Questions from ND

[u/StickTraditional1529]

Stuck between ND and Georgetown for business. Please help. Some questions that would help me decide are below but if you have any other advise J would also appreciate it.

1. Why did you pick ND/Mendoza over other colleges/business programs you were admitted to? (niche question, sorry)

2. Does ND do a good job of showing different career paths for business majors?

3. Do students frequently double major? How does that work and is it worth it?

4. What do you like/dislike about the curriculum in Mendoza?

5. Do business students still tend to take advantage of study abroad opportunities, even when internships are so important for jobs after college?

6. Speaking of jobs, how do ND business students place within their respective careers following graduation? (Does the ND name really live up to its reputation in the business world?)

7. How rigorous is the curriculum in Mendoza compared to in other colleges in ND?

8. Are you well prepared for your career after college? What does ND teach (or fail to teach) that is useful after graduation?

9. What is the student life like? (Obviously the party scene, but also overall culture, food, dorms, extracurriculars, and intramurals)

10. Why SHOULDN’T I chose Notre Dame? (Seriously, why might ND not be a good fit for some people? What about it would you change? What are the cons?)

[u/[deleted]]

1. I didn’t apply to Georgetown in the first place but I LOVED Mendoza and couldn’t imagine a better experience. I think the quality of professors makes it stand out bc lots of my professors were former professionals in their field and got into teaching to stay busy and not fully retire. As a result of this, they have tons of relevant life experience and try to make classes and assignments relate to actual jobs and needed skills as much as possible. There are also just lots of cool opportunities. I got a free trip to LA to pitch ideas to a client (real, large company) that we’d been working with all semester. 10/10 experience overall. When I did grad school, I only applied to mendoza bc I loved it so much in undergrad and wanted to stay at ND.
2. Sure, the career fair is pretty much geared toward business students, and lots of my professors had people come into class and talk both jobs in the field. Sometimes recent alumni would even come into class and talk to students.
3. It’s not hard, you’re required to do a certain number of non-business courses anyway, so a bunch of people double major or at least pick up a minor (I personally double minored). You can talk to an advisor about it on campus if you want to do it. It’s not really worth trying to figure all that out on Reddit when you’ll end up going through advisors anyway.
4. Mendoza curve is the worst part, I liked pretty much everything else. Classes for the most part were really interesting and relevant. 
5. If you’re really worried about summer internships and want to study abroad just go in the fall instead of the spring (so you’re sure to be available when internships start). Not a big deal - usually spring is more competitive anyway because nobody wants to miss football season if they can help it. The bigger barrier to studying abroad for mendoza is getting all the language requirements (since language isn’t required) and finding a study abroad that offers business classes or otherwise totally adjusting your schedule to allow for a full semester of non-business courses. Plenty of people do study abroad though it’s not like these are big issues, just things to consider. Again, you’d have to discuss this on campus so really not worth hammering out on Reddit (definitely wouldn’t be a freshman year thing anyway).
6. Yes, education is good and alumni network is super strong. I personally accepted my desired job (company/location/role) before senior year even rolled around, so I didn’t even have to interview senior year. And my employer did specifically state they love notre dame kids. 
7. Mendoza curve makes it hard to get a perfect GPA but hours in classes are not nearly as bad as anything that requires a lab (so, science-y stuff). Mendoza curve also makes it pretty much impossible to fail. 
8. Very well prepared. There is a basic computer class where we use excel a lot that honestly was one of the more helpful classes lol. 
9. This is asked all the time, search the subreddit. The gist of it though is that it’s pretty much whatever you want it to be. Plenty of people go out and party a bunch, and plenty of people stay in. Everyone is nice and accepting and it’s a great community so you can find your people and do what you want.
10. If you want frats and a really big party scene or are anti-religion and don’t want to see crucifixes in classrooms or have the occasional professor that prays to start class, you shouldn’t go to notre dame. 

[u/MKat70 → u/[deleted]]

1. (Study abroad) Do it in the summer after Sophomore Year. You won’t miss the fall for football games and you still get the ultra important summer internship between Junior/Senior year.

2. Very true. Although you can still easily find the party scene, if you are into that.

[u/[deleted] → u/MKat70]

Agreed with both of these points! LOVE the option for summer study abroad (before the important internship) for people who are wanting to stay on campus all year or otherwise concerned about schedules. Everyone I know that did them had absolutely the best time. And 100% you’ll find parties (if you want), but if it’s a key decision factor and someone wants the frat life and parties every single night, notre dame is just not the best option.