The typical prospies-ask-a-current-ND-student-questions thread

<p>Thanks for the reply. I applied to mostly smaller schools than Notre Dame, but I think I could prob. handle it. And the more days that go by until May 1 the more and more i want to go to ND. Have to wait for the financial aid stuff first though. Thanks.</p>

<p>I cannot directly relate to what it's like attending a small high school, as my public high school consisted of 2,200 students and there were about 520 in my graduating class. But I can echo what the previous poster said about ND not seeming overwhelmingly big. I think it's the perfect size, not as large as a public state school but bigger than an LAC. There are enough people to make the student body vibrant and lively, but not so many that you never see the same people twice. You will see many people you know all over the place, despite the fact that there are 8,000 undergrads here. Classes do vary in size--but in many of the large lecture classes, there are weekly tutorials or discussion sections with only a few other people to still get the individualized attention you deserve in a 150 person class. My philosophy class has 150 students in the lecture on Monday-Wednesday but on Friday, I have a discussion section that only consists of 8 students. So personally, I have not found size to be an issue, and neither has my friend that only had 18(!) students in her high school graduating class. Plus, the more people in the student section at football games cheering, the better! :)</p>

<p>Hi everyone.</p>

<p>I was wondering, are there a lot of international students in ND? I was looking at the stats on Businessweek's website, and it said that ND only had a 1% acceptance rate for internationals. I'm just scared that I might be a little out of place because I'm from the Philippines, and I've never been to the Mid-west.</p>

<p>hi happygirl837</p>

<p>is a religion class required for graduation? i was jst wondering since ND is a very religious (catholic) school.</p>

<p>Well, I'm not happygirl837, but I can answer your question. Two semesters of theology and two semesters of philosophy are required for graduation.</p>

<p>haha thanks shellzie:)</p>

<p>I'm a junior and ND is my first choice. I'm visiting on Thrusday (SO excited!!!!), and I have a few questions I want to hear some "unofficial" answers. :D</p>

<ol>
<li>Without knowing your religious beliefs, exactly how Catholic is Notre Dame? Do people really go to Masses in the dorms?</li>
<li>I know that ND meets all demonstrated need, but how much of that is in the form of loans rather than grants? Around how much debt does the average student have at graduation?</li>
<li>How safe is the campus?</li>
<li>Is there any good shopping in South Bend?</li>
<li>(typical dumb question) What's the one thing you wish you knew about ND when you were applying?</li>
</ol>

<p>Thanks for doing this, it really helps to talk to someone who is actually experiencing the school and not a guidebook!!!</p>

<ol>
<li><p>ND is very Catholic. People are often surprised when they meet someone who isn't Catholic, but the student body is generally pretty accepting. Also, I've had some of the best conversations about religion while here- particularly with Athiest/Agnostics and some fundamentalist Christians. People really do go to mass in the dorms or the basilica. There are some people who go every day (I usually make it about 3x/week), but there are some who don't go at all. No one will look down on you either way.</p></li>
<li><p>Very safe. I wouldn't suggest walking around the lakes alone after dark, but other than that, there's very little to worry about. Also, people rarely lock their doors in the dorms, except on football weekends.</p></li>
<li><p>Ummm...the mall is decent and there's a Target. You can get everything you need, but nothing too exciting. If you want to do some hardcore shopping, you can always take a weekend trip into Chicago.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>guenevierre: In the class of 2010, there are 382 international students out of a class slightly larger than 2,000 students. Additionally, the class is comprised of approximately 24% minority students. I know quite a few students well that are international, most of them of Hispanic descent, and I don't think any of them have had a tough time fitting in. Additionally, there are people here from all over the U.S., many of whom have never visited the Midwest before. Although I had visited ND before coming here, and was even born in the Midwest (Chicago area), I had lived in the South for the last 13 years of my life and adjusting to life in the Midwest was about the same for me as it is for many international students. There will be plenty of people next year in the same boat, either adjusting because they are from another country or adjusting because they are from another part of the country.</p>

