University of Notre Dame Top Questions

Is the stereotype of students at your school accurate?

Chris

Somewhat true, there is a fair bit of diversity.

Rachel

There are more tame, well mannered, and not much fun people here, per capita, than the average university, but that doesn't mean there aren't also psycho, cool students.

Marisa

To come extents some of the stereotypes are true, there really isn't a ton of diversity on the campus, though I don't feel I've ever experienced any racial or socioeconomic problems except with minority groups sticking together and being exclusive.

Cristina

nope.

Anne

To some extent, these stereotypes are true, but of course, stereotypes never truly depict a group of people. Many Notre Dame students come from different racial and socioeconomic backgrounds, and though not all are Catholic, many are.

Cameron

yes

Katie

for the most part, yes, although not to a negative extreme. there's just not a lot of diversity here.

Erin

Like all stereotypes, I think there is a kernal of truth at the bottom of them, but they tell an incomplete story. Yes, there are Notre Dame students who are stuck up or who are unaccepting. But, on the whole, Notre Dame students are some of the most kind and genuine people I have ever and many give of their time to the community. Should more? Absolutely. But it is inaccurate to say everyone at ND is a rich snob.

Jess

Relatively accurate. There isn't much diversity on campus, though the administration tries to attract minorities. A large majority of the students are Catholic, but to varying degrees. A lot of people excelled at sports in high school, but they also did well academically.

Kristin

mostly, yeah.

Tate

as with all stereotypes, they are accurate for some students but overall, they are not accurate.

Jill

for the most part, yes to all of the above

Christine

They are accurate to a certain extent. The partying one is probably the most accurate. However, not everyone is rich and white.

Casey

yes (but not all rich)

Tate

These stereotypes are at most exaggerations of things that have been said in the past and are not therefore not true.

Melissa

For the most part, yes.

Stephanie

No, these stereotypes are not accurate

Reese

If you want to find people who are super Catholic and conservative, it's not hard but most people aren't like that. Most Notre Dame students were athletes in high school so most people just try to stay in shape.

Tristan

I don't think so. I honestly think that you can find people who feel superior anywhere you go, and I don't think we have more of these people than the average school. Yes, a fair amount of students are wealthy, but name brands aren't a huge deal unless you want to make them a huge deal. As far as similar political, religious, etc. views go, I think there is some truth to this because the majority of people on campus have ties to Catholicism, but as a Protestant, I don't feel like these views are imposed on me; views may not be as wide-ranging as at a state school, but nobody is condemning anyone else.

Molly

Sometimes

Kevin

Yes

Colleen

Absolutely not, you will find some people like that everywhere you go, but it is not true of the majority of Notre Dame students.

Natalie

If that's so then why are so many people at Notre Dame in relationships? I think it's more that women at ND are confidant enough to not feel the pressure to change their image just to please someone else. I mean i'm not saying that the guys wouldn't say more women were attractive if they didn't wear sweats all day every day but at least the girls aren't hiding anything. Literally what you see is what you get!

Kate

Some are. Everyone did play a sport in high school pretty much and for the most part people are fairly well off and smart, but everyone's far more chill and down to earth than the sterotypes suggest.

Cameron

There is some truth to the stereotypes though. Notre Dame is almost a completely white school. Even though there is a small percentage of minorities that attend Notre Dame, it is stil a small percentage, especially when they are separated into their respective racial groups. Notre Dame students are also really smart and do study a lot until the weekend comes, unless they're in buisness. Also, Notre Dame students do have sex. Period. And all of us are not diehard Notre Dame fans, some of us didn't even watch college football until we came here.

Annie

For the most part, I would say the stereotypes exist for a reason...the student body is largely Catholic, and there are many students who are extremely religious and narrow-minded about views differing with Catholic teaching. It's pretty competitive to get into Notre Dame, especially if you're not a legacy, an athlete, or related to a big-time donor so the student body is generally intelligent. A lot of type-A personalities. Of course, this school is obsessed with football. Some students have been cheering for Notre Dame since the womb. There are some fanatical families out there. On the other hand, you can find a lot of variety at Notre Dame if you really look for it. There is a strong group of liberals and progressive thinkers who sometimes regret picking Notre Dame but also have grown a lot from constantly defending their views. People of other faiths, atheists, and agnostics exist on campus, but non-Christians are hard to find.

