Notre Dame Campus News

[Rack Em]

Much better.

 

[wizards8507]

Sorry I probably didn't phrase that well. ND complied with a mandate that violated the conscience of the University; they didn't pay the fine associated with standing up for religious freedom. Complying and not showing damages damaged their case to the 7th Circuit. But at the same time, Jenkins announced a $400 million renovation, highlighting the football stadium as the center of campus.

I feel like Jenkins' administration has focused more on putting up buildings and expanding campus outward at the expense of its Catholic mission. All 3 are important, not just the first 2. A jumbotron and field turf should have the purpose of promoting the expansion of campus and its Catholic mission. If we lose sight of these three goals moving in unison, we run the risk of becoming like Stanford. A great school with a good football program that has little impact on Catholicism. These goals moving in unison is what makes Notre Dame so great. Jenkins is primarily moving two of them. I used the ACA/mandate to highlight a specific instance (and a very unacceptable one, IMO) to back up my point.

I figured this would be an unpopular opinion on here because this is primarily a football board. My perception is that the majority of posters don't hold this view and very much like the stadium expansion. Notre Dame's Catholic mission isn't as popular of a topic around these parts.

Better?

I disagree with the bolded. I do believe that the focus has been on expansion and building, but I do not believe it has compromised or jeopardized the Catholic mission.

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.

Honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first of all your produce; So your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine.

For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he may have enough to finish it; lest perhaps, after he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish, all those seeing begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build and was not able to finish.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

hello,

I want to go on in university of ND in south bend.
I want to ask some question about south bend. I will be thankful if you answer me.
1. how is the life in south bend, is it safe place to live for single man?
2. how is entertainment there, can I found night clubs and bar even if strip club there to enjoy my free time?
3. how is the behavior of people there toward international students?
4. and how is the over all type of people can I join parties and find some partner to enjoy easily or not ?

Thank you so much,

Where is our hospitality, IE? Is no one willing to help Arash?

 

[TheTurningPoint]

Pretty good read from my student blogger


The Echoes: Love Thee Notre Dame | Irish Turning Point

 

[Buster Bluth]

But at the same time, Jenkins announced a $400 million renovation, highlighting the football stadium as the center of campus.

Bill Maher could stand in front of many campus buildings and say "does this look anything like anything Jesus Christ had in mind?" and he'd be right on the money more times that not. We don't use money for ways the big guy himself would appreciate, this much is old news.

 

[Rack Em]

The University will now cap the number of students in Mendoza at 550 each year. The enrollment there was wildly out of control and it was the haven for everyone who dropped their first major. It was widely regarded as the easiest school at ND despite what a magazine would have you believe.

Notre Dame to adjust admission practices for prospective business undergraduates // News // Notre Dame News // University of Notre Dame

 

[wizards8507]

The University will now cap the number of students in Mendoza at 550 each year. The enrollment there was wildly out of control and it was the haven for everyone who dropped their first major. It was widely regarded as the easiest school at ND despite what a magazine would have you believe.

When were you a student? Not being a smartass, I'm honestly asking. Based on perception, Arts and Letters was by far the "easiest school" when I was an undergrad (2007-11). Mendoza had a MAJOR split between the Finance and Accounting kids and the Marketing and Management kids.

 

[jimmymac]

The University will now cap the number of students in Mendoza at 550 each year. The enrollment there was wildly out of control and it was the haven for everyone who dropped their first major. It was widely regarded as the easiest school at ND despite what a magazine would have you believe.

Notre Dame to adjust admission practices for prospective business undergraduates // News // Notre Dame News // University of Notre Dame

It is waaaay tougher than the College of Arts and Letters. For one, there is a mandated curve, requiring classes to be average at the highest at a 3.2 or so.

And wizards is absolutely correct. A degree in finance/accounting is certainly a challenging degree to obtain, as exemplified by the comically low number of athletes in those majors. MGT on the other hand is a different story.

I am very upset by this change, but can understand why its occurring. I would disagree that students chose it because its "easier". Students are choosing to enter Mendoza because it has, for four years running, earned the top spot on Businessweek's UGrad business rankings.

