<p>Im a junior really interested in applying to ND but there are some thingd that i dislike.Im a catholic but not an extremist one,dont even go to mass dont.I respect beliefs and everything but im not a fanatic.I dislike it when people try to impose religion on you.IF accepted at ND will the students and people try to force religion on me or will they let me be who i am eithout judging me?</p>
<p>Ive heard alot that the social scene at ND isnt at all that good.I know that school is more important but i wanna be able to feel at home and go out and have fun,so how about it?</p>
<p>Can anyone please explain in detail or comment,much appreciated</p>
<p>No, students and faculty will not try to impose religion on you. You will certainly find a lot of people who are passionate about their faith and are willing to enter into discussion about it, but I have never seen any student or faculty member try to impose his/her beliefs on anyone. Fr. Jenkins has been promoting the importance of discussion and “academic forum”. With the climate he is promoting you can especially rest assured that you will not be judged either.</p>
<p>In order to get a feel for Notre Dame you need to visit. They have an overnight program in which you bunk with a current student in a residence hall to get a feeling for dorm life, and get a tour of the campus the following day. You’ll be able to sit in on a class or two. As I understand it, the professors are very accomodating. My son and I will be there in early February, and I’ll let you know how it goes.</p>
<p>Well from what I have seen, teachers go out of their way to clarify that they are not trying to impose their faith on you. I have seen this in my philosophy and theology classes. </p>
<p>Also as far as the social life - trust me there is a lot of fun on this campus. I would agree with Balthezar to come and visit for a day and night, but I think that anyone you talk to will say that they enjoy themselves just as much as they work. ND is definitely a place where you feel like a close night group of students and there is definitely a lot of entertainment and fun available.</p>
<p>D did a 2-week summer camp (Architecture) at ND. We are not Catholic, not even Christian. We had apprehensions about the college being Catholic, but D came back a happy camper. She said, yes people go to mass etc., but no one forces it on you or even look at you as if you are weird or anything. They treat you just the same regardless of your beliefs. Yes, Christian/Catholic presence is very much there but no one seems to care if you ignored it.</p>
<p>In fact, coming back from the camp, D even decided to apply to ND and got admission. The decision of whether she’ll eventually go there depends on lot of factors ($$ being the big one), but religion won’t be one of those. She’s even been invited to apply for the Hesburgh-Yusko Scholars program.</p>
<p>Social life - My D doesn’t care much for the “typical” social life college students expect. Yes, the dorms at ND are single-gender only and there are rules around when the opposite sex can visit the rooms etc. And yes, since ~85% of the student body is Catholic, you are surrounded by students many of whom had a conservative up-bringing at homes.</p>