<p>DancingFeet17:
1. The University itself stays true to its Catholic beliefs. We are one of the few schools in the country (at least among the schools I have friends at) to have Good Friday and Easter Monday off, and the dining halls did not serve any meat at all on Fridays during Lent and Ash Wednesday. There are also chapels in every residence hall and priests live in most, if not all, dorms, even the girls' ones. However, students vary in their Catholicism. Many students attend mass every Sunday, or even more often, but just as many do not attend mass regularly. I know a myriad of people who are Catholic, but claim they have too much homework on Sunday nights to attend mass. Additionally, at least 17% of the student body is not Catholic (I suspect that percentage is higher though, because I'm sure many people say they are Catholic on their applications because they falsely believe that could help them get accepted). No matter your religious beliefs, or degree of interest in any religion, I don't believe anybody would look down upon you. </p>

<ol>
<li><p>I do not receive any financial aid, so I can't speak directly about how good ND is with it. However, I know that if you are an ND Scholar, you are supposed to receive more grant money and less loan money than you would have if you were not an ND Scholar. I never really hear current students say much about financial aid, but I think ND seems to do it pretty fairly. Basically, if there really is need, the money will be given; if there is not, money won't. Someone else who has more knowledge of financial aid may want to answer this too.</p></li>
<li><p>Campus is VERY safe. Everyone leaves their doors unlocked and doesn't think twice about it. People walk around freely by themselves at night and I haven't heard of any problems that have arisen. People also leave laptops, etc. at the library during finals week (and other times) all day, and they are never stolen or anything. Only things I have ever heard of being stolen are bikes--if you bring a bike to campus, I strongly urge you to lock it up at all times or it could be stolen.</p></li>
<li><p>To echo the previous poster, there is a mall nearby with the typical clothing stores and other shops, but nothing outstanding. Most people seem to do most of their shopping at home during breaks, and then get a few things every so often during a Target run.</p></li>
<li><p>I had a lot of family that went to ND so I knew A LOT about the school before applying and attending. So I can't really think about something in particular I didn't know that I wish I had.......</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Thanks both for your responses! I'm soooooooo excited to visit on Thursday :D</p>

<p>DancingFeet17- Are you coming for Reilly Weekend?</p>

<p>No, I'm just coming for an information session/tour tomorrow. Is there anything I should see/do that's not on the tour?</p>

<p>I'm only a junior btw.</p>

<p>Hey dancingfeet,</p>

<p>Ill be taking a tour next Tuesday, so make sure to tell me how it goes. Im a junior also. Is ND your first choice too?
Check out the Domers of 12' page on the main thread page</p>

<p>chillin til 08, yeah, ND is my first choice. I'm going with a close friend who was just accepted, so I'm hoping some of her good karma will rub off on me while i'm there :D I'll send you a PM when I get back. Where are you from?</p>

<p>ya, that sounds great</p>

<p>Im from phoenix, Im just ready to get away from this heat.... suppose to be 95 today</p>

<p>got a few more ?'s.......</p>

<p>1) just how cold does it get @ ND? I'm from Arkansas and the lowest here in the winter is like 10 degrees, so i'm hoping i wont freeze to death lol.</p>

<p>2) is there a good tutoring system at ND? are people willing to share notes, help eachother out?</p>

<p>3) is the food great, or the greatest? (hopefully lol)</p>

<p>4) party scene. is there a pressure to party/drink?</p>

<p>thanks for this. I'm REALLY hoping to visit the last weekend before May to check the place out. Thanks again.</p>

<p>1) I'm from Georgia where it's never been lower than 20 degrees, so I totally understand the concern. The weather is definitely what I like least about Notre Dame. From mid-January when we came back from winter break to the end of February was absolutely frigid, and I've heard that time period was the coldest this region has been in many years. It snows a lot and it snows often, so that definitely took some getting used to, as well as the heavy winds and -25 degree windchills. It took some getting used to (wearing sweatpants and snow boots under my formal dress to walk to a dance was quite a strange experience for me...) but buy a heavy winter coat and some boots and you'll be fine. I'm glad I chose to go to school in a new place to force me to leave my comfort zone. Plus, it just makes me appreciate Georgia more when I return for breaks than I ever did during my 13 years of living there. Long story short, the weather will be an adjustment, but you'll probably end up finding yourself throwing the first snowball during the annual North Quad/South Quad snowball fight on the first really snowy day of the year!</p>

