How many students attend Notre Dame?

The University of Notre Dame has approximately 13,000 students, with around 8,900 undergraduates and over 4,000 graduate and professional students, though exact figures vary slightly by source and year. For instance, one recent count showed 8,923 undergraduates and 4,206 graduate students, totaling over 13,100 students, while another noted 8,968 undergraduates.

Why is Notre Dame so hard to get into?

Notre Dame is so hard to get into due to its extremely low acceptance rates (around 9-13%), high academic standards requiring top grades in rigorous courses (AP/IB), strong emphasis on exceptional extracurriculars like sports and leadership, and a selective pool of applicants, especially from the large Catholic demographic, all combined with its rigorous curriculum and Catholic identity, creating intense competition for a limited number of spots. 

Is it harder to get into Duke or Notre Dame?

Duke is generally harder to get into than Notre Dame, consistently showing lower acceptance rates (around 5-11%) compared to Notre Dame (around 11-20%), though both are highly selective schools with strong academic profiles and competitive admissions. Duke often sees slightly higher average SAT/ACT scores and its admissions are considered more challenging overall, though admissions are complex and depend on many factors. 

What is the #1 hardest college to get into?

There isn't one single #1 hardest school, as it changes slightly by year and criteria, but Harvard University, Stanford University, MIT, and Caltech consistently rank among the top with extremely low acceptance rates (often 3-4%) and intense competition for spots, though other top global universities like Oxford and Tsinghua are also incredibly selective. Harvard is frequently cited as the hardest due to its high volume of applications and focus on global leadership potential, while Caltech is known for its extreme difficulty in STEM. 

What is the #1 party school?

For 2026, the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) is widely ranked as the #1 party school by sources like Niche and Business Insider, followed by schools like Florida State University and Tulane University, based on student surveys about campus party culture, access to bars, and Greek life.
 

Notre Dame: The Pros, the cons, and how to get in.

What is the hardest non ivy school to get into?

Stanford University

Stanford is also not an Ivy, but it is still one of the hardest colleges to get into. The Stanford acceptance rate is 4%, tied with Columbia. Stanford is located in the Bay Area of California, about 35 miles south of San Francisco.

What GPA do you need to go to Notre Dame?

The University of Notre Dame looks for very strong applicants, with admitted students averaging around a 4.07-4.13 weighted GPA, requiring nearly straight A's in rigorous courses (AP, IB, Honors) to be competitive, though there's no strict minimum GPA, emphasizing academic challenge and strong grades over a specific number. Transfer applicants often need a competitive college GPA of 3.75 or higher, with a minimum of "B" or better in required courses. 

Is it harder to get into Georgetown or Notre Dame?

If you're looking at acceptance rate alone, then Georgetown University is more difficult to get into. However, each college is looking to fill its incoming class with a variety of students with different strengths, backgrounds, etc.

How prestigious is Notre Dame?

Yes, the University of Notre Dame is widely considered a prestigious institution, consistently ranked among the top universities nationally (e.g., top 20 by U.S. News), known for strong academics, selective admissions (around 11% acceptance rate), excellent business and engineering programs, and a powerful alumni network, often grouped with highly respected schools outside the Ivy League. It blends rigorous academics with a strong sense of community and Catholic identity, bolstered by famous athletics and a unique dorm system, making it a highly desirable and selective university.
 

What are the downsides of Notre Dame?

#1: Lack of Diversity — Relative to other top universities, Notre Dame has less diversity: 60% of students are white, compared to about 30-35% at other leading private universities like the Ivies. In addition, 80% of students are Catholic, which some students say leads to a lack of “diversity of thought.”

Is a degree from Notre Dame respected?

As one of the most highly regarded Catholic institutions in the US, Notre Dame is respected for producing well-rounded scholars and leaders and sending them out into the world with a vision for leadership, integrity, and community service.

Why is Notre Dame college shutting down?

Notre Dame College in South Euclid, Ohio, shut down in May 2024 due to a combination of declining enrollment, significant debt, and rising operating costs, failing to bridge its financial gaps despite extensive efforts like fundraising and exploring mergers. The struggling college, founded in 1922 by the Sisters of Notre Dame, couldn't sustain itself against broader trends affecting small institutions, leading to its closure after the spring semester.
 

