A CLASS LIKE NO OTHER

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May 23, 2024

For information on admission to Notre Dame Prep, please click here. 

After a pandemic-influenced start four years ago, Notre Dame Prep graduates another outstanding senior class that finishes with a 100% college acceptance rate, an overall GPA of 3.85 and well more than $5 million (reported to date) in academic, merit-based college scholarships. 

Four years ago — actually May 17, 2020 — on what would have been the day of the Class of 2020's Baccalaureate Mass and Commencement, Notre Dame Preparatory School hosted a "socially distanced" parade on the school's Pontiac campus. 

Those seniors, truly a special class of students and their families, who remained in their vehicles, were led into the school main parking lot by an NDP school bus and fire trucks from three different municipalities where they were congratulated by NDP teachers and staff who passed out t-shirts and carnations.

The graduating Class of 2024, also truly a special class, started their freshman year during COVID-19.

Now, after a high school career that began during a worldwide crisis, this year's remarkable class graduated and finally completed their own unique, "mostly" normal academic journey through this prestigious International Baccalaureate school. 

Andy Guest, Notre Dame Prep's head of school, in remarks conveyed during Sunday's commencement, said the day marked a momentous occasion in the graduates' lives as they gathered to celebrate the culmination of years of hard work, dedication and perseverance. 

"Life has a way of testing our resolve," he told the seniors and their families and friends. "But remember that within every setback lies an opportunity for growth and resilience. Embrace difficulties as steppingstones to success, and never be afraid to take risks. It is through adversity that we discover our true potential and forge our character. Trust in your abilities, and never let fear hold you back from pursuing your dreams." 

Those seniors, in fact, passed their resolve test and finished with a flourish, and not only is the school’s 30th graduating class leaving behind a very proud faculty and staff and arguably the state’s top academic Catholic high school, they are leaving behind a number of impressive data points as a group.

According to figures released this week by Notre Dame Prep’s counseling department, to date this year’s senior class earned more than $4.8 million in academic merit-based scholarships from colleges and universities, a number that will go up as the graduates continue to receive and report scholarship offers throughout the summer.

In addition, the Class of 2024 averaged 26 on the ACT with 35 seniors scoring a 30 or above on the test and finished the year with an overall grade-point-average (GPA) of 3.8512.

Twenty-three graduates filled out this year’s valedictory court for the class, which also featured nine candidates for the prestigious International Baccalaureate diploma. 

A total of 124 of the finest colleges and universities across the country have accepted Class of 2024 graduates so far, including the University of Michigan, the University of Notre Dame, Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Case Western, Johns Hopkins, Northeastern University, Pepperdine and UNC Chapel Hill among others.

This year's class also was highlighted by 25 acceptances to the University of Michigan with seven accepted into the Ross School of Business. 

And finally, perhaps most important, each of this year’s graduating seniors spent increasingly significant amounts of time on leadership-level projects as part of their service requirements — once again proving that besides turning out academic scholars, Notre Dame Prep continues to graduate truly Christian people and upright citizens.

"It is my absolute honor to stand before you as the head of school and deliver this commencement address — a speech that not only commemorates the past, but also embraces the endless possibilities that lie ahead," Guest also told the graduates. "I would like all of you to know that you are all special. And you are special because you were all created in the image and likeness of God. And God doesn’t create anything without a purpose. Each and everyone of you is unique and each and everyone of you has a purpose." 

More information and highlights for the Class of 2024 are below.

For information on admission to Notre Dame Prep, please click here.

Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org

About Notre Dame Preparatory School
"At Notre Dame Prep, we inspire our students to become the best versions of themselves. We challenge them through an experience of academic excellence, focused on active, project-based learning. We invite them to explore a world of opportunities beyond the classroom. We guide them as they grow in spirituality within a community strong in its Catholic and Marist identity."

Notre Dame Preparatory School is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. Notre Dame Preparatory School's upper school enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame Prep's middle and lower schools enroll students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight. All three schools are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDP is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the National Association of Independent Schools. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School, visit the school’s home page at www.ndpma.org.