<p>According to Alexandre, the social life of Notre Dame is not up to par to U of Michigan. Any current students or alumni want to share?</p>
<p>I'm an alum from many moons ago, graduated in 1984. All I can tell you is, back then, it was a very conservative campus and there were not near the parties going at ND that I was hearing about from my high school friends who went to state and other universities. That being said, there is plenty to do on and off the campus. If partying is your thing, there are parties to be had...although on weeknights, you might need to look a little harder. As anywhere, I guess, in time, the people of common interests--including party interests--tend to find each other.</p>
<p>Football weekends are a blast. January weekends, when nothing is going on, can get kind of depressing, but they're livable. My guess is the weather is equally lousy in Michigan.</p>
<p>Actually, as an ND student, I made a number of football game road trips, including to Michigan State, Michigan and Pitt. We were all ready and gearing to go to these huge parties we'd heard so much about, and, to tell you the truth, the campuses were pretty dull for a football weekend--although I will say the Irish won all the games I road-tripped to, so that has something to do with it...</p>
<p>I can guarantee you that ND is not as sexually open or as big of a party school as some others. I can also guarantee you--even though I haven't been on campus for awhile, and my son won't be on till the fall--that there are both sinners and saints in the mix....</p>
<p>I will say that, if sports or fitness is your bag, ND is heaven. It's one of the only schools in the country that offers full-pad football intramurals, and also offers some serious flag football for women. The intramural program is excellent, as are the "co-rec" co-ed sports. The facilities are incredible. And the campus is absolutely beautiful, for runs, bike rides, or those long meandering walks in the wee hours of the night, when all the worlds problems are solved (until the solutions fade from memory the next morning <g>.)</g></p>
<p>So, in essence, ND is not a "party school" per se, but it has its partiers, as every place does. As for fun that does not require beer bongs or keggers, there are a myriad of activities to be had that rival anywhere. </p>
<p>One of the things I appreciate more and more in hindsight is the way the university is committed to not letting a single student fall through the cracks. For those of us with more than a few wild oats to share, had it not been for the size and commitment of the university to making sure kids made their way through, I don't know that I would have graduated or landed on my feet.</p>
<p>Don't get me wrong, I had an absolute blast at parties both off campus and on (my freshly admitted son isn't online, is he? <g>) But I can honestly say that, in retrospect, when the parties become less important in memory and the bigger picture comes into focus, there is something about the Notre Dame campus and the Notre Dame experience that really prepared me for life, and continues to inspire me to this day. It made a difference in the kind of person I am, and the way I cope with things. I've said it before online, but I'll say it again...there are lots of signs of religion on campus, which can be disconcerting to the self-proclaimed "cool", perhaps, while they are busy defying the system and bucking authorities who have their best interests in mind...but it is never shoved down anyone's throat. The spirituality, however, is pervasive in a very subtle way that lasts a lifetime.</g></p>
<p>I don't expect anyone 18 years of age to understand this--I certainly wouldn't have at that age--but in the long run, it makes a huge difference. Notre Dame prepared me not only for a career, but for life.</p>
<p>And I still managed to have a whopping good time of it :)!</p>