Question about ND admissions...

[clover3ND]

Off topic: Question for the ND grads... how competitive is the admission process at ND? My niece applied for fall admissions a couple weeks ago, and I was trying to see where she stands. 35 ACT/ 1540 SAT, and 3rd in her class of around 700 students. Granted, I know the admissions process is more than academics— just using it as a rough guide.

I appreciate the honest feedback.

 

[Classic Irish]

Off topic: Question for the ND grads... how competitive is the admission process at ND? My niece applied for fall admissions a couple weeks ago, and I was trying to see where she stands. 35 ACT/ 1540 SAT, and 3rd in her class of around 700 students. Granted, I know the admissions process is more than academics— just using it as a rough guide.

I appreciate the honest feedback.

It’s highly competitive. I can’t tell you exactly what are the exact test scores you need since things have changed since I applied (1988). But being ranked third in her class is certainly very impressive. Good luck to her.

 

[wawasee]

Off topic: Question for the ND grads... how competitive is the admission process at ND? My niece applied for fall admissions a couple weeks ago, and I was trying to see where she stands. 35 ACT/ 1540 SAT, and 3rd in her class of around 700 students. Granted, I know the admissions process is more than academics— just using it as a rough guide.

I appreciate the honest feedback.

Being a female helps. My daughter was recruited by Notre Dame for academics. Your daughters ACT score is very good I think she should get admittance. Curious why you waited so long to apply??

 

[TXNDFan88]

Every year is different depending on the competitiveness of the students who apply the same year. 35 ACT and 3rd in her class is very strong. How are her service hours, sports, or clubs, extra curricular activities?

 

[Drinking The Green Koolaid]

Last year ND had 22,200 applicants for the class of 2023 and accepted 3,410. That is roughly a 15% admittance rate. I haven't researched the numbers on ACT/SAT scores, but I should think your niece's test scores are in the competitive range. 47% of the students accepted in the class of 2023 attended public school, 34% Catholic school, and 19% attended private/charter school.

Because so many kids applying to ND are high academic achievers in high school, Notre Dame has applied what's been described as a "holistic" approach to admissions: "Notre Dame has a holistic admissions process involving other factors beyond your grades and test scores. A strong application essay and glowing letters of recommendation can strengthen your application, as can participation in meaningful extracurricular activities and a rigorous course schedule which includes AP, IB, and Honors coursework." https://www.thoughtco.com/notre-dame-gpa-sat-act-data-786727

I've personally been told by Don Bishop, the AVP in charge of undergraduate admissions, that extracurricular activities are an important factor that admissions will consider. So tell your niece it's important not just to bury her nose in her books in her last year of high school.

I was graduated from ND 40+ years ago. I can tell you that the admissions process is way more competitive now.

I wish your niece success on her quest. Notre Dame is a special place. I look back now and realize my spiritual growth as a student there was just as important, and maybe more so, than any academic achievements I attained.

 

[twalsh]

Off topic: Question for the ND grads... how competitive is the admission process at ND? My niece applied for fall admissions a couple weeks ago, and I was trying to see where she stands. 35 ACT/ 1540 SAT, and 3rd in her class of around 700 students. Granted, I know the admissions process is more than academics— just using it as a rough guide.

I appreciate the honest feedback.

Those numbers (assuming 1540 is on a 1600 scale, not 2400) will get her in, as long as she has the extra curricular activities that ND is looking for. Involved in the community, involved in athletics, band, student government, clubs, etc. And having a leadership position in whatever you do is highly valued. Being a captain of a sports team, a high officer in student government, president of a club, things like that. ND loves kids who have been recognized as leaders by their peers.

Admissions at ND is a little nuanced. If you have a 1400 SAT, and a top 10% class rank, and you are the student body VP and captain of the lacrosse team, and active in some non-school related activity, you have a better chance than a kid with 1600 SATs and a Top 1% class rank who went home every day after school ended and played video games.

