<p>I love almost everything about ND, have already been admitted, and I am 90% sure I will go. I visited last summer, but school was already out. I will be going to the College of Science Open House and the Reilly Visitation Weekend. I hope to get a sense there of whether ND is the right "fit" then. I have just a couple of concerns that I am hoping current students could address.
1. Although I am a Christian, I am not Catholic. I would probably describe myself as an evangelical, but not the "fundamentalist" variety (ex. I am not trying to convert Catholics or anything). Do protestants miss out on the a lot of the ND experience by being a religious minority? Are there protestant students who are active in their faith?
2. I am worried about the "work hard/play hard" atmosphere. I know there will be plenty of drinking/drugs at any school, but is it particularly prevelant at ND? Can a student have a fun and active social life at ND without drinking until age 21?
3. Finally, on a much more trivial note, how do you cope with the weather? Does the bad weather make people depressed in the winter?
Sorry this is so long. Thanks to anyone who takes the time to reply! I really appreciate it!</p>
<p>happy to respond, but due to an unreliable internet connection I may be doing so in several chuncks...</p>
<p>On your second question:
- "work hard/play hard" does exist on this campus. And perhaps rightly so since a lot of the students use the weekend to blow off the stress from the week. Then again it is also perfectly possible to do almost no work and still end up suceeding in classes if you can test well. It all depends on your work ethic and how well you test. Note: I don't advocate the 4 day weekend theory (Thurs - Mon.) Does the weekend start on a Thurs night, for some it might; for others it doesn't. </p>
<p>Drinking and Drugs.<br>
Does drinking exist on campus, yes. Does underage drinking happen, yes. Would this happen at almost any college campus, I think we know the answer to this - yes. That having been said, the ND alcohol policy is more strict than some. Hard liquor and kegs are not allowed on campus as a result of changes instituted in April of 2001 by the Office of Residence Life and Housing. If anyone wants to know what prompted these changes, PM me and I will fill you in on some of the details that I've heard from a variety of sources.</p>
<p>Now on the subject of Drugs. There is a zero tolerance policy for the use of illicit narcotics on this campus. If you want to get an intimate look at the university's disciplinary system, ResLife, than get caught using on campus. I know of someone who voluntarily withdrew their freshman year rather than get expelled by the university and have that on their record because they were confronted by dorm staff and threatened to be sent to ResLife. This university has very low tolerance for them; I've never come across a party on campus where they were at. I would imagine that someone would have to really go hunting for them here, and personally I think it would be a really stupid decision to do so.</p>
<p>Social Life w/o drinking
Yes it is possible to have a good time at ND without drinking until 21. I did it, and personally I still don't see any point or reason to get drunk. It is quite amusing to watch friends get drunk at times (they say and do some truly stupid/funny things, and you can remind them of it for months). A group called FlipSide exists on campus to provide alternative non-drinking activities. Some of them are corny and silly; and the effectiveness of them varies year to year depending on who runs to club. By effectiveness I mean, how well they market themselves and how much they do per semester. </p>
<p>You'll find quickly up here as a Freshman that it quite easy to make friends. So find some with interests that parallel yours. It is possible to hang out and have fun with friends and not have to be wasted every weekend. Does it help to have a car or to know someone with a car? Yes, simply because the campus is insular and it will let you get off and explore SB on weekends. The Student Union Board puts on a $3 movie with 2 screenings on Friday and Saturday night on campus in Debartolo Hall, so you can always take in the top cinematic releases (from 6 months ago or so) each weekend. Plus with things going on at the Debartolo Performing Arts Center it is quite possible to find weekend activities on campus w/o resorting to a bottle.</p>
<p>If the bad weather were a factor, no one would attend colleges from Nebraska to North Dakota through the midwest and up on through the northeast.</p>
<p>OK, I know I posted a very similar message earlier, but, since it got deleted with the whole "time warp" incident, here goes:</p>
<p>I am from Minnesota, and I can honestly say that winter is my favorite time of year. Yes, some people do get depressed in the winter (seasonal depression, usually caused by shorter daylight hours), but winter offers its own recreational opportunities and everything looks so much more beautiful when covered in fresh snow. Of course, depending on where you are from, the cold may be difficult at first, but you can adjust to it.</p>
<p>Hey everyone, </p>
<p>I'm also an ND student (A freshman). I'm actually HUGELY involved in the non-denom Christian scene on campus. We have this awesome group called ISI that meets every Thursday night for praise and worship (85 people went on our last retreat ) and some bible studies that branch off of that. I love it At the same time, I'm not really into drinking. I have a LOT of fun on weekends without any drugs or alcohol. Our Christian group meets up a lot of times, or I'll go to concerts or any number of other things around campus. (I actually work for the SUB movies that were listed above). It's awesome though, honestly.. I know a lot of people who don't drink or only do it on occasion. </p>
<p>In regards to the weather, I'm from Chicago so I'm used to it. I do hear people complaining... It's really nice for 1/2 the year though. But the fact that we retain 98-99% of students from year 1-2 should attest to the fact that it's minimal. If you have any long questions feel free to message me Good luck everyone</p>