<p>Hey everyone! Before my freshman year, I found a thread on here started by an upperclassman to be extremely helpful in answering my many pressing questions about Notre Dame, college life, frosh o, dorms, etc. I figured since the people who started that thread have graduated and moved on, I would start a similar thread where I (or really any other ND students on here) could answer your questions as you get ready for the time of your lives in a couple of months. While I work everyday, I'll certainly make it a point to try and check back here to answer your questions. It may take a little while but I'll try my best to get back to you as soon as possible!</p>
<p>As for my own background... I'm going to be a senior here in the fall (fastest 3 years of my life) majoring in Science-Business. Because I've taken both premed and business classes, I can speak from experiences of taking classes at Mendoza and in the College of Science. I also have friends in pretty much every major so I can draw on their experiences as well. </p>
<p>Anyway, feel free to ask away! If you have a more personal question or would like to discuss something without posting on the thread, feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>Hello! My name is Elizabeth…I’ve been searching for colleges for only a couple of weeks and after finding fault in the first few my mom recommended to me, I started thinking about Notre Dame.</p>
<p>My knowledge is very basic. But I have a few questions.</p>
<p>How important is religion to a typical student? Would it matter if I was a United Methodist?</p>
<p>How are the Economics/Political Science Departments?</p>
<p>How is the social/dorm life on campus?</p>
<p>Thank you. You’re very kind.</p>
<p>Hi, Elizabeth! I’m glad you are interested in Notre Dame. It is a wonderful place.</p>
<p>In regards to your first question, I think that the importance of religion (in regards to how much a person chooses to practice his or her own religion) varies vastly throughout the student body. While the majority of students identify as Catholic, they all practice at different levels. Some go to Mass many times each week and are active in multiple Catholic student groups, some never attend Mass, and many are somewhere in between. What I can tell you about faith life is that it is very welcoming and accepting. One of my best friends is not Catholic. She chooses to attend Mass with us, and none of us think anything of the fact that she doesn’t receive communion. We are just glad that she feels close to God at our religious service, even though it is not a service for her denomination. There are also many students, both Catholic and non-Catholic, who choose not to attend Mass, and they are not judged or looked down upon for this choice. I think Notre Dame students recognize that a person’s religious beliefs and the way in which he or she practices those beliefs are entirely that person’s choice. I know that was rather long-winded, but the point of all of that is that the majority of ND students are Catholic, but they are very accepting of everyone else’s religious convictions. I don’t think it would matter at all to the other students that you are a United Methodist.</p>
<p>I can’t really speak to the strength of the economics and political science departments. I am an engineering major, and I don’t know a whole lot about the other schools (besides Mendoza, the business school, which is very well regarded). I have a good friend who is a political science major, and I think she really enjoys it.</p>
<p>Social life and dorm life are two of my favorite things about Notre Dame. There are tons of things to do all over campus, so I never find myself bored. It seems there is an abundance of things to do and ways to socialize for people of all interests. I absolutely love my dorm. I am very close with the other girls in my building and my rectress. To me, dorm life feels less like an apartment where you just have nameless faces sharing a building with you and more like a huge house where you are living with family.</p>
<p>Good luck on your college selection process! Let me know if you have any more questions.</p>
<p>Thank you so much!</p>
<p>How well do science and religion mix on campus? Is there any conflict because of the heavy religious ties?</p>
<p>Hi Irishfan8! Thanks for starting this thread; I’m glad I found it because I am considering Science-Business as my major (I’m in the class of 2017). I originally thought about being a BIOS major but I realized that I wanted to take some business classes. I plan on going to medical school to become a pediatrician. However, I also plan on eventually having my own pediatric clinic/group; this is where the business classes would come in handy. And I’ve heard that its sometimes pretty difficult to get into business classes if your not a business major. My question is if you (or someone you know) are planning on entering medical school and whether or not you think majoring in Science-Business has prepared you well enough. </p>
