University of Notre Dame Top Questions

if i could change something it would probably be that i want to be closer to home and the weather is kind of rough

It's a medium sized school where you see people you know walking to class, but there are lots of people you don't know. The Catholic element is very present, and it's a great place to develop your spiritual life. It's fairly conservative socially both in the structure and the students. The student body is, on average, more athletic and interested in sports. It's very demanding academically, but you can grow so much if you want to.

I love the spirituality at notre dame. I also love how much the school cares about the students and their future. It's really good for undergraduates, because it is a very safe campus with students who look out for others. I would not want to go here for grad school though, or stay here as an adult - the town is pretty cruddy, and there doesn't seem to be much of a city life. I wish notre dame could be more open-minded about certain things though, and it is very obvious that the campus is male-focused. Everything for boys is more lenient, and it's a wierd feeling. One big controversy was the vagina monologues coming on campus, which did end up happening and I was happy about that.

I came to Notre Dame because I liked the size and the 2-hr distance from home, as well as the prestige of the school, the family atmosphere, and the values I perceived from the administration. I think these have all continued to be good reasons for coming here. I don't like the weather as much as some other places, and the location is not quite picturesque, but it still has its beauty. Sometimes I feel like we live too much in a bubble, and that the world is so much bigger than we realize, but at the same time, there are so many ways to learn about the world while we are here.

You get to start expecting people to react when you say you go to Notre Dame, so much so that you brace yourself for it and are almost disappointed when all they say is "oh, that's cool". The administration here sucks. You often really wonder who they are here for, the name of Notre Dame or the actual students. It seems that many things that come from the administration are often two-sided and it feels like you are always trying to figure out the real reason things are as they are. On top of that, there are way to many politics going on everywhere. It really can come down to who you know. However, all in all, I love my school. I know there are so many things here that I have experienced that I would have never experienced any where else. And I will always be grateful for the person I have become by coming here. Not every lesson I have learned has been taught easily and some have come through hard circumstances and experiences, yet even those I have come to appreciate and would not change them or how they have changed me.

One of the greatest things I've learned being abroad is how much I love Notre Dame. And I don't mean it in the sense of I'm going to paint my house blue and gold, get tatoos all over my body, make it mandatory that my kids (in the future) attend Notre Dame... What I mean is Notre Dame has been a WONDERFUL experience for me. I love our campus size; I love how beautiful our campus is; I love how I can walk around by myself at any time of day, pretty much anywhere, and feel comfortable; I love our dorms; I love the opportunities that I've been presented with because I've been at Notre Dame. I've done things I know I'll never get another opportunity to do...I've met some of the most wonderful people that I know I will be friends with for the rest of my life. I also love that we're a Catholic school...but a Catholic school, that, in my opinion, doesn't pressure you to have to be Catholic, but will support you if you are. I love having masses in the dorms, a breath-taking Basilica, and most importantly, one of the most beautiful and touching Grottos I've ever been to. Notre Dame is a place where I just really feel you can learn a lot about yourself and really grow if you take advantage of all there is around you. I wouldn't trade my time at Notre Dame for any other school.

perfect size school. enough people that you always see someone you know wherever you go, but you are still always meeting new people. Its Catholic, but lately has been sacrificing some of its catholic tradtions to meet liberal societal pressures.

Notre Dame is a bubble campus. Once you are here, there is little to no need to go off campus and the freshman students rarely do so. The school seems large, but within a couple months, the campus shrinks and you cannot walk anywhere without recognizing many of the people you pass. This is also a very conservative campus, evident in decisions here and the rules in the student dorms. However, some rules only appear to be inforced when looking from the outside of the dorm, but alcohol is very prevelant on this campus. Overall, the students here are hard working during the week and like to let loose on the weekends.

THe only thing I'd change is where ND is. There is no college town here, and life basically centers around campus. Luckily, campus life is awesome, just gets old after 4 yrs

the best thing about ND is that you don't have to work hard to find friends who value their schoolwork, so it's easier for me to do mine and not feel ostracized. one thing i'd change would be parietals (the part where you can only be in the same genders' dorm after midnight). it's a good size. i can say hi to people i know on the way to class, but i dont know everyone in my classes (by any stretch of the imagination). people are always impressed when i say i go to ND. they say "oh so you must be smart." which of course is impossible to respond to. most of my time on campus is spent in my dorm or in my boyfriend's dorm, or else in LaFortune with my friends. "what college town?" although they're building a street of little shops that should be open by 2010. the biggest recent controversy was over jenkins' decision to allow the vagina monologues to be performed on campus. the unusual part of ND is our stupid ducks that swim on South Quad when it rains too much. most people complain about the weather the most, and then too much schoolwork the second-most.

ND is a good size - small enough to recognize tons of people, but big enough that you don't feel like you know everyone. It's really conservative for a university, politically and socially. For example, there is a never-ending debate as to whether or not they should allow the play, "The Vagina Monologues" on campus, which to my knowledge goes completely unopposed at most other universities. If you're pro-choice, you are by far in the minority, in fact I wouldn't tell anyone that. Notre Dame has the most socially awkward 20-year olds I've ever met. You either hook up with people every weekend and then dont talk to them, or you've seriously never been kissed and probably wont until god knows when. Living in a single-sex dorm, the only option for freshman, has good and bad parts. Girls are generally more high-strung and there can be a lot of drama, and the boys can get out of control too. But you can also build strong friendships that would be structured differently in a co-ed atmosphere. Don't have sex, it's against the rules, and a lot of people will judge you.

