Comparing top Catholic Universities

[Anonymous]

I'm Catholic and don't think converting people is cool, nor is part of Catholic culture. But I also dont think it's a thing that's done at ND so I'm not going to think about it.

ND grad '90 who would take anything you hear here, from parents, with a grain of salt. Think I went to Mass twice and that was fine. But talk to current kids. There are the holy rollers and then there are the rest of us. Not sure exactly how that breaks down on campus today, but don't ask the moms.

fun fact: In my day, the guy's laundry was done for them. for free. and we had to do our own, with money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm Catholic and don't think converting people is cool, nor is part of Catholic culture. But I also dont think it's a thing that's done at ND so I'm not going to think about it.

ND grad '90 who would take anything you hear here, from parents, with a grain of salt. Think I went to Mass twice and that was fine. But talk to current kids. There are the holy rollers and then there are the rest of us. Not sure exactly how that breaks down on campus today, but don't ask the moms.

fun fact: In my day, the guy's laundry was done for them. for free. and we had to do our own, with money.

Yes, but their clothes came back torn and faded from St. Joe’s. And then St. Joe’s burned.

Agree evangelizing is not a thing at ND. But if the PP has so little regard for a Catholic university *because it’s Catholic* perhaps this is not the right thread for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm Catholic and don't think converting people is cool, nor is part of Catholic culture. But I also dont think it's a thing that's done at ND so I'm not going to think about it.

ND grad '90 who would take anything you hear here, from parents, with a grain of salt. Think I went to Mass twice and that was fine. But talk to current kids. There are the holy rollers and then there are the rest of us. Not sure exactly how that breaks down on campus today, but don't ask the moms.

fun fact: In my day, the guy's laundry was done for them. for free. and we had to do our own, with money.

Catholic evangelizing is being around the Catholic culture of Notre Dame. Milkshake Masses. Creating an environment where it is okay to be a teen of faith (very uncommon in today's world, but especially in the DC metro area.) Surrounding the kids with the sacred, through the various chapels and grottos, statues and symbols. Having clergy around as a vibrant and normal part of Catholic life.

So yes, Notre Dame is very good at evangelizing. The essence of the university is evangelization, because the ND surrounds the kids with a faith tradition in a positive, visible way, whether or not the kids choose to partake. The purpose is not conversion (I never said that) but a culture of evangelization which ND is very good at.

Because of this school culture, that poster who disdains Catholicism, might just end up with a Catholic kid at the end of the 4 years of it. It is a distinct possibility that a parent who thinks Catholic is the main negative part of Notre Dame really needs to consider before sending their kid to ND for 4 years. I would say the same to a devout southern Baptist. Would you be okay with spending $300,000 at Notre Dame to end up with a Catholic kid at the end. Because a kid finding their Catholic faith at a very Catholic school at Notre Dame that does a very good job at evangelizing (as noted above) is much more of a possibility at Notre Dame than a nominally Catholic school like Georgetown, or a secular school where religion and Catholicism are either not even a little part of the culture, or openly disdained.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:it was fully renovated in 2019-2020 and holds 253 students.

https://residentiallife.nd.edu/undergraduate/halls/dillon-hall/

it actually has fewer rooms now, a few more bathrooms. so fewer kids.

I dont know chapel capacity, but 40 sounds right to me. tops.

so .. nope to you.

Once again, Nope.

The chapel in Dillon seats about 200 students and the Milkshake Mass has standing room only. There goes your credibility.

Where's the person who said hardly anyone goes to mass...doesn't look that way here. Maybe it's the milkshakes?

[Anonymous]

nobody said hardly anyone. but this is the most popular weekly mass and there are 9k (?) undergrad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:nobody said hardly anyone. but this is the most popular weekly mass and there are 9k (?) undergrad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:nobody said hardly anyone. but this is the most popular weekly mass and there are 9k (?) undergrad.

