<p>I'm currently between Notre Dame, Northwestern and Tufts and I can't really tell if I'm too liberal to fit in at a place like Notre Dame. I realize that not everyone is a conservative Catholic there but if I'm not necessarily into sports or religion will i find it easy enough to make friends? I'm just concerned that if i make a weird joke or listen to "hardcore" music my dorm mates will be freaked out! Plus is there enough to do on campus that I won't be bored all of the time??</p>
<p>I get your drift. I come from Boston, which is pretty liberal (although I consider myself a conservative). On top of that, I’m also Jewish, so you can see why I’m a little concerned about how I may fit in as well. From what I hear though, Notre Dame is a pretty accepting community. Although most of the student body is sort of similiar to one another, it seems to me that there is always a place for difference, and I think a lot of Domers have open minds about people who go against the grain a bit. Your best bet is to visit!</p>
<p>Notre Dame is all about the fit, I have seen people who love it once they step on campus and others who realize that they don’ like it here. I would say that a typical ND student is one that is intelligent but laid back to a certain extent. Granted yes we all tend to have passions, but I don’t feel that you need to be all tense about school and that kind of thing. </p>
<p>But I would definitely advise you to visit - you will get a good idea of whether you fit in when you visit. Good Luck!</p>
<p>Just an opinion: I would visit if you are not into sports. ND lives and dies by the football team and I just think that you may be a bit of a fish out of water there. I attended SMC (across the street for those not familiar) but my husband and brothers all attended ND so I am very familiar with it. It is a catholic university with big time sports and they don’t apologize for it. Yes, students of all faiths attend as do those not terribly interested in athletics but really, why? Tufts seems more up your alley. I would go and visit before deciding. It is a friendly place and you will surely make friends, I am just not sure what you may have in common with 90% of them. (ok so that is said a little tongue in cheek). All kidding aside I think in your case a visit is important. You may come away loving it but you may also feel like it is not quite what you are looking for.</p>
<p>There’s no question that you could find fit at ND. There are plenty of liberal student groups on campus, and the student body is about evenly split along the political spectrum. However, the question is whether you want to be somewhere you feel more comfortable because there are a greater number of people more like you. Some people like to stand out and be in unusual settings (Manti Te’o), others like to be among similarly minded peers (ND is 85% Catholic). </p>
<p>Perhaps even more potentially problematic than the religion issue would be you disinterest in sports. Now granted, my brother tells me he has friends from Latin America who became the biggest fans of ND football on day one, but I don’t know how widespread this is. Pretty much EVERYONE attends the football games and the campus mood in the fall is very dependent on the team’s success. During the 2007 season my friends were practically despondent until about January. If you don’t like sports and think they’re a waste of time, ND could be a place that seems foreign to you throughout your four years.</p>
<p>You do not need to be a sports fanatic (ESPN 24/7, spouting statistics, second-guessing every coaching decision, etc.) to enjoy the football games at Notre Dame. For many people (students and otherwise), the football game is mostly about socializing, with the game as a backdrop. And even if you have been to other major college football games, there is something very special about the Notre Dame game experience. It’s really not all hype.<br>
And, to put it in perspective, it’s only seven weekends during the year.</p>
<p>Just signed on to this old account because i dont feel like studying for this exam and i came across this…</p>
<p>Did you visit here? its a pretty conservative school in regard to the administration, but if you are talking professors and students I’d honestly say it is about 50/50, politically. You’ll fit in wherever you go, you just have to make an effort to find what you’re looking for. Don’t go to northwestern if you want fun though…</p>
<p>and happy holidaze</p>
<p>well first of all, thank you all for your responses.
I happened to have visited the school on easter, so i dont know how good of a grasp i have on how life there really is. It seemed like everyone there was very nice etc but i dont know if it really felt like there was an energy about the campus. I visited BC last weekend and i saw lots of kids walking around and socializing but when i look at the ND webcam online, i never see ANYONE around. Can anyone say if this is how things actually are there because i dont want the ONLY thing on campus to do to be sports</p>
<p>Easter is a 4 day weekend Holiday at ND. My S always comes home. Can a ND student post what percentage of kids go home for Easter? I think that weekend might not be the best judge of “life/energy” on a Catholic college campus, as many students go home or to a friend’s house off-campus. Three years ago we visited Boston College on Easter Monday. It was DEAD. I presume ND is the same.</p>
<p>Haha, I thought I wasn’t into sports…until I went to my first ND football game!</p>
<p>Actually the topic creator addresses the same single issue that I have about Notre Dame. I’m already set to start school at ND in the fall and I too stalk the online webcams. Every time I look, the campus appears to be dead in the two outdoor locations available. So I also wonder about the campus energy.</p>
<p>I’ll be a grad student and happenings around campus will of course grow less and less important as I get deeper into research, but I’ve grown accustomed to lively campuses (I attend The University of Alabama and the ONLY dull moments on campus during the school year are mid-semester breaks, same with the other SEC schools I’ve visited for non-athletic occasions. Even Penn State was surprisingly lively when I visited last summer). I know the difference between the sizes of the student body, but I would hope there’s more than the 3-4 people I usually see if any anytime I view the webcams.</p>
<p>So is the campus kinda low-key or did they just choose a bad spot for those two webcams? It’s not that much of a big deal to me and it was not one of the things factored in my decision to enroll, but it would be a cool bonus</p>
<p>hahaha ^yeah, those are terrible spots for the webcam because no one hangs out there ever, but I understand your concerns because I agree that the atmosphere might not be as exciting the whole year as bama and penn st because those are party schools, but during the fall in football season and in the spring when the weather is nice and there are not that many exams going on then the atmosphere on campus is great.</p>
<p>Oh okay.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>I’ve read that each dorm sponsors two events (dances, casino nights, or etc.) each semester. Is this so? Is there interaction between dorms?</p>