Caltech vs. Notre Dame

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of Notre Dame
1

<p>I got into both Caltech and Notre Dame EA... right now i'm struggling deciding because of lots of factors so I'm just wondering any insight anyone has</p>

2

<p>CalTech is beautiful–weather, etc. We visited with our student several years ago and while it does indeed have an excellent reputation, our student walked away from it with the observation that no one seemed to be outside on a beautiful day either studying or just throwing a football, etc. The impression was these students must not have time for anything but studying and being inside to do it. ND on the other hand, seemed to offer just the right balance of academic reputation with social ops. If you can visit both, I would suggest it! This was just what we witnessed and part(!) of the reason why our student chose ND.</p>

3

<p>Caltech is arguably the most strictly academically meritocratic university in America. Notre Dame is one of the least meritocratic universities in the USN&WR top 25. Many ND legacies and athletes are subpar students. Especially football players:</p>

<p><a href=“http://ndnation.com/boards/showpost.php?b=football;pid=49335;d-this[/url]”>http://ndnation.com/boards/showpost.php?b=football;pid=49335;d-this&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>

</p>

4

<p>Above link error, try this one: </p>

<p>[Debunking</a> the myth of ND admissions standards](<a href=“http://www.ndnation.com/boards/showpost.php?b=football;pid=49335;d=this]Debunking”>http://www.ndnation.com/boards/showpost.php?b=football;pid=49335;d=this)</p>

5

<p>Not to hijack the thread meangirl–but this ^^ will give some credence as to why Alabama is the national championship team this year and why CalTech does not even have a football team!</p>

<p>Yes, CalTech has some pretty stringent admissions standards–but, the OP states that admission was already gained to both CalTech and ND. ???</p>

6

<p>Nothing in the above post refers to any sort of academic unfairness - in fact, it all seems to be a support structure designed to help our student athletes complete the coursework where they otherwise would not be able to. Admissions may be easier for athletes. I would never argue that. However, one must consider our graduation percentage (one of the highest among competitive BCS schools), and that the most scathing attack is the charge of extra tutoring sessions, rather than the blatant accusations of football players walking into exams with their paper already filled out for them (accusations I have heard a number of times from a number of sources regarding other, competitor schools). </p>

<p>Student athletes are part of the student population here, and as such, people I am proud of being associated with, and hope the best for. I would rather members of our community are afforded the extra attention needed for them to succeed than for them to be swept under the rug and pushed through college by taking classes such as “ballroom dancing” (<em>ahem</em> Mark Sanchez at USC). </p>

<p>Also, as for the claim that it would be easier for a regular freshman who parties too hard to fail out than an athlete; while this may well be true, I refer you to the statistic of Notre Dame’s 98% retention rate from Freshman to Sophomore year, and our overall retention rate of 93% from Freshman to Senior year. What the above post fails to take into consideration is that, while student athletes are afforded certain opportunities, they are merely versions of the numerous support opportunities offered to every student on campus.</p>

<p>So, anyway, long story short, as the OP is not a student athlete, this doesn’t seem at all relevant, really. Go where your heart tells you. Read the messages on this forum - I guarantee whatever issues or questions you have have already been addressed, so check out the search function. Let us know about any specific questions that have not already been answered.</p>

7

<p>These are two very different schools. If you’ve already visited both and are still torn, you probably should NOT go to Caltech. Those who thrive at schools like Caltech, MIT, the service academies, and other schools with more focused missions than Notre Dame are the students who really want to be there. As you are probably aware, fully HALF of Caltech’s graduates head directly to graduate school, mostly for engineering, science and math PhD programs. If that’s what you want to do, you might be happier in a school surrounded by other students who share those goals. You will have far fewer such peers at Notre Dame, where the graduate school choices are typically law, medicine, and business, and many of your classmates will be decidedly NOT interested in science, math, and engineering.</p>

8

<p>I appreciate all the insight I’ve been getting from people here and just a little more info on things that i’m consider</p>

<p>at Caltech i would major in Business, econ, and management along with math and i would also have the opportunity to continue playing basketball which is semi-important to me</p>

<p>at ND i would major in finance</p>

9

<p>little-m the most important thing you could do at this point would be to visit the schools. since you got into cal-tech, i would think perhaps ND will offer you a weekend pitched at top applicants, such as the reilly weekend. by all means GO !! </p>

<p>i have never been to cal-tech, but our D dreamed for years of going to MIT. she was accepted, and was never more excited in her life to go visit the place - nor more disappointed after she got there. it is a fine place and all, but it was not for her. she realized that her dreams had been formed from perceptions of . . . . . . . . well nothing, really. you need to go to these places, hang around them, be a small part of their scene before you can make an educated choice. </p>

<p>there is little doubt in my mind that c-tech and ND are different enuf places that one will make itself felt to you - ONCE YOU GO THERE. until then, what are you basing anything on ??</p>

10

<p>I’ll throw one more consideration in for you, littlemikey. I smiled when I read that basketball is semi-important to you, because my son had talked about playing for Caltech as well- saying it was the only school where he felt confident that he could be a major contributor, and even a starter!
At ND, he found intramural basketball is fantastic- there is such school spirit for everything, that it’s really fun playing on the hall team. There is great competition since so many students are talented in athletics, but could never play Division I there.
Also, being a spectator at the many sports there is a great social piece to the school.
As others have said, a visit will really help make your decision.</p>

11

<p>This is a no-brainer. If you want a life then go to Notre Dame. If you want to be around nerds who would rather talk to you WoW than in person then Caltech it is.</p>

12

<p>Definitely, if you’re not fond of sitting around studying the ENTIRE day, go to Notre Dame. A recent graduate from my area that scored a 36 on the ACT warned his sister, another 36, not to go to Caltech because he was unable to have a life with all his studying…this from a guy with a 36 on the ACT. So, yeah.</p>

<p>Plus, ND is the most amazing place in the world! :slight_smile: haha.</p>