 

[Kontiki09]

Every year is different depending on the competitiveness of the students who apply the same year. 35 ACT and 3rd in her class is very strong. How are her service hours, sports, or clubs, extra curricular activities?

The extracurriculars are very important.

 

[Catholicfan95]

Off topic: Question for the ND grads... how competitive is the admission process at ND? My niece applied for fall admissions a couple weeks ago, and I was trying to see where she stands. 35 ACT/ 1540 SAT, and 3rd in her class of around 700 students. Granted, I know the admissions process is more than academics— just using it as a rough guide.

I appreciate the honest feedback.

Not an Nd grad, but hope she gets in. I'm sure it's a proud moment to even be considered to be admitted.

 

[shabak]

Last year ND had 22,200 applicants for the class of 2023 and accepted 3,410. That is roughly a 15% admittance rate. I haven't researched the numbers on ACT/SAT scores, but I should think your niece's test scores are in the competitive range. 47% of the students accepted in the class of 2023 attended public school, 34% Catholic school, and 19% attended private/charter school.

Because so many kids applying to ND are high academic achievers in high school, Notre Dame has applied what's been described as a "holistic" approach to admissions: "Notre Dame has a holistic admissions process involving other factors beyond your grades and test scores. A strong application essay and glowing letters of recommendation can strengthen your application, as can participation in meaningful extracurricular activities and a rigorous course schedule which includes AP, IB, and Honors coursework." https://www.thoughtco.com/notre-dame-gpa-sat-act-data-786727

I've personally been told by Don Bishop, the AVP in charge of undergraduate admissions, that extracurricular activities are an important factor that admissions will consider. So tell your niece it's important not just to bury her nose in her books in her last year of high school.

I was graduated from ND 40+ years ago. I can tell you that the admissions process is way more competitive now.

I wish your niece success on her quest. Notre Dame is a special place. I look back now and realize my spiritual growth as a student there was just as important, and maybe more so, than any academic achievements I attained.

Nice write-up, I definitely agree that extracurricular factors are important now and we need more postings from you

 

[Drinking The Green Koolaid]

Those numbers (assuming 1540 is on a 1600 scale, not 2400) will get her in, as long as she has the extra curricular activities that ND is looking for. Involved in the community, involved in athletics, band, student government, clubs, etc. And having a leadership position in whatever you do is highly valued. Being a captain of a sports team, a high officer in student government, president of a club, things like that. ND loves kids who have been recognized as leaders by their peers.

Admissions at ND is a little nuanced. If you have a 1400 SAT, and a top 10% class rank, and you are the student body VP and captain of the lacrosse team, and active in some non-school related activity, you have a better chance than a kid with 1600 SATs and a Top 1% class rank who went home every day after school ended and played video games.

I would echo exactly what @twalsh said. I was told the very same thing by the AVP of Undergraduate Admissions.

 

[Drinking The Green Koolaid]

Nice write-up, I definitely agree that extracurricular factors are important now and we need more postings from you

Thank you for your kind words, @shabak, but I spend most of the time trying to stay out of the crossfire on the "Brian Kelly: Should He Stay or Go?" threads. LOL!

 

[stu4don]

My son got in four years ago and his numbers were not that good. Your daughter's are amazing, you must be very proud. I think she has a very good chance and I would be surprised if she wasn't accepted. (Sometimes variables such as the school she attends or her leadership role in HS are also taken into account, but I think she has a great chance.) My son broke his alum dad's heart and went to USC's film school. It worked out really well for him.

Whatever happens, even if she doesn't get it, she will find the perfect place.

 

[Drinking The Green Koolaid]

My son got in four years ago and his numbers were not that good. Your daughter's are amazing, you must be very proud. I think she has a very good chance and I would be surprised if she wasn't accepted. (Sometimes variables such as the school she attends or her leadership role in HS are also taken into account, but I think she has a great chance.) My son broke his alum dad's heart and went to USC's film school. It worked out really well for him.

