Since Notre Dame is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church....

getcrunk123 · 11-08-2006, 07:55 PM

How does that affect admissions? Does that mean they prefer Roman Catholics? I never understood why colleges would affiliate with certain religions. And if they do, does it actually mean something and have an impact?

ManUtd20Ole · 11-08-2006, 08:17 PM

No.

They just attract more Catholic students naturally.

eli · 11-08-2006, 09:26 PM

One other thing tangentially related to this topic. I am a Catholic and an ND frosh parent. I was surprised during orientation/freshman move in about how strongly emphasized the Catholic Church's role in the school was. If is not just a connection; it is an intertwined relationship with the Catholic faith frequently cited and emphasized. A non-Catholic student here - and their parents - has to feel a bit like they have wandered into another world. A very nice world - but not the world of their faith or non-faith.

pencilpusher · 11-08-2006, 09:29 PM

Ahhhhhhhh.......... Like, the college is actually founded by the clergy in the religion.

irish68178 · 11-08-2006, 10:12 PM

Notre Dame was founded by priests, yes, and it still is run by the Congregation of the Holy Cross. However, while it is a Catholic place, I think that those who are not Catholic can fit in perfectly well. You certainly don't have to be Catholic to be comfortable at ND. It may be a bit more normal if you are Catholic, but I don't want to discourage anyone who isn't!

notre dame AL · 11-09-2006, 08:34 AM

Actually, we do not feel like we have wandered into another world. (speaking as a parent who is not Catholic, and son is a freshman non-Catholic). He has fit in perfectly well being non-Catholic. As I have said before, religion has never been an issue for him at ND's campus. Yes, we as parents are grateful for the approach of the school to try to emphasize service and compassion. We see the campus as a safe environment compared to most other campuses. (This may be also be a function of the moral perspective of the campus). I don't think it affects admissions--at least it didn't in our case. I believe ND is trying to attract and admit the brightest students that can contribute and handle the rigors of its academic program. And as far as the Catholic faith being cited and emphasized, I don't think that it is cited in his Calc, Chem, or Engineering classes. Yes, he is required to take Theology and Philosophy. But, he has not mentioned that those classes emphasize Catholicism. (And, by the way, ND is not the only University requiring these subjects!) To sum things up, Notre Dame has been a pretty good match for him (a non-Catholic). He is happy and challenged. I hope it does not discourage anyone from applying!!

getcrunk123 · 11-09-2006, 09:21 AM

Well, catholicism is really emphasized there. For example, on their site, they state, "As the University's physical plant has expanded, the place has remained anchored to Catholicism in physical space. Every residence hall houses its own chapel. A crucifix is hung in nearly every room on campus. The Grotto provides sacred space to pray. The cross atop the Basilica of the Sacred Heart reaches into the sky, the highest of any point on campus."
https://admissions.nd.edu/spirituali...icidentity.cfm

A crucifix is hung in nearly every room on campus. Wow!
Yet, despite this strong commitment to the faith, they also state
"The large majority of undergraduate students at the University are Roman Catholic, although Catholic applicants receive no special consideration due to their religious beliefs. The University also maintains a significant proportion of Catholic faculty but recruits scholars of all backgrounds and affiliations in keeping with the University’s aim to pursue truth in the context of faith."

What do you think? Do you think as an applicant it would be better for a non-Catholic to hide his/her faith? Sure, they can state they are open to all faiths, but it can certainly be a possibility they prefer Roman Catholics.

irish68178 · 11-09-2006, 12:35 PM

There is no reason to hide your faith! Of all things, it should be something that shines through regardless. It will not hurt you with admissions, they are completely blind to that, so don't worry about that. Our numbers come from the fact that the VAST majority of applicants are Catholic. Also, I do not believe you should hide your faith once on campus. People are very accepting and their are prayer groups through campus ministry for all faiths. Also, I believe there is some organized way of getting everyone to Sunday services (or Friday or Saturday services depending) but I don't know for sure.

Go off of what Notre Dame AL said, that should tell you most of what you need to know. Just know that religion will not factor into admissions.

eli · 11-09-2006, 07:05 PM

I appreciated hearing what Notre Dame Al said from his perspective as a nonCatholic. And I disagree with nothing he says. Nevertheless, my posting was accurate, and the nonCatholic student should apply and attend with his/her eyes wide open to the very visible role the Church will play in every day life at the school down to the level of the priest living in every dorm and Mass being celebrated in the chapels in the dorms.

