The University of Notre Dame is a privately funded, Catholic, liberal arts university. It is most well-known for athletics, especially football, ethics and social justice studies, and the Mendoza School of Business. Notre Dame also boasts a beautiful campus and a deeply involved alumni network.
Do you have any tips for prospective students?
Come to campus in the spring, summer, or fall if you can, and not just to look around. Take an official tour, and I recommend staying overnight in a dorm. It'll help you get a better feel for what being on campus will be like.
Also, search for the Notre Dame Job Board, and apply for a position somewhere before or shortly after arriving on campus. That will prevent you from getting stuck doing food services, which isn't terrible but certainly isn't as good as the opportunities for students who search around in advance.
Do you find there’s enough academic rigor at your school?
Notre Dame is consistently ranked by US News and World Report as one of the best undergraduate teaching programs in the country, and academic rigor has a lot to do with that. Classes, especially in architecture or the sciences, are tough, but they prepare you well to go to graduate school or into the workforce, and most of the professors here are engaging teachers who are also very accessible outside class time. Students collaborate well together, too, which makes the academic expectations challenging but managable.
Describe the dorm life at your college.
Dorm Life at Notre Dame is a unique experience. All undergraduate dorms are single-sex. That can make it a bit tough at first to find friends of the opposite gender, but the male and female dorms interact a lot, and the university is otherwise co-ed. Dorms have their own sports teams, including, for male dorms, full-contact football. Because you'll be in a dorm with people of the same gender from all different years, there isn't much social distinction between seniors and freshmen, and the upperclassmen help the freshmen with things like finding locations, picking classes, and studying. Dorms can become very tight-knit groups.
Notre Dame also has something called Parietals, a rule which states that residents can get in trouble for having a person of the opposite sex in their room during the hours of midnight to 9am on weekdays and 2am-9am on weekends. This is enforced on the honor system in most dorms, and it is in place to foster a stronger sense of community within the residents of the dorm, as well as to give residents a little more privacy on their way to the shower.
Describe the food and dining at your college.
South Dining Hall, which looks on the inside like the Great Hall from Harry Potter, is one of the best campus dining halls in the nation. Food is all-you-can-eat, and there's usually a wide variety available, including special foods for holidays and football games. There are also several good cafes on campus and a small grocery store. Options nearby but off campus are limited, but expanding.
What’s there to do for fun at your college?
Clubs and dorm activities are big draws for students. Nearly all students are involved in some kind of extracurricular activity. Athletics and service are especially popular. Additionally, performances and films are an almost constant presence at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, and there are parties in the mens' dorms and off-campus every weekend.
Do you feel you’re getting value for the money you’re spending on college?
Notre Dame is an incredibly expensive school. That being said, they are committed to meeting 100% of every student's demonstrated financial need, and admission is need-blind. Even if you're in a situation where you'll have to pay full price, though, I recommend doing it. There are advantages for students here, particularly the alumni network, that don't exist in many other places. Additionally, Notre Dame puts a lot of effort into making sure that you can graduate in four years if you want to, so you don't have to worry about paying for a fifth year to finish a bachelor's degree.
Share any unusual traditions or locations on campus
Notre Dame has a strong tradition as a football school, to the point where many Catholic images on campus have unofficial football-related names. The large mural on the south side of the Hesburgh Library, facing the stadium, has been affectionately dubbed 'Touchdown Jesus', and there are statues on campus called 'First Down Moses' and the 'Holy Handoff'.
Another iconic Notre Dame symbol is the Golden Dome of the main administrative building. Allegedly, the seal on every student's diploma is imbued with a little of the gold from the dome.
Two Notre Dame graduates were intimately involved in the creation process of the original Shrek movie, and they included a few nods to the University. For example, Shrek's accent and physical appearance are modelled after a professor on campus, and Duloc comes from Du Loc, the Notre Dame policy handbook, which includes an old rule about 'keeping off of the grass' on God Quad. Walking on the grass on God Quad is still considered bad luck.
Students never walk up the imposing front steps of the main building, but instead use doors set behind the staircase. This is because it is said that if a student walks up the front steps, he or she will not graduate.
Additionally, each dorm has its own set of traditions.
Which types of students will excel at your college?
Students who want a close relationship with their professors will fit in well here. Most non-introductory classes have fewer than twenty students, and professors hold office hours for the express purpose of speaking with their students. There are many opportunities to build close relationships with one's professors, who can be a valuable resource later on when applying to other schools or for jobs.
Are you involved in any clubs or activities?
Students are involved in all manner of clubs, ranging from social justice issues, to academic interests, to sports and beyond. There are over 300 active clubs on campus, and almost every student participates in one or more. Additionally, the process for starting a club is fairly straightforward and easy. As long as there are people willing to be officers in a proposed club and said club is not too similar to an existing club, you are free to form it and receive funding for it from the university.
Are you involved in any clubs or activities?
There is no Greek Life at Notre Dame. Instead, community is focused around the single-sex dorms, which have their own student governments, athletic teams, and social events.