Whatever happens, even if she doesn't get it, she will find the perfect place.

@stu4don, you must have been crushed when your son decided he would become a Man of Troy. What was he possibly thinking?

In all seriousness, one of the most important things any parent can do is let his or her child find their own way. Making choices for them, or swooping in to rescue them when failure seems imminent, are often very tempting, but failure can be a great teacher, provided it isn't something that is truly destructive. Glad to hear your son's time at USC has worked out well for him.

I imagine the two of you must have some interesting times when we play our annual game with USC. At least you've had bragging rights for a few years now.

 

[stu4don]

@stu4don, you must have been crushed when your son decided he would become a Man of Troy. What was he possibly thinking?

In all seriousness, one of the most important things any parent can do is let his or her child find their own way. Making choices for them, or swooping in to rescue them when failure seems imminent, are often very tempting, but failure can be a great teacher, provided it isn't something that is truly destructive. Glad to hear your son's time at USC has worked out well for him.

I imagine the two of you must have some interesting times when we play our annual game with USC. At least you've had bragging rights for a few years now.

I work at 'SC so free tuition was hard to pass up! My older son was also a Trojan!!! He's in grad school now but his job while on campus was tutoring the athletes.

Guess who his favorite student was? Sam Darnold. My son said he was the greatest guy, smart, funny, no attitude, even asked to read my son's short stories. I'm a real fan now and hope Sam goes on killing it with the Jets.

My sons both grew up ND fans (have been to games in SB, and two bowl games) so they remain ND fans even if they are also big Trojan fans (they are dying right now with what is going on with the Trojans.)

 

[Drinking The Green Koolaid]

I work at 'SC so free tuition was hard to pass up! My older son was also a Trojan!!! He's in grad school now but his job while on campus was tutoring the athletes.

Guess who his favorite student was? Sam Darnold. My son said he was the greatest guy, smart, funny, no attitude, even asked to read my son's short stories. I'm a real fan now and hope Sam goes on killing it with the Jets.

My sons both grew up ND fans (have been to games in SB, and two bowl games) so they remain ND fans even if they are also big Trojan fans (they are dying right now with what is going on with the Trojans.)

Free tuition?! Man, you hit the lottery. With the cost of college these days, that would be hard to walk away from.

I heard the same nice things about Sam Darnold from another acquaintance, though he likely doesn't know him as well as your son. Sam's NFL career is off to a nice start. Unfortunately he plays for a really crappy team. But that's what happens when you get drafted #3.

I have a couple of friends who are USC grads. When we got together over the holidays I asked them about the coaching situation there. At the time both of them hoped that UM would land the job, but that ship has clearly sailed. People complain about BK on this board, but USC is looking like it is going to be a dumpster fire for a few years. I imagine your sons are hoping the program doesn't become the proverbial Moses, and wander in the desert for the next 40 years.

 

[stu4don]

Yeah, to see USC last in Pac 12 recruiting had them down. Still, gotta like their QB, Slovis, he was one of the best I watched this year. I actually thought Helton did a good job with all of those injuries but the bowl game beat down was depressing for my kids. Even before I started teaching at 'SC, I always respected the Trojans.

I remember after that Green Jersey win in '77, celebrating at Corby's afterward, the fight song playing over and over and over, we're all standing on the bar and I'm trying to talk to a USC Cheerleader -- ah, youth.

 

[NotreDame du Lac]

Undergrad is probably harder than grad school, but they’re all competitive. Law school is pretty tough admissions. T25 and you need a 166+ LSAT.

 

[twalsh]

Yeah, to see USC last in Pac 12 recruiting had them down. Still, gotta like their QB, Slovis, he was one of the best I watched this year. I actually thought Helton did a good job with all of those injuries but the bowl game beat down was depressing for my kids. Even before I started teaching at 'SC, I always respected the Trojans.

