I have been admitted into Notre Dame for the Class of 2021 and am seriously considering attending. I understand that Notre Dame is an elite academic school (especially Mendoza College of Business which I would enroll in). Just how difficult are the classes for business students at ND? Also, is the workload particularly exhaustive or not too tough to handle? Even if you are not a business student I would very much welcome your feedback.
Also, I was wondering if the gender relations at Notre Dame are as bad as people say. To my knowledge parietals are pretty strictly enforced and it seems like they discourage interaction between the sexes. Is there just not much dating that goes on at the school? Is it overall a weak social scene? Any and all responses from current or former students would be very appreciated about the social aspect of the school.
Current freshman. So I haven’t taken any business courses (other than business law), because all freshman are enrolled in the first year of studies. For those classes, the difficulty of the course is entirely dependent on the professor you get. I’m probably better suited to speak on the second half of your questions, though. Business courses are curved to a B+ grade though, which can either be bad or good, depending on how the class did. Employers are aware of this though, so don’t let that scare you.
Gender relations are a little weird. In guys dorms, parietals are enforced a little less strictly, but they are, nonetheless, enforced. It is kind of nice just knowing that you’ll only have people of the same sex in your dorm after a certain time. But as long as you are quiet, it’s not too hard to break them. Dorm parties are the primary way you’ll meet people of the opposite sex just because of how the dorms are set up. I can’t speak for females, but male dorms have a great sense of pride and community. Depending on the dorm you get it, you might only talk to people from your own dorm, never mind the other gender. As far as relationships, I would say there is a bigger emphasis on hook up culture (meaning making out for ND students) than on actual dating, but there are couples here and there. There are plenty of clubs and bars to go to, if that’s what you mean by social scene. However, I don’t have an ID (yet), so I can’t give you my own opinion on them.
As far as discouraging interaction, that’s not true. Each dorm has 2 dances a year, and it’s not like the University has any policies on talking to members of the opposite gender, lol.
Thank you very much for your reply. I probably should’ve mentioned that I’m a guy in my original post, so all your information really helps me. How exactly do girls get invited to dorm parties though if the dorms are split up? Is it like an open door policy for parties for girls to show up?
@PurpleCobra Most sophomores know girls, so they’ll invite their girl friends (who will then bring their freshmen). After a while, you’ll get to meet enough people where you can start inviting your own girls. There is also an event at the beginning of the year, during Frosh-O, called Domerfest where all the freshman (ND, SMC, and HC) are thrown into a field to go talk. There will be music and food, so as long as you are willing to put yourself out there, you’ll meet plenty of girls that night.
Dorm parties are usually only for freshman and sophomores. Also, for the most part, as long as the music is loud enough, people will just show up, whether they are invited or not.