 

[wizards8507]

It is waaaay tougher than the College of Arts and Letters. For one, there is a mandated curve, requiring classes to be average at the highest at a 3.2 or so.

I am very upset by this change, but can understand why its occurring. I would disagree that students chose it because its "easier". Students are choosing to enter Mendoza because it has, for four years running, earned the top spot on Businessweek's UGrad business rankings.

Make sure you wave that #1 finger in the face of every Wharton kid you meet.

 

[jimmymac]

Make sure you wave that #1 finger in the face of every Wharton kid you meet.

Haha, I'm from Philly, and have tons of friends at Wharton. Personally, I don't think its really a contest, Wharton>>>Mendoza, but due to the importance of student satisfaction and the ethics dimension of the BWeek survey, we hold the #1 spot.

 

[wizards8507]

Haha, I'm from Philly, and have tons of friends at Wharton. Personally, I don't think its really a contest, Wharton>>>Mendoza, but due to the importance of student satisfaction and the ethics dimension of the BWeek survey, we hold the #1 spot.

Overall, maybe, but I think the rankings are appropriate from a specifically undergrad perspective. Wharton's reputation is largely based on their MBA program, and rightfully so, but the fact that their undergrads hate their lives is a major red flag.

EDIT: Wharton continues to fall, actually. They're down to #5. BC up to #6, which is impressive.

 

[Rack Em]

I also want to point out that transfer students will now be able to enroll in Mendoza (albeit only a small number). Previously, transfers weren't permitted to apply or enroll there but we were never given a "real" reason why other than "well Mendoza just can't accommodate transfers right now." But they had zero issue with accepting other Sophomores and Juniors who were looking to change majors.

While I was at ND, my dad made several phone calls to different departments within the University. He even called Fr. Jenkins' office. Some were sympathetic, but they all gave the company line that it "was just Mendoza's policy."

During my senior year, I called Mendoza to challenge an article (I believe it was in the ND Magazine) in which Dean Woo said she was proud that Mendoza did not turn away any student that wished to major in business. That simply wasn't true because I had been turned away in September '08 after I transferred. Math was NOT working out for me and I needed a new home. I was told by a Mendoza adviser that "We have a problem. You're a transfer student. We don't accept transfer students."

Anyway, I met with a Mendoza dean (who shall remain anonymous) and pushed him on the article and the dishonesty in it. I further pushed him on the policy to not admit transfers. Finally he caved and said, "Who deserves to be in Mendoza more, a student admitted as a freshman or a student who transferred?" I almost flew across his desk, fist first.

I'm glad Woo is gone and that times have changed. Transfer students deserve a chance to earn a Business degree as well. I'm also glad Mendoza is reducing its absurd 19:1 student to faculty ratio. That's obscene for the tuition bill Mendoza students pay.

 

[Emcee77]

The University will now cap the number of students in Mendoza at 550 each year. The enrollment there was wildly out of control and it was the haven for everyone who dropped their first major. It was widely regarded as the easiest school at ND despite what a magazine would have you believe.

Notre Dame to adjust admission practices for prospective business undergraduates // News // Notre Dame News // University of Notre Dame

Wow, this is big news. Check this out:

In the future, when first admitted to Notre Dame, students who indicate an intent to major in business will be informed, at the time of admission, whether they are “pre-approved” to do so at the end of their first year, should that remain their goal. If they are not pre-approved, students will be advised that they will be free to enroll in any other college or school, but that the chances of being approved to major in business after the first year will be extremely limited. Such students will be advised that they should reconsider enrolling in Notre Dame if they are only interested in majoring in business. If a student who is pre-approved to major in business later decides not to do so, she or he will be free to major in any other college or school at Notre Dame.

As an alum, I don't like this at all. Having a great business school that any ND student could take advantage of was one of the great advantages of an ND education vis-a-vis comparable schools such as UVa. One of my ND roommates entered ND intending to do pre-med, got a C in chemistry, realized he was unlikely to be admitted to med school if he was struggling in science, and switched to Mendoza for his sophomore year. He's now rising through the ranks at PWC and is a lock to make partner if he wants to. Under this new scheme, my friend likely would have never been able to get his accounting degree without transferring, and would have had to do some liberal arts major that he didn't care about just to get through school and would likely not have been as successful. I have some friends from UVa who have had this sort of thing happen to them: admitted to UVa, denied from business school, floundered through school as history majors or psych majors or whatever could get them the sheepskin. While most of them are doing fine, some are still floundering a bit.