I remember after that Green Jersey win in '77, celebrating at Corby's afterward, the fight song playing over and over and over, we're all standing on the bar and I'm trying to talk to a USC Cheerleader -- ah, youth.

What year are you Stu? I suspect, if it was a typical Saturday night, I was also at Corbs after the game.

 

[stu4don]

Graduated in '78.

 

[IrishHerb]

As Drinking ... Koolaid said, roughly 3400 (15%) were admitted last year. And another 10-20% probably had similar credentials. What ND, and other top tier schools, try to do is make sure all of their majors and extracurricular activities are populated sufficiently. What that means is that some real good candidates might miss out because too many with similar attributes (intended major, extracurricular interests, etc) seem better.

 

[Mihalko35]

I remember hearing in school that 50% of the student body lettered in varsity athletics (in HS)

 

[twalsh]

I remember hearing in school that 50% of the student body lettered in varsity athletics (in HS)

It was many years ago, maybe early 2000s, but somebody did a study to find the "most athletic" student bodies in the US. ND was third, and both of the first two were schools that had big PhysEd departments. One was Cortland State in New York, I can't remember who the other one was. Interhall sports is a big deal at ND. There are a ton of very good athletes on campus.

 

[Drinking The Green Koolaid]

I played interhall football, basketball, hockey and baseball when I attended ND, and there were any number of guys playing on dorm teams that were good enough to have made all-conference teams when they played in high school, and more than a handful had made all-state teams. Interhall sports were incredibly competitive, and a lot of fun. When I tell guys that we had interhall football at ND with helmets and pads, they seem astonished. I am not sure how commonplace that is at other universities. I wonder how ND's change in 1972 from an all-male school to a co-ed university has changed the interhall sports program (if at all).

 

[stu4don]

Played inter-hall and bookstore basketball and ND was full of great players. I remember when tried out for Digger on the big court. He said, "How many of you were all state." One guy raised his hand. "How many all country?" A bunch. "All league?" More that half. We played, he cut about 100 of us to 15, we played -- then he said if we had a JV we'd be it, but we didn't and he said he had no room that year. Was always proud to make it that far.

At one point, during the game the whistle blew and a kid tossed one in from halfcourt -- digger smiled and said, "You made the team!" Kidding.

Loved that about ND -- all on us, no matter what major -- loved to play sports. Still remember my walks from Grace to the Rock to play pickup. Those were some great games -- except when I had to guard AD! Walking back in fall... the band playing the fight song echoing... Great memories.

 

[Mihalko35]

Played inter-hall and bookstore basketball and ND was full of great players. I remember when tried out for Digger on the big court. He said, "How many of you were all state." One guy raised his hand. "How many all country?" A bunch. "All league?" More that half. We played, he cut about 100 of us to 15, we played -- then he said if we had a JV we'd be it, but we didn't and he said he had no room that year. Was always proud to make it that far.

At one point, during the game the whistle blew and a kid tossed one in from halfcourt -- digger smiled and said, "You made the team!" Kidding.

Loved that about ND -- all on us, no matter what major -- loved to play sports. Still remember my walks from Grace to the Rock to play pickup. Those were some great games -- except when I had to guard AD! Walking back in fall... the band playing the fight song echoing... Great memories.

I tried out for the tennis team in '91 and made the last four. That said, the crappiest scholarship guy on the team would have beaten me 6-0, 6-0.

Also heard that Monk was one of the dirtiest basketball players you'd ever meet--stray elbows, hip checks, etc.

 

[Drinking The Green Koolaid]

Played inter-hall and bookstore basketball and ND was full of great players. I remember when tried out for Digger on the big court. He said, "How many of you were all state." One guy raised his hand. "How many all country?" A bunch. "All league?" More that half. We played, he cut about 100 of us to 15, we played -- then he said if we had a JV we'd be it, but we didn't and he said he had no room that year. Was always proud to make it that far.

At one point, during the game the whistle blew and a kid tossed one in from halfcourt -- digger smiled and said, "You made the team!" Kidding.

