University of Notre Dame Admissions

Get Into Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame, located in South Bend, Indiana, is a private Roman Catholic university founded in 1842. As of 2026, it is ranked #20 for National Universities according to U.S. News and World Report and #10 for undergraduate teaching. There are 8,971 undergraduates enrolled who take classes and declare majors within the following schools and colleges: the School of Architecture, the College of Arts and Letters (which includes three divisions—The Humanities, The Arts, and The Social Sciences), the College of Science, the Mendoza College of Business, the College of Engineering, and the Keough School of Global Affairs.

Notre Dame’s many academic centers and institutes complement the academic offerings and provide research support to students and faculty. These include the Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion, the Center for Social Concerns, the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies, and the Medieval Institute, among many others. Notre Dame has produced 20 Rhodes Scholars and demonstrates a commitment to research through resources on campus like the Flatley Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement (CUSE), which facilitates funding and opportunities for the 33% of undergraduates who are involved in research. While Notre Dame is a major research institution, the university also maintains a focus on intimate classroom instruction: : 59.9 percent of classes have fewer than 20 students and the 9:1 student to faculty ratio ensures students have the opportunity to get to know their professors.

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University of Notre Dame Campus Life

Notre Dame, a Catholic university, offers a unique campus culture with priests in residence who are available for spiritual guidance and more than 100 masses celebrated each week at the 50+ on-campus chapels. The Office of Campus Ministry fosters spiritual growth and encourages students to get involved in worship, prayer, pilgrimages, and service. The university’s commitment to Catholicism also manifests in the many service-learning programs available, and more than 80% of Notre Dame students participate in such service, even while abroad on one of the nearly 50 international study programs. On campus, there are over 400 student clubs and organizations that range from academic clubs, like the Chemistry and Biochemistry Club, the Machine Learning Club, the Society of Women Engineers, and the Student International Business Council to other student groups like the Brazil Club, the Bowling Club, the Calligraphy Club, and Debate Team. There are also more than 900 arts events annually and approximately 1,110 performances, exhibitions, and events each year that take place on campus at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, the Snite Museum, or other venues. Students interested in Shakespeare studies can take advantage of Shakespeare at Notre Dame, a regional center and incredible resource for Shakespearean scholarship, research, and programming.

Applying to Notre Dame

Notre Dame offers a Regular Decision admissions plan and a non-binding Restrictive Early Action admissions plan with a November 1 deadline. In 2025, around 50% of the incoming class was admitted in the early action cycle.

As stated on their admissions website, the guidelines for Restrictive Early Action are as follows: 

  • A student applying Restrictive Early Action to Notre Dame may apply to other Early Action programs.
  • A student applying Restrictive Early Action to Notre Dame may not apply to any college or university in their binding Early Decision program.
  • Students do not indicate a first-choice preference by applying early, and still may wait until May 1 to indicate their decision to attend.
  • On rare occasions, students will request to move their Regular Decision application to Restrictive Early Action. We will allow students the opportunity to make this request through their applicant status portal no later than November 15.

Students who apply through this process receive an admissions decision (admission, denial, or deferral) in mid-December. The Regular Decision deadline is January 1. 

Notre Dame Essay Questions

Notre Dame’s 2025-26 Writing Supplement consisted of two (2) brief essay questions and three (3) short-answer responses.

Briefly share what draws you to the area(s) of study you listed. (100 words).

Please provide a response to the following question. The word count is a maximum of 150 words..

Everyone has different priorities when considering their higher education options and building their college or university list. Tell us about your “non-negotiable” factor(s) when searching for your future college home.

Please choose three questions from the options below. Your response to each short-answer question should be no more than 50 words:

  1. How does faith influence the decisions you make?
  2. What is distinctive about your personal experiences and development (eg, family support, culture, disability, personal background, community)?  Why are these experiences important to you and how will you enrich the Notre Dame community?
  3. Notre Dame’s undergraduate experience is characterized by a collective sense of care for every person.  How do you foster service to others in your community?
  4. What compliment are you most proud of receiving, and why does it mean so much to you?
  5. What would you fight for?

Notre Dame Admissions Wrap Up

Class of 2030
Notre Dame received 13,711 early applications to the Class of 2030, a 6 percent increase from last year. They accepted 1,617, for a rate of 12 percent.

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