right decision, presuming the on-campus housing situation for all transfer students can be sorted out. The Gateway program started with 50 students/class in 2013.
I was thinking it might be higher. During our visit they said there were indications that more than 75 students (out of the 100) were leaning toward taking a spot in GW. If so, ND said they would accept them They weren’t worried about going to the waitlist so I was just curious. Thanks
Yes, HCC said they are hoping to push the numbers to 100 in the future.
@Fin2019 I agree. While a Gateway yield of 75%, albeit on small sample size, is extraordinarily high, comparable to MIT and the likes, it is in fact not overly surprising given the relatively high percentage of legacy students in the Gateway group. Many of them have been mentally prepared by their parents to see themselves at Notre Dame and therefore will accept ND Gateway over Bosten College, Villanova, their state-flagship etc. In fact, in this group, I would bet the Gateway yield will be quite noticeably above 75% this year. It will be interesting to see the final Gateway 7.0 class size confirmed.
Hi folks, been mighty quiet in here. 
By now, most people have probably decided one way or another? Anyone planning on early June SOAR vs late June? I forget the exact dates.
@TrifectaRents we are gong the ltr date in June. Our DD said there’s 73 kids in the chat so is it safe to say the class stands at 73? @hpcsa
@HM0527 This sounds about right. Assuming that some future Gateway students might not actively participate in the chat, ND/HCC most likely have achieved their objective of enrolling a Gateway class of 75, possibly a few students more. It will result in a yield of >75% (based on 100 admits), an excellent result. Congratulations to All!
Reposting this on this feed as well as Gateway 2022 feed since this one is more current.
Just wanted to say our son was officially accepted yesterday as a transfer to ND! His year at HCC-Gateway program was well worth the few minor bumps along the way. I know he fell asleep with a giant smile on his face last night knowing his hard work paid off 
A big thank you to Emily the Gateway Coordinator and the professors at HCC for their input, guidance and encouragement throughout the year. Emily is a huge blessing to the kids and the program!
Does anyone know if ND mails a hard copy of the official transfer letter of acceptance?
@OurLadyRocks Congratulations to your son and the whole family! Concerning the official transfer letter I would reach out to Erin, who inter alia is responsible for all Transfer and Gateway students.
Thank you @hpcsa!
@OurLadyRocks congrats to your son! Well earned and deserved I am sure. Would you mind sharing some of the minor bumps along the way? It would be helpful to this group and future Gateways and perhaps they can avoid some of those potholes, or at least be aware of them. Thanks. I am sure football weekends will be a little sweeter this year.