<p>How is the experience at Notre Dame for anyone that has been accepted or visited?</p>
<p>How are the students? Competitive? Collaborative?
Social Scene?
Workload?</p>
<p>Was it a good fit?</p>
<p>Notre Dame’s 95 percent retention rate between the freshman and sophomore years is among the highest in the country. Notre Dame’s graduation rate of 95 percent is exceeded by only Harvard and Princeton.</p>
<p>I’m gonna be a freshman but from what I saw when I visited and what I’ve heard from people who go/went there is it’s very collaborative–not competitive–and your class really is your “family.” Dorm mates become incredibly close. People are just warm and nice in general. Good moral values. And their alumni have some of the strongest school pride I’ve ever seen!</p>
<p>I had a good first year. Fall semester is a big adjustment for everyone, and spring seems easier. Academics are demanding, but professors and advisors are extremely helpful and approachable. Students are very collaborative, no cut-throat competition since everyone just assumes that if you are at ND, you’re smart and will be successful (we assume we all will.) South Bend is not much fun, with few places to go. Most of life revolves around the campus, tho, and there is always something to do. I have met lots of people and have made some great friends. There is more drinking than I expected which is probably caused by the fact, mentioned above, that there is not much to do off campus and you can go to campus events pretty drunk and nothing will happen to you. Drug use is NOT tolerated, so there is little of that.<br>
Dorms are OK and most people stay in the same dorm after the first year since that is where most of your friends live. There are pro’s and con’s to all of the dorms, but it’s the people that make them home. It is a beautiful campus and easy to get around. Last winter was pretty mild, so no serious complaints about the weather.
This is a great place. The only people I have known who were not happy were either pressured to come here by family while wanting to go elsewhere, or wanted a bigger social (Greek) lifestyle. A few have had trouble being away from home, have a serious boy/girl friend elsewhere, or have not been able to manage the classwork/studying/job/social life load, but that would be true regardless of the school chosen.</p>
<p>My niece took quite a while to adjust, since its location & culture & climate are very different from HI. By her 2nd & especially her 3rd year, she was very happy there. Another friend’s S never did adjust, got VERY depressed & ended up transferring back to HI. Much depends on the individual. The above post sums things up well from what I understand of the school. Our niece liked it because she was told it was “similar to Hogwarts.” Their food is said to be delicious.</p>
<p>^ I can attest to that, the food IS delicious!</p>
<p>How big do the classes get? How is the workload?</p>
<p>Haha, the food is pretty good, but I wish there were more fresh fruits and vegetables since I am a vegetarian (most fruits/veggies taste like they were frozen,) but there is a lot to choose from and the dining halls offer all you can eat.<br>
Class size can vary widely, from 20 to over 200 per class, but most are on the small side especially after you get into your major (sophomore year and later.) If a class is very large, it will usually have a large lecture two days a week and a smaller discussion class the third day (less than 20 people.) I have only had full professors for my classes, but have had TA’s for the discussion classes. The professors are available for office hours and other times if you need them. Many will have small groups meet for lunch or even invite groups to their homes during the semester. I have to say that my friends at larger schools are pretty surprised at the interaction ND students have with the professors.
The workload is manageable. Some classes, like engineering or sciences, are harder and demand more time, but most people expect that. I have not known many people who could not manage the workload altho it might mean studying on the weekend when others are partying, but even that is not an every week occurance. The only ones I know who had trouble keeping up were the ones who didn’t go to class for the first half of the semester and then tried to catch up as finals approached. If you go to class, do the assignments when due, and manage your time well, you should be fine. People study a lot here, so you won’t feel left out if you pass on an activity because you have a lot of homework on a particular night. Tutors are readily available, especially for freshmen at CoMo (Coleman-Morse, the FYS building,) so learn to ask for help as you go along, not when you’re in over your head the week before finals. ND expects everyone to do well and there are lots of resources available if you will use them. I’m sure it’s why 98% graduate on time.
FYI, most people take around 15 hours a semester freshman year, which is five three-hour classes plus a non-credit PE class which is three hours per week.</p>
<p>^ Haha when I visited the fruits/veggies were really good! I like eating healthy too so I have similar concerns. Are the salad bar vegetables/fruits really frozen? They seemed fresh to me…</p>