<p>This thread is for the OP to learn about schools that are similar to ND.</p>
<p>I think we can agree that HC is a great school that provides a great alternative for someone whose dream school is Notre Dame.</p>
<p>I hate seeing people bashing and putting down other people's school, and then have it become some debate over whose sports are better. Come on guys, HC is a great school and ND is a great school...</p>
<p>Actually, if the OP is looking for a Notre Dame substitute, Holy Cross is not going to meet that need--the school is much smaller, is a LAC and does not offer professional track majors like engineering, and of course the football and tradition of family loyalty is going to be different.</p>
<p>The thing that makes ND distinctive is the tradition of educating immigrants and the children of immigrants and launching them into the middle class. It shares that tradition with Boston College. </p>
<p>I guess it depends on what you mean by a "school like ND." If it is history and a successful football team, then you'd get a different result than if you mean "a tradition of successfully assimilating minorities into the upwardly mobile middle class."</p>
<p>HC and Villanova are out as answers to the OP's question since they are not in the midwest. We, too, are looking for a les selective ND-like college in the <em>midwest</em>, since we want to be able to drive there from Chicago, like OP, in less than 5-6 hours.</p>
<p>Marquette, depaul, loyola, st louis u et are all out because they are all distinctly <em>urban</em>. I perceive that ND is more insular, suburban - a place of its own, 'a slice of heaven' if you will. Marquette and depaul are as much about milwauke and chicago as the colleges.</p>
<p>UD might be a closer match. Matches in catholic-ness, size, school spirit, and mw loc. Can someone tell me anything about UD? Is UD smack dab in the middle of the city? how is dayton city? Is it a rust belt city? How big is dayton? is dayton like south bend?</p>
<p>I could not find a distinct entry to UD here in CC. How does one start one?</p>
<p>For us, possibly unlike OP, and please hold on to your seatbelts, we'd like a less selective ND-like school, but WITHOUT FOOTBALL (!) My d does not like the football -sports- aspect, but likes serious catholic students. </p>
<p>She might be looking for a midwest HC. anyone?</p>
<p>but HC is in an urban setting, Worcester; so HC is not exactly it). </p>
<p>So we are looking for </p>
<p>the the academic seriousness along the lines of HC (does not have to be a 98 PR academic rating; UD's 79 is probably ok)
the location and size of ND - not urban, but insular
the catholic-ness of each
ideally, less drinking and partying and footballing than ND, and more talking about academics and engaging in 'bigger picture' things. this last criterion seems almost impossible to find unless we go to aquinas in ojai, california. that little college next to ND seems pretty good on this acct (college of the HC?), but it is all women. not good.</p>
<p>do we need to look to the lutherans? anyone?</p>
<p>Just to be clear, Worcester, MA (174,000) is not all that much bigger than South Bend, IN (107,000). Holy Cross is not a city campus. It is located about 3 miles outside the city center on a hill and is a fully gated landscaped campus of 175 acres.</p>
<p>Dayton as a city is far more urban than South Bend. It also doesn't have a very good reputation. It is considered one of the less desirable "big cities" in Ohio. I have not actually visited the school, but I have been to their athletic complexes(which are near campus). The campus isn't that far from the city center, and certainly does not feel "insular" like Notre Dame does.</p>
<p>From what I hear many people who apply to ND as a stretch also apply to Villanova. It is also Catholic, yet it is closer to a major city, as opposed to South Bend.</p>
<p>ND from chicago = 2 hours
Villanova from chicago = 12 hours</p>
<p>anything closer to chicago?</p>
<p>that is not urban and that is a community all, or almost all, its own ("insular")</p>
<p>and that is catholic</p>
<p>and that does not do too much drinking and partying</p>
<p>and, I see that HC is a close brother to ND, an eastern seaboard ND, if you will, but w/o the football. Cool. OK. what comes closest to HC in the MW...besides ND?</p>
<p>Have you considered Franciscan University of Steubenville, OH? It has a reputation for being very Catholic and likely not much of a party school. It is 6 1/2 hours from Chicago. Located in a small town of 19,000. Appears to be a decent school academically.</p>
<p>I have one twin at Franciscan U and one twin at ND, so I know both of those schools pretty well. Franciscan also has a nice honors program and their Austrian semester is supposedly great. </p>
<p>Schools do not come more Catholic than Franciscan (Well, not that size of a school anyway). Truly, comparing ND's current Catholic identity compared to Franciscans--ND is not in the ballpark.</p>
<p>I've visited both Notre Dame and Holy Cross. Worchester is similar to south bend in many aspects. The campus is really nice and has a similar real college feel like ND. However, the campus is like half the size of ND. It kind of felt like a little ND on a hill. And, you get many more east coast kids at Holy Cross (which is either a good or bad thing depending on you situation). Ultimately, I am not applying to Holy Cross because it is too small and too far away. The kids there additionally seem to be on a different wavelength. Overall, it is still a great school!</p>
<p>my twin is also interested in a Catholic college but her grades aren't quite where they need to be for ND, so I know she is seriously looking at Marquette (Jesuit, but in a city), Creighton (also Jesuit, in Omaha but has a feel of its own community), and SLU (city). No football at any of them though, which was a major turn off for me.</p>
<p>The student body at Notre Dame - national pool, athletic, solid academic performers, generally conservative, spiritual (or at least free to explore spirituality), collaborative, and tradition minded together with its housing structure and intramural program share a lot of similarities with the Service Academies - particularly Navy and Air Force, and Army (as it football program turns around).</p>
<p>Holy Cross plays Division 1-AA football and plays Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth every year in addition to regular conference foes in the Patriot League (Georgetown, Fordham, Colgate, Lafayette, Lehigh, Bucknell)</p>
<p>Gasdoc, I visited the Naval Academy and it did feel quite a bit like ND in the ways you stated. It looks like a great school, but one obviously has to consider the cost...</p>
<p>Stonehill in Massachusetts is a great Holy Cross school Grotto and all</p>
<p>Stonehill is a nice option, not far from Boston.</p>
<p>Handy, the service academies are free because you commit to a certain time in the service after graduation.</p>
<p>
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Handy, the service academies are free because you commit to a certain time in the service after graduation.
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<p>My point exactly.</p>
<p>~~bump~~~bump~~~</p>