Home Under the Dome: The Notre Dame Student Experience

A Lifelong Decision

Next: Getting Oriented

Going away to college. It’s all at once a rite of passage, a turning point and the culmination of years of hard work and dedication. For students whose paths lead them to Notre Dame, it’s also the beginning of an extraordinary journey filled with learning, discovery, faith and friendship.

Like generations of Domers before her, incoming freshman Emmie Mediate of Colorado Springs, Colo., was drawn not only to Notre Dame’s academics, but also to the way students here weave service into the fabric of their everyday lives.

“Notre Dame had all the characteristics I was looking for in a college – a great education, strong faith life, and a focus on social justice and responsibility in society,” Emmie says of her decision. “Both of my parents graduated from Notre Dame, and I know a few people from my hometown who have attended, so I’ve seen how Notre Dame becomes an integral part of a person’s education and personal formation.”

While Emmie says she loved her high school experience, she’s looking forward to her new independence and the opportunity to meet people from different backgrounds. For her parents, the send-off is bittersweet, but there’s comfort in knowing she’s headed to a familiar place.

“When I saw the ‘welcome home’ part of her acceptance letter, I knew that Notre Dame could be a second home for my daughter, especially considering she will be so far from her family,” says her mom Vicky Mediate, a 1989 Notre Dame graduate. “That's the difference with Notre Dame. It isn't just a four-year decision – it's a lifelong decision, because it will reap benefits and provide opportunities for the rest of her life.”

Getting Oriented

Next: Explore and Discover

Entering freshmen and their parents get their first taste of what it means to be a member of the Notre Dame family during Freshman Orientation, held over a late August weekend each year.

Prior to arriving on campus, students are provided with a detailed “Checklist of What to Bring to Campus” that includes useful tips such as:

• Leave your pets (o.k., non-carnivorous fish are welcome, but make sure the tank is no larger than 30 gallons), air conditioners and water beds at home.
• Check with your roommate before bringing televisions, stereos, carpet/area rugs or furniture.
• Don’t forget laundry detergent and fabric softener.

Explore & Discover

Next: Settling In

For freshmen, Notre Dame offers an innovative First Year of Studies (FYS) curriculum, designed to spark students’ imaginations as they navigate the many opportunities available to them.

Rather than declaring majors, all first-year students enter FYS, where they benefit from a wide range of services and programs designed to help them not only ultimately choose a field of study, but also build a foundation for the “journey of exploration and discovery” that will take them through their college years and their entire lifetimes, according to Hugh Page, dean of the First Year of Studies.

“It’s really important for people to realize how special the first year of college life is,” Page says. “We want to help students begin to articulate their own hopes and dreams and to chart a course toward the realization of those aspirations.”

Part of that guidance involves helping students to develop the breadth and depth of their interests and to strike a balance amidst the dizzying array of programs and activities they’ll find on campus.

“In some ways we hope they’ll do that by saying ‘yes’ to the opportunities that are available to them, and in part by finding time to disengage so they can hear their hearts speak to them,” Page explains. “So, in a certain sense, we also help them learn how to say ‘no’ strategically so they can give their hearts and souls to those pursuits that they consider to be really important.”

Core to the program’s mission is academic advising, which pairs students with one of more than a dozen full-time FYS faculty advisors for assistance with choosing courses, building schedules and setting academic goals. FYS also gives first-year students access to their own Learning Resource Center, where they can sign up for collaborative learning groups or one-on-one tutoring, and the expertise of a University librarian dedicated specifically to them. Opportunities also are available for some students to get an early start through FYS initiatives such as the Balfour-Hesburgh Scholars Program and Summer Bridge.

Beyond these high-quality academic resources, FYS also provides some unique opportunities for students to build relationships with Notre Dame faculty. The programs known collectively as ND Ignite offer cultural and intellectual experiences to first-year students in settings both on- and off-campus, including, perhaps most notably, invitations into the homes of their professors.

“This programming is intended to create opportunities for small groups of students, no more than 15 or 16, to have dinner in a faculty home and either read a book together or talk about a timely topic in a relaxed environment,” Page says. “When you are in the home of a person who is your teacher or faculty mentor and you’re talking about important topics within a discipline, not for the purpose of getting a grade, but so you can gain understanding, and you’re doing so while breaking bread, that’s a unique learning opportunity that you may never have again.”

Settling In

Next: The Graduate Student Experience

There are no fraternities or sororities here. Instead, Notre Dame’s 29 single-gender residence halls offer a unique and cherished living experience. Eighty percent of undergraduate students live on-campus, and hall pride runs deep with a robust offering of special events, intramural sports and annual traditions – some for everyone, and others, like the Polar Plunge (sponsored by Badin and Dillon Halls), that are geared toward a select, adventurous few.

In addition to the many social activities, every hall also engages in community service and leads a signature campus event. With a chapel in every hall, retreats, Bible studies and Masses are easy to find. Campus Ministry ensures that students of all faiths can find services in the South Bend community, as well as transportation to their respective churches, temples, synagogues and mosques.

“It is the Holy Cross tradition of integrating the development of both the head and heart that is unique to Notre Dame,” Father Doyle says. “Each of our residence halls is a hub of integration. Students’ education, activities, service and faith all have a place under one roof.”

“Each of our residence halls is a hub of integration. Students’ education, activities, service and faith all have a place under one roof.”

The World is Our Classroom

Next: Home Away From Home

In addition to a domestic student population that represents all 50 states, graduate and undergraduate students also come to Notre Dame from more than 100 countries around the world.

For these newcomers to campus, International Student Services and Activities provides orientation and assistance to help ensure a smooth transition and a welcoming environment.

“Being international at Notre Dame doesn’t mean you’re significantly different,” says Charles Xu, a biology major from China. “The same opportunities, experiences, and friends are there for all. Coming to terms with my internationality didn’t mean I had to somehow conform or convert; rather, it meant embracing diversity and seizing the opportunity to share my perspective. It means that no matter where you were born or where you grew up, you can always call Notre Dame your home.”

“No matter where you were born or where you grew up, you can always call Notre Dame your home.”

Notre Dame has one of the highest percentages of student participation in study abroad programs of any American research university. The Office of International Studies administers more than 40 programs in 20 countries that expose students to different cultures, languages and perceptions about the world, as well as provide a deeper understanding of their potential to become leaders in a global society.

Through initiatives such as the International Summer Service Learning Program (ISSLP) of the Center for Social Concerns, participants gain international service-learning experiences in social concerns inspired by Gospel values and Catholic social teachings.