<p>Georgetown and Notre Dame are the two schools I'm choosing from. I'm having a really hard time with it, so can anyone help me out?? I'm going into business at both schools. im looking for a school that has intellectual people (which both do) who can also enjoy themselves (aka let loose, party, get drunk....etc...which i think both schools also have)</p>
<p>Gtown:</p>
<p>Pros:
Good (?) business school
Urban setting in DC
Good basketball and school spirit
Lots of opportunities in the surrounding area
students are heavily involved
on east coast where i've always wanted to be
great international focus that i'm interested in</p>
<p>Cons:
lacks unity of notre dame
lacks state school-ish atmosphere like notre dame's
i've heard the social life isn't all that, but i've also heard its really fun. any thoughts?</p>
<p>Notre Dame:</p>
<pre><code>Pros:
</code></pre>
<p>Good business school
TONS of school spirit with good football, bball, and other sports
beautiful, spread out campus
hall living creates frat/family type feel</p>
<pre><code> Cons:
</code></pre>
<p>in the middle of nowhere (i'm from socal so this worries me)
stronger catholic association than gtown
stupid rules like parietals and no hard alc
not as diverse as i would like</p>
<p>thats pretty much my list. do you guys have any thoughts???? i would really love some input. i think the social life at both schools is what is most important to me because i know both schools have great academics and reputation but the social life is a little bit harder to figure out without actually visiting or talking to students. if any current students have insight i would love to see what you guys do for fun/parties and just what the overall social atmosphere is like. also feel free to say you disagree with something on my pros/cons list if you think im wrong. i want to have the correct image of each school in my mind</p>
<p>I’ve visited both and got into both. I definitely prefer the compactness of Georgetown’s campus. Notre Dame has a beautiful campus, but in my opinion it isn’t as visually pleasing as Georgetown’s. If you go to Georgetown, I’d wager you’ll also spend less time walking to class than at Notre Dame. Georgetown is also located in one of the most happening, upscale downtown areas in the United States.</p>
<p>The only way that Notre Dame has Georgetown beaten imho is with the ranking of its business school. Georgetown has just recently invested a lot into McDonough, though. It has completely new facilities and they’ve brought in the former dean of Stern at NYU to run it.</p>
<p>I moved to South Bend from Northern California a few years ago (San Fransisco Area), and I thought I was going to die from lack of things to do and the small atmosphere. I was plesantly suprised! There is everything you could possibly wish for and more. It’s more of a suburb of Chicago than anything else, and so while you won’t be RIGHT in the middle of the city action, your still pretty darn close.</p>
<p>“not as diverse as i would like” They are working really hard on this. And I know they have some really interesting people from around the world. For example they are one of the only schools who have students in a direct exchange program from Iran. I know that’s only one example, but still.</p>
<p>i don’t go to either, but i’ve visited friends at both and went to a catholic HS where those were pretty much the two most desired schools, and you really can’t go wrong with either. that being said, i have heard from people who spend four years at the bend get a little tired of the nothing-to-do-but-drink scene, which is common at a lot of schools. georgetown is definitely better for off-campus entertainment, like good bars and clubs (nd has them, but they’re not as upscale, obviously). as far as the social scene goes, from what i’ve heard they’re both awesome, but nd is definitely more of a state-school feel, with a more homogeneous student body, while gtown is more international. parties at both are usually held at off-campus houses.</p>
<p>bottom line, you’ll find great parties and really chill, social people at either…just depends on where you’d rather be, i guess.</p>
<p>and a word of advice, nd winters are BRUTAL, espescially if you’re used to socal.</p>
<p>also, georgetown might not have the football team, but there is definitely no lack of school unity/spirit. every other person is wearing a “we are georgetown” tshirt and has an awesome sense of gtown pride.</p>
<p>Getting to South Bend is awful. While it may also have things to do, the city is also fairly boring for its size (it’s not exactly a cultural mecca in the Midwest). It doesn’t compare to Georgetown at all.</p>
