ND is my son’s #1 hope for college, but sadly it’s a reach for him and the statistics are not encouraging. We’re considering Holy Cross College as a back up with the goal of attempting to transfer to ND sophomore year, but have seen a much earlier thread in this community from circa 2005 saying that’s actually not a good plan; that ND would likely look much more favorably on an transfer application from another university or school with more prestige and more rigorous academics than HC; that ND has concerns about the quality of HC courses; that so many HC students try to transfer in that your odds are better trying to transfer from another school; and that communicating with a ND transfer counselor during freshman year at another school for class selection can be very helpful.
Do people in 2022 agree? Any more recent advice and experiences on the HC option would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
My opinion. If your son matriculates at Holy Cross (which is a great school, by the way), he should do so with the intention to stay there. He should invest time in becoming part of the HC school, activities, etc. He should not go there as a stepping stone elsewhere. If he goes all in at HC, he will do better than if he has an eye on transferring even before he applies as a freshman.
Now…if he is all in at Holy Cross, and decides it’s not for him and wants to transfer, that’s another story.
But applying to and matriculating at a college because you want to use it as a stepping stone for a different college is not a good plan…my opinion.
100% agreed - and why HC vs. any other catholic school?
I highly doubt ND has a feeder preference -but would likely look at the transcript and after one year HS stats. Imagine if your son chose a school he could love - there are many - and went all in and had a great experience vs. re-starting 2nd year when others have already cemented relationships. Oh, and his HS record will still count and then there’s this from their website - so not a good plan. Possible - but not a good plan. PS - while I don’t know the stats, Holy Cross is not an easy entry either. Good luck.
Each year, we receive approximately 1000 fall semester transfer applications for 50 transfer openings, and we receive close to 100 transfer applications for 5-10 spots in the spring
If this school is a reach for him, what makes you think he will improve once he’s there?
These schools are both highly competitive. Please don’t set him up to believe that come heck or high-water, that he’s going to eventually attend ND. That’s not a good thing if he is not admitted.
We ALL want our children to get into their #1 choices and for some, that doesn’t work out and THAT IS OKAY. This country has over 45K valedictorians. I don’t know how many more are Salutatorians. They all apply to the same top schools. They don’t all get into the HYPS and the elite privates.
There just isn’t any room at those schools. ND is a family tradition for a number of students and because of the competition at every school, it is tough for our students nowadays because a large majority of US students have been groomed into seeking higher education. They all seem to want it at a few schools where everyone else is seeking admission.
Apply everywhere and see what sticks. Please lessen the pressure to only seek admission at ND.
Notre Dame has a Gateway program that takes about 75 students who attend Holy Cross College for their first year and are pre-accepted to ND as a sophomore as long as they achieve a target GPA. I do not expect there will be any similar advantage to being a HC student who is not in that program.
I’d seek out colleges your child would be happy to spend four years at. If your son decides to put in a transfer application he can but he should not count on it working out. I get the appeal of ND (H is a graduate and S went to grad school there) but there are tons of amazing colleges and universities out there!
@thumper1@tsbna44 I think the OP is referring to Holy Cross College in South Bend (not nearly as selective but run by the same order as ND) and not College of the Holy Cross in Wooster. OP please clarify.
Well…that is different…when many of us think of Holy Cross, we think of the very excellent Jesuit college in Massachusetts…an excellent college for sure.
But back to the OP…
Can’t this kid find some excellent colleges where he WILL gain acceptance as a freshman. Or is it Notre Dame or bust!
ohhhh - i was thinking it was st. marys or something - i should have looked.
now it all makes sense.
well it seems like they have a good transfer set up and you take some classes at ND the first year.
I agree with Thumper - go where you find the love (maybe the other Holy Cross) but obviously it’s an option for OP - note a 3.5 in college may or may not be attainable. Then what?
OP- I have noticed an interesting phenomenon among the kids I know. The ones pining for ND who end up at (fill in the blank)- Providence, Seton Hall, the Holy Cross in Worcester MA, Fairfield- all love their colleges by the end of freshman year and end up NOT transferring.
I surmise there are several reasons for this. First- a kid whose stats are at the lower end of ND’s stats, likely worked hard for those grades if they are coming out of a reasonably rigorous HS. College is harder than HS… and those kids are still working hard at college, but not feeling like they are drowning as they might at ND with a much more competitive vibe. Second, apart from “world famous football”, the other Catholic schools do a great job at all the reasons a kid might fall in love with ND. Really committed faculty, a wonderful sense of community service AND academics, etc. Third- once a kid gets absorbed into dorm life, has a few clubs or activities which he/she loves, the idea of starting over again loses its appeal.
So-- if it were my kid- I’d be encouraging him to develop a balanced list of colleges- reachy, matchy, safety… and fall in love with the one he commits to and not look back.
If he gets there and is miserable- after a reasonable try at fixing what he doesn’t like- maybe it’s time to talk transfer. But to go into it expecting to leave? not a good way to love college life.
My daughter transferred to ND. She and her transfer friends came from places like Villanova, U of South Carolina, Ohio State, Loyola Chicago. I have not heard of transfers from Holy Cross other than the Gateway students from the people I know that transferred. I agree with others here that it is best to go somewhere else and make the best of it and transfer if you are so called. Best to go to the school with a positive, 4 year mindset. Many do think they would transfer but don’t, as others have said. Transferring was best for my daughter, but she tried to make it a go where she was.
