University of Notre Dame Top Questions

Academically challenging, great professors, great organization, great overall help by staff, but very expensive especially for international students.

The one thing that separates Notre Dame from other schools is that we all are obsessed with our school, as are all of our alumni which makes getting a job pretty easy. My dad went here and brainwashed me into thinking ND was the best school ever. I struggled to do well enough in high school to get in, which was rough at times. Part of me thought it would be impossible for the school to live up to my expectations, but it far exceeded them. I can't think of anything that I love more than this school. Personally, I want to change the world for the better, and I feel that almost everyone has that mentality, which is my favorite part of Notre Dame. Our mission statement spells it out, but living it is different. If you pay any money on campus besides tuition, it's going to charity. Every event is for charity. One example - my dorm has a mud volleyball tournament that raises over $10,000 for Habitat for Humanity. I'm pretty sure that happened in the same week that I ran a half marathon for charity and then shaved my head to raise money for cancer research. Our size is perfect. You don't know everyone, so you're never bored, but you know enough people that this is definitely home. Our dorm system is great at making a smaller family in a larger university. I feel that if we had more students, or if we were located in a larger city, our students wouldn't be so united or close-knit. You only do college once, you can live in a city later. We make fun of South Bend, but it has everything we need. All of the essential stores, an airport, right off of the toll road, bars, and places to volunteer. We spend a lot of time on campus though, probably because I could be here for 10 years not taking classes just trying to experience everything Notre Dame has to offer. The worst part of Notre Dame is how I cry about once a month about how I'll eventually have to leave. And I'm still an underclassman. And a guy. I think that sums it up pretty well.

Notre Dame is like a small and tight community. The campus is amazingly beautiful in the short summer. Winter is long and hard however students from the South may enjoy the snow at the very beginning. Strong school spirit, deep connection with alumi

The best things at Notre Dame are the friends you meet and the atmosphere in general. The school is not very large and you get to know most people on campus. It is not a college town but the town does come alive for football games. There is a lot of school pride and the alumni are great.

In the big picture, Notre Dame is a community of people who are serious about academics, athletics, school spirit and service (not necessarily in that order!). Because the school is so selective, you will find that almost everyone graduated near the top of their class in high school. You will be surrounded by people who are smart, motivated and genuinely passionately about succeeding in college. Fortunately, this doesn't seem to have led to an uber-competitive atmosphere on campus--students are more than willing to help one another. The school itself is also extremely supportive of its students. Professors are generally very accessible, tutoring programs are all around, and the administration will intervene early to help students who are struggling. It may be very hard to get in to Notre Dame, but it's also hard to fail once you're there. Athletics are obviously a big part of campus life, particulalry during football season. A home football game can consume an entire weekend's social activities (pep rallies, tailgating, game-watching, post-game partying, hanging out with visiting alums and family, etc., etc.). Most of the student body (although not me!) played sports in high school, and the intramural and interhall sports leagues are full of players who might have made the school's varsity program at a less athletically inclined college. In terms of school spirit, Notre Dame is unparalled. The majority of students live on campus in dorms that fill the sorority/fraternity role, which makes them more bonded to and invested in the school. Many come from "legacy" families, with relatives who previously graduated, and have grown up loving the school. The alumni network is ENORMOUS, very active, and very inclined to take care of its own when it comes to job searches or other needs after graduation. That passionate spirit for the university is equaled by a passionate spirit for service to the community. A very significant percentage of the student body is involved in service to some extent, ranging from volunteering at a local elementary school to building houses in Haiti. The university actively encourages and promotes these opportunities through academic programs aimed at service-oriented disciplines, dorm-sponsored service projects, and the sponsorship of lengthier service opportunities in South Bend and around the world.

Notre Dame has a really great atmosphere to it. It's a great size - about 8,000 undergrads. It's a very friendly atmosphere. If you're religious, either Catholic or not, you'll find a great college to express that. South Bend frankly sucks, but there's not much of a need to go off campus a whole lot. The campus itself is absolutely beautiful. Northern Indiana winters are awful, so if you're from the South, that may come as a shock. Sports here are really fun, as you might expect. Everyone gets really into football and basketball, and games in the student sections are pretty unique.

Notre Dame is a highly competative school with some of the happiest students I've have ever met. Every student who attends this school loves it which is shown in the high alumnae involvement. Students of the past and present care about this middle sized (10,000 student) school and are always looking to make it better. It definately has a work hard play hard mentality, but every student is extremely dedicated to making academics a priority.

The thing about Notre Dame I like a lot is the homey feeling. It is such a beautiful campus, which is contained - it's not in a city and cars don't drive through. I really enjoy the feeling of safety and comfort that it provides. The thing that sucks about it is the anal rules about girls and guys visiting each other late at night - it can't happen. There are a lot of rules, which honestly don't keep anybody from doing anything, it just means they have to do it quietly or behind closed doors.

I love Notre Dame for a viriety of reasons. The most important reason why I love Notre Dame is the people. Most students feel that they can be friends with just about anyone on campus. You really don't understand how special the student body is until your attending Notre Dame as a student and then visit other schools and realize that Notre Dame's student body is just special.

Notre Dame is a very unusual place in terms of college. The whole dorm community atmosphere is, as far as I know, unique to ND. The single sex dorms can be nice, as they function as welcoming sororities or fraturnities of sorts. The major drawback with the system, however, is that meeting people of the opposite sex on a friendly level is somewhat more difficult. Notre Dame doesn't really have a college town. If you want to go anywhere off campus you have to call a cab or borrow a friends car. I think there are plans in the works to build a little shopping district within walking distance which would be really nice. My biggest frustration with Notre Dame is its conservative policies. Due to the Catholic nature of the college the policies tend to be very conservative and old fashioned.