Tim_ND08 · 11-09-2006, 08:55 PM

I am a catholic, and most of the Universities I am lookn at are relegion based....... I went to a catholic school from pre K- 8th grade.... and go to a jesuit highscool...... I really enjoy relegion and its application to the world/economy/govt

I would not call myself a relegious person, but i do go to mass and my relegious morals are part of my life.....
this is how i view it
For a catholic Notre Dame is a great place to enrich your faith, and become closer to God
For a non catholic- catholicism is not pressuerd apon u... so u dont need to worry about conversion......
but i find that im more comfotable in a relegious atmosphere...even if im not a hardcore catholic person....... so a non catholic may like a catholic atmospher?

wow i think i confused myself when i wrote that.....

Kr123 · 11-10-2006, 04:56 AM

Keep the faith Chillin it's good to hear from a HS junior.

MidwestParent · 11-10-2006, 08:30 AM

Of ALL of the campus visits we went on across the country, our visit to Notre Dame is the one that rises to the top. As non-Catholics, we visited the university solely because of its reputation, academic and otherwise. It had the qualities that "fit" what our hs senior daughter was looking for - not big, but not small; first year of studies offering varied classes; single sex dorms; top notch programs; no frat/sor scene; on campus housing available all 4 years; has an actual college campus (and a beautiful one at that!); etc.
During the standard admission presentation, they were blunt - this is the tuition, we think it is the parents' responsibility to pay it (i.e no merit aid). The dorms are single sex - this is the way the parents want it and that is the way it will stay. We enforce parietals, no discussion. We loved it!!
What really warmed our hearts was the reception our daughter received from just normal ND students as we walked around the campus by ourselves. We were approached FOUR TIMES by students who were just making their way to class. When we were looking at our campus map, a student stopped and asked if we needed help finding a location. We we were taking the obligatory photos of our daughter (which she hates!), a young woman ran up and exlaimed, "Is she coming here next year?" I don't know if ND just has a knack of selecting this type of student or if it is a learned behavior from soaking up the atmosphere, but it was amazing. I will also mention that 3 of the 4 students we talked to were coincidentally non-Catholic (as we are - we asked to just get their perspective on being a non-Catholic on campus).
I can tell you that did not happen on other 'big name' college campuses we visited.
The place just has a soul. Our daughter will truly be blessed if she is admitted.

notre dame AL · 11-10-2006, 08:52 AM

Best of Luck to your daughter, Midwest Parent!! You have said even more than what I could have said in my previous post. Notre Dame has a soul, and if and when she arrives, you will find it exactly as you have previewed it. Notre Dame is the real deal!! She will absolutely love it!

irish68178 · 11-10-2006, 03:14 PM

I am glad to hear you had such a good visit Midest Parent. There is truly something special about this place that you just can't fully grasp until you are on-campus, and you still really don't understand it until you are here and part of the Notre Dame family. It is an amazing place, however, and I do think our student body for the most part shows that. I am just sad that I only have a semester left here!

SouthJerseyChessMom · 11-11-2006, 05:19 PM

Hi getcrunk123- you wrote:
"I never understood why colleges would affiliate with certain religions. And if they do, does it actually mean something and have an impact?"

I find this question you posed, quite curious for someone who would consider ND.
My S is a freshman at ND, we are not Catholic, both my kids, attended Catholic high Schools, so I feel I can assist you with these issues.

If you are Uncomfortable with seeing crosses in classrooms, and having religion woven into your collegiate experience, with all due respect, ND may not be the best choice for you.

You will not be pressured to "convert" as many fear, but you will be expected to respect that you are choosing a school with a deeply religious foundation, and it if this is not for you, then you might be happier at the other schools yo are considering- MIT EA and PENN ED ?

If you are a fit for MIT, or would like the urban vibe at Penn, then you should absolutely visit ND to be sure it is for you.

On a scale of one to 10, our Non-Catholic Engineering major, son said he rates his freshmen experience a 10!!!!

Don't fret so much if ND will discriminate against you, will discriminate against ND, if you pick it as a fall back to Penn or MIT.

And, getcrunk123, I ask this not to anger you, but to address your original post honestly.