<p>Sam Lee: you've said:
"However, for those that are at least semi-well-educated and care somewhat about schools, I'd definitely put Hopkins and Northwestern above ND. .... On the other hand, ND seems not to have any star academic program though it does have the football." I'm glad you like NU so much. I would still be interested if you would say the same about Hopkins, WashU, Georgetown or Emory in a comparison with Notre Dame.</p>
<p>To the OP: Really, in comparing NU, Hopkins, Notre Dame and Georgetown, the academic reputations are so similar that you can say that going any one of the schools would guarantee a superb education provided you show up for class. The environments, though, are very dissimilar and I would advise you to make your choice based more on those factors. Hopkins is in a suburban-like part of North Baltimore on a beautiful campus. The academic atmosphere is somewhat cutthroat. Georgetown is urban but the campus is cohesive in Washington DC. The students tend to well-to-do and Catholic, but as in all colleges, there are all segments of the population. Notre Dame is a rural campus with football and extreme school spirit. Notre Dame has the highest Catholic influence. In terms of man on the street, Notre Dame could very well be the only college he has heard of.</p>