Anonymous wrote:A while back I did a quick analysis of the Bethesda area public schools (MCPS) looking at the Bethesda Magazine report on matriculations and acceptances.

What I found was that the 8 schools as a total had a very low acceptance rate to ND (about 6%) relative to the overall acceptance rate of 13%. Even Walt Whitman (highest ranked school in MCPS) had a 0% admit rate. I know for a fact the acceptance rate is much higher at Catholic schools, especially schools like VISI, SR, Gonzaga, and Prep. This year alone, 7 going to ND from VISI which has a class size of about 125. Last year it was 8.

Bottom line, a student from a Catholic HS has a much better chance of being admitted.

If true, it makes sense.

A while back I did a quick analysis of the Bethesda area public schools (MCPS) looking at the Bethesda Magazine report on matriculations and acceptances.

What I found was that the 8 schools as a total had a very low acceptance rate to ND (about 6%) relative to the overall acceptance rate of 13%. Even Walt Whitman (highest ranked school in MCPS) had a 0% admit rate. I know for a fact the acceptance rate is much higher at Catholic schools, especially schools like VISI, SR, Gonzaga, and Prep. This year alone, 7 going to ND from VISI which has a class size of about 125. Last year it was 8.

Bottom line, a student from a Catholic HS has a much better chance of being admitted.

Anonymous wrote:My kid got in with a 1480.

For last data available, midpoint of SAT for admitted students was 1485.

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

ND has 11% Hispanic population

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

Anonymous wrote:Any insights on what ND is looking for these days? It’s all a mystery to me - who gets in and who doesn’t. It seems they like leaders and athletes, does that mean they only accept leaders and athletes? Will they accept a student who has had a few B’s but in the most advanced coursework? Do regular smart non-legacy kids ever get in?

In our area of the midatlantic they accept 1-2 kids a year from most of the top privates and the top publics, never any from the lower privates or publics. Kids are usually top5% from the public and top10-15% from the privates for unhooked non recruited. This is the same band as other T20s accept, and a slight lower band of students than what it takes to get into T10s from the same high schools. They seem to care about course rigor somewhat but not as extensively as Duke or ivies care, and most accepted are not athletes other than general required sports participation, but do have leadership.

Anonymous wrote:Ivy like LOL not even in the same galaxy.

MAGA types sure tons.

Lower Ivies like Cornell, Dartmouth, Brown are not automatic pick over ND

Ivy like LOL not even in the same galaxy.

MAGA types sure tons.

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.

Agree. Cult like.

+1

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.

Anonymous wrote:I know of two sisters attending- both very bright young women (high scores and perfect gradesk). Both were active in high school (another state) but no real hooks as DCUM describes them. In both cases ND was not their top choice - they were rejected at places like Northwestern, Rice, MIT and others but both really enjoying ND. Family is very Catholic and attends multiple FB games each year. Also, both are/were Engineering majors.

Did these two sisters attend Catholic hs?

Anonymous wrote:My son has all As, high rigor, 1430 SAT, captain of swim team. Didn't get in 🤷‍♀️

Were you advised to not do TO? Just curious why you submitted SAT.

Anonymous wrote:Any insights on what ND is looking for these days? It’s all a mystery to me - who gets in and who doesn’t. It seems they like leaders and athletes, does that mean they only accept leaders and athletes? Will they accept a student who has had a few B’s but in the most advanced coursework? Do regular smart non-legacy kids ever get in?

At my DC's school, ND seems to reward (maximal) rigor of class schedule. The kids that have gotten in over the past few years are generally smart, confident, and friendly kids that know how to carry themselves in front of others.

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.

My kid got in with a 1480.