Notre Dame

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's a very, very tough admit right now.

A couple of Bs will probably sink you. That 1430 would definitely sink you.

They basically want perfect + a little bit of URM + a lot of luck. Even a lot of legacy kids aren't getting in.

At the Catholic prep school in my town, they say it's the toughest admit, because they have the top 10% of practically every Catholic school in the country applying. Plus plenty of top, top kids from public schools. Plus a huge chunk of kids who have loved Notre Dame their whole lives.

I think it really depends where you are applying from. I believe this comment regarding Catholic schools (that you need tippy top numbers to compete against other applicants from your Catholic school) and I believe the prior poster about the challenge of applying from this area (where a lot of students have strong numbers and many are pursuing admissions to schools at ND's level or above).

However, I have two nieces who have been admitted in the last two years from good but not great public high schools with numbers below what people have mentioned in this thread. One was at a midwest HS (not Indiana, but nearby, and likely most top students from that high school apply to ND), the other from a western state that is not California (which probably had a much smaller number of ND applicants due to distance and lower focus on attending "elite" schools generally). Both had straight As, but just an average number of APs and one did not take AP Calc or Physics at all. Both had strong activities, including leadership roles, but neither was an athlete. Both had SATs below 1500 (but not much below). One was valedictorian of her class and the other (who went to a more competitive high school overall) was not.

Both also applied to a couple Ivies and some highly selective SLACs and ND was the only school either got into from that set. They both were also admitted to state flagships.

Both are involved with their (Catholic) churches and had LORs from members of the church community about service and leadership, which I think was probably a real factor in getting in. Not to the exclusion of grades and other fundamentals, but I would absolutely look to incorporate an element like this if you can as I think it demonstrates that a student is an "ND type" in a way that other factors don't.

[Anonymous]

ND grad. Back in the dark ages, demonstrated interest, Catholic school, community service and athletics were the commonalities among my classmates. Something like 90% of my graduating class had been varsity athletes in high school and the number completing significant service hours was about the same. More than half the class came from Catholic schools. No idea if it is still true, but in those days they admitted fewer overall women due to SMC across the street.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My take on their admissions is that, in addition to high GPA/SAT, is that you have to show a significant number of meaningful service hours on your application.

Any one got in without tons of service hours?

DC loves the cult-like vibe when visited. Same impression that they want to see tons of service hours. DC has done some soup kitchen type hours, very limited. Not even sure would that count, but even if it counts, it's not a lot of hours. DC is non-religious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^none have been URM tho not sure URM apply to ND from these schools.

They have significantly increased minority #s in the past 5 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They want people who want to go there — as their first choice. It really is not an Ivy backup of any sort.

Not true — ALL the kids I know going to ND, including my DC, applied to Ivies. Some chose ND over an Ivy but others didn’t have the choice

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They want people who want to go there — as their first choice. It really is not an Ivy backup of any sort.

+1. This is what makes ND unique and contributes to the strong sense of school pride on campus. Like another poster said (whose comment seems to be deleted now), they want to see applicants’ love for the school through the essays.

Leadership also seems to be another favorite trait of theirs; they seem to value traditional leadership roles (student body president, team captain), but personal leadership and initiative transcends this. When we were touring with my DC this past fall, we couldn’t help but notice the way students actively went out of themselves to help us and make us feel welcome. This very much seems to be a personality trait that they look for.

We noticed this too when we were touring colleges. It was actually quite striking how nice Notre Dame students were. I mean genuinely nice and friendly. I don't know how that shows up on a high school kid's application, but whatever Notre Dame is doing they've figured out how to build a community of well-mannered, high-empathy students that also have the drive for high-level academic achievement. My DC ended up getting into his ED school so never applied. But I would have been thrilled if he'd gone to Notre Dame. That's a good group of students they have out there.

The one kid I know is surface nice and yes polished but is kind of a "mean kid" to others and has no great academic or athletic skills. Legacy. I assume a lot of Midwestern kids present as friendly too. All I'm saying is that presenting well doesn't mean a lot as you get to know people.

[Anonymous]

ND, along with Duke and Vanderbilt, is one of the few T20 schools that gives merit aid to top applicants. ND Stamps scholarships are full ride.

It does so to lure away students from Stanford and Ivies. However, I agree that— as at every school — ND loves the students who love them back.

[Anonymous]

Notre Dame really, really wants sky high GPAs and rigor plus the test scores need to match. 1480/34 ++ at a minimum. Most kids that are getting in from my kid’s local Catholic school are in the 1500/35 range. I assume the rare outliers at 1470-1480 are legacy or student body president, etc. The expectations have gone up a lot in the last 2-3 years and our CCO has confirmed this. Also, agree that there is a type. Whip smart, very friendly/nice, very involved in the community, and visible leadership positions in sports or clubs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Notre Dame really, really wants sky high GPAs and rigor plus the test scores need to match. 1480/34 ++ at a minimum. Most kids that are getting in from my kid’s local Catholic school are in the 1500/35 range. I assume the rare outliers at 1470-1480 are legacy or student body president, etc. The expectations have gone up a lot in the last 2-3 years and our CCO has confirmed this. Also, agree that there is a type. Whip smart, very friendly/nice, very involved in the community, and visible leadership positions in sports or clubs.

Nah. My kid was admitted this past cycle with that score and no legacy or student body president. Quit making broad assertions. Notre Dame really takes a broad holistic view of each candidate. I agree they do value community involvement and leadership. Didn't end up selecting to go there but great school!

[Anonymous]

ND loves leadership

[Anonymous]

I shouldn’t post this, but I will. Mine almost attended so bitterness. A friend is a CC at a catholic school and I asked if any of her friends got in from their K-8. She pulled it up on her laptop and I saw a document with gpa, test score, number of AP’s and highest math level. It was around 15 or so kids so didn’t take long. None of the REA got in, all deferred or rejected. One deferral got in and one in regular. The one with highest stats by far was rejected. The one that got in had shockingly low stats. My takeaway,

[Anonymous]

Bumped submit, they had something else (no it wasn’t the usual legacy, athlete,etc). I think they really value service most, leadership and any showing of positive personality characteristics in essays. I think they choose fit over stats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I shouldn’t post this, but I will. Mine almost attended so bitterness. A friend is a CC at a catholic school and I asked if any of her friends got in from their K-8. She pulled it up on her laptop and I saw a document with gpa, test score, number of AP’s and highest math level. It was around 15 or so kids so didn’t take long. None of the REA got in, all deferred or rejected. One deferral got in and one in regular. The one with highest stats by far was rejected. The one that got in had shockingly low stats. My takeaway,

Your friend deserves to be fired. She showed you a document with other kids GPA's, test scores, etc . . . ?

You are also a terrible person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I shouldn’t post this, but I will. Mine almost attended so bitterness. A friend is a CC at a catholic school and I asked if any of her friends got in from their K-8. She pulled it up on her laptop and I saw a document with gpa, test score, number of AP’s and highest math level. It was around 15 or so kids so didn’t take long. None of the REA got in, all deferred or rejected. One deferral got in and one in regular. The one with highest stats by far was rejected. The one that got in had shockingly low stats. My takeaway,

Your friend deserves to be fired. She showed you a document with other kids GPA's, test scores, etc . . . ?

You are also a terrible person.

She did not show me, I did not see names, I just saw as seated near screen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^none have been URM tho not sure URM apply to ND from these schools.

They have significantly increased minority #s in the past 5 years.

But so have Catholics in general, so that is probably far less about dei stuff and mostly about the demographic growth for Catholics as a faith tradition.