I shouldn't even get into the recruiting implications, but ... will we be able to promise recruits that they will be admitted to Mendoza? Is that fair, when their roommates will be kids whose GPA/test scores are twice as high but weren't admitted to Mendoza? Leave football aside ... now the freshman class will be divided among kids who are pre-approved for Mendoza and kids who aren't. That could make for a lot of nasty resentment on campus.

Last I read more than a quarter of ND students were in Mendoza, and I get that ballooning business school enrollment causes problems, so maybe this is inevitable, but it's a shame.

 

[wizards8507]

I also want to point out that transfer students will now be able to enroll in Mendoza (albeit only a small number). Previously, transfers weren't permitted to apply or enroll there but we were never given a "real" reason why other than "well Mendoza just can't accommodate transfers right now." But they had zero issue with accepting other Sophomores and Juniors who were looking to change majors.

While I was at ND, my dad made several phone calls to different departments within the University. He even called Fr. Jenkins' office. Some were sympathetic, but they all gave the company line that it "was just Mendoza's policy."

During my senior year, I called Mendoza to challenge an article (I believe it was in the ND Magazine) in which Dean Woo said she was proud that Mendoza did not turn away any student that wished to major in business. That simply wasn't true because I had been turned away in September '08 after I transferred. Math was NOT working out for me and I needed a new home. I was told by a Mendoza adviser that "We have a problem. You're a transfer student. We don't accept transfer students."

Anyway, I met with a Mendoza dean (who shall remain anonymous) and pushed him on the article and the dishonesty in it. I further pushed him on the policy to not admit transfers. Finally he caved and said, "Who deserves to be in Mendoza more, a student admitted as a freshman or a student who transferred?" I almost flew across his desk, fist first.

I'm glad Woo is gone and that times have changed. Transfer students deserve a chance to earn a Business degree as well. I'm also glad Mendoza is reducing its absurd 19:1 student to faculty ratio. That's obscene for the tuition bill Mendoza students pay.

Dean Sam Gaglio, come on down!

Was it Finance? I know in 2009 they put a cap on finance majors.

 

[wizards8507]

I shouldn't even get into the recruiting implications, but ... will we be able to promise recruits that they will be admitted to Mendoza? Is that fair, when their roommates will be kids whose GPA/test scores are twice as high but weren't admitted to Mendoza? Leave football aside ... now the freshman class will be divided among kids who are pre-approved for Mendoza and kids who aren't. That could make for a lot of nasty resentment on campus.

Last I read more than a quarter of ND students were in Mendoza, and I get that ballooning business school enrollment causes problems, so maybe this is inevitable, but it's a shame.

I'm open to correction, but I believe the number of football players in Mendoza is relatively low compared to Arts and Letters.

Sucks for my sister... She's applying for Fall 2015.

 

[jimmymac]

Wow, this is big news. Check this out:



As an alum, I don't like this at all. Having a great business school that any ND student could take advantage of was one of the great advantages of an ND education vis-a-vis comparable schools such as UVa. One of my ND roommates entered ND intending to do pre-med, got a C in chemistry, realized he was unlikely to be admitted to med school if he was struggling in science, and switched to Mendoza for his sophomore year. He's now rising through the ranks at PWC and is a lock to make partner if he wants to. Under this new scheme, my friend likely would have never been able to get his accounting degree without transferring, and would have had to do some liberal arts major that he didn't care about just to get through school and would likely not have been as successful. I have some friends from UVa who have had this sort of thing happen to them: admitted to UVa, denied from business school, floundered through school as history majors or psych majors or whatever could get them the sheepskin. While most of them are doing fine, some are still floundering a bit.

