University of Notre Dame

All freshmen are required to live on campus for their first year, but 80% of students in the upper classes do decide to stay in the dorms. Made up of 30 buildings and enough room for 6934, the halls are focused on social, religious, and athletic activities. Each has their own mascot, color, charity, event, and nickname.

Notre Dame is well known for its sports program, especially football, and has an athletic team made up of 754 students. The university also has one of the highest athlete graduation rates in the Division I-A Independents. For students who don’t wish to compete on higher levels, intramurals, inter-hall sporting events, Bookstore Basketball, and the recreational facilities are available to all. Take part in history and root on the Fighting Irish!

The university has over 400 clubs and 900 art events, ranging from the student newspaper The Observer to the Entrepreneurship Society to the College Mentors for Kids. The Leadership Institute, Activities Night, Irishenanigans, and Comedy on the Quad are all popular choices as well. Traditions also run deep into the school, from lighting candles at the Grotto to participating in Hip Hop Nights or the Dorm Dance.

In South Bend, the neighboring city to Notre Dame, students can find dozens of shops, restaurants, museums, art and entertainment buildings, cultural sites, and more. Lake Michigan beaches are only an hour away, and Chicago, an hour and a half train ride.

Notre Dame has an extensive library system which is tailored to the different colleges and schools on campus. It contains over three million volumes making it the single largest university library in the world and one of the largest libraries in the United States. Services such as academic/career counseling, placement, and employment are also available to students.