Loved that about ND -- all on us, no matter what major -- loved to play sports. Still remember my walks from Grace to the Rock to play pickup. Those were some great games -- except when I had to guard AD! Walking back in fall... the band playing the fight song echoing... Great memories.

Yeah, the annual bookstore bball tournament was a blast. (The best part were the team names.) You didn't want to play a team with a football lineman on it. Those guys were just savage. I played pick-up bball games at the Rock with Joe Montana and Adrian Dantley. What other schools could that happen at? Joe was a great athlete and surprisingly had pretty decent hops. AD couldn't have been much more than an inch taller than me, and he just abused me in the one pickup game I played against him. Man he could play, and he was probably just playing half speed. I wonder if varsity sport programs at ND still let the players play in pickup games against other students?

 

[twalsh]

I showed up for first practice for a Grace Hall soccer with low expectations. Little fun, little exercise. Every one of our starters had played high school soccer. Team was very good. Won two championships in two years.

 

[stu4don]

Yeah, the annual bookstore bball tournament was a blast. (The best part were the team names.) You didn't want to play a team with a football lineman on it. Those guys were just savage. I played pick-up bball games at the Rock with Joe Montana and Adrian Dantley. What other schools could that happen at? Joe was a great athlete and surprisingly had pretty decent hops. AD couldn't have been much more than an inch taller than me, and he just abused me in the one pickup game I played against him. Man he could play, and he was probably just playing half speed. I wonder if varsity sport programs at ND still let the players play in pickup games against other students?

I played against both too! Joe could dunk the ball. Favorite bookstore team name from the day: "The Average White Team" --

 

[twalsh]

I played against both too! Joe could dunk the ball. Favorite bookstore team name from the day: "The Average White Team" --

Or “Toby Knight’s team”, which was 5 short white guys from St Ed’s. Imagine getting the bracket and seeing you’re playing Toby Knight’s team.

 

[Drinking The Green Koolaid]

I played against both too! Joe could dunk the ball. Favorite bookstore team name from the day: "The Average White Team" --

That was a pretty tame name! Many of the names (now long forgotten) you wouldn't have shown to your mother or girlfriend. They were very creative.

 

[twalsh]

That was a pretty tame name! Many of the names (now long forgotten) you wouldn't have shown to your mother or girlfriend. They were very creative.

The Tilcs, which was Montana and Dave Batton. Review team never figured it out.

 

[Shulkswagen]

Lots of good information and perspectives given in this thread and all of them wile directionally correct cannot really give you “the formula”. I suggest you read collegeconfidential.com Notre Dame applicants threads ... there will be hundreds of applicants who describe their credentials and then whether or not they were accepted. Your daughter is a star and what little info you shared is impressive and only a small part of her overall story. ND is looking for a “whole” person with certain thirst for learning, desire to be at ND and contributing to the world. The scores alone will not get you in ... there are many with same or better scores not admitted. That being said I wish the best for your daughter and I’m confident she will have excellent choices and be a great addition to any college freshman class.

 

[IrishHerb]

I played interhall football, basketball, hockey and baseball when I attended ND, and there were any number of guys playing on dorm teams that were good enough to have made all-conference teams when they played in high school, and more than a handful had made all-state teams. Interhall sports were incredibly competitive, and a lot of fun. When I tell guys that we had interhall football at ND with helmets and pads, they seem astonished. I am not sure how commonplace that is at other universities. I wonder how ND's change in 1972 from an all-male school to a co-ed university has changed the interhall sports program (if at all).

I think ND is the ONLY school that has full tackle internal/intramural football. Possibly the service academies do, but no other school that I know of.

I've had the opportunity to watch two women's internal football championship games in the stadium. The ladies play flag football not tackle, but they're just as serious as the men. Wear cleats, etc. And some of them are damn good. I remember one of the girls on my daughter's IH team ... she was a star WR on her high school varsity team (yes, boy's team).