I shouldn't even get into the recruiting implications, but ... will we be able to promise recruits that they will be admitted to Mendoza? Is that fair, when their roommates will be kids whose GPA/test scores are twice as high but weren't admitted to Mendoza? Leave football aside ... now the freshman class will be divided among kids who are pre-approved for Mendoza and kids who aren't. That could make for a lot of nasty resentment on campus.

Last I read more than a quarter of ND students were in Mendoza, and I get that ballooning business school enrollment causes problems, so maybe this is inevitable, but it's a shame.

I agree with all of this. But you hit the nail right on the head, something of this kind was going to happen eventually with the dramatic increase.

 

[Emcee77]

I'm open to correction, but I believe the number of football players in Mendoza is relatively low compared to Arts and Letters.

Sucks for my sister... She's applying for Fall 2015.

Hmm, I'm not sure either, and I don't know how to look it up, but someone posted all our players' majors on the site recently, and I remember thinking that Mendoza and Arts & Letters were about equal -- although, as you and jimmymac have pointed out, Finance and Accounting were relatively unrepresented, like 2 or 3 players in the two majors combined.

Anyway, regardless of how many actually make into or through Mendoza, there's no question that Mendoza impresses recruits and it is a huge recruiting advantage. I'm wondering if this makes it less of an advantage.

 

[Rack Em]

When were you a student? Not being a smartass, I'm honestly asking. Based on perception, Arts and Letters was by far the "easiest school" when I was an undergrad (2007-11). Mendoza had a MAJOR split between the Finance and Accounting kids and the Marketing and Management kids.

2008-2011. I understand that Finance and Accounting are harder, but I was an Econ major. Lots of Finance students drop Econ as a major when they get to Econometrics (which is objectively a pretty hard class).

But I wouldn't know about the split between Finance/Accounting and everything else. There were special alarms in the building that went off when a transfer walked in.

Yes, I'm still pissed. And I will be for a long time.

It is waaaay tougher than the College of Arts and Letters. For one, there is a mandated curve, requiring classes to be average at the highest at a 3.2 or so.

And wizards is absolutely correct. A degree in finance/accounting is certainly a challenging degree to obtain, as exemplified by the comically low number of athletes in those majors. MGT on the other hand is a different story.

I am very upset by this change, but can understand why its occurring. I would disagree that students chose it because its "easier". Students are choosing to enter Mendoza because it has, for four years running, earned the top spot on Businessweek's UGrad business rankings.

Let's just call it a wash because there are challenging majors in both if you seek them out. Many of the students I'm referring to probably drop their major to go into Marketing, etc. that are easier. And many of the students you're referring to are probably Sociology, Peace Studies, etc.

I'll admit that I'm biased. Shake hands?

 

[Emcee77]

I should also add to my long post above: I am not saying that people who major in the liberal arts won't be successful. I was a liberal arts major and I am doing fine. I am just saying that I don't want people to be forced to major in the liberal arts because they couldn't get into the business school.

Honestly, that is bad for those frustrated wannabe business students, and it is equally bad for the students (like me) who actually wanted to major in the liberal arts. Liberal arts courses REQUIRE robust discussion in order for anyone to learn anything. If you have students who don't want to be there sitting in class like bumps on a log, it affects everyone's experience.

I'm just complaining. It was gonna happen sooner or later. But I don't have to like it.

 

[Rack Em]

Dean Sam Gaglio, come on down!

Was it Finance? I know in 2009 they put a cap on finance majors.

You win!

 

[jimmymac]

Let's just call it a wash because there are challenging majors in both if you seek them out. Many of the students I'm referring to probably drop their major to go into Marketing, etc. that are easier. And many of the students you're referring to are probably Sociology, Peace Studies, etc.

I'll admit that I'm biased. Shake hands?

I certainly agree with that. In addition, sorry to hear about your situation, I have friends who transferred in who have had the same problem you had. Sucks, and glad to hear they're at least changing it a little.

 

[Rack Em]

I should also add to my long post above: I am not saying that people who major in the liberal arts won't be successful. I was a liberal arts major and I am doing fine. I am just saying that I don't want people to be forced to major in the liberal arts because they couldn't get into the business school.