How much does it cost to attend Notre Dame?

For the 2025-2026 academic year, the University of Notre Dame's estimated total direct cost (tuition, fees, room, and board) is around $86,000, with tuition and mandatory fees at approximately $67,600, plus living expenses and other costs. After financial aid, the average net price for a student receiving aid drops significantly, with figures suggesting around $30,000-$40,000 average cost after scholarships and grants. 

What is the male to female ratio at Notre Dame?

Student population

University of Notre Dame has a total undergraduate enrollment of 8,968, with gender binary students split 51% male and 49% female.

Are there any famous Notre Dame College alumni?

Condoleezza Rice

Born in Birmingham, AL, the 66th U.S. Secretary of State earned a master's degree in political science from the University of Notre Dame in 1975.

Which is harder to get into, Duke or Notre Dame?

Duke is generally harder to get into than Notre Dame, consistently showing lower acceptance rates (around 5-11%) compared to Notre Dame (around 11-20%), though both are highly selective schools with strong academic profiles and competitive admissions. Duke often sees slightly higher average SAT/ACT scores and its admissions are considered more challenging overall, though admissions are complex and depend on many factors. 

Is Notre Dame a wealthy school?

University of Notre Dame - $16.6 Billion

Coming in at number nine is the University of Notre Dame, located in Notre Dame, Indiana, with an endowment of $16.6 billion.

What are the top 3 hardest colleges to get into?

What is the #1 hardest school to get into? Harvard University, with a ~3% acceptance rate, remains the hardest college in 2025. Stanford and MIT follow closely, with Yale and Princeton rounding out the top five.

Is Notre Dame Ivy level?

No, the University of Notre Dame is not an Ivy League school; the Ivies are a specific athletic conference of eight Northeastern private universities (Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, Yale). However, Notre Dame is often considered a "New Ivy" or compared to the Ivies due to its high academic standards, selective admissions, and prestigious reputation, especially within Catholic higher education, with some sources listing it among elite "Private Ivies".
 

Do you have to pay to get into Notre Dame?

Notre-Dame Cathedral is open to all, freely and without charge. To reduce your waiting time at the entrance, you can, however, book a free access online a few hours before your visit. This option is entirely optional and aims solely to streamline entries and minimize unnecessary waiting.

Is Notre Dame harder to get into than Harvard?

It is significantly harder to get into Harvard University than the University of Notre Dame, with Harvard's acceptance rate often below 4% compared to Notre Dame's, which has recently hovered around 9-11%. Harvard is consistently ranked among the most selective schools globally, requiring exceptional academic and extracurricular profiles, though Notre Dame is also extremely competitive and considered a top-tier university. 

Where do top 1% send kids to college?

The "top 1%" of students, referring to those from the highest income brackets, tend to attend elite universities like MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, and Yale that consistently rank high in national and global lists, with some even having more students from the top 1% income bracket than the bottom 60% combined, according to The New York Times data. Top-ranked institutions like MIT, Princeton, Harvard, and Stanford are frequent top contenders in various 2026 rankings from U.S. News & World Report and Times Higher Education. 

What are the 63 hidden Ivies?

The 63 "Hidden Ivies" are a list of excellent, selective colleges outside the traditional Ivy League, known for strong academics, often with liberal arts focuses, broken down into Northeast (37), South (12), Midwest (11), and West (3) regions, including schools like Amherst, Williams, Carleton, Duke, Emory, Stanford, Pomona, and UChicago, offering Ivy-level education without the traditional Ivy League name. 

Where do the 1% go to college?

The 1% of the wealthiest Americans disproportionately attend highly selective, elite universities, particularly Ivy League schools (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, Brown, Penn, Columbia) and other top institutions like MIT, Stanford, Duke, and UChicago, where they make up a large percentage of the student body, often outnumbering students from the bottom 60% of income earners combined. Liberal arts colleges and prestigious public universities also attract many wealthy students, with specific examples including WashU St. Louis, UVA, UCLA, UC Berkeley, Vanderbilt, and Johns Hopkins.