<p>Thanks princessnd :)
I just thought of another question. Did you receive a good amount of financial aid going into ND?? I know it's an issue for a lot of admitted students and I just wanted to know if there are a lot of grants, scholarships, aid available to the admitted, particularly science majors?
And also!
Do you have any idea of what career you want to pursue in and after med school? I'm just curious :D</p>
<p>Hi Lh2007,
Considering my parents income (which is misleading considering we're from California), my estimated family contribution was really high to start. I think I got like $6,000 in scholarships from ND and my parents paid around $37,000, which is steep. I got some full scholarships to some other really good schools, but ND has very limited merit-based aid.</p>
<p>But don't let that discourage you because I have friends who have gotten nearly all of their expenses paid through need-based scholarships. It all very much depends on your parents' salaries and assets, and has very little to do with you I'm sad to say. </p>
<p>There are no special scholarships specifically for science majors, but if you're planning on going to med school, paying for ND is probably worth it in the long run and you'll be able to pay off any loans you take it. For those English majors, I can't see how racking up that much undergraduate debt pays off in the end. </p>
<p>BTW, I want to do pediatric surgery and oncology. (Yes I know...residency forever!)</p>
<p>Let me know if I can help you in any other way.</p>
<p>When we say need-based aid, does that cover everything including room and board?</p>
<p>Or is that only for tuition?</p>
<p>ahh, $37,000 sounds very steep :/ I'm from California too, and from my fafsa worksheets, it looks like I'm going to have to pay around that amount as well, granted that I get in.</p>
<p>Hey future Pre-medical domers! Let me know if you have any other questions. If you would prefer to send me a private message, feel free to do so.</p>
<p>Hey PrincessND,
Are minorities common at Notre Dame? I am hispanic and i always worried that I wont fit into a college that does not have a lot of minorities. Have you ever had any experiences with minorities?
Also, as an older prospective transfer applicant..(23 by the time i apply as a junior standing), do transfer students find it difficult to adjust to ND life?
I lived in NYC all my life so the thought of moving to a smaller town for college is pretty scary, and also the thought of not having many minorities around me, being that i take the subway everyday with so many diverse people and even attend a community college with students of so many different races.</p>
<p>Hi jmerc,
Honestly, as a California kid, I really miss racial/ethnic diversity. Notre Dame is moving forward though, and I think that 25% of those admitted this year were of a minority group. But, if diversity is really important to you (especially socioeconomic, religious, and political) I highly recommend that you consider searching around. ND is known for being a white, conservative, upper middle-class school, and after four years here, I perceive it to be just that. Come visit ND and determine if you'd be comfortable here. Some of my friends who are minorities here say that they feel isolated, others don't. It's probably an individual thing. But I will say that ND students are very friendly and caring overall and this is an absolutely incredible place to go to school; it's not for everyone though. </p>
<p>Also, South Bend is relatively diverse city, and there are plenty of opportunities to interact with and engage the community. </p>
<p>As a transfer student, I think you'd be fine. I think it's probably hard to transfer just about anywhere, but ND is a small enough school where you won't have much trouble making the adjustment. </p>
<p>Let me know if you have any other questions!</p>
<p>There are certainly a lot more minorities at ND than in my home town. Also, I would not describe the campus as conservative, just balanced. It's 50/50, which is far more right than most schools, but it really helps foster discussion which, I believe, is the whole point of diversity.</p>
<p>jmerc, I think I addressed some of this on my website at <a href="http://www.nd.edu/%7Emnadorff/transfer%5B/url%5D">www.nd.edu/~mnadorff/transfer</a>. Feel free to get in touch (my email is on that website) and I can give you more of a transfer student's perspective. I had no problem adjusting though, personally.</p>
<p>Hello again PrincessND!
Well, I got into ND regular decision and I had the opportunity to go to their Spring Visitation last weekend (which was spectacular!). I talked to many alums and current students there, and many repeated the flexibility of changing majors and schools and such. Did you switch around any majors during your stay at ND or were you generally on one track? Personally, is switching around a good thing?</p>
<p>Also, I just wanted to know if there is ever any instances of discrimination on campus. Do you notice any or is there a good mix? I didn't have the opportunity to stay long enough but that's only one of my few concerns.</p>
<p>Hi lh2007,
I'm glad you had the opportunity to visit. This is the best way to get a feel for ND. Yes, there is incredible flexibility in major choices. But you have plenty of time to research majors and decide what's for you before you declare. If you are thinking about science/premed, make sure you take calc and gen chem in your first semester. But other than that, you have plenty of time to think about major options. </p>
<p>For me personally, I declared ALPP before coming to ND, but didn't declare my arts and letters major (anthropology) until second semester of sophomore year. I would say that switching around is probably more complicated (which is why i recommend researching) but you should do what makes you happiest :) </p>
<p>In terms of discrimination, I'm afraid that my view on this is limited, by way that I am not a racial minority. I would say that as a female, I do not feel discriminated against. I have heard my friends discuss isolated experiences with ignorance and bigotry among the student body, but I honestly feel that you run the risk of this no matter where you go to school. But in terms of explicit discrimination, I feel that ND does not tolerate this, and I doubt it occurs with any measurable frequency. </p>
<p>How did you feel when you visited?</p>
<p>Putsch,
