Whether you look at it on a map or in person, there can be little argument that South Bend Indiana is an out of the way spot. Not abutting any major city, residents in South Bend have to like where they are, cause that’s what they are pretty much confined to. especially during the cold Mid-West winters. While this may be fine for older Americans or families with young children, or people who like the charm of rural living, South Bend on its own does not have the active environment that would lead young people to go to that town for four years of college education. Still, each year roughly 10,000 students apply for admission to a school that is only likely to accept 3,000. The school that draws the near frantic attention of so many students is the University of Notre Dame, and there are some very good reasons why.
It’s Football Stupid. To say that what draws lots of attention and applications to South Bend and the University of Notre Dame is football is to state something decidedly obvious. Random people playing a word association game who heard the words” Notre Dame” would respond “Football. In the United Sates, despite winning coaches, star performers and national championships won by other colleges, the tradition of football is in some ways at the center of Notre Dame and a huge part of its tradition.
Notre Dame can claim 11 national championships, 7Heisman trophy winners and lots of Football Hall of Famers to its credit. In a sense it is Notre Dame Football that put South Bend on the map. In terms of college notoriety, it is also college football that put Notre Dame on the map.
Students who select Notre Dame certainly should recognize that there is a good deal more going on at Notre Dame then just football. Even in the world of athletics Notre Dame can boast of a solid Big East basketball team that often makes the NCAA tournament. Girls intercollegiate sports are big here too. The athletic facilities at Notre Dame also afford students who just want to play intra mural sports an opportunity to do so in state of the art surroundings.
But if you are thinking about coming to Notre Dame, you need to be aware of and accept the very central place that football has and will continue to have at this institution of higher learning.
Who’s Got Your Back The University of Notre Dame has consistently improved its academic offerings over the years until now it can claim to compete for scholars with some of the very best schools in the nation. Notre Dame has five undergraduate colleges in arts and sciences, architecture, engineering, science and business. As a Catholic institution, run by the Jesuit order of priests, Notre Dame has exceptional courses and programs in theology, philosophy and religious studies. You definitely can receive a good return on the financial investment you will make in Notre Dame. But unlike some other schools it seems that the value of a Notre Dame education is likely to follow you almost wherever you go.
There is a real but extraordinary network among Notre Dame graduates with tentacles that seem to reach everywhere. Students coming out of Notre Dame are not only the beneficiaries of solid undergraduate academics, they are also often on the receiving end of employment assistance by Notre Dame alums. There is a fellowship among alums that is tight, inclusive and dependable. Graduating from Notre Dame means receiving a diploma but in a sense you also receive a promise that in the larger world, beyond the campus, if there is a Notre Dame alum around, then you know someone has your back. It’s just not something you can count on at many other schools where competition at the undergraduate level will follow you wherever you go and networking is negligible.
Certainly the Notre Dame network isn’t the only reason to apply to Notre Dame but it can be a deal maker for lots of students who are already looking beyond graduation.
Just a Little to the Right. Notre Dame is a Catholic college in the Jesuit tradition. This tells you two things. First as a Catholic college, not only are there the aforementioned solid religious studies classes but there is also a Catholic presence throughout the institution. Priests are visible and available to meet spiritual needs and provide religious services. Dormitory life is conservative and offers only single sex dormitories. The only mixing in the dormitories is between years with all 27 dorms opened to students from any class. Knowing these parameters many students who need a more liberal background tend to look elsewhere for an education. This results in a relatively conservative student body with a majority of students from Catholic families.
But the other part of the picture is that while it is a Catholic school, Notre Dame is also a Jesuit school. Within the Catholic Church the Jesuits are seen to be among the more liberal of the religious orders. This means that while they maintain Catholic traditions they are also often the leaders of new initiatives and new thinking within the church. The priests themselves have trained for a dozen years and are usually well read and well spoken. Students will find that there is much to be learned from these “men in black”.
Notre Dame is a very popular institution. It’s popularity doesn’t come from a city location. Nor does it have a real draw because there are a lot of other colleges in the same vicinity. Notre Dame doesn’t call out to students because of the wild on campus parties or the regulationless living arrangements. What seems to bring students in is that Notre Dame has a name, a tradition and national recognition. They come for football, for academics, for great alum networking,but in the end they come because it’s Notre Dame.