Actually, the number thrown around was only around 40.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:nobody said hardly anyone. but this is the most popular weekly mass and there are 9k (?) undergrad.

This is the person who said the Catholic part was a negative:

"But also I went to ND so I have a pretty good idea how the school works. Did you? I think you'll find a minority of kids attend even a single non-mandatory Mass."

I am saying, this doesn't look like a minority to me, and this is not a mandatory Mass. People would like to believe that there aren't many religious kids on campus, but the truth is, most are Catholic and will partake in Masses on Sunday and during the week. If this parent has a problem with "the Catholic part," they should think twice about sending their kid there because a lot can happen in four years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure what it means that so few children of GU alumni want to attend. Seems concerning to me.

Georgetown grads want their kids to go to Ivies. ND grads want their kids to go to ND.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a pretty typical gen X catholic, meaning I left the church 25 years ago. The church is far more conservative than it was a generation or two ago because the people who stayed are the people who are willing to put up with .. a lot.

But my son is interested in ND and that's fine with me. It provides a classic college experience: solid academics, national reputation, fun sports, happy kids, strong alumni. The Catholic part of it is a bit of a negative - it def leans more conservative than school like BC - but my kid can navigate that for himself.

ND has always been a less hospitable place for women, so if I had a daughter I'd be less comfortable.

Is he OK with having a good portion of his dorm mates attending Mass on Sundays and also during the week? How about the single sex dorms with parietals? His dorm will also have at least one priest as the rector who will be setting rules for your son. He will be required to take Theology for at least one semester (maybe 2?). Your son can find the same things he likes about ND in so many other schools. South Bend isn't great either and it gets very cold there. Honestly he would probably be better off somewhere else. Oh, and if he still really wants to go there, be sure he doesn't bash Catholicism even minutely in his essays....he'll get rejected on the spot.

Sure. Why would other people attending church services be an issue. We live in NY and many of our friends have faith traditions that are not our own and ... it's not like we have to be OK with that. Of course we're OK with that. LOL, what?

But also I went to ND so I have a pretty good idea how the school works. Did you? I think you'll find a minority of kids attend even a single non-mandatory Mass.

+1.

Certainly there are opportunities for those who wish to partake, but thinking there's a cultural issue for those students not partaking would be a mistaken impression.

The PP specifically indicated they thought "the Catholic part is a bit of a negative," so if it's a negative, they very well could have a problem with so much worshiping happening on campus.

There are 32 residence halls on campus and in those dorms there are 106 Masses every single week. That's a lot of praying.

I don't think anyone minds people doing their own thing. But as someone before said, "ND seems to do a fairly good job of subtly wvangelizing kids into the Catholic faith." That shit is a bit of a negative, to say the least.

Students at lots of secular colleges get. pushed towards views. So much so that it’s a cliche that some freshmen come home for Thanksgiving and are suddenly Communists or Buddhists or BLM or Anarchists or whatever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure what it means that so few children of GU alumni want to attend. Seems concerning to me.

Georgetown grads want their kids to go to Ivies. ND grads want their kids to go to ND.

ND '90 here again and this is not a universal truth. Not true with me. My ND experience was very .. mixed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Notre Dane has poor diversity figures. Look it up.

Why is diversity such an issue with people?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Notre Dane has poor diversity figures. Look it up.


Why is diversity such an issue with people?

Agree, they have a high percentage of Catholic students. That is more important to some families.

[Anonymous]

There's a huge difference between catholic dogma/indoctrination and catholic liberal education - determining which one you/DC are looking for will help narrow your pool of potential schools.

[Anonymous]

I tend to think Georgetown is the better school; this is especially true when thinking about the entire university (most grad schools at Georgetown are better). Notre Dame has a far larger endowment and better physical facilities though.
It is great that the kids of Georgetown and Notre Dame grads can think about getting a fair shake at Harvard or Yale without any worry. Plenty of Catholics on the East Coast went to Georgetown because it was the best Catholic school in the region after being totally shut out at those schools.