<p>I came across some posts on an ND sports forum asking Domers if they thought it was worth the cost. Thought I'd copy a few responses here as fyi's - they were insightful:</p>
<p>Reply 1: "At most schools you will learn very similar material, have similar facilities, have comparable professors, but one can't create a couple of things that ND owns. Even other Catholic schools.</p>
<p>I went to ND because it was the only school on my list that I would have never forgotten about had I said no. I find a couple of my work colleagues doing the same now. The rationalize it by saying that they got accepted but didn't go. They don't talk about any other schools that they selected over. Only one.</p>
<p>The difference between ND and so many other schools though is - the students. Like I said earlier you can go across any campus in America and find similar course content but you won't find the combination that you will in South Bend. A Notre Dame student typically is in the top 5% of their class, lettered in some athletic sport, likely has participated in some form of community service program. So you have a balance of competition, intellect, health, generosity, and spirituality rolled up into one. You don't get that anywhere else.</p>
<p>Consider that only 9% of the student body is actually from Indiana. So you aren't going to a place where you'll know too many people. So you have to learn to grow socially. Most of that growth blossoms into a family. I don't have any better or more loyal friends than the ones I went to school with. Whenever I am interviewing a candidate for a job, all else equal I am going to recommend the ND grad because I know what they went through and I know that they are capable of fitting in. I also feel loyalty to my alma mater unlike a good portion of others that I work with. They may root for their football or basketball teams but that is the extent of their allegiance. At Notre Dame, you are family for life, an aspect that you won't find when you balance the checkbook."</p>
<p>Post 2: "I will graduate this spring and will have many thousands of dollars of loans to pay off, but I can honestly say that I would have considered it a bargain at twice the price. Even though I have lots of loans, the financial aid has been very generous. My parents have helped me out as much as they could, but I have basically financed my entire education by myself. I do not believe that money should stand in the way of anyone who is admitted and who truly wants an ND education. I'm sure the loans will be annoying to pay off, but thanks to the power Notre Dame has in the world, I have a great job lined up. I have no doubts that a Notre Dame education pays for itself. It has been my dream my whole life to come to school here and it has been even better than I had hoped."</p>
<p>Post 3: "Be careful not to ignore nonacademic factors when comparing schools. How many times have you felt the pride that a grad from Loyola/Xavier/Miami (O) has for his/her school? How often do grads from those schools have the automatic access afforded to ND grads?"</p>
<p>Thank you very much docmom for your post. I currently am in debate over whether to attend emory or notre dame. Right now its 50/50. Im just glad that I have several more months to decide.</p>
<p>For those of you who care, I will be creating a new post in the College Search & Selection. It will be titled POLL:Notre Dame vs. Emory.</p>
<p>thank you for this info. docmom. i didn't apply EA, because i didn't have the magic 1400...</p>
<p>but i really want to go there...i have all mylife...i am wondering what you think my chances are...</p>
<p>west coast, white male
public school, rated very high...
4.2 gpa.
1360 SAT, 710V and 650M
SAT II's - 740 math
Calc. B AP Score as a junior - 5
Physics B " " " - 4
Currently taking Span 4, AP ENG, AP PHYsics C, College Calc (2nd yr.), AP Govt..</p>
<p>I have been involved in a peer counseling program at my school for 2 yrs. i am also president of a club supporting an after school program for disadvantaged students - i was awared Volunteer of the Year for all of my (big) city for last yr...</p>
<p>also, NHS junior and senior
Varsity Lacrosse
Team Captain soph yr on Jr. Varsity
great recs from physics and calc teachers
and i have done lots of tutoring and currently on a panel to speak to children about saying no to drugs and alcohol...</p>
<p>I am Catholic...altar server three yrs.</p>
<p>and...last summer i was accepted to ND Summer Experience program...</p>
<p>what do you think, honestly???</p>
<p>thanks so much for any help and adivce...Merry Christmas...</p>
<p>I definitely think it's worth a shot. Everything but the test scores looks really good. Did you attend the ND summer experience, or did you decline the offer?</p>
<p>1400 isn't very good is it? what does he mean when he says the "magic 1400" i was under the impression that it isn't that good for ND. I don't really know though... anyone care to straighten me out?</p>
<p>1400 is about average for nd.. i believe the median last year was around 1370.. the "magic 1400" is usually the lower limit suggested if someone is applying ea since the ea pool is usually very competitive</p>
<p>I did attend the summer experience and it was awesome. i am wondering if anyone thinks attending would help my chances? also, on the ND app. it states that if SAT II's and A.P.s enhance one's application, they will consider??? is that true??</p>
<p>Isn’t the minimum gpa to stay in good standing at Notre Dame a 1.8? And they pride themselves on having high academic standards? Sorry, but when you’re allowed to have a 1.8 gpa at any university and still be in good standing, it seems like the university is more of a paper mill where they practically hand out degrees.</p>
<p>In the future just start a new thread. No need to resurrect a thread with dated information from six years ago.</p>
<p>Anyway, ND is not the kind of place where degrees are just handed out. Professors in general stay in good contact with students and try not to let them slip through the cracks. I am not sure if the number you provided is correct but even if it is my guess is that few students ever get down to that level and if they do they probably rejected the help of professors, counselors, and tutors.</p>
<p>That’s not the point. The fact that it is implemented is. A 1.8 GPA being the minimum GPA to stay in good standing at any university is low academic standard. You can dance around it all you want. To me, the only thing that seems tough about Notre Dame is getting it - not their academics.</p>
<p>Every university has these good standing policies and the rationale for such policies likely differs from school to school. I did a quick survey on the internet looking at a range of schools and most hover around 2.0.</p>
<p>I do not believe these policies are in any way an indicator of a university’s academic rigor. As I said above, the rationale for these numbers likely differ from school to school. I could interpret the UT Austin number to mean that the academics are so easy there that anybody below a 2.0 is underachieving beyond belief. I could also interpret it to mean that the academics are difficult and the administration wants to promote a cutthroat atmosphere by keeping the number at 2.0. Which is right? I have no idea. I know nothing about UT Austin but I can tell you that the number means nothing unless I do my homework and figure out why it is the way that it is.</p>
<p>Bottom line, numbers have power and meaning. You need to figure out the story behind the number if you want to gauge a university’s academic rigor.</p>