University of Notre Dame

[matts720]

I'm very interested in applying early decision to ND this month. Can anyone give me a sense of what the environment is like there? What is the area surrounding the campus like? What are nearby attractions and the sort?

[Celestial Vertigo]

I visited when I was touring campuses for undergrad...even though it was pouring rain out, it was BEAUTIFUL. Probably one of my favorite campuses. Very green. South Bend looked really run down, in contrast. Industrial town. I think a lot of social life is centered on campus, but I am not sure. I've heard great things from students, at least in undergrad, about how tight-knit the student body is.

[waitingsucks]

I was very close to going there. The campus is beautiful. The law school is beautiful from the outside, but quite dated, drab and cramped inside. They just got the funds to build an entirely new law building right next door; the current building will become the library. Don't count on the new building opening for 4-5 years, so you won't likely get to experience it.
The environement of the school itself was very attractive. It was completely non-threatening, and every student and administrator and faculty member seemed very helpful and genuinely nice, which is more than you can say for the overwhelming majority of law schools. The tradition of being affiliated with that University can also not be beat.
As for the town and surrounding areas: good luck. That was one of the major drawbacks for me. It is small, old, etc. Essentially nothing to do except football in the fall and stuff associated with the school. In the words of several ND undergrads in LS with me now: "I love Notre Dame, but South Bend is miserable". Thats about all there is to say about that.
Overall, great school, bad town, nice environment. I'd recommend it, it was one of the tougher decisions I have ever made to have to turn them down.

[RocketBot]

For undergrads, it's definitely catholic/christian everywhere.  I get the feeling grad programs might differ a bit more.

South Bend is NOT a cool place though.  It's no Ann Arbor or Madison or Berkeley.  It barely even exists.  Of course, an end effect of this is that the student body relies on one another for entertainment (hehe)...  still, though.

My visit turned me off because, being from CA, I justifying both cold and isolation is difficult.  I could go somewhere like Chicago, NYC, or any of the big northern college towns and have a good time.

But the campus is quite gorgeous, and if the religion thing is your digs, it's warmer/better than Ave Maria

[lsdaccount]

I'm really thinking about applying there.  They have a great reputation.  I also grew up in a very Catholic area and although I am a lapsed Catholic, I feel at home in that environment.  Going there might pull me back into the religion.  I'm hoping it is fairly religious but will probably not visit until I apply and such.  Going to a small town in the boonies is something I wanted to do for undergrad.  Cornell, William & Mary and Notre Dame are therefore some schools that I am considering applying to as my "away" schools. 

[RocketBot]

Hehe, there is a *world* of difference between Ithaca (Cornell) and South Bend (Notre Dame).  I emphasize that South Bend doesn't even exist, for an intents and purposes.  It's not a college town.  It's barely even a village, as far as anything a college student would want/use.

Ithaca, while out in the middle of nowhere, has quite a bit to do.  It's a "nice" college town in the vein of Madison, just quite a bit smaller.  Plenty of cafes/theatres/clubs and all that, targetted at the young and hip.

Then again, Notre Dame is only a couple hours by train from Chicago, so it's not all that bad.  Just keep in mind, South Bend is just the geographic name of where Notre Dame is, and not much else

[lsdaccount]

Hehe, there is a *world* of difference between Ithaca (Cornell) and South Bend (Notre Dame).  I emphasize that South Bend doesn't even exist, for an intents and purposes.  It's not a college town.  It's barely even a village, as far as anything a college student would want/use.

Ithaca, while out in the middle of nowhere, has quite a bit to do.  It's a "nice" college town in the vein of Madison, just quite a bit smaller.  Plenty of cafes/theatres/clubs and all that, targetted at the young and hip.

Then again, Notre Dame is only a couple hours by train from Chicago, so it's not all that bad.  Just keep in mind, South Bend is just the geographic name of where Notre Dame is, and not much else

I've heard about South Bend from friends who've attended Notre Dame.  I understand it is in the middle of nowhere.  If I apply and get accepted, then I will certainly visit before I make a decision. 

I've never been to the Midwest so I really have no idea what to expect.

[RocketBot]

The Midwest is certainly not a bad place to be.  It all depends on how the environment feels to you.  I didn't feel Notre Dame (then again I never applied there anyway), but I have a couple friends there who love it.  The community seems very close-knit there, which can only be a good thing.

[waitingsucks]

In response to the earlier question about the religious aspect:
The law school is very religious. There are many people there studying law to pursue human-rights related careers and such. There is a daily Mass said in a chapel in the law school. I chose to go elsewhere partly because I felt their focus as a school was not quite the same as mine.

[copey2001]

I'm a 1L at Notre Dame right now.  If you have any questions, feel free to message me and I'd be happy to answer them.  Before I go, I'll comment quickly on the religious aspect of it all...

The bottom line is the school is as religious as you want it to be.  There is not a daily mass in the law school as mentioned by one of the previous posters, although they do have a daily rosary prayer in the law school chapel (although, because the chapel itself only seats a dozen or so people, i'm not sure how many actually attend).   Every Sunday at 5 there is a mass in the law school lounge attended by roughly 30 or so students.  Dean O'Hara is occasionally there as well. 

That being said, thats about it.  A significant percentage of students here are Catholic, but the presence is not overwhelming.  It is rarely, if ever, brought up in the classroom--although religon and believing in *a* god are talking points in many of the speeches by professors that i'v attended.

I have many friends here who are either non-catholic or are not believers/followers of any religion.  From what I gather, they seem very at home as well.  My expereince here so far has so far surpassed my expectations that I could not be happier. 

Good luck with your decisions.