<p>Notre Dame, IN - Its not a dream: The University of Notre Dame is a top choice for college applicants and their parents.
A new survey ranks Notre Dame fourth among "dream colleges" in the United States.</p>
<p>Surveyors got the results by asking nearly 5,000 people what dream college they would like to see their child attend.</p>
<p>Princeton, Stanford, Harvard and Duke were also among the top five. </p>
<p>Notre Dame is the nation's highest rated Catholic university</p>
<p>Yeah baby, I love it! Nothing against those who didn't dream of ND but I love those who are here at their dream school...it just is fun to see how badly they wanted to be here and then to see their dream come true.</p>
<p>I'd be curious to see where these 5,000 people live. Maybe if you ask 5,000 people in Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia or New York, they might say that. We live in a Southern city, and a lot of people don't know about Notre Dame or have no idea where it is.</p>
<p>that can be said about a lot of schools, however. I wonder how many people on the west coast know much about Duke? Perhaps I am wrong but I think that is just the nature of geography.</p>
<p>We're from Calif and it only took one visit for ND to become my d's dream school. Plus she's Catholic and Irish!</p>
<p>I live in PA and I wanted to go to Notre Dame since i was 2 or 3 and no one in my family is even that big of an ND fan. I dont think geography matters that much for this survey because all of the schools named are known world-wide and are respected world-wide. And irish, it is amazing to live out your dreams. This place is amazing</p>
<p>If my relatives in the Philippines and my friends in France/Britain know about it, I dont understand how people in the south would not.</p>
<p>I'm in Texas and I've been wanted to go to ND since about 8 y/o. Neither of my parents went there.</p>
<p>well, Notre Dame is the premiere catholic university in the nation. it also has a high visibility with its football program, and is one of the few elite cfootball programs with great academics as well. i would think those are the reasons it is a dream college for so many people across the nation.</p>
<p>also, i think it was only ranked in the parents' dream colleges, not the students' dream college list. don't know why it's on one and not the other.</p>
<p>in addition to those factors listed above, i believe the unity and spirit of the student body plays a large amount.</p>
<p>ND is certainly a dream school, but visit Pepperdine University's campus to experience what a dream looks like :-)</p>
<p>glad to see you posting on this portion of the forum, but considering your past posts and where they have been predominantly located (on the Pepperdine forum)...why come on the ND board and try to ruffle feathers with a comment like that? Yes I've heard Pepperdine has a nice campus - from friends who visited out there...but still</p>
<p>Have you ever visited Notre Dame??? If you had you would know it is a dream. The golden dome glistening on a sunny day, the grotto at night or anytime of day, the library, just everything. Notre Dame is better than DisneyWorld.</p>
<p>nemo2001 - no offense intended. I was simply pointing out the dream-like qualities of the Pepperdine campus, given its spectacular location on the Santa Monica mountains and Pacific Ocean. Is it or ND a dream school? Sure, depending on what metric is used. But your comment "considering your past posts" was a low blow - I am not a flamer - just someone who states thing as they are. Sure, I have posted primarily on the PU forum, but only since I had info to share - nothing more, nothing less.</p>
<p>irishmeghan23 - yes, I have visited ND. Very impressive, no doubt. In fact, I lived in the area for two years, have family in the area, and many other positive connections to the university. I think it is an institution worthy of all of the praise it gets, without question.</p>
<p>University of San Diego has a fantastic campus as well, from what I have heard. I suppose to some that would make it a dream school but hopefully not to most. A dream school should be more than that, and any person on this forum that has that as an overall reason (and there are kids that do) I am a bit weary of. If someone told me that the only reason they wanted to go to ND was the campus, I would tell them to look at other schools because there is a lot more that should go into it than just that.</p>
<p>CincinnatiDad, I am sure you aren't saying that location is what makes a dream school, you are just pointing out a point that I agree with. This rant isn't againt you, you just hit a nerve on me because I do know a lot of people that went to their schools just because of the campus (I know some guys at the University of Tampa that way) and I just don't think it is how a college should be judged. If you want to judge that way and spend all this money, go to a resort!!!</p>
<p>The campus is of course lovely, (ive never had the pleasure of seeing it other than in pictures) but it is BY FAR my dream school for much better reasons than that... Quite frankly it annoys me when students want to attend my dream school for its "pretty" campus. Your taking up positions for the others who want to attend for more valueable reasons. So find another campus thats pretty.</p>