Honestly, that is bad for those frustrated wannabe business students, and it is equally bad for the students (like me) who actually wanted to major in the liberal arts. Liberal arts courses REQUIRE robust discussion in order for anyone to learn anything. If you have students who don't want to be there sitting there like bumps on a log, it affects everyone's experience.

I'm just complaining. It was gonna happen sooner or later. But I don't have to like it.

That's been the issue for transfers for a long time. Many of us would rather have been in Finance, but had to choose Economics.

I'm in Law School
Another friend works for Google
Another works for the Investment Office at a top 10 university
...
Others were Political Science majors and are working on the Hill right now

Liberal Arts isn't so bad. It is what you make of it. You can be just as successful as an ND Liberal Arts grad as you can an ND Business grad.

 

[Rack Em]

I certainly agree with that. In addition, sorry to hear about your situation, I have friends who transferred in who have had the same problem you had. Sucks, and glad to hear they're at least changing it a little.

Thanks big guy. I just wanted to see them get a fair shot at a business degree. I think transfers add a different dynamic to the classroom and frequently bring the curve down for everyone. It's really a win-win.

 

[Emcee77]

Thanks big guy. I just wanted to see them get a fair shot at a business degree. I think transfers add a different dynamic to the classroom and frequently bring the curve down for everyone. It's really a win-win.

Yeah, sorry to hear about this, RackEm, I honestly had no idea. So weird ... I can't think of one good reason why transfers shouldn't be in Mendoza. I'm definitely glad that aspect is changing.

 

[koonja]

This is one of those discussions where you'd hope IrishPat came across the title, and then just kick back and enjoy, lol.


#RIPat

 

[Whiskeyjack]

I'm open to correction, but I believe the number of football players in Mendoza is relatively low compared to Arts and Letters.

Not so. I looked up the program ~18 months ago and calculated it. Discounting freshman (since they're all FYS), roughly 40% of ND football players were in Mendoza at the time. Not sure what it is now, though.

 

[wizards8507]

Thanks big guy. I just wanted to see them get a fair shot at a business degree. I think transfers add a different dynamic to the classroom and frequently bring the curve down for everyone. It's really a win-win.

This is anecdotal, but ND is generally tough on transfers overall, not just in Mendoza. My wife applied and was admitted as a transfer student from SMC after her sophomore year as a biology major. When Notre Dame told her she'd have to retake all her core biology courses (and essentially redo her sophomore year), she decided to stay at SMC so she could graduate in four years.

 

[Rack Em]

This is anecdotal, but ND is generally tough on transfers overall, not just in Mendoza. My wife applied and was admitted as a transfer student from SMC after her sophomore year as a biology major. When Notre Dame told her she'd have to retake all her core biology courses (and essentially redo her sophomore year), she decided to stay at SMC so she could graduate in four years.

Yeah it's much harder to transfer as an incoming junior than a sophomore. You have so many credits already and ND really wants you to have their credits so you're prepared for the upper level classes (Science is really particular about that).

Transferring to ND isn't something that can be pulled off on a whim. You pretty much have to start college with the mentality that you want to transfer.

 

[TheTurningPoint]

Im not sure if there was an thread posted on this already, but an ND professor slammed the Campus Crossroads project....my student writer got fired up and wrote a rebuttal to his article. If you have a few mins def check out both sides of the arguement.

The Echoes: A Letter to Father Miscamble | Irish Turning Point

 

[Pachuco]

Im not sure if there was an thread posted on this already, but an ND professor slammed the Campus Crossroads project....my student writer got fired up and wrote a rebuttal to his article. If you have a few mins def check out both sides of the arguement.

The Echoes: A Letter to Father Miscamble | Irish Turning Point

Fr. Miscamble stated very simply, "The Basilica and Our Lady atop the Dome must always remain at the heart of Notre Dame, and the campus must radiate out from them." From a more modern perspective, this might seem like an overly traditional way of viewing the campus. Yet, as a former student, I must admit there is some truth in what he says, even if you were to view it from an aesthetic, non-religious point of view. In other words, one thing that concerns me is the visual imbalance it might create given the estimated size of the Campus Crossroads Project. In my opinion (mostly subjective), the focal point should always be the Dome/Basilica.