<p>How likely is admission to Notre Dame if you are not catholic?</p>
<p>I’m am curious about this too. Anyone?</p>
<p>I’m a Sophomore here at ND. I happen to be Catholic and love the religious atmosphere that ND provides, but being Catholic is definitely not a prerequisite. I don’t have any statistics for you on acceptance rates for non-catholics vs. Catholics, but it’s not a factor in admissions and I have countless friends and classmates who are everything from Muslim to Atheist, Protestant, Hindu, Buddhist, etc. etc.</p>
<p>So don’t sweat it; your admission decision will be based on your academic abilities, not on your creed.</p>
<p>I wrote one of my essays about being an agnostic and I was accepted so I would say that your religious beliefs don’t hold much weight.</p>
<p>The admissions office states that religion is not considered. However, Notre Dame is often criticized for a lack of diversity. Because of this, if there is any impact of being non-Catholic, I would guess that it would be a positive one.</p>
<p>I think it has little (if any) impact on your decision at all. rmldad is probably right in saying that should it affect your decision, it will probably only impact it positively.</p>
<p>Jehovah’s witness but I still got a likely letter from Notre Dame.</p>
<p>We know a lot of applicants and admits to ND. General word among families we know is that, as ND undergrad is about 80% Catholic, there are fewer spots for non Catholics and so higher stats required and tougher to get in for those remaining roughly 20% spots.</p>
<p>But religion will not be a “make or break” factor…</p>
<p>Seems that ND applicants are self-selecting - and lots of applicants may weigh the impact of not being Catholic even if the school does not.</p>
<p>@midwestmomofboys: you are claimimg that there is a 20% quota for non-Catholics. That is NOT true.</p>
<p>I don’t think religion impacts admissions decisions one way or the other. ND has a lot of Catholic students because that reflects the applicant pool of the university.</p>
<p>Agree with happy1… your religion does not effect the decision… that data collected only for statistical info… 80% rate of catholic students reflects that mostly catholic students apply. It is a very catholic university and that appeals to mostly catholic students.</p>
<p>Notre Dame could worry about the student not fitting in, but I think diversity interests would reign supreme. The school just doesn’t have to worry about having a majority-catholic student body. ;/</p>
<p>TomofBoston – I did not claim there was a quota. I said the student body is roughly 80% Catholic, has been and is likely to continue that way. So, yes, when you consider that non-Catholics make up only about 20% of the students, and the school is not all of a sudden going to have a 50% Catholic student body, it is reasonable to think that it can be tougher to get in as a non-Catholic. The alternative could be, in fact, that so few non-Catholics apply because of self-selection that, in the interest of diversity, it is easier to get in. That is not what we have seen, but it is entirely possible. </p>
<p>My view is based on knowing many students who have applied and been admitted/rejected over past 4 years (as in 20+ students). Of course, this is just one slice of ND admissions experience, and I am not suggesting that Admissions or any other official with the school has said that only 20% of the freshman will be non-Catholic and therefore those students are held to a higher standard. The OP asked about admission impact of being non-Catholic, and I responded with our experience and perception.</p>
<p>For what it is worth, the ND Common Data set identifies religious affiliation as “considered” – the same category as 1st generation, race or ethnicity, applicant interest, and work experience.</p>
<p>I think that religion is definitely not considered as much as race, especially when ND is trying to improve their diversity. When they say they’re trying to improve diversity, that really means finding students of different racial backgrounds rather than students of various religions. If you’re not Catholic, I wouldn’t lose sleep over it. I think the reason there is such a high percentage of Catholics on campus is simply because it is such a strong Catholic school, so it makes sense for the applicant pool to be predominantly Catholic.</p>
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<p>Sounds like you are describing a quota to me.</p>
<p>^^ I honestly don’t believe there is a quota/fewer spots for non-Catholics.</p>