Hi everybody! I was accepted in the EA round for Notre Dame ( I didn’t post on the accepted students forum because I wanted to avoid the admissions pressure)
I applied to Notre Dame because their Poli Sci program is really strong and they had great employment outcomes for the program. And I am really thrilled that I got in, of course, and I also was lucky enough to be accepted to some other awesome schools EA like NEU, Tulane, UNC and my state flagship.
ND gave me great aid so it’s risen to the top of my list of schools for next year but I am a little worried about how well I would fit in at the school. I’ve known from the start that ND is Catholic but I had done some research and it looked like not being Catholic is not a problem (I’m a non practicing Hindu) and people are really kind.
Nonetheless, I am worried about my politics on campus. I am very strongly on the left of the political spectrum and have grown up in a really progressive and diverse community in New England. And I’m very outspoken about my views. I’m also fundamentally pro-choice which is a strong part of my political views (I’ve volunteered for Planned Parenthood if you get my drift). How dominant are conservative values on campus? Additionally, I know that ND isn’t very diverse so how does that reflect on its social atmosphere?
And secondly, I’m worried about my social life in South Bend. I’ve always lived in a city or city neighborhood, and I am a city person by nature. How tough will the adjustment be to Indiana for someone like me?
Any comments from former students or current would be appreciated! Also please know I am not trying to generalize or make assumptions, and I really hope this doesn’t come off as naive/ignorant. Just trying to get a clear image here.
@crazytime2 I got it in snail mail (actually my parents technically did). I also think it’s rolling, but I think it’s weird I got it so early. I’ve also not physically seen the packet yet (Feb break for the win) so I still remain dubious about its veracity. I wouldn’t worry about it though, you’ll get it within the next two weeks.
@crazytime2@4Family4@hpcsa That’s what I had thought so too, and I think my parents may have gotten an informational flyer about aid at ND but are confused (which is still weird because they sent me specific numbers). I’m asking them to send me a picture of what they received because based on what others are saying, now there’s an 80% chance that I’ve been misinformed.
@desicollege Congratulations on your acceptance to Notre Dame! You have an opportunity to attend an incomparable university with an amazing group of people. Having said that, the issues you raise are real ones to consider. Notre Dame offers a great inclusive campus environment - which has many advantages for student life. South Bend has some attractions as well, but we are clearly not talking about an urban city based college experience. Only you can determine how important that is for you. As to Notre Dame’s reputation as a purportedly “conservative” college campus, it is important to keep in mind that it is only “conservative” perhaps in relation to other top universities - not in any absolute sense. Catholic values permeate the campus, but these are universal ones - not dogmatic beliefs intended to restrain your development as a person. In fact, I would argue that they challenge you to be the best person that you can be - whatever you choose. While 80% of the students report as Catholic, many (including my son) are not incredibly active in their faith practices (attending mass etc.) - though I would argue that their Catholic background informs their inclusive and tolerant perspectives on others. Yes…there is a large and vocal pro-life advocacy on campus, but perspectives on these and other issues vary among students. My son is a Poly Sci major and loves it! He has had very leftist professors and classmates with very different political and social beliefs. At Notre Dame, intelligence, compassion and dignity triumph over disparate political and social views - and makes for a lot of interesting and stimulating conversation.
As @hpcsa says above…the best way to resolve any concerns you might have is to get to campus and spend some time with the school and its students. While you have been admitted to a number of excellent schools, Notre Dame is on the next level. You owe it to yourself to see for sure whether it is right for you. And if it is not, you will be able to make another excellent choice with confidence and full information.
This is something to think about. ND is a pro-life, religious, conservative, Caucasian, republican, athletic, community in South bend. You may love it or may not. It also depends upon your own personality.
It has a reputation of being accepting. If you want to give it a try then do it, you can always transfer though aid and scholarships may complicate a transfer. Go visit before you click acceptance button. It’s a good college but we don’t know if it’s the best fit for a liberal and urban person.
It can be an interesting adventure to experience something totally different or an unnecessary hassle.
