My daughter, who is a sophomore in HS, really wants to attend ND. She is a very strong student currently with a 4.26 GPA and based on her initial practice SAT, I suspect she will have a strong score. She hasn’t taken any APs yet because her HS doesn’t offer until next year, but she plans to take 4 next year and 3 or 4 in senior year.
Assuming she does well for the rest of this year and all of next, how much do you think having a grandfather and a brother (class of '23) as alums will impact her chances? I realize legacy status is technically reserved for children of alumni, but my gut tells me that if this info were visible on the application, it could only help? I guess I am asking here just to manage expectations for her.
A bit more about her. She attends a Catholic HS (all girls) and is very involved in campus ministry. In addition, she sings in our church youth choir and is a volunteer at a Catholic summer camp every year. She plays lacrosse and soccer (JV level) and runs winter track. She is working on a special project for an educational non-profit for disadvantaged students (last summer and also this coming summer). She just loves everything about ND, so I suspect that will come out in her essay when the time comes.
Appreciate any insight!
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According to their website, only parent legacy is considered…not sure if that applies to grandparents also…or not.
But if your daughter is a strong student and has ties to the college…I’m sure this can shine in her application somehow.
I have a son at ND who is not a legacy (although he indicated on his application that my sister attended). I think ND is a strong fit school when it comes to essays. I suspect a lot of applicants are legacies and fans of the school, but they have to show in their essays what they will bring to ND. Not knowing a lot about your daughter’s special project, I could see that being appealing to them if it’s a real passion project and not just for show/college applications as many students create not profits for that reason. I think the year that my son applied one of the questions he answered was “What does God and the good life mean to you?” and this year there was one that centered around “What would you fight for?” (look up the video series that they play during games). I think they love kids who have a real, demonstrated passion for helping others and can tie that to their ND education and how they will use that education to help others in the future.
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i noticed on a recent ND thread that you had indicated that your son just graduated from ND last year and was a Glynn Scholar. Your family probably already has experience and insights regarding what ND admissions is looking for in an applicant. Your daughter sounds amazing. Good luck.
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Thank you @pinkstaff for the kind words about my daughter. Yes, we likely do have more insight than an outsider, but the legacy issue has always been a bit of a mystery. I know that there is a special admissions process for those with parents who are alums and that would not apply to us. I just wonder about other families that might have sibling or grandparent legacies that were successful or unsuccessful in admissions.
One other thing I wanted to throw out (without starting a whole new thread), we wish ND would have an ED option! That would help us feel more confident about her chances. I wonder if they will every go that route…
Why? ND has early action so have her apply early action. She will get an earlier decision than RD and it’s not binding…just in case something else looks better by May 1.
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Yes I realize they have REA, but I feel ED demonstrates a student’s commitment to enroll more strongly and generally helps increase chances of admission. We don’t care if it’s not binding because this is my daughter’s first choice for various reasons. And we will not qualify for financial aid and expect to be full pay, so $$ not an issue.
SCEA means the student has at least some commitment to the college.
And at some colleges, ED does not give an admissions advantage.
My understanding is that REA at ND is actually harder than RD, so that’s something to consider. I’ve been told that if the older sibling has performed well, they consider that a good indicator?
@thumper1 yes SCEA is a bit more of a commitment than REA because of no other EA or ED applications allowed. REA only prohibits the applicant from applying ED elsewhere, although after decisions are made, a declined applicant could apply ED2 elsewhere.
@Mom200309 I’ve always understood REA has a better chance of admission for the strong candidate, because it demonstrates some level of commitment due to the inability to apply ED elsewhere. But the goal here is to have your best possible application ready before the deadline (good test scores, essays, etc.) or else wait until RD. Interesting point you made about the sibling performing well. He wasn’t dean’s list or anything, but he did have good grades and was very active on campus, so hopefully that helps!
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I can only tell you that my daughter’s college counselor told her she was better off applying RD this year vs REA… I know a lot of legacies that have been deferred in REA and then accepted RD.
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You need to read each school guidelines on REA/SCEA which in many cases are exactly the same.
That’s interesting because when my son applied back in 2018 the recommendation was to apply REA. It is competitive, but if you have a strong application, you are more likely to be admitted, and if not, there is always deferral. I guess things shift over the years. I hope your son is enjoying ND!
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Two of my daughters attended ND. Their younger brother was accepted but is going elsewhere. My recommendation is that your daughter look into this ND summer program: https://precollege.nd.edu/leadership-seminars/application-and-admission/ Almost every student I know who attended the program was accepted to ND. Note: It’s really hard to get into the summer program.
Regarding legacy, in my head I think of the sibling thing as an extra point in your daughter’s favor. If she’s not competitive on her own, it won’t help, but if there’s another person in the running with the exact stats as your daughter, it will help your daughter. Same for being Catholic, IMO.
I think someone else mentioned essays being important. I agree. But it’s not like, “Wow, she has really great grammar.” It’s more the actual content of the essays. The content should make the essay stand out from the thousands of others and should answer the question of how her ND education will serve the world, not just how she could be served by ND. And if ND is her absolute first choice, she should say that in her essay.
Go Irish!
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I have one at ND , and one graduate. I can say that Notre Dame is in the enviable position to not have to worry about “demonstrated interest” b/c they have som much of that. They actually are trying to atract amazing candidates who are not as familiar with Notre Dame or inclined to have it as a dream school. Thus, no need for RD. As noted by others, REA is incredibly competitive and seems to be where ND tries to fill many of their non-traditional attendees knowing that others will happily (ok maybe not so happily!) wait for RD or even waitlist…