<p>If you could answer this, it would help me out a bunch!</p>
<p>I was wondering if you know whether students in all colleges will have to take a foreign language at some point. I’m planning to double major in Business and Theology and I was wondering if I’ll have to take one.</p>
<p>Nick - I’ve found that Notre Dame is one of the few places where science and religion go hand in hand! When teaching evolution, my intro Bio professor detailed the logic and theory behind evolution but in addition to this, showed us how that can go hand in hand with religion. Essentially, there is no conflict and you’ll have your own opinions challenged and your eyes opened.</p>
<p>Cindy, your plans are remarkably similar to mine! I too want to start my own clinic as a future physician. Business classes are indeed a bit of a challenge to get as a Science-Business major (it’s one of ND’s fastest growing majors) but apart from maybe not getting one of Mendoza’s top professors, you will still get your classes. I’ve found the major to be a lot more fulfilling than a generic science major. It is refreshing to go to classes that make you think differently and teach you business skills that very few of your peers will have as a future physician.</p>
<p>As for preparation for medical school, it prepares you just as well as Bio and other Pre-Professional Majors. A common misconception among incoming science majors is that one major prepares you better than the others. Ultimately, you take the same core classes that everyone else does, and your Intro Bio lab is more tailored to you as a future doctor. I would certainly recommend the major, it is great preparation for medical school and it has helped me land a very nice internship in a health care organization in the summers.</p>
<p>SDCA - Different schools have different requirements, but Mendoza doesn’t make you take a foreign language. Here are the requirements for Mendoza:
<a href=“http://business.nd.edu/Undergraduate_Studies/Academics/University_Requirements/[/url]”>http://business.nd.edu/Undergraduate_Studies/Academics/University_Requirements/</a></p>
<p>Thanks a bunch! So for your first year, did you take the traditional SC-SCBU courses? I’ve had the chance to talk with an advisor and she suggests that I take BIOS 10161 and 10162 (which are traditionally taken by biology majors) my first year instead of BIOS 20201 and BIOS 20202 my second year. She says that this will eventually give me some flexibility if I choose to switch to a Biology major. But from what you’ve shared, SC-SCBU sounds like the perfect major for me!</p>
<p>Do freshman meet with an advisor to look at class selections? My daughter made her class selection online as instructed in an email, but she is a bit unsure about the classes she chose. Specifically, she does not know if she ultimately wants to be a business major (Mendoza) or a math major (college of science). She says it actually makes a difference in her class selection for the first year.</p>
<p>Yup, my freshman year I took Gen Chem (10171), Orgo I (10172), Calc A and B, along with assorted electives such as language and Econ, which is required for SCBU. Your advisor makes some good points, but from a student’s perspective let me give you some pro’s and cons of Bio 10162 freshman year vs Bio 20201</p>
<p>Pro 10162 freshman year:
Get Bio out of the way
Get a jump start on learning bio before advanced courses
Flexibility for switching to Bio</p>
<p>Cons 10162 freshman year:
A little more challenging to take your first year of college
No dissections and less medicine focused lab (great preparation for physiology and med school)</p>
<p>I can tell you the lab instructors for 20201 are awesome and I gained so much from taking it Sophomore year. I think you can’t go wrong, but from my experience I did like taking it Soph year.</p>
<p>Chinablue, your daughter will not meet with her advisor until her schedule is given to her and she is on campus. I can assure you though that advisors do a great job of putting together a schedule that gives students flexibility in changing their major. Since you don’t declare a major until Sophomore year, it isn’t that big of a deal if some of the classes she gets don’t end up going towards her major.</p>
<p>Business majors, in general, take generic, non-business classes their freshman year or at least for the first semester. Don’t worry, your daughter’s advisor will take a look at her preferences and give her a schedule that will allow her plans to be flexible. Worst comes to worst, she can meet with the advisor freshman year and switch a class or two if it is not to her liking.</p>