School is crazy about sports and academics. School is moderately large, but dorm life creates a sense of community. Most people are relatively impressed when I say I go to Notre Dame. I spend all my time on campus. South Bend isn't much of a college town, but it has restaurants and most anything else you are looking for. The ND administration is pretty good, not overly restrictive, but there are visitation rules and certain items can't be found at the school stores. Recent controversy over the exhibition of the "Vagina Monologues" on campus. The president citing academic freedom allowed it, which bothers some conservative Catholics.

I love it here. The atmosphere is incredible, because everyone is so stoked to be a part of Notre Dame. And honestly, I love the reaction people get when I tell them I'm at Notre Dame. It's a school people have heard of, and everyone knows someone who went here: someone successful. There's more school pride here than anywhere I've seen (except maybe for the Huskers, but that's football alone). The campus is a good size. I know enough people that I feel like a part of the school, but there are still plenty for me to meet. Sometimes it seems like the campus is shrinking, because everyone knows something about everyone, but I prefer that over 50,000 students. Our administration possibly over reacts on occasion. I like the way things are run, and maybe it's because they continue to be strict, but really we're harmless. A good joke among students is that you can get an hour of community service for puking in the hall by underage binging, but you can get shot for being caught breaking parietals by ten minutes. Sex is a big deal. I guess that's another stereotype that is perhaps accurate: we don't get kinky in bed, but we know how to party anyway. I'd say more students here than anywhere else don't drink, but those who do can hold their own. Everyone's really stuck up, but that's because everyone's been the best at something at some point in their life, whether it's football or prgramming in C++.

Notre Dame is an awesome place. I feel like I'm a part of a bigger family and it is constantly challenging me to be a better or more rounded person. There are so so many things that go on around campus that it rarely feels like there isn't anything to do. I always feel like people are trying to do more and really truly feel like people want each other to succeed. The spirituality on campus cannot be denied and that is one place that I really feel I have been able to embrace since getting to campus. I love going to ISI and the various offshoot groups that go along with it, because they are such amazing people. I feel this is the thing that really makes Notre Dame unique. I like to spend my time in the dorm, with friends, at one of the pools, Legends, LaFun or where there happens to be some event going on. Being on North Quad I don't venture down to CoMo as often as I would like, however, I do enjoy a visit. I absolutely love being able to walk around the lakes and visit the Grotto or even finding a quiet place to study in the library. I spend most of my time on campus either doing homework, going to some type of group or one of the random events that happens to be going on. It has somewhat of a college town feel, but it is not as prevalent as in some areas since people often don't feel that the surrounding area is that great. There is a TON of college pride. I feel that one of the biggest indicator of school pride on a campus is how much University/College gear someone happens to wear or own and I can honestly say probably the majority of students has something that says Notre Dame on it when they are walking around.

i love the spirit of community and inclusion that's seen at Notre Dame. ever since day i saw it and it's still present in my every day experience at this university. there's a spirit unlike any other university i have visited. there's unity among the students and we pride on that. you even feel a sense of attachment to the alumni that come and visit. this spirit promotes alumni to donate money to this university. we feel the need to help our community.

The campus beautiful and the size of the student body is the perfect median between two extremes. People usually are impressed when I say I go to Notre Dame and assume that I must have been brilliant to get in... I spend a lot of time studying on campus, but also I play sports and love to go to Notre Dame's sporting events. South Bend is not really a great town, but it has a lot of restaurants and Notre Dame somewhat dominates it. The administration here is very efficient in handling the affairs of the university- everything seems to run smoothly all the time. The most recent school controversy was over the Vagina Monologues being performed on campus. I do not even need to speak about school pride because people here LOVE the Fighting Irish, not to mention the alumni who come back for years and years. The Catholic character of Notre Dame makes it unique in its focus to use education to better the world around us and become selfless in our actions. I will always remember freshman orientation (frosh-o) with all of the crazy events and of course, all the football games.

the ND school size is perfect. But there are too few international students... The location is bad... the weather is horrible...

Notre Dame really just has a special atmosphere to it. People here love this place so much, and that carries over to huge alumni loyalty (big time bonus!). School size: perfect. you don't feel lost in the crowd, but you're still always meeting someone new. South Bend: awful. middle of nowhere, kind of shady at times. the school tries to keep most of the action on campus, although a lot of the parties are off-campus, Biggest recent controversy: Vagina Monologues. Seriously, let it go already. It happened. School spirit: HUGE. Everyone loves Notre Dame. Frequent student complaints: PARIETALS (opposite sex visiting hours - all the dorms are single gender, which is honestly not as bad as it sounds, and most of the time is a really good thing). Somewhat strict rules on alcohol, but that varies by dorm. The administration can sometimes be viewed as out-of-touch with student concerns...

-Great size -amazing community -driven and motivated students who are competitive but still supportive -Work hard/play hard -Spiritually active -Service oriented -Great school spirit -the best friends I have ever had

There's tons of school spirit here - walking around campus, you'll see every other person wearing Notre Dame gear, and everyone goes to the football games. The school is definitely very Catholic - at least the administration tries to make it that way. If you want to be really involved in Campus Ministry, this is a good place to come, but don't be scared away because the majority of students are Catholic.