<p>Yes, there are some (mostly friendly) rivalries, although the only one I can think of offhand is Pasquerilla East and Pasquerilla West. (I’m a guy, so I don’t know quite as much about girls dorms…) Girls’ dorms definitely have “signature” events and many traditions – for instance, the Badin Breakdown and Walsh’s Football 101. You can check out dorm profiles at [the</a> Office of Residence Life and Housing website](<a href=“http://orlh.nd.edu/halls/index.html]the”>http://orlh.nd.edu/halls/index.html).</p>
<p>PreLives43- Thanks so much for replying. I was nice to hear from someone who actually lives there. Everything you mentioned about your mom and I was right on. In addition, I know its something my son thinks about too. I really appreciate everything you spoke about.<br>
I have one last question. We are going to visit in February and he will spend a night in the dorms with a host student. Did you do that and do you think going in February is an ok time, given the weather. Is it the best time to enjoy the school or should we wait for April?</p>
<p>hawkswim09 - please rate my son’s chances for RD: My son is in very competitive Catholic high school - well regarded by ND admissions. SAT: >1500 weighted GPA 3.8 4 ap’s -total - got a 5 in AP cal test - 740 in SAT 2 math test - decent extra correcs - did Summer Scholars program at ND - First Choice school.</p>
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<p>Going in February gives you more time to think about it before admission decisions are due, but I don’t think it matters too much either way. Personally the weather is not too bad (when there is significant snow, ND is very good at making sure the sidewalks are clear), and I think it’s worth experiencing what ND is like in the somewhat colder months, so you/your son can be prepared for the weather when he’s a freshman.</p>
<p>^Agreed. Although nice weather would be good, it’s probably better to see what ND is like during the winter months, because it is something to consider. I didn’t do an overnight visit (visited in last week of April with my stepdad, complicated story involving last minute change of heart, but that’s neither here nor there), but everyone who did had only good things to say about it, even in February.</p>
<p>Thanks PreLives and Molecular we will be there sometime in February. Can’t wait!</p>
<p>GOIRISHBEATMIAMI-your son is a very competitive applicant but I think that it will probably come down to extracurriculars and your essays…i had a 1470 on the SAT and 4 aps and I got in, though I thought my applicant was strongest in the extra-curricular activites…I think that the summer program helps, but is not a huge factor in the decision…I would say overall that your son is a very competitive applicant and with decent extra-curricular activities I would say that there is somewhere around a 65-70 percent chance at acceptance and a 85-95 percent chance of being on the waitlist or accepted…now if the extra-curricular activities are more in the very good range, those percentages definitely go up…ND looks for the complete application…</p>
<p>Being as though almost everyone attending ND has received perfect or nearly perfect grades in high school, how competitive does it get in the classes here? In particular, I am a going in as a Finance major and aspire to make the Dean’s List which I noticed for the most part requires a 3.667 GPA. How difficult is it to achieve this distinction each semester? What is the average GPA among undergrads? I’m hoping to be able to graduate with a >3.7 GPA so how possible is this assuming I have a balance between school and social life (aka not spending every waking minute in Hesburgh Library). Thanks!</p>
<p>ND20132013</p>
<p>It shouldn’t be unmanageable as long as you’re willing to put in the work Sunday - Thursday. As a business student, you will have plenty of room in your academic schedule for elective courses, so you really have the opportunity to make your schedule as hard as easy as you’d like. I know several business students who pick their classes solely based on how easy they are, and they tend to have quite a bit of free time. Other students might choose to pick up minors or double majors, which would be a more challenging option.</p>
<p>What’s great about ND is that, unlike many other top schools, very few students spend their whole academic careers buried in the library. From my experience, the average ND student will work hard 4-5 nights/week and then unwind on fridays and saturdays (thursdays too if you’re lucky enough). That said, it’s not like students are going crazy during the week. Personally, I don’t have many days where I can’t find time to hang with friends/workout/etc, nor have I ever had to pull an all-nighter. The work is manageable as long as you stay on top of your assignments.</p>
<p>Also, competition at ND is completely self-imposed. While ND students push themselves to get good grades, I’ve never felt like I’ve had to compete with anyone else, nor have I ever felt like others have been trying to compete with me. It is true, however, that many math and science courses will be graded to a curve, but there’s still never a competitive atmosphere. In my experience, the atmosphere in the dorms before a big Gen-Chem or Calc test is usually cooperative rather than competitive. Kids study together and help each other out.</p>
<p>I went to a football game this fall and got to sit in the student section which was absolutely amazing. If you are worried about the crazy football atmosphere and are only a jr. in HS then I would have to suggest going to a game and get a student to get you into the student section. Granted I am incredibly biased on this subject as I absolutely love ND football and it is a main reason I am going there next year.
One thing I was surprised about though was the fact that a set of student section tickets to the football games was (I believe) $240. Do students have to buy tickets to all the sporting events, specifically hockey and basketball?</p>
<p>ND20132013 - I would say it is doable, but don’t think that you will be able to pull it off every single semester…my first two semesters weren’t bad at all and I easily made them both semesters and then this semester wasn’t quite as good - I am an engineer and this semester was five very intensive math/physics like courses so that may have impacted it - I think that the goal of getting a 3.7> is actually easier than getting 3.667 every semester…also it is important to realize that straight A-'s will get you a 3.6667 so it isn’t easy to get to that level especially if you a couple rough tests in some classes…however it is very doable…especially if you are a devoted student (especially in the business department)</p>
<p>Golf308 - Basketball season tickets were 80 dollars this year…for hockey you can buy tickets and therefore be guaranteed a spot for every game or you can just wait in line for first come first serve…but football tickets are around 240-250 and that will only get higher…(probably like by 5 dollars a season or something like that)…</p>
<p>hawkswim09: Thank you for the evaluation. Extra-curr’s include couple of years of sports, leadership role in multi parish (Catholic) schooling effort, community service here and in Appalachia, manager of a varisty team. In addition to highest honors last 3 years. In any event, thank you for you help and suggestions and good luck in the future!</p>
<p>I don’t think asking a current student to evaluate your kid’s chances of being accepted is really valid… none of the “chance me” posts are. Just apply and see what happens. ND is a competitive school and some people who should be admitted aren’t. All you (or your kid) can do is get involved in HS and take hard classes and try to get good grades and test scores. No one on this site can give you an accurate prediction of the admission chances. Just because there are current students on here does not mean that they know everything about the school, much less how the admissions office thinks.</p>
<p>so the Dean’s List discussion piqued my interest… how is GPA calculated at ND? Are there B+'s and A+'s? And what is the value for each grade (if there are A+'s, are they above 4?) and the range? (i.e. is an A- 90-93 or 88-92, etc)</p>
<p>The highest grade you can get is an A; there are no A+'s. I think an A is a 4, A- is 3.7, B+ is 3.3, B is a 3 and so on. Individual professors curve their grades differently, so a 93% in one class could be an A but a 93% in another class could be an A-.</p>
<p>The Registrar actually uses four significant figures, so an A- is 3.666, not 3.7…but otherwise that’s correct. [The</a> Registrar’s website has more info here.](<a href=“http://registrar.nd.edu/gradefinal.shtml]The”>http://registrar.nd.edu/gradefinal.shtml)</p>
<p>Yup, that is all correct…</p>
<p>I’d think a decent number of students would graduate with a 4.0, so how does ND pick a valedictorian?</p>
<p>From what I’ve heard there are about five or so 4.0’s per graduating class, so it’s not that big a number. Don’t know exactly how it’s narrowed down from there, though.</p>