Junior looking for college advice

Try to go to UVA or Michigan

Notre Dame senior here. I won't lie, I had a tad bit of FOMO during freshman year when I saw all my high school friends partying at SEC schools. That being said, I've REALLY grown to love this place. I now understand why all ND alum are so nostalgic about this place.Pros:I didn't appreciate this at first, but our professors are top-notch. I know that's applicable for every top 25 school, but let me explain. They truly care about their teaching as much (if not more) than your research. Among other reasons, the Ivy's are so prestigious because their professors put out the best research. However, I've heard from my Ivy friends that the research often comes at the cost of teaching quality. Frankly, those professors aren't at Harvard to teach so they don't give a shit if you pass or fail. On the other hand, 95% of our business school & econ professors have great personalities and are great educators. For reference, I've only disliked 2 professors in my 4 years here.In terms of career placement into IB/PE, we've come a longgggg way in the past 15 years. Historically, we've only been an accouting powerhouse, but now we're a target for all the BB's and ~50% of EB's. The career center website has the exact stats, but I'd estimate that we're sending ~5-10 kids per year to MF/UMM PE, 20 to EB's, 40 to BB's, and 40-50 to MM IB's. Our interview prep and resources have improved, but I attribute 95% of our relatively new success in IB placement to our alumni network. For some weird reason, our alumni are more helpful than any other school. While networking, I got a 75% reply rate to emails while my friend at Stanford got maybe 25%.The social life here definitely isn't SEC caliber, but it's a hell of a lot better than the Ivy's/Northwestern/UChicago types. Being an underclassmen sucks bc the good bars in South Bend are strict with fakes, but that only makes being 21+ fucking awesome. Plus on home football weekends, our tailgating/gamedays will rival anyone. I've been to games at VT, FSU, UGA, Tennessee, Michigan, and OSU, and I'd take our atmosphere any day.The football team has been wicked good which helps. This is something that no other prestigious school can compete with. Even if you don't like football, the partying and excitement around it is still enough. Plus, you can give us all the shit you want for not joining a conference, but we're playing at Ohio State, at the LV Raiders Stadium (vs BYU), at Lambeau Field (vs Wisco), in Ireland (vs Navy), and home vs Clemson within the next 2 years. Getting to visit dope away games (like vs Syracuse in Yankee Stadium) over the past 4 years has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience.Not really religious. While maybe 75% of students are catholic, maybe have of those are actuallyyyy catholic/religious (and you don't see those kids out). If you want religion, this is definitely the place to be, but it's not shoved down your throat. No required church or anything like that. You do have to take 2 theology courses, but some kids take bs Buddhism or theology of marriage classes instead.We also have what's regarded as a top 5 most beautiful campuses in the US. You forget that after being around here for so long, but I'm awestruck everytime I come back from breaks. We also have tradition like no other school.Cons:Typing this in February from Northern Indiana… The weather blows from December through March. If weather is a priority for you, stop reading this and apply to Miami. The first day it hits 50 every spring, our quads are filled with students tanning in swimsuits. I found that bizarre since my hometown barely dropped below freezing in the winter.No frats is a pro for some people but is probably a con for me. I'm a wanna-be frat boy, so I've always had FOMO from that. To compensate for the no frats, our dorms actually act kind of like diet frats & sororities (as dumb as that sounds). They have watered down hazing for the freshman, put on formals, and have off campus houses and parties. When introducing yourself to a new ND kid, they'll ask what dorm you're in/from opposed to what frat you're in.Since 2018, there's a 3-year rule for dorms which means you have to live on-campus for 3 years. The administration is doing it for monetary gain (even though they use "community building" as a cover). I definitely would've liked to live off campus junior year, but keep in mind that dorms at ND are generally much better and less strict than at other schools given the dorm culture I noted in the paragraph above. Did I like having an RA as a junior in college? Absolutely not. But do kids throw 100+ people parties in their tiny dorm rooms without their RA saying anything (as long as there's no alc visibility in the hallways)? Yeah. Sounds nerdy asf to my friends at other schools, but dorm parties are kinda fun lmao (if you can't get into bars)We can't even compare to a school like UGA in the sheer number of hot girls. That being said, there's still plenty of cute girls (and a handful of smoke shows who quickly find the athletes/football players). While the ratio is 50/50 at ND, Saint Mary's is an all girls school across the street with an extra 2,000 girls. Maybe half of those girls are totally normal and party with us which helps the ratio. Those who go out are also more attractive on average since it's an easier school to get into than ND.South Bend isn't an ideal college town. There are parts of it that I love and have grown to appreciate, but a lot of parts can be sketchy. Everywhere on or close to campus are well-maintained and safe.For anyone that actually made it through the post, sorry for writing an entire book. Most people won't give a shit about this because ND isn't even on their radar. However, if my insight can convince just one person to attend ND over Michigan, I'm extremely satisfied. Most people love their schools, but I personally think that this level of affection is unique (hence our unparalleled alumni base)

You can get inalmost anywhere yojr grades are good enough whatever happens happens just apply.

Currently at an ivy and can provide guidance. Pm me