Notre Dame from non-Catholic/ non-feeder school: TO? other advice?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why ND if not Catholic? You'll be an oddity. More than 80% of the student body is Catholic.

2/3 of the US population identifies as Christian. If the OP’s kid is Christian it’s fine. In fact, it wouldn’t even matter if OP’s kid were a practicing Muslim. To “fit in” at Notre Dame, you have to be comfortable being around religion. I wouldn’t recommend it to an atheist but other than that you’re good.

Notre Dame is very Catholic.

A non catholic, secular school like Georgetown with small remaining vestiges of their catholic history from the last century might fit better in this case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^Holy Cross is easier for admission-good back up for ND:

ND is a mid-sized T20 university. Holy Cross is small and doesn't have real football (despite what Patriot League enthusiasts say).

If "Catholic" is a really high criteria on your list, than most kids go Notre Dame > Georgetown > Boston College > Villanova/ Holy Cross/ Fordham.

Georgetown is not on the high criteria Catholic list.

Georgetown is mostly secular and openly rejects Catholicism in many cases (go on a campus tour, for example, and they will openly tell you they are not really Catholic any more.)

Georgetown is a strong secular school, but it can't really hold a spot for Catholic universities in that list of schools.

For people looking for Catholic schools at this point in time, the list is more like:

Notre Dame > Villanova (pope bonus points) > Boston College > Holy Cross > Loyola???

[Anonymous]

I have some experience with ND through several family members and a chat with a close friend in admissions at a Catholic school. My kid strongly considered it after admit day.

I am not Catholic, my opinion, a non-religious person can be very comfortable there as long as they are not bothered by seeing religious icons all over campus. Many of the students are Catholics in name only and I do believe the school wants to add diversity, but it can only accept those who apply.

I would submit score and I would emphasize service, leadership, using whatever kids "gifts" are in service to others or making world better. They care about educating the whole person. You can absolutely like that sentiment (I do) without putting a religious twist on it...more of a be a good human outlook.

People are free to disagree, but I am not interested in engaging on my opinion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ND is a fantastic school but South Bend has long winters. Might look at Holy Cross in Massachusetts, similar vibe as ND but easier to get into.

More of a “gamble,” but there is a Holy Cross near ND with at least two formal transfer programs.

The first, Gateway, is a deferred admission, of sorts, to ND with one year at Holy Cross. Applicants to ND cannot identify/volunteer for this program.

The second is the Driscoll dual degree: https://www.hcc-nd.edu/driscoll-dual-degree/

If neither one of those two are offered, there appears to be a high frequency of transfers from HC to ND. One thread of note: https://www.reddit.com/r/notredame/comments/17gni09/how_does_transfer_from_holy_cross_work/

[Anonymous]

Test optional at ND is for athletes and FGLI.

It’s a very tough admit. The REA scheme confers no advantage, in fact the odds are worse than RD for non recruited students. Sacrificing ED elsewhere shouldn’t be done lightly. Also, it’s an open secret that even the much touted legacy hook no longer matters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why ND if not Catholic? You'll be an oddity. More than 80% of the student body is Catholic.

2/3 of the US population identifies as Christian. If the OP’s kid is Christian it’s fine. In fact, it wouldn’t even matter if OP’s kid were a practicing Muslim. To “fit in” at Notre Dame, you have to be comfortable being around religion. I wouldn’t recommend it to an atheist but other than that you’re good.

Notre Same is very Catholic.

A non catholic, secular school like Georgetown with small remaining vestiges of their catholic history from the last century might fit better in this case.

I went to Notre Dame. As I’ve said before, if you’re not anti-religion you’re fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Test optional at ND is for athletes and FGLI.

It’s a very tough admit. The REA scheme confers no advantage, in fact the odds are worse than RD for non recruited students. Sacrificing ED elsewhere shouldn’t be done lightly. Also, it’s an open secret that even the much touted legacy hook no longer matters.

This is not accurate information. Many top students from feeder schools getting in REA.

[Anonymous]

If your kid is not from a feeder catholic school…then they need to have ivy level stats or some big hook to make it in. It’s a really tough admit.

My legacy kid was rejected with a 35 ACT this past cycle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your kid is not from a feeder catholic school…then they need to have ivy level stats or some big hook to make it in. It’s a really tough admit.

My legacy kid was rejected with a 35 ACT this past cycle.

Really? Coming out of what HS? Public? Catholic?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your kid is not from a feeder catholic school…then they need to have ivy level stats or some big hook to make it in. It’s a really tough admit.