<p>Some first year of studies advisors are better than others. Our sons had awful ones, but since DH is a faculty member they did not need to rely on the advice of the advisors. In general, he would suggest that those who are undecided between various courses of study take the math and science courses required by the more demanding major. That keeps more options open, and may also help the student come to an earlier decision. </p>
<p>If you have any doubts about what the advisors are telling you, do NOT take their word for it. Check with a faculty member in the relevant department. Our experience was that most advisors have a humanities background and lack a solid grasp of the more empirical disciplines and their requirements.</p>
<p>My son is planning on majoring in Chemical Engineering. He has AP credit for Chemistry (5) but is thinking that maybe he should still take the intro Chem class, since it will be the “base” for his major. Others are telling him that he should keep going, take the credit and move on. He isn’t sure. What do you think? Would he still take the orgo class 2nd semester anyway? We haven’t spoken directly to an advisor, just did the online choices with a note at the bottom.</p>
<p>Hello, and welcome to the Notre Dame community! I’m so happy that your son will be joining us in South Bend in August. As a fellow chemical engineer, I am also very excited about his choice of major.</p>
<p>As far as Gen Chem goes, I think this decision really depends on how comfortable your son feels. I took college chemistry in high school through a local private university, but I wasn’t able to receive credit for it at Notre Dame since I didn’t take the class on the other university’s campus. I took Gen Chem, and I found that I knew most of the material covered; the course just went slightly more in-depth than the one I took through the other college. I do think there is some validity to the idea that you must think long and hard before accepting credit for a course that is so integral to your major, however, if he really knows chemistry, he may not learn a whole lot in Gen Chem. I know this isn’t really an answer, but I don’t think there is anyone more qualified than your son to decide this one.</p>
<p>As far as what he would do if he accepted credit, he would NOT take Orgo. There is a special section of Orgo 1 that is just for chemical engineers, and it is offered in the fall of sophomore year (so I will be taking Orgo 1 this fall). Students who have openings like that in their schedules generally take a class to meet one of their university requirements (such as literature, history, philosophy, theology, etc.). He might also be able to take Physics 1 in the first semester (maybe, I’m not certain if Physics 1 for engineers is offered in the fall). Personally, I would look to meet a university requirement if I had an open space in my schedule freshman year rather than taking a course that is required in a later semester for chemical engineers. The intro courses that meet university requirements set aside a significant number of spaces for freshmen. Because of this, it can be a lot harder to get into those courses when you’re older. When it comes to courses that are required for your major, those are not hard to get into. If you find on registration day that there is no room for you in a course that is required for your major, they will open a slot for you.</p>
<p>Sorry that was such a long-winded, confusing response. If any of this is unclear, please let me know. And feel free to contact me with any other questions you may have about chemical engineering, engineering in general, or ND in general. These are all things I love to talk about :)</p>
<p>PS - My engineering project group will be presenting our project to freshman engineers and their parents during First Year Orientation. I hope to see you there!</p>
<p>Glad you were here to answer that sasbmar, not sure I would be the best person to advise Chegs! While I may not be a cheg, I also got a 5 on AP Chem and found Gen Chem I to be pretty straightforward. If anything, it might be a good grade booster before you hit the tough classes.</p>
<p>Sasbmar, thank you so much for your response! I really appreciate your insight into this question. I think my son will go ahead and take the class again-at least that is what his preference was on his online registration. He loves chem, so maybe it will be a fun class for him! (lol…can’t imagine!!!) </p>
<p>We will definitely look for you at the Frosh-O presentations~sounds like a great opportunity for you!</p>
<p>One last question-do Chegs have to take any foreign language?</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>I’m sure he will enjoy it. I also love chemistry, and I found the biochem class that all engineers take during spring semester of freshman year to be fascinating. When I told all my business major friends about how much I enjoyed it, they all told me I must have some sort of problem ;)</p>
<p>Engineers are not required to take a foreign language. Just one of the many great things about being an engineer!</p>