My son was a merit scholar finalist last year (wasn’t ultimately awarded a scholarship and enrolled elsewhere). We both did a lot of research on ND because he is not Catholic, non-practicing of any religion, quite liberal in his outlook, pro-choice, grew up in a diverse town, etc. We had heard a lot about ND being very conservative and yet found its social justice and deeply held beliefs about helping those need aligned well with my son’s beliefs. Their Center for Social Concerns and the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies are just two of the several programs that appealed to my son.
In terms of political beliefs, we looked into that as well. According to a Sept 2018 report published by the Center for Social Concerns, in the 2016 election, 59% of the students voted for Hillary Clinton, 22.2% for Donald Trump, and 18.3% for a third-party or write-in candidate. I am not sure if is allowed, but here is the link to that study:
My overall point is that I think you won’t have to look far to find people on campus who share your views. What we also liked is that there are also many people on campus who have different views. My son felt it would have been beneficial to engage with others who believe differently about issues. There is a group on campus (BridgeND) that seeks to bring students together. It is a “multi-partisan political club committed to bridging the partisan divide through respectful and productive discourse. We seek to engage students of all backgrounds and political ideologies to discuss public policy issues of national importance and encourage engagement with the political process.”
My son is happy at his current university but I know he would have been just as happy as Notre Dame. All the best to you @desicollege as you make your college decision!
First of all, congrats on getting in! This was actually one of my greatest fears too, having lived in a big city and am a non-practicing Christian and am a moderate politically. However, I have found that people here are very open and welcoming. At least in my dorm and friend group, finding a conservative is more rare than non. As for South Bend, it’s not a huge city like Chicago or LA or Seattle, etc. but it definitely is a city. You just need to explore it to really appreciate it. I hope this helps, and good luck!
My son is a sophomore there. He has a variety of friends that are left, right, and center when it comes to politics. I agree with CCSavant’s comment - “At Notre Dame, intelligence, compassion and dignity triumph over disparate political and social views - and makes for a lot of interesting and stimulating conversation.”
Thank you all for your comments! They’ve been really helpful and I’m definitely going to visit ND because even though it’s not very scientific, I think I’ll understand the school when I set foot on campus.
@desicollege Good decision! And this is a “gut call”, not an analytical exercise. Your senses will start telling you valuable things as soon as you step on to campus. See if you can do a day visit with a Notre Dame student - shadowing them and attending some classes. My son did this before attending the formal early admit week-end and found it incredibly helpful to determine whether ND was a “fit” for him. The more people you can meet, the better! Best of luck to you!
I know at least 20 students who currently attend the school and all are active, devout Catholics–several of them traveled to the March for Life. Catholics believe that abortion is a moral sin and Notre Dame is a Catholic school. That doesn’t mean anybody would hate you or bully you or ANYTHING of the sort. I truly wish you all the best with your decision!
@desicollege I moved to the South Bend area from NY about 15 years ago. St Joseph County is pretty much split between liberal and conservatives views. South Bend itself is probably more Democratic.
Believe it or not, there are many people who attend Notre Dame who are not Catholic or Christian. I have met people all along the religious spectrum including agnostic/atheists. I’m not sure if going to church or service is your thing but the South Bend Unitarian church is liberal leaning. Again, they have people all along the religious and non-religious spectrum who attend.
When I moved to the SB area, I was looking for places that had great coffee (they have hard water out here), they have okay pizza but if you are looking for a good deli or bagel, it is hard to find
Finding people socially compatible should not be an issue on campus or in the area. There are a few “outdoor” groups that tend to hike or do other activities, that can help you meet new people. Send me a message if you attend to go and I can give you additional details.
Notre Dame is filled with incredible students that are open minded thinkers and accomplished students. Vast majority are practicing Catholics but probably 5-10% non Catholic and many more non-practicing Catholics. There are stories of non-Christian football players volunteering to lead the team in the "Hail Mary". It's not about converting it's about respect for one another. That being said, if you think you're going
to go a Catholic college and be outspoken about late term abortions being perfectly fine then you either WANT the confrontation or you have not thought this through. Catholics are going to understand your opinion that unplanned pregnancy is a situation that a women wants to decide for herself. They do not demonize women who choose abortion as soon as they are aware they are pregnant. But they will offer options. Unfortunately it sounds as though you have joined the ranks of people trying convince everyone that it’s old white men telling you that you can’t. It’s your body but it’s illegal to put heroin in it. It’s your body but it’s illegal to prostitute it. So don’t profess that you have a right to do anything you want. Go to a right to life march, it isn’t old white men. It’s loving caring, mostly women, Christians who value the life of an unborn child. Getting pregnant and postponing your decision to abort until very late term is immoral. You have created a viable, living human being. No mother or doctor or liberal has the right to kill it.
