Obviously this is a little last minute, but I’d really appreciate some help deciding between Notre Dame and U of R for undergrad math major.
I’m not super concerned about the academic aspect, because I think I’ll be fine either way; both schools have similar numbers of students who go on to further education in math (my plan at the moment), good honors math degrees, etc.
The cost also doesn’t really play a role in my decision; Notre Dame is slightly cheaper, but not enough to make a huge difference.
What I’m really concerned about is the social situation. I got into the Glynn honors program at ND, which looks really amazing in terms of meeting similarly academically motivated people who love really discussing things deeply. However, I’m still a little worried - for context, I’ve grown up Catholic, but have decided (firmly) to leave the Catholic Church as soon as I get out of the house; also, I’m not straight.
U of R seems to have a student body that is largely sort of academically interested but also quirky, and a large queer population - obviously not an objective measure, but like half the people on U of R’s zeemee had lgbtq inclusion in their bio, and lots of queer presenting people when I visited campus, including my tour guide. Basically, everyone I saw on campus, in promotional materials, etc. reminded me of my current friend group.
But on the other hand, I’m entirely sure that ND has some eccentric academics too - for example, the kids in this article, which when I read it made me immediately think “those are my people”: “math and music combine for sophomore honors mathematics students” on the ND College of Science website
I’m really torn - I love both academic programs (specifically the honors math major and overall honors program at ND, and the super flexible cluster system curriculum at UR). I think the Glynn honors program, as well as marching band (which I’m planning to do), could potentially lead me to find truly lifetime friends at ND, but it’s a bit riskier and I’m not sure how I’d fit into the student population as a whole (also, I’m not super enthusiastic about spending more time in a Catholic environment after waiting years to get out of it, but I’m willing to push through, and I know that’s not everyone at ND). But UR feels a bit more comfortable in a way, in that I’m certain there’d be a ton of people that I’d at the very least get along with.
I’m mostly just looking for opinions; I know both are great options, I’m just really indecisive. Thank you so much!