University of Notre Dame - Dome Yearbook (Notre Dame, IN)

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HARD TO GET IN Without The Qualifications ' Admittins The Differences he envelope is in hand. The return address reads, The Uni- versity of Notre Dame, Office of Admissions. You turn it over cautiously for fear of the old ad- age that rejection notices are greater in number and lighter in weight. Afraid to see the words, you convince yourself your SAT scores were just top low, you should have ranked first in your class, and you really always wanted to go to the community college in town, anyway. Why would they want you? John Goldrick, Director of Admissions, provided the answer. We ' re looking for a com- mitted student body, one con- We ' re looking for a com- mitted student body, one concerned about others. Simply, the key word is love. John Goldrick Director of Admissions cerned about others. Simply, the key word is love. Out of the 7700 applicants, more than 5000 qual- ified for acceptance. Of those, only 1800 actually received acceptance letters. Outstanding leadership qualities and diverse talents distinguished those 1800 from the rest. We want a di- versity of talent that the whole community can share, learn and grow from, Goldrick continued. In the search for a diverse stu- dent body, Goldrick stressed that students are not accepted according to established geogra- phical quotas. Moreover, the Uni- versity never chooses between two individuals, but considers every applicant ' s file separately. If it ever came down to a choice, and both applicants could contri- bute to the community, then I ' d call upstairs and tell them to find another bed, Goldrick stated. Through the special efforts of the Admissions Office, 1800 teenagers opened a letter dis- covering that Goldrick had found that extra bed. Jane Barber MEETING OF THE MASTERMINDS. Student Union Director Bill Lawler and Student Body President Don Murday dis- cuss the blueprints for the Chatauqua- LaFortune Club. The Club served to ful- fill the student body ' s need for more so- cial space by presenting musical enter- tainment from outside the University. BEGINNING ANEW. The dancers of Abiogenesis profit from the talent and leadership of Angela Adamson who founded and choreographs the workings of this dance group. Admissions Policy 17

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A MAJOR OPERATION. Junior Kathy Adams and Sophomore Ned Legare volunteer in the emergency room at St. Joseph ' s Hospital. They use their talents to serve the community and gain experi- ence for entrance to medical school. IN THE DIRECTORS CHAIR. As trans- lator and director of the play Six Play- ers In Search of an Author by Luigi Pirandello, Senior Bea Bosco shares her talents with ND-SMC students involved in the Second Scene program. Bosco ' s was one of five productions produced throughout the year by Second Scene. 16 Admissions Policy

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HARD TO GET IN Without A Thorough Evaluation A Practical Application I t ' s hard to be an admissions application in search of the ideal college . It ' s an existence that begins in the sweaty palms of an anxious high schooler who writes and rewrites until his whole life history is finally re- lived, edited and ultimately crammed onto an 8 by 11 form. Once signed and sealed, it ' s deliv- ered to an unknown entity whose job it is to determine the fate of it and thousands like it. The application is scrutinized by the applicant searching for typos and fretting that he ' s made the right impression. But while the efforts of the Dom- er-hopeful entail a great deal of time and soul-searching, the efforts of the Admissions Office, that unknown entity, are no less of a search. The search begins long before the March application deadline. The Admissions staff takes off in September and travels to assigned geographical regions TABLING THE MATTER. The Admis- sions staff consisting of Director John Goldrick, Pat Leonardo, Paul Peralta, Don Bishop, Alisa Hardiman and Fr. David Porterfield meet once a week to discuss special circumstances in appli- cants ' files. You want to be as careful as possible when you have the power to literally traumatize thousands of teenagers across the country. John Goldrick Director of Admissions throughout the fall. Counselors return to the same regions each year so that they are familiar with the curriculum, reputa- tions, faculties and financial levels of the various high schools in their regions. The search continues as the applicant endures the rigors of in-house evaluation. First, one member of the regional team studies the statistics such as the student ' s GPA, SAT, class rank, curriculum and extracurricu- lars. He then makes a decision to accept or reject. A second mem- ber of the same regional team re- peats that process. Finally, if the preliminary evaluators agree, John Goldrick reviews the appli- cant ' s file and sends off the in- famous letter which inspires the anxious lunchtime question over the school phone, Is it thick or thin? If the evaluators disagree or if Mr. Goldrick wants to dig deeper for some answers, the ap- plication is reviewed in a weekly staff meeting. This ensures that unique circumstances or special strengths in a student ' s charac- ter aren ' t overlooked because of a slight weakness in academics. Ultimately, then, although the journey of the application is long and tiring, and the worry and consideration of the applicant himself is great, the attention of that unknown entity is much more personal than some may think. Mr. Goldrick notes, Next to getting married, getting into college is the most traumatic event in a young person ' s life. You want to be as careful as possible when you have the pow- er to literally traumatize thousands of teenagers across the country. Jane Barber 18 Application Process