I was recently admitted to ND, and am very excited. Notre Dame is my top choice, I’m applying to Harvard in January even though Im not sure if I’d go there. So, I will most likely end up at ND. I was just wondering if there is an advantage to sending in my deposit early. I’m aware of Notre Dame’s random housing assignments, but would a student who commits early possibly get placed in a better dorm? Would committing early give me a preference in scheduling my classes? Or maybe some small advantage in merit aid? Thanks!
No, no, and no. Dorms are random with the exception of female engineering intents, who are randomly placed in one of four or five girls dorms. All first years are in the FYS, and while you indicate class preferences in June or July, your first year advisor actually puts your schedule together. Finally, ND gives out very, very little merit aid.
I should amend the comment on dorms. If you are a legacy, your parent could have you pulled into their dorm, provided of course you are a boy and your dad went there, or a girl and the alum is your mother. There are other isolated cases where kids get pulled into dorms, but it is relatively rare. The vast majority are randomly placed, and this includes athletes, many of whom have already committed.
Last case: students with siblings have some preference, they can either be placed in the dorm with their sibling or explicitly placed in a different dorm from their sibling’s.