How you perceive ND is very much dependent upon where you grew up. For me, ND is pretty conservative, and I'd imagine that for someone growing up NYC, the paragon for diversity, it would be a similar perception. I'm not assigning any value to any orientation, just stating what I perceive to be the truth. In addition, I must disagree that diversity is all about "discussion". Diversity is also about creating a learning environment that is more representative of the world at large, a benefit for ALL students. This most definitely includes racial and ethnic minorities, which ND (where minorities are 17.4% of thes student body) lags behind. While I must say that ND is making a ton of progress in this area, there is still room for improvement.</p>
<p>I have seen your website irish68178, i saved it as a favorite. :)
and thank you princessND and anyone else who provided me with an answer.</p>
<p>The visit was really really good, the campus is amazing and the people there are just so nice and welcoming. There was a certain spirituality that I could sense and it pretty much won me over, had I not gone to the Spring Visitation, I probably wouldn't have considered ND. Also, I noticed that the school really does take care of you, financially and socially in some aspects. It did for me. I really enjoyed talking to some alumni and I never realized how strong it was until now. </p>
<p>But another question! :]
I believe the Notre Dame system is semester. Did you ever have any difficulty in how your classes went in the semester system, or would it be better under a quarter system? A lot of my peers are using the semester/quarter thing as a factor in their college decisions and I never really thought about it until now. What do you think of it?</p>
<p>PrincessND, your information so far has been incredibly helpful! I'm considering Pre-Med with a major in American Studies and was wondering if study abroad is more difficult to fit in with the Pre-Med reqs. Do you recommend any of the programs especially? Thanks so much!!!!</p>
<p>83er, as someone looking into Study Abroad (although not for premed), I can tell you that study abroad for premed is possible, but only very specific programs - the prime examples I can think of are London Fall and Puebla, Mexico. It would take some juggling, especially as an American Studies major (kind of difficult to find American Studies classes abroad, I would think) but I would imagine that plenty of people have done it. </p>
<p>Also, don't forget about studying abroad through different school programs. Many of my returning friends have told me about their friends who studies in London and Rome and Madrid through NYU and other schools - an excellent opportunity. </p>
<p>ND sends an absurd amount of people abroad. I think I read somewhere that they send over 50% of students abroad. The idea here seems to be "where there's a will there's a way;" as long as you really want to, you'll be able to go somewhere.</p>
<p>Hi 83er,
Yes, it is possible for premeds to go almost anywhere actually. Most people go abroad during their junior year when most premeds are taking physics. If you take physics over the summer as many of my friends did, you don't have to worry about taking it abroad and so can go to most of the programs. If you can't (or don't want to take it over the summer), you can go to London, Dublin, or Puebla where they have physics offered in English. Just a caution though, some med schools don't like it if you've taken physics abroad. </p>
<p>I didn't go abroad, but ND will definitely work with you if this is something that you really want to do, so no worries. Because you are thinking about American Studies (which is an absolutely amazing program by the way) you may want to do a bunch of you major classes before you go abroad and leave your university requirements open so you can take them abroad. Am. Studies requires a bunch of classes, most of which are only available at ND. But classes like philosophy, fine arts, etc are available in most abroad programs, so you can fulfill these abroad. Let me know if this is confusing!</p>
<p>I've heard good things about all of our abroad programs. Lots of people go to London and Dublin, but I've heard that Rome and Greece are awesome too. Also, don't forget that ND students may apply to St. Mary's programs as well. They have a really cool Semester Around the World program. Check it out. </p>
<p>Also, if you decide that you don't want to do a full semester abroad, you can look into summer abroad opportunities. I know that the Center for Social Concerns has summer service opportunities in places like South America and Africa. There are also summer school programs in London and other places.</p>
<p>Hi lh2007,
Nope, I didn't think about the quarter vs. semester system at all when choosing an undergrad school. Now that I'm looking at medschools, though, I'm thinking about going to a school with the quarter system and it's making me a little bit nervous. Overall, I like the semester system better, but i think i could do either. I would say that if you're really comfortable with ND and think you'd be really happy here, don't let the semester system dissuade you. It's a minor detail in the long run.</p>
<p>Hi PrincessND, thanks for doing this for us. :) Here's my question: is it absolutely necessary that you take chemistry and physics before going to ND if you're planning on pre-med? I had to forgo the traditional science curriculum at my school (science I, biology, chemistry, physics) so I could be a full IB diploma student. I will have taken adv. science I, adv. science II, and 2 years of AP Bio at school by the time I graduate, and I'm also taking chemistry outside of school so I have the experience for college. Will I be totally lost without those classes before college?</p>
<p>This is some really great information!
I have been accepted to Notre Dame and have an intent to go to medical school. However, throughout the application process i applied to engineering schools with an intent to major in biomedical engineering. I understand that ND does not have a BME major, but students are able to tailor the curriculum that would fit a BME. In any case, after many campus visits to Case Western, U Mich, Vanderbilt, ND these past weeks, i have been told that a student's GPA is extremely important and that what a student majors in is not as important as the school this student came from.
So how successful are engineering majors applying to medical schoool. Do you recommend it? What do u find as the most successful route to getting admitted to med school? i bet engineering is not a part of this route....
i am extremely confused right now between doing BME or just concetrating on getting into med school. i have recieved full tution from vanderbilts school of engineering and full tuition from notre dame. If you could just offer me what you have found to be the most successful course of action that would be great.
my ultimate goal is to become a doctor, but i just feel that BME would be very interesting to study in college.</p>