Saint Mary's College at Notre Dame
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Anonymous
| Does anyone have any experience or insight into this all-women's school? DD and I met a recent grad who raved about her experience there. We saw they have guaranteed-admission partnerships post-grad as well as combined-degree STEM programs with Notre Dame. Sounds unique for the right kid, but also concerned about her being in the shadow of the big school. TIA! |
Anonymous
| They give huge merit $ and your kid can participate in every aspect of ND...including marching band. Have to be okay being the side car to the big machine though. |
Anonymous
| A friend’s son is at Holy Cross and my kid went to preschool there. It is a very nice, beautiful campus and is connected with ND closely. My friend’s son is quite happy at HC. |
Anonymous
| They also have to be okay with being looked down on by the female population at ND as husband hunters. It's hopefully changed since my day, but the ND women were not very kind to SMC women. |
Anonymous
Can corroborate. It's not fair, but those ND girls can be snobby. |
Anonymous
| My case is probably a rare outlier, but I went there ages ago and transferred. I had graduated from an all girls Catholic boarding high school, and while I liked the course work, the daily life and sameness of my classmates was too much of a repeat for me. The relationship with ND is a plus, the academic opportunities on both campuses are excellent but, at least when I was there, the diversity on all fronts was very limited. I ended up being much happier at a large urban university. My friends from St. Mary’s who stayed loved their experiences and went on to very solid careers. Just know whether that is the right environment for your student— bright, middle class, mostly midwestern vibes. |
Anonymous
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For a tiny school, the women go on to leadership positions all over the country: judges, mayors, CEOs, State Bar Presidents, best selling authors, hedge fund managers, university professors, etc. At one point, four members of Congress were alumnae of this small midwestern women's college, including Eddie Bernice Johnson and Anne Northrup; and others serve in state legislatures, like London Lamar in Tennessee; all following the lead of the second woman ever elected to the Canada House of Commons, Martha Black, in 1935.
It isn't for everyone, for sure. Great professors, pretty campus, fun vibe. As at most places, it is what you make of it. Also, I never felt I was in anyone's shadow. SMC provides an excellent liberal arts education. |
Anonymous
| My DD applied and received a substantial merit scholarship - approx 50 percent COA. Seems like a really great option if DD is okay with some of the tradeoffs. |
Anonymous
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The guaranteed admissions options and combined degrees for SMC students are compelling. Some are pretty new. We met with the pre-health advisor there who told us about the MCAT classes they offer as electives for those interested in medical school too, and many of the competitive schools my kid considered didn’t offer that. Pretty cool.
https://www.saintmarys.edu/smc-nd-master-science-esteem-41 https://www.saintmarys.edu/news/partnership-lecom |