University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Indiana · Founded 1842
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Test-optional
The SAT and ACT are optional if you are applying to enter in fall 2027 - but Notre Dame announced in September 2026 that scores WILL be required from the 2027-28 cycle onward, so anyone entering in fall 2028 or later must test. That is one year sooner than Vanderbilt's deadline. Scores carry less weight here than most of the application: Notre Dame's own Common Data Set for fall 2025 rates them 'Important', while rigor of coursework, class rank, GPA, the essay, recommendations, extracurriculars, talent, character and volunteer work are all 'Very Important'. Notre Dame superscores, does not need the ACT Science or Writing sections, sets no minimum, and lets you self-report. Students schooled outside the U.S. may send predicted IB, A-Level or French Baccalaureate results instead. Source: admissions.nd.edu (verified September 2026).
About
Notre Dame is a Catholic research university that takes both halves of that description seriously: it is a member of the Association of American Universities, and it also asks applicants about their enthusiasm for its religious character. Undergraduate life is organized around residence halls rather than Greek houses - students are assigned to a hall as first-years and most stay in it, and the halls compete in sports, run their own traditions and function as the social unit of the campus.
History
Rev. Edward Sorin, a 28-year-old French priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross, arrived at a snow-covered lake in northern Indiana in 1842 with a handful of brothers and a log chapel, and named the place L'Universite de Notre Dame du Lac. He wrote that the college would become 'one of the most powerful means for doing good in this country'. The Main Building burned down in 1879 and was rebuilt in a single summer; its Golden Dome is still the image most people picture when they hear the name.
What stands out
- 75 undergraduate majors across eight colleges and schools
- A residence hall system in place of fraternities and sororities - students stay with their hall community
- The Basilica of the Sacred Heart and the Grotto sit at the center of campus
- A member of the Association of American Universities
- Fighting Irish athletics, including independent FBS football
Popular majors
Campus life
Every first-year student lives on campus and about 81 percent of undergraduates do overall, in single-sex residence halls that function as the social center of the university. There are no fraternities or sororities at all. Football weekends shape the autumn calendar, and the Grotto stays lit at all hours.