I thought I would start a new thread for the Notre Dame Gateway Class of 2022
We attended the accepted student program yesterday, and my son decided to attend! He was sold by listening to the current Gateway student panel. Notre Dame was his first choice school. He was deciding between Villanova (where both parents went and many family members and its only 2.5hrs away from home)
They answered all of our questions and my son will be part of the 6th class made up of 75 students.
Thanks to all of the current and former Gateway parents and students who have posted on this site and who willingly answered of our questions as well.
Thanks for starting this! I’m anxious to attend this Friday’s session. ND was also my son’s first choice, so we are anxious to hear what they have to say about this program. I’m a little nervous about how well they really fit in to campus, especially the dorm life Sophomore year, and how well they’ll be prepared to continue in Science or Engineering. Glad to hear your son liked it enough to attend - Go Irish!
My son is a sophomore transfer and his roommate(and several of his friends) were gateway kids last year. They all loved it and are grateful. They have all assimilated famously and were never made to feel unincluded. Father Jenkins was a transfer and made an eloquent speech at the transfer welcome dinner at the beginning of the year about how transfer kids do well at ND because they value this opportunity more than some other kids. This is certainly true with my son and his friends. I firmly believe that the event of my son not being admitted straight out of high school was fortuitous and part of God’s plan; it was the best thing that ever happened to him! (though I don’t think he saw it that way last year!!!) Advice that I was given, and that I will share with you, is to soak it all in. You will be welcomed into the ND family, same as your son. This is a gift; make use of it!
@RangerJerry I have followed some of your older post and just wanted to say that I am so happy that things worked out for your son. I have no doubt that he will make the most of his time at ND. (Apologies for getting off topic).
My son also visited the Gateway program at the end of February. While the program impressed him, what makes him a little anxious is that he is not a life-long, diehard ND fan nor are we Catholic. It seemed like most of the kids in the program and visiting the program are both. That being said, one of his requirements for a school is that it have a strong sports program (especially football), which ND clearly meets.
I was thoroughly impressed with how the folks at ND/Holy Cross clearly want the Gateway kids to succeed, and appreciate and understand that the end goal is to be a full-fledged ND student.
I’d loved to hear from others who have officially signed up for the ND/Gateway program or are strongly considering it and why.
Invitations for RD applicants will come when decisions are released some time in the next week. REA applicants that were invited to Gateway heard in December.
My S applied RD and will be among the applicants waiting to look at his portal this week. Just found this thread…what is the Gateway Program? Who would have been invited to participate?
@suzy100 , @GraceDad , @happy1 , you guys make me cry again! This has been quite the journey, I tell you! Son is loving every minute! I dropped him off after holidays, we stepped out of his dorm and saw the moon rising from behind the dome across St. Mary’s lake, and we both just stood there soaking in the view for several minutes. I asked him if that sight has gotten old yet, he said “not yet”. I hope it never does! I am driving him back tomorrow: green beer is on me if any of you are transporting kids also! pilotmedic at yahoo.com
For everyone who was accepted to the Gateway Program and has any questions, please feel free to contact me! I am a current freshman in the program and I love it. My email is sgruler@nd.edu
My son is a Gateway 4.0 and a current sophomore at Notre Dame. The Gateway Program, quite simply, has been incredible. We started with the same doubts that many of you have now. To be honest, I’m not sure that I can say anything here that would adequately address or resolve those doubts. What I can say is that for my son, it’s been everything that we hoped for and much, much more. As a parent, you want your child to be healthy, happy, and just love where they are. He has lived and breathed ND since he was a child. His dream school. He had fantastic opportunities at other highly regarded universities. We visited Holy Cross/ND for his Gateway visit. On the way home (a 9 hour drive) we had plenty of time to talk. When we got home, he had made up his mind. He was doing Gateway. I think a big factor in his decision was actually meeting the Gateway 3.0 kids. They welcomed him with open arms. He could “see” himself in them. They were always available to answer any question he had at any time of day or night. While his decision was made, we still had our doubts as parents. I can tell you that those doubts, for my son, were completely misplaced. He had an absolutely incredible freshman year. ND, in its entirety - from the administration, to the professors, to the ND students - was completely inclusive. He had an ND ID and he could do anything that any other ND student could do. He was involved in numerous HCC and ND clubs. He played on the ND Club Baseball team. His Gateway friends played on the ND Club Lax team and the varsity ND Rugby team. He went to every football game and a ton of basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer and LAX games. His Bookstore Basketball team (look it up if you don’t know), who were five Gateway 4.0’s, went to the final 64 (out of 650+ teams). The year was over before he knew it - and then we were dropping him off in August at ND before we knew it. His room has an incredible view of the Dome right outside his window. All of this said, I’m not sure we realized how tight the Gateways were until we pulled up to his dorm to drop him off and there, to meet him, were five of his closest Gateway friends - and off he went after we got him settled. He was home again!! The Gateways get sprinkled all over campus for their sophomore year - but I can tell you they are each other’s closest friends in the world. They’re studying abroad together with ND this summer. So, all I can say is that it’s been an incredible experience for him. He’s healthy, happy, and absolutely loves where he’s at. Here we are, mostly through his sophomore year at Notre Dame - and he’s right where he wants to be, going to sleep tonight with the Golden Dome shining as his night light. My words cannot express how grateful, as a parent and for my son, I am for the Gateway Program. It has given my son the opportunity of a lifetime.
My DD just received her acceptance to gateway Wednesday. At first she was upset, however upon further inspection she is thrilled! I am happy to read such positive outcomes with this program. We will be attending the information session in April. I appreciate any information we can gather on this program
@“GoIrish91!!” I am guessing your son and mine are friends! He is a transfer sophomore living with a Gateway and has many Gateway friends. I would echo all of what you said!
My daughter is thrilled to accept her invitation to be in Gateway 6.0… ND class of 2022! We attended the Feb 26 Gateway Info Session and were very impressed by the caliber of student and the closeness of the Gateway group. My daughter chose Gateway over the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business Freshman Direct Admit (top State school in WA), Boston College (guaranteed 4 years housing) and Northeastern’s Business School. After weighing the options, we truly believe the Gateway is meant to be for her… even despite the fact that it’s twice the cost of UW! After getting all the information it was an easy decision. I highly recommend attending an info session to learn more. While we were there my daughter connected with current and new Gateway students as well as ND students and feels like she’s found “her people.” The hardest part of this was getting beyond the initial disappointment/confusion of not being admitted as you had hoped. Gateway is highly selective group of positive, energetic, social go-getters and provides for an amazing social network that carries over to all 4 years. I understand the Gateway students have a group chat going and are sharing the excitement and decisions/options. I wanted to share a happy and proud parent’s perspective. At the risk of sounding pretentious, I think it might help others… my daughter is not “a Rudy.” Notre Dame wasn’t her dream school until now. She’s the student body president of her large public school, 4.0 unweighted, ranked 1/464, recognized as a top leader in the school district, 100+ hours of community service since 7th grade, glowing recommendations, student athlete until senior year, 4 AP classes senior year, a very good SAT but not National Merit level. Good luck on your decisions!
