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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'd generally consider Georgetown as the slightly better school (the 75% SAT score is usually higher, the acceptance rate is usually somewhat lower despite not being a Common App school, and DC can attract faculty a little better versus South Bend and than what Georgetown might otherwise get). Notre Dame has a lot more $$ endowment wise though, so if aid is an important factor, ND could very well end up being more affordable as they have generous need based aid and more merit aid than Georgetown. 
Rankings wise, they are split. Georgetown is one of the few schools in the top 25 across Forbes, WSJ, and USNWR. Notre Dame is slightly higher than Georgetown in USNWR but is 15+ spots lower in the other two. Georgetown also tends to be ranked higher grad school wise in primary areas like law school and b-school. My guess is if you ask a guidance counselor in North Carolina, they'd probably say Georgetown and if you ask a counselor in Illinois, they'd probably say Notre Dame with the slight regional bias!   
The environments at Georgetown and Notre Dame are so different though beyond being Catholic. Some people love a quieter place like South Bend and want to be part of a big football tradition. That definitely isn't available at Georgetown. Others want a more urban school that is a little less isolated socially or are set on some of the DC internship opportunities. 
Catholics were excluded from a lot of other schools for so long and their high schools still have strong ties to the universities, so I get the interest in both but the student should be able to get a pick between these two great schools pretty quickly. [/quote]

I agree. My son is at a Jesuit HS and has zero interest in ND.  Big football school and in South Bend does not interest this city kid.  He loves Georgetown.  They are both great schools- just not interested in ND.

My son is applying to Boston College though, just not ND.  Jesuit is a big deal which ND is not and tends to be much more conservative.[/quote]

I'm wondering why people keep saying ND is more conservative. Is it just because of one famous alum? The professors are split, the student body votes Dem, and while it is likely just the circles I kept, the most rabidly liberal friends I have went to ND. What I like about Catholic schools generally is that all ideas are present and kids learn hoe to discuss differences critically.

Is there some other aspect that has changed that I'm missing?[/quote]

It's not a change. ND is more midwestern, and Midwestern liberals are different from coastal liberals. There is a cultural conservatism to midwesterners that you don't find so much on the coasts or in a city like Chicago, but is more common in midwesterners from smaller cities and rural areas, even if they are liberal or vote Democratic.

You are more likely to find Democratic students at ND who are still conflicted on the issue of abortion rights, for instance. Whereas the Catholic kids who attend Georgetown or BC generally are not conflicted -- they support abortion rights and will, at most, say they personally wouldn't have an abortion. To a lesser extent, you see similar differences in attitudes about gay rights, where a Catholic liberal from Cincinnati might say they support gay marriage but remain somewhat uncomfortable with the idea, whereas a Catholic liberal from the DMV will be vocally in favor of gay rights. And that's just the Catholic liberals. You are much more likely to encounter Catholic conservatives in the midwest who vocally oppose abortion or gay rights, than in a coastal city where it is incredibly hard to hold those views and not become a pariah. I know Catholic conservatives in the DMV who are politically conservative but support abortion rights and gay marriage as political positions, even if they may personally have conflicted views, especially on abortion.

I mean, look, my MIL is a devout Catholic and also a committed Democrat. But she gets very uncomfortable on the issues of abortion and homosexuality. She lives in a small Midwestern town with a huge Catholic population and lots of Democrats (union town) but also lots of Trump voters. It's a really different environment and produces different kinds of people than living anywhere off the I-95 corridor.[/quote]

You’re just plain wrong.  ND is about as national a school as any out there and the constant refrain that it’s “midwestern” is total bullshit.  It has more students from the coasts than the Midwest because the coasts are where the majority of Catholics in this country live.  It’s very obvious that you have no first hand connection to the university.

I am a Notre Dame graduate.  It IS more conservative than Georgetown or Boston College.  This isn’t because it’s “midwestern” - it’s because it attracts more practicing Catholics and has more students from Catholic high schools.  There are plenty of liberals on campus though.  It’s not BYU or Baylor.  [/quote]

It attracts more practicing Catholics specifically because it's in a more conservative, Midwestern enclave though.

Arguing that ND's location has no impact on its conservatism, especially compared to Catholic colleges located in coastal cities, is absurd.[/quote]

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