Chris

For the most part, yes, the stereotypes are accurate. Notre Dame first admitted women in 1972, and since then, women have steadily been claiming a larger percentage of the student population (currently at 49{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}). Notre Dame claims to be "committed to diversity," though a very small percentage of students are ethnically or economically diverse. Those ethnic minorities which are present are largely Latino Catholics and Asian-American science students. That said, I don't think anyone who is not white, rich, or a legacy feels out of place here. (You'd better be crazy about sports, though.) South Bend is not the greatest city, but thankfully there are a million (read: over 400) student groups, and there is always a TON to do on campus. Also, Chicago is mercifully only 90 minutes away. 85{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the students are Catholic and many actively live their faith, so be prepared for a spiritual component to your college experience.

Roberta

1. People at Notre Dame are smart, and there are nerds, but most people are normal and aren't obsessed with school, and don't discuss politics and religion at dinner. People Study Hard, but the Play Hard, too. 2. I would say that Notre Dame kids are actually opposite. I'd say there are less rich snobs here than in high school. People here are really caring and nice, and if they have money they don't really flaunt it. We work hard, and most kids have on-campus jobs. 3. We are obsessed with football

Laura

NO.

Betsy

No. Notre Dame does have a lot of rules that most other universities don't, but the rules are not so strict that you feel confined. The rules are actually kind of nice when you are looking for some quiet time or some personal space, and although they can be frustrating at certain times, they are quite reasonable.

Chris

Yes.

Brett

Sort of--there is not much diversity on campus.

Cody

As far as being white, upper-class and Catholic, the stereotypes are very true. As far as intelligence goes, there are many Notre Dame students who are extremely smart. However, there are many students who were accepted only because of family connections (usually, grandparents who donated a large sum of money). These students did not get in to Notre Dame on their own merit, and are generally not as intelligent as those who did. Also, many athletes would be better suited going to community colleges, but since the University considers athletics a priority (and rightfully so, considering the amount of money it makes), these athletes who may not be able to cut it academically are admitted.

Betsy

A lot of ND students are Catholic but not all and it seemed that the ones that weren't didn't seem very bothered by it.

Brian

To some degree, but not really.

Eric

No. Some are and some are not. What is true about Notre Dame. Notre Dame sells itself to be for rich, upperclass students, great athletes, and for a Catholic majority. The books are extreemly expensive. The cost keeps going up. The cost of tution just went up nearly 5 percent. Now it costs nearly 50,000 dollars to attend Notre Dame per semester if you don't recieve any financial assistace. Notre Dame sells itself has a private Catholic university and many people feel that it gets public financing. Notre Dame is the most tourist trap campus known by most students. There are millions of people that come to Notre Dame on game days just to snap photos, poose for wedding photographs. The Notre Dame security since the lastest shootings at universities has doubled. The security police are now asking for everyone including students to get tickets. The student's used to be able to get free access to most events including woman's basketball or any events with just showing your student iD's now its not the case. Notre Dame is now a co-ed university and it's not male doninated any longer. We have a woman president and vice president that is also woman. The anniversary of the university of Notre dame has just happened when they allowed woman to join it. It is true that Notre Dame is cursed for student's getting married. Every March, the university opens its phone lines to Notre Dame students wishing to get married and gives them times for the Baslilica. They don't allow students to get married on football game days due to security reasons. I don't know why but I wish because it would look so cool. It is true Notre dame students are just like harvard students. there very smart, very snobby. There often times rude. But what differs our university is that we respect each other. We all pray together we attend mass together. The policy on campus goes around socialism compared to economics. Father Jenkins is one the best university president's the school has had compared to Father Hesburgh.

Paige

Sometimes

Brett

While most ND students were athletes in high school, that just makes us an active bunch. Personally I think that is a good thing. There are, however, some serious diversity issues on campus since the school is predominantly white. I think the worst issue is gender relations. Guys have way more freedom, especially in the dorms, and they also get more respect. Dating can be a total nightmare. The typical ND dating scene is you meet a guy and probably spend a week or so seeing each other pretty frequently having a good time. Then some how you find out from your roommates lab partner's buddy that the same guy is fooling around with like 3 other girls.

Kim

To some extent, the stereotypes are accurate; there are a lot of kids here that fit the stereotypes I described. If there weren't a lot of people here like that, there wouldn't be a stereotype, but at the same time there are tons of people who go against the stereotype too. Every single person on a campus can't be the exact same, so there is some variation.

Stephanie

Pretty much except for the bitchy part. I mean you get some bad apples everywhere, but on the whole everyone is pretty great. Oh, and we have athletes, too, and they don't fit that stereotype at all.

Lindsay

Yes, these stereotypes are accurate. Many students are religious, and faith life is very important to the average Notre Dame student.