My legacy kid was rejected with a 35 ACT this past cycle.

Wow that's tough. Hope he ended up someplace he loves. This process stinks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ND is 80-82% Catholic, which makes me think “why would a non-Catholic want to attend there when there are 3,000+ institutions of higher learning in the U.S.?” But, after reading this story in The Observer, I would never send a non-Catholic there. https://www.ndsmcobserver.com/article/2024/04/a-transfer-students-thoughts-on-notre-dame-students

Sure, a single story from an unhappy transfer (who, quite frankly, sounds immature a slightly unhinged) should definitely weigh more than all OP’s other research. . . .

I read the OP’s kid is coming form a non-Catholic school rather than the kid is non-Catholic.

I didn’t even understand the article. But whatever. The kid was a transfer, meaning he wasn’t happy at his last school either. Clearly he’s the problem.

Amazing, actually confirming the perspective of the article. If this response was meant to reassure people that non-Catholics will have a good experience Notre Dame, it failed, and instead indicates the opposite.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ND is 80-82% Catholic, which makes me think “why would a non-Catholic want to attend there when there are 3,000+ institutions of higher learning in the U.S.?” But, after reading this story in The Observer, I would never send a non-Catholic there. https://www.ndsmcobserver.com/article/2024/04/a-transfer-students-thoughts-on-notre-dame-students

Sure, a single story from an unhappy transfer (who, quite frankly, sounds immature a slightly unhinged) should definitely weigh more than all OP’s other research. . . .

I read the OP’s kid is coming form a non-Catholic school rather than the kid is non-Catholic.

I didn’t even understand the article. But whatever. The kid was a transfer, meaning he wasn’t happy at his last school either. Clearly he’s the problem.

Same! What was he trying to say? It was such a garbled piece, I didn't understand the point. Sounds like he felt let down by some "two-faced" friends? My (non-Catholic) son also really liked Notre Dame. The 80% Catholic community *does* give him pause but he really liked the kids he met there and academics are top tier.

What I took from the article is that he met people who were imperfect in life (like almost everyone) who then did good things like went to Mass, worked in campus ministry, and did service work. So basically these were sinners who were repenting. The kid was clearly not a good fit for the school because he doesn't understand basic Christian values.

Another response that should give non-Catholics pause about ND.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your kid is not from a feeder catholic school…then they need to have ivy level stats or some big hook to make it in. It’s a really tough admit.

My legacy kid was rejected with a 35 ACT this past cycle.

Really? Coming out of what HS? Public? Catholic?

From what I see at my ds’s catholic high school, it’s tough to get in, and they like high-achieving leader types with great scores.

My sister went there many years ago and I doubt she’d get in now, and I don’t think my own kids have much of a chance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ND is 80-82% Catholic, which makes me think “why would a non-Catholic want to attend there when there are 3,000+ institutions of higher learning in the U.S.?” But, after reading this story in The Observer, I would never send a non-Catholic there. https://www.ndsmcobserver.com/article/2024/04/a-transfer-students-thoughts-on-notre-dame-students

Sure, a single story from an unhappy transfer (who, quite frankly, sounds immature a slightly unhinged) should definitely weigh more than all OP’s other research. . . .

I read the OP’s kid is coming form a non-Catholic school rather than the kid is non-Catholic.

I didn’t even understand the article. But whatever. The kid was a transfer, meaning he wasn’t happy at his last school either. Clearly he’s the problem.

Amazing, actually confirming the perspective of the article. If this response was meant to reassure people that non-Catholics will have a good experience Notre Dame, it failed, and instead indicates the opposite.

Nah. I agree with the PP. Plenty of non Catholics happy at ND but the writer of the article had a gripe and clearly ND (and his prior school) was not a good fit. I hope he found a place where he could feel at home, but my suspicion is that would be tough given two strikes already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your kid is not from a feeder catholic school…then they need to have ivy level stats or some big hook to make it in. It’s a really tough admit.

My legacy kid was rejected with a 35 ACT this past cycle.

Really? Coming out of what HS? Public? Catholic?

From what I see at my ds’s catholic high school, it’s tough to get in, and they like high-achieving leader types with great scores.

My sister went there many years ago and I doubt she’d get in now, and I don’t think my own kids have much of a chance.

Strong Catholic feeder schools are a much easier admit. About 40 percent of students who applied were admitted from my kid’s HS last year. This is in the DMV area. That said, I have heard it is a much tougher admit from Chicago area Catholic schools mainly because so many apply.