<p>You either have to take a prop-plane from Cleveland or the train from Chicago if you’re going a long distance. The train is slow and crappy, and it took me personally a half an hour to get a taxi from the podunk South Bend airport to Notre Dame because there was like one cab every 10-15 minutes.</p>
<p>Notre Dame is much more in your face about religion. At Georgetown, all faiths (and even the lack of faith) is respected (they even have a buddhist chaplain office). At ND the presumption is Catholicism-- and the rules that go with that are frequently enforced.</p>
<p>How is Notre Dame “better overall,”? I just don’t think that’s true; could you provide some evidence?</p>
<p>I’m a devout Catholic, and I found Georgetown and Notre Dame practically equal when it comes to the nitty-gritty aspects of Catholic identity at a university: neither is extremely Catholic where it matters. I do give props to Georgetown for refusing to recognize pro-abortion groups, though.</p>
<p>Just remember that one time a member of the Congregation of the Holy Cross and a faculty member at Notre Dame and a Jesuit from Georgetown asked God who did his work on earth. They got a response:</p>
<p>These are two similarly rated Catholic schools. The real question comes down to what you want to study and where you want to be geographically. My son wanted to study International Political Economy and Georgetown and DC were the perfect place for this. If he chose another field of study, the answer might have been just the opposite. With schools of this caliber, it has more to do with “fit” than anything else. Good luck!</p>
<p>Notre Dame is essentially the Knights of Columbus and the Catholic Daughters turned into a university, with a few intense football gamedays thrown in each fall. If that sounds good to you, then South Bend may be your place. If not…</p>
<p>i’m in kind of a similar situation and i was just wondering about the student body’s of the two schools. I’ve visited Georgetown and absolutely loved it, but I haven’t been to Notre Dame yet. Do the same types of students go to both schools, or are there any prevailing differences?</p>
<p>I don’t know Notre Dame, but you might add to the pro-Georgetown list:</p>
<p>extremely easy access to internships during the school year as well as summers
first college to have a muslim imam on campus (after 9/11)
lots of lectures from movers and shakers in DC on campus
DC has lots of free stuff (museums, concerts etc.)
I think it’s work hard/party hard school and there’s a fair amount of night life in DC as well</p>
<p>My son is most worried that there aren’t quite enough arty/laid back/ types at Georgetown. We had a very accomplished tour guide and we were all a bit intimidated by him! (Mind you he was a very, very nice guy.) </p>
<p>You might try reading the student newspapers on line for some insight. It was pretty clear to me that Georgetown students were having plenty of fun.</p>
<p>you’ll find pockets of arty/laid-back people, but I have to admit, it’s not your type A Georgetown personality - but I do think all of us at Georgetown likes to kick it back and relax, but it’s a competitive school and it’s a competitive economy out there, so I think the kids are just much more aware of that, especially given the recent recession</p>
<p>Georgetown is better. I am a freshman at georgetown and considered both, but ended up here. I couldn’t be happier. The social life is amazing and anybody who tells you otherwise has just ended up hanging out with the wrong people. We have amazing school unity and anyone who says otherwise is wrong. I walk around campus and every other person is wearing a gtown sweatshirt. The basketball games are so much fun and really bring the campus together.</p>
<p>And, south bend sucks. it’s not a suburb of chicago, it’s about two hours from chicago and a hassle to get too. We have DC at our feet and it really changes the feel of the city. </p>
<p>my sister is currently at ND but I’ve also visited GTOWN a lot and one thing I’ve seen and heard about GTOWN is that students are more…posh. Maybe that’s not the word I’m looking for, but I feel at ND students can still be carefree (as seen when Domers build igloos in the quads when it snows) while at GTOWN I feel that there is pressure to be more grown-up and mature, especially since you’re in a dynamic city and will undoubtedly meet powerful, high-ranking people. Anyway, that’s just the vibe I get from the schools.</p>