Hi! My name is Raphael Durval, and I was accepted to the University of Notre Dame, Class of 2029. Here's how I did it!

My Background

I was a merit-based scholarship student at a neighborhood school in Rio de Janeiro called Colégio Pentágono. While it was a strong private school academically, it had no focus on international college applications—so often I found myself teaching the school about the process rather than the other way around.

Financially, I come from a middle-class background. Even though I attended a great private school on scholarship, the lack of support for international applications made the journey more challenging. I only discovered the application process at the end of my second year of high school, which gave me less than a year and a half to learn everything and prepare my application.

Applying Abroad & U.S.

At first, I didn’t know anything about the college application process. Then a friend of mine, who was also applying, told me “Hey, you should try Model UN.”

So I did, and I ended up loving it. I've always liked the overall things we discuss in MUN — countries, politics, history, all of that. I got involved in MUN, and because it's such a big extracurricular, I naturally ended up learning more about the application world too.

The main reason I wanted to go abroad was language learning. I even considered other regions — I didn’t actually apply to them, but I researched options in places like Europe or even Asia. Even though many programs are in English, universities in those regions often offer great infrastructure for language learning, which really appealed to me.

My main motivations were the academic advantage, the ability to learn languages, and the career opportunities.

In the end, I decided to go for the U.S. universities because of the proximity to places like Boston, New York, and D.C., which are major hubs for international organizations.

Acceptances

I applied to 16–17 schools and was accepted into three, including Georgetown University and American University. I ultimately committed to the University of Notre Dame due to a scholarship offer.

Why Notre Dame?

Notre Dame was always on my radar partly because I come from a traditionally Catholic family, and the university has a strong focus on service, which really aligns with my background. They emphasize service as a core part of their student profile — they actively look for students who are involved in meaningful service work.

Although I didn’t have any specific church-related extracurriculars, a lot of my involvements were tied to educational activism and community service, such as donation campaigns and social impact projects.

In fact, I chose ND because I received a full ride. I was really happy with that, especially because this year (for the incoming class in September), 43 Brazilians were admitted — a historic record. Notre Dame has a very generous financial aid policy for international students. They’re full-need met and need-blind, which sets them apart from many other schools.

Stats & Tips

I finished high school with a 9.3/10 GPA, and was ranked first in my graduating class. I had a DET score of 140/160.

I've always been pretty basic when it comes to studying, for me the best method was to grab a notebook and write summaries. Then, read the material over and over again, kind of like I’m an actor preparing for a role in a movie.

For the DET, I highly recommend the YouTube channel “Teacher Luke.” His content is an excellent resource for studying and preparing effectively for the exam.

Extracurricular Activities

My first and main extracurricular was Carioca MUN, It started quite casually—three of us joking during a Model UN simulation about creating our own online event. So we did it. We have two main pillars: one is academic opportunities for university students in Brazil and then there’s the U.S. college application process.

Originally, Carioca MUN was just the three of us wanting to run our own simulation event. It was supposed to be one and done. But little by little, we started talking more about things we liked—international relations topics, posting content related to those interests, and simulation. We began inviting young people from private and public schools to attend in-person simulations. We formed delegations and hosted online simulations from our locations. Since we had no funding, we focused on students who had never participated before, bringing them to simulations around Rio de Janeiro, which has many simulation opportunities.

Gradually, we also started engaging with international events, such as the G20. Today, we produce content about Model UN, global news, and we regularly take youth to UN simulations. We also have been invited several times to public schools to talk about academic opportunities and share our journeys.

I also founded a humanitarian campaign for survivors of urban floods in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Rio Grande do Sul. These were three distinct moments but involved the same core group of people. We turned our school into a donation collection center. Across all campaigns, we collected more than 3.5 tons of humanitarian aid.

I have participated extensively in Model UN, winning awards at Princeton, Yale, Harvard, and several national simulations. I also used simulations to practice academic English, which helped me a lot since it’s hard to get exposure to that level of language outside of formal study.

Other activities I participated included being the student council representative and graduation speaker at my school; attending the summer course at the New York Times and being the captain of my school volleyball team.

My Personal Statement

I wanted my personal statement to play with the concept of history — both as an academic subject and as my own personal story. So, I started with a reflection on what “independence” means from a historical perspective. I didn’t go for a dictionary definition or anything like that, I simply stated that, in history, independence is often seen as a synonym for strength.

Then, I brought in an example: I wrote about how Brazilian revolutionaries who fought against Portuguese colonialism inspired me during my history classes. But right after that, I added a twist: “However, I must admit — I hate independence.”

I explained how I was raised in my grandmother’s house because my parents were always working or studying. Throughout my childhood, and honestly, most of my life, I had very limited contact with them during the day. That led me to become extremely self-sufficient. I had to take care of myself, study alone, and figure things out on my own, especially by the time I reached my final year of high school.

But even though I learned how to be independent, I never stopped missing my parents deeply. I took the opportunity in my essay to explore this psychological side, the emotional impact of growing up with limited parental presence, despite knowing they were doing everything they could for me.

I heavily focused on my background, my focus was to highlight my personality. Toward the end of the essay, I shared a memory that brought everything together: during school breaks, when I missed my parents the most, I used to go work with them at the store they owned. That experience made me realize how hard they worked to give me every opportunity I had. So yes, I was independent. But I was never alone. My parents were always there for me — they always had my back.

Financial Aid

As I have stated before, I received a full ride scholarship to attend University of Notre Dame. Beyond that, I also have guaranteed a work on-campus.