<p>I know that I want to attend a good grad school. </p>
<p>At Chicago I visited and did not like the vibe that I got from it..
No one seemed to have school pride, everyone seemed nerdy, and overall pretty boring.<br>
But I like that it is a great academic school. </p>
<p>At Notre Dame I loved that everyone was so down to earth and had so much school pride. But Im not sure that the opportunities presented after college will be as good as if I had gone to UChicago...</p>
<p>Help? Thoughs?</p>
<p>uggggghhhh....I have approximately two days to decide. </p>
<p>I highly, highly doubt you’ll have any trouble finding something worthwhile to do after graduation if you had gone to ND. Like… lol you really don’t need to worry about it. ND has a great reputation and honestly, who doesn’t recognize the name? Not to mention the alumni network is absolutely amazing and crazy loyal, and that will give you so many connections in almost any field.</p>
<p>But most importantly, and I know it sounds cliche and you’ve heard it a million times already, but you really have to go with your gut when making this decision. If you got a bad vibe from Chicago, then you probably shouldn’t go there. If you go to a school where you’re miserable, you won’t be successful. You just won’t.</p>
<p>Honestly? I think you already know where you’re supposed to be :)</p>
<p>I don’t buy the line about completely trusting your gut. The first time I visited Harvard I thought it was completely blah. The people were snobby, the professors inaccessible, etc. I was amazingly close to following my gf to Bucknell, a great school in its own right, but simply not on the level of Harvard. The academic gap between ND and UChi isn’t so wide, but just as a general decision-making guide I would really caution against using such a tiny sample size to extrapolate what your next four years are going to be like. In the end, my head screamed down my heart and I loved Harvard from the moment I started. </p>
<p>So, while I’m all for picking the place that is the best ‘fit’ for you, there are so many more variables to that than what you saw in just one visit. Geographic surroundings, campus organizations, etc. etc. Your gut feeling is important, but it’s really just one factor to consider alongside all the other available information.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input guys. My gut is saying Notre Dame, but I have heard multiple scenarios similar to yours Veritas which make me think that I may actually end up loving UChicago. haha this is so tough!</p>
<p>I know both schools well. I went to ND, and have children who went to ND and U of C. I like both of these schools very much, but they are very different beasts. As a parent, I felt much better about having a child at ND because of its nurturing- how shall I say- safety net. There truly is a difference. I don’t mean to say that U of C doesn’t provide counseling for personal problems, but rather that ND’s is more holistic. Another observation I’d like to make is that, having met so many of my children’s friends from both schools, both on campus and in my home, ND’s reputation for social and philosophical homogeneity among its students is largely undeserved, that there is far more diversity of opinion there than at most schools. The many U of C students I’ve met may look more “diverse,” but I’ve often been surprised by how predictable their opinions are. Of course this phenomenon is common in academia; it’s amazing how intolerant compulsive tolerance can be. I’ve always thought (even as an Easterner) that U of C is the most intellectually demanding school in the US, but ND also has extremely able students and faculty. You could hardly go wrong with either, but you would probably feel less pressured at the latter while still being challenged academically. It’s a tough choice, but on the whole I’d say that ND is a happier place.</p>
<p>I just had the same type of decision - dartmouth vs. notre dame. Honestly, Dartmouth was probably better for me both academically and financially and I had a great time visiting there, but I knew that there was no way in hell that I could go to ND and not love it. It was a gut feeling; my head’s still mad at me for picking ND over Dart, but I know in the end I will be satisfied with my choice. ND is a special place. You won’t regret it.</p>
<p>hahahah!! I already am. I went down there during the “blue and gold game” which is more like a practice, and there were 21000 people in the stands. Its going to be sickkkkk</p>