Not being Catholic, accepted EA, couple of questions

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Notre Dame
1

<p>I was accepted EA and I am really honored to get a chance to study at such a great university. I really love Notre Dame from its amazing campus beauty to its academics and am hoping to go there next Fall 2006. however, I have a few questions.</p>

<p>1.) With the prevalence of Catholicness everywhere from chapels in the dorms to the Grotto, Sunday night mass, Touchdown Jesus, etc... would I feel left out if I were not Catholic? I mean ND is one of the most spiritual schools in America and I hope that there is not any discrimination or such if I do not take part in some of these activities. Yet, when it came down to religion personally, I am not much of a religious person, and well I am not sure if conversation at ND revolves much around Chrisitianity.</p>

<p>2.) How is Notre Dame's food system?</p>

<p>3.) If I want to do pre-med courses (i.e., science and math), can I go into the CArts and Letters after First Year of Studies or do I have to go to College of Science?</p>

<p>4.) Are intramurals, which are top in the nation, super competetive? That is, are there tryouts, intense schedules and such?</p>

<p>5.) How is ND viewed in terms of prestige other than its national 18th ranking?</p>

<p>6.) How is financial aid at ND? </p>

<p>Once again, I am really excited and look forward to being part of the Fighting Irish family. Thanks for your help.</p>

2

<p>I'm applying too, but I'll try to answer your questions.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>ND is a VERY Christian school, and 85% of the students are Catholic. The university says that open discussion of all faiths are encouraged, but, from what my friends tell me, non-Catholics do feel a little bit out of place. There is no discrimination of any sorts against non-Catholics, though; they just don't always feel like they've found their "niche".</p></li>
<li><p>ND's food is among the best in the country. The food is as good as any college is going to get (when I visited, I really liked their Oriental food, believe it or not). Just stay away from the Quarter Dogs at Huddle!</p></li>
<li><p>Honestly not sure, sorry.</p></li>
<li><p>Tackle football is intense. The average kid at Notre Dame was a star on their high school team, so the football is much much better than your average varsity high school team. Still, some sports are less intense, like tennis. However, intramurals at ND are more serious than at other colleges.</p></li>
<li><p>ND is "only" ranked 18, but the alumni network is arguably more supportive and active than any other school except Princeton. The alumni are batty in love with the place, and "Domers", as ND students are called, are sure to find support, no matter which career path they choose. It is true that while Princeton and the other Ivies have international reputations, ND's reputation is national. Still, the support of the alumni is beyond belief, and for this reason, ND is a far more worthy investment than its rank of 18 might indicate.</p></li>
<li><p>Don't know, because I won't hear from them until April :).</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Hope this helped.</p>

3

<p>1.) With the prevalence of Catholicness everywhere from chapels in the dorms to the Grotto, Sunday night mass, Touchdown Jesus, etc... would I feel left out if I were not Catholic? I mean ND is one of the most spiritual schools in America and I hope that there is not any discrimination or such if I do not take part in some of these activities. Yet, when it came down to religion personally, I am not much of a religious person, and well I am not sure if conversation at ND revolves much around Chrisitianity.</p>

<p>You are going to be surrounded by a lot of Christians but not everyone here is Christian and it has not been my experience that anyone is judged for not being a Catholic or Christian. Most everyone goes to Mass on Sunday, but we don't look around to see who is there and not there. I do not think you will be discriminated against and I don't think you will have any problems with the religious nature of the school. If anything you may just miss out on some of the experience that is related to religion, but you would be missing out on that by going to a less-religious school as well. I am not sure if this is making any sense, and it is hard for me to know for sure since I am a strong Catholic, but I do have some friends who are not religious and they have all been accepted without any problems.</p>

<p>2.) How is Notre Dame's food system?</p>

<p>Overall, it is very good for how colleges are. It has consistently been ranked as one of the top 20 food systems in the nation and I would agree with that. You get sick of it towards the end of each semester but it isn't bad and there are lots of options. You will be well taken care of with food.</p>

<p>3.) If I want to do pre-med courses (i.e., science and math), can I go into the CArts and Letters after First Year of Studies or do I have to go to College of Science?</p>

<p>There are two pre-med tracks, one through science and one through arts and letters so you will have the option to go through arts and letters if that is more appealing to you.</p>

<p>4.) Are intramurals, which are top in the nation, super competetive? That is, are there tryouts, intense schedules and such?</p>

<p>It has not been my experience that it is super competitive; for sure you will be able to make one of your dorm teams in some sport if you want. There are so many intramural sports that you just have to find what you want to do, but you will be able to participate. For sports like football many dorms do have tryouts, but the schedules I don't think are bad because everyone is just doing it in their free time. I think you will find that it is something you can do if you want to do. Even if not, ND is just a sports-crazed school and we play a lot not just in intramurals, where you compete against other dorms, but there usually are even competitions within the dorms. In my dorm we had football teams for each section of the dorm (each floor has two sections) and we also have basketball teams. I am not a great player or athlete but I can certainly play on these teams and have fun, so I think you will find a place you fit.</p>

<p>5.) How is ND viewed in terms of prestige other than its national 18th ranking?</p>

<p>I am biased on this but I think we are viewed as very prestigous overall. The alumni network is one of the big keys that separates ND from a lot of other schools. I think that pretty much no matter where you go having a Notre Dame education is going to stand out and be impressive, which is what you want. </p>

<p>6.) How is financial aid at ND? </p>

<p>Overall it is very good if you have need but not so great if you don't have need just because ND doesn't offer merit based aid. I do think you will find that they will take care of your need based well; they do most of the time and they really pride themselves on that.</p>

<p>Hope that helps.</p>