My daughter is excited to be admitted to the class of '27. Part of what drew her to ND was the strong community vibe she felt on campus, however, she wonders if that sense of community extends to everyone. Based on what I saw on other campuses, kids of similar ethnic backgrounds and/or interest naturally tend to stick together, and there isn’t much hanging out/having fun/relaxing with folks from other groups. Is that similar to the campus culture at ND,? Does the natural tendency to eat lunch w/folks like you predominate, or does the community created by the dorms overcome that?
Bumping this. Did your kiddo end up attending ND? I have a freshman there who has shared that there is not as much community feel between groups. Athletes hang out with athletes and ethnic groups stick together, at least within the international community. As for the community feel in the dorm, it really just depends on which dorm your kid is placed in. Mine is trying to keep an open mind, but so far does not love the dorm.
Sent you a DM, but will also reply here for broader community. Yes, my sense is similar to your kiddo. Groups tend to form based on their similar interest or proximity so far. We’ve heard from other parents that it isn’t uncommon in the first semester/year, but that things tend to broaden years 2-4. Re the dorm, my daughter is in one of the newer ones and sense of tradition/community not quite what she hoped for, but the dorm does seem to have a lot of activities. Most of her friends are from the dorm, but not necessarily her floor. She and roomie get along ok, but roomie is an athlete and does hang much more with teammates, which has been disappointing … no new BFF there.
Interesting discussion topic. Our D is a freshman, as well, and also has an athlete roomie (all good, as with bioart’s kid not their roommate for the next 3 years, in part because she’s in a Fall sport and never around, but a really nice girl and they’ve become friends). Impressions:
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Just rooming athletes with non-athletes is a differentiator at ND. Our D has met football players, lax players, soccer players, and more through avenues other than one-offs in classes. The athletes naturally spend most of their time together, but are not a wholly separate population, living in their own dorms and never setting foot in the dining halls with everyone else as is the case on many campuses. Even next year, when they’ll mostly room with other athletes, they’re still in the same dorms with the narps like our kids
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Our D likes the community of her dorm (especially through chapel), but hasn’t found it to be the built-in, no rush necessary sorority she might have naively anticipated. That’s because the girls there are as broadly diverse in interests, academic pursuits, backgrounds, sociability, etc. as the student body as a whole, while naturally one’s close friend group won’t be as wide-ranging in every regard. That’s just human nature. She’s gravitated toward a group comprised primarily of young women from about 4 different dorms, but I’d say she spends a solid third of her time hanging with people from her own dorm (including her roommate for next year). Coming from a lily white community, her friend group is infinitely more diverse than her high school group, so maybe it depends what a kid’s used to
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We’ve been told by alums and more experienced parents that, once the initial craziness of (i) starting college generally, (ii) during the middle of the football season at Notre Dame, dorm life starts to come into closer focus, especially for kids who join an intramural athletic team of some sort (nothing builds community spirit quite like competing against another dorm)
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Once settled in, especially going into next academic year, getting more involved with various clubs also just naturally expands students’ contacts
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Our D has loved the campus-wide sense of community at ND, beyond her dorm. Her descriptions of that are vastly different than the experience my wife and I had at other private universities way back when
My take - my son was in Stanford Hall. Freshman year was probably more challenging than I initially recall. He was in marching band all 4 years. His community centered around that. His sense of community increased year over year. I am sure every Hall will have different dynamics. I do have the comparison of his twin who attended Arizona State. He had a much harder time at ASU finding a community. He eventually found one, but it took a lot more work.
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