How would you describe campus safety? Do you feel safe on campus?
Notre Dame is not immune from the problems that plague all college campuses, but it is closed off from the city of South Bend and patrolled by an effective police force. I generally feel safer here than at home.
The University of Notre Dame is a privately funded, Catholic, liberal arts university. It is most well-known for athletics, especially football, ethics and social justice studies, and the Mendoza School of Business. Notre Dame also boasts a beautiful campus and a deeply involved alumni network.
Come to campus in the spring, summer, or fall if you can, and not just to look around. Take an official tour, and I recommend staying overnight in a dorm. It'll help you get a better feel for what being on campus will be like. Also, search for the Notre Dame Job Board, and apply for a position somewhere before or shortly after arriving on campus. That will prevent you from getting stuck doing food services, which isn't terrible but certainly isn't as good as the opportunities for students who search around in advance.
Notre Dame is consistently ranked by US News and World Report as one of the best undergraduate teaching programs in the country, and academic rigor has a lot to do with that. Classes, especially in architecture or the sciences, are tough, but they prepare you well to go to graduate school or into the workforce, and most of the professors here are engaging teachers who are also very accessible outside class time. Students collaborate well together, too, which makes the academic expectations challenging but managable.
Dorm Life at Notre Dame is a unique experience. All undergraduate dorms are single-sex. That can make it a bit tough at first to find friends of the opposite gender, but the male and female dorms interact a lot, and the university is otherwise co-ed. Dorms have their own sports teams, including, for male dorms, full-contact football. Because you'll be in a dorm with people of the same gender from all different years, there isn't much social distinction between seniors and freshmen, and the upperclassmen help the freshmen with things like finding locations, picking classes, and studying. Dorms can become very tight-knit groups. Notre Dame also has something called Parietals, a rule which states that residents can get in trouble for having a person of the opposite sex in their room during the hours of midnight to 9am on weekdays and 2am-9am on weekends. This is enforced on the honor system in most dorms, and it is in place to foster a stronger sense of community within the residents of the dorm, as well as to give residents a little more privacy on their way to the shower.
South Dining Hall, which looks on the inside like the Great Hall from Harry Potter, is one of the best campus dining halls in the nation. Food is all-you-can-eat, and there's usually a wide variety available, including special foods for holidays and football games. There are also several good cafes on campus and a small grocery store. Options nearby but off campus are limited, but expanding.
Clubs and dorm activities are big draws for students. Nearly all students are involved in some kind of extracurricular activity. Athletics and service are especially popular. Additionally, performances and films are an almost constant presence at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, and there are parties in the mens' dorms and off-campus every weekend.
Notre Dame is an incredibly expensive school. That being said, they are committed to meeting 100% of every student's demonstrated financial need, and admission is need-blind. Even if you're in a situation where you'll have to pay full price, though, I recommend doing it. There are advantages for students here, particularly the alumni network, that don't exist in many other places. Additionally, Notre Dame puts a lot of effort into making sure that you can graduate in four years if you want to, so you don't have to worry about paying for a fifth year to finish a bachelor's degree.
Notre Dame has a strong tradition as a football school, to the point where many Catholic images on campus have unofficial football-related names. The large mural on the south side of the Hesburgh Library, facing the stadium, has been affectionately dubbed 'Touchdown Jesus', and there are statues on campus called 'First Down Moses' and the 'Holy Handoff'. Another iconic Notre Dame symbol is the Golden Dome of the main administrative building. Allegedly, the seal on every student's diploma is imbued with a little of the gold from the dome. Two Notre Dame graduates were intimately involved in the creation process of the original Shrek movie, and they included a few nods to the University. For example, Shrek's accent and physical appearance are modelled after a professor on campus, and Duloc comes from Du Loc, the Notre Dame policy handbook, which includes an old rule about 'keeping off of the grass' on God Quad. Walking on the grass on God Quad is still considered bad luck. Students never walk up the imposing front steps of the main building, but instead use doors set behind the staircase. This is because it is said that if a student walks up the front steps, he or she will not graduate. Additionally, each dorm has its own set of traditions.
Students who want a close relationship with their professors will fit in well here. Most non-introductory classes have fewer than twenty students, and professors hold office hours for the express purpose of speaking with their students. There are many opportunities to build close relationships with one's professors, who can be a valuable resource later on when applying to other schools or for jobs.
Students are involved in all manner of clubs, ranging from social justice issues, to academic interests, to sports and beyond. There are over 300 active clubs on campus, and almost every student participates in one or more. Additionally, the process for starting a club is fairly straightforward and easy. As long as there are people willing to be officers in a proposed club and said club is not too similar to an existing club, you are free to form it and receive funding for it from the university.
There is no Greek Life at Notre Dame. Instead, community is focused around the single-sex dorms, which have their own student governments, athletic teams, and social events.
Notre Dame is not immune from the problems that plague all college campuses, but it is closed off from the city of South Bend and patrolled by an effective police force. I generally feel safer here than at home.