Very sorry to go off on such a rant but you stated your support of Planned Parenthood (who refuse to stop late term abortions) and that you plan to be outspoken. I wish you the best, not sure if Notre Dame is the best match for you.
And remember you can be pro choice and object to late term abortions; 75% of the U.S. does.
@thentt …@desicollege never staked out the positions that you are ascribing to him/her. Supporting Planned Parenthood is not the same as being an idealized warrior for late term abortions or seeking confrontation on the matter. BTW…Notre Dame is 20% non-Catholic and, as you say, many of the Catholic students are somewhat non-practicing. I note that almost every comment that you have made on CC is on the University of Maryland site. What is your first hand experience of Notre Dame or Notre Dame students? Your comments are nothing that I would associate with the University of Notre Dame…other than the obvious point that many students are pro-life. That does not mean that they would choose to denigrate a fellow student who feels differently, but might seek to have a dialog about the subject.
Please do not substitute your own personal views for those of Notre Dame students.
Many applicants ask how flexible the colleges are (particularly Catholic colleges) but the applicants must decide how flexible they are too. Most people really don’t want to spend 4 years fighting about every single thing. Some things just won’t change like birth control being included in the insurance (there are workarounds), being allowed to get married in the gorgeous chapel if you aren’t catholic, asking them to remove religious symbols from the campus or even the letterhead. If this bothers you, don’t take their fantastic financial aid and pay for your college another way. You don’t get to go to West Point if you don’t support the military.
I think ND has been very fair in letting students state their views, even if those views don’t follow Catholic doctrine. ND has a tradition of inviting the new president to speak at graduation. When it was Obama’s turn, there were conservative students and faculty and staff and parents who weren’t happy with his liberal views and thought he shouldn’t be invited. When it was Trump’s turn, also a lot of unhappy souls in the audience. ND followed its tradition and let each speak, asking everyone to show respect for the guest speakers. There was an organized walk out for Trump, ND gave them the space to do that, but did not change the ceremony.
The OP needs to decide if she will benefit from a ND education, knowing what the situation is and if she can be respectful of the environment.
@CCSavant@desicollege Well they stated " I am very strongly on the left of the political spectrum and have grown up in a really progressive and diverse community in New England. And I’m very outspoken about my views. I’m also fundamentally pro-choice which is a strong part of my political views (I’ve volunteered for Planned Parenthood if you get my drift)." So the drift seems to be that they will be “outspoken” about supporting Planned Parenthood. PP provides many great services but also some services paid for by taxpayers that most Americans do not support. As long as these services are an integral part of PP and they continue their aggressive insurgence into the Administration of ND there will be friction. ND Administration continues to push back (https://religionnews.com/2019/03/20/notre-dame-to-feature-film-that-exposes-planned-parenthood/). I was responding to the post that asked will they “fit in”. I guess you feel they will. I expressed my opinion. My experience is showing desicollege’s comment to current students (relatives and friends) and recent alum and my own experience with ND DC Alumni Assc. and asking "would they “fit in”. They responded with a resounding “no”. I do not think desicollege will be ridiculed or shunned or even confronted in a discriminatory way. As I stated before, if they are seeking a debate, it will be available. You feel they will fit in, I feel they will not and now they have an assortment of opinions which is what they asked for and the purpose of this forum. I welcome your opinion and hope you feel others should be able to give their’s.
My daughter was accepted to ND, she spoke with friends, relatives, current students, alum. I strongly encouraged her to attend primarily because of the student body. They seemed amazing to me; intelligent, ambitious, caring, successful, and fun to be with.
She agreed but thought they were also mostly wealthy, white, conservative politically and heavy party lords socially. She chose UMD Honors because the Integrated Life Science students (mostly pre-med) seemed more diverse, more involved in research and enjoyed the same week end activities as her. Mostly non-drinkers.