<p>2) There is a formal tutoring system in place through the First Year of Studies. They offer tutoring for at least all calculus, lab science, and engineering classes, though there may also be tutoring for some others. They offer both a group format where the tutor essentially reteaches the lesson, as well as a group format where the tutor primarily helps with homework questions. I was in a tutoring session last semester (the latter format) for my General Physics class and I thought it helped a lot. Additionally, all professors are required to hold office hours and almost all are very accomodative if you want to make a separate appointment to see them. And students definitely help each other out; study groups are quite common and often encouraged by teachers to reinforce your individual learning. I don't think our school is cutthroat at all, where I have heard that many top universities are.</p>

<p>3) I think the food here is good. Many people swear that South is better, but I think the food at North is essentially the same, with better organization (the food is separated into three different rooms, instead of everything clustered together in South's one food room) and the layout of the dining room makes it so much easier to find people in North than in South. I also live right next to North so maybe I'm a bit biased. Anyways, every day, they have a pasta bar, make-your-own-pizza line, pasta and oriental stir fry lines, vegetables/healthy options line, some kind of homestyle meal, an Oriental food bar, a Mexican bar, a grilled line with hamburgers/hot dogs/chicken sandwiches/grilled cheese/french fries, a soup and salad bar, a panini station, and a dessert table. My favorite food at the dining hall is the crepes that North has on the weekends. Overall, you should be able to find something that you like, and we have much better food than most colleges.</p>

<p>4) I have not found there to be a pressure to party and drink. I personally do not drink and do not plan to do so anytime soon. I went to parties more frequently in the beginning of the year, but now they seem boring to me and there are so many other things I would rather do on the weekends that I rarely attend parties anymore. However, there are off-campus parties in surrounding houses/apartment complexes that anyone can get into, I believe, as well as dorm parties (usually in guys' dorms) that are mostly attended by freshmen and sophomores. So there are certainly parties to be found, and ND is by no means a dry campus, but it will be hard to find a good party during the week. That being said, there are so many other events to attend during the weekends, such as a myriad of sporting events, comedy shows, movies, concerts, plays and other performances, club events, dorm signature events, etc. And there is much more to do during football season on home football weekends. You will have no problems fitting in here whether you do drink and party or you do not.</p>

<p>Let me know if you have any more questions!</p>

<p>To Dancingfeet- I'd recommend that you try and check out the inside of some of the dorms if you can, and visit some of the popular student spots- LaFortune, etc. I don't remember exactly what was on the tour, but wandering around campus a bit by yourself to get a feel of things might also be a good idea. I hope you enjoy your visit.</p>

<p>dec27:
1) just how cold does it get @ ND? I'm from Arkansas and the lowest here in the winter is like 10 degrees, so i'm hoping i wont freeze to death lol.
It gets cold, but you'll learn to deal. My roommate is from Alabama and she managed to adapt. I really don't think its that bad, but I'm from Minnesota, so...</p>

<p>2) is there a good tutoring system at ND? are people willing to share notes, help eachother out?
Yes- tutoring is free freshman year. And people are definitely willing to help each other- even when classes are graded on a curve. I do a lot of collaborative studying and I'm a science major in classes with a lot of premeds.</p>

<p>3) is the food great, or the greatest? (hopefully lol)
The food is very good. You'll get sick of it towards the end of the semester, but I really can't complain. South IS better. The food is generally better and there are more options, but North has some good special items like make-your-own pizza, pasta stir fry, and crepes. South is a lot bvetter organized too- everything is conveniently in one room, rather than scattered around randomly. You don't have to wait in long lines like at North and you don't have to wander around as much to get different food items.</p>

<p>4) party scene. is there a pressure to party/drink?
It's available if you want it, but I've never felt pressured to do anything I didn't want to do. There are plenty of other things to do on the weekends as well.</p>

<p>I understand that there is a swim test in the first year of studies PE program. Last year's posts on this topic made it sound not too tough -- how difficult is it, really? When you are swimming the laps can your feet ever touch the bottom or do you have to do the 